Sure, the pictures can do the talking but they aren’t being truthful, sorry to say.
Chat Patti is a vegetarian restaurant nestled in a busy strip mall in North Druid Hills. It is a busy place, people streaming in and out, orders placed and delivered over the full counter, servers cleaning up promptly. The clientele is mixed, Indians and others, students and professionals, residents and visiting parents… 🙂
Chat Patti has an extensive menu covering snacks, appetizers, South Indian tiffin dishes, North Indian thali, chaat, dessert. I can’t recall the last time we visited. It must have been a couple of years ago. Anyway, we were in the neighborhood and decided to stop by.
What a Spread!
We ordered Puri-Shrikhand, Patra Plate, Masala Vada, Bhel Puri, Sabudana Khichdi, Alu Tikki and tea. I must admit, the tea was the best part of the meal. Steaming hot, spiced with masala and ginger… I am a sucker for good tea. I have a high standard, though. It has to be boiled to the perfect milk-water consistency, it should be well-brewed but not bitter, and it should leave a gentle heat coursing down the throat. Yeah, I have the recipe for my perfect cuppa down to a science, precise!
Daddy got the Puri-Shrikhand (top left). He said it was okay, but knowing Daddy’s accommodating taste buds, I really wonder. Have never seen such yellow puris before! The Bhel Puri (top right) was too spicy, the sev too thick. The Sabudana Khichdi (mid, right) was undercooked and underspiced. The sago pearls were too tough. The Patra Plate (mid, right, lower) was quite nice, although it tasted a little old. The Masala Vada (low, right) was high on garlic and little else. As for the Alu Tikki (low, left), the Tikki was nothing more than cooked potato, bright yellow with turmeric. The accompanying Chhole was fairly decent but the chutneys lacked freshness.
Daddy got a bowl of Rasmalai (he ALWAYS gets dessert). He polished it off within minutes but he has a huge sweet tooth, so I wonder how it actually tasted.
P told me that when he was a student at Georgia Tech, he used to frequent Chat Patti frequently. Maybe he didn’t have too many options for Indian food those days. Anyway, this time, he ended up wishing that we’d driven further north and eaten at our favorite chaat joint Mumbai Masala instead… 🙁
Chat Patti
1594-F, Woodcliff Dr NE,
Atlanta GA 30329
www.chatpattiatl.com
404-633-5595
