From the Center Eating Out: Delhi-cacies of the Capital's State Canteens

Kerala House's canteen, commercially known as Samridhi , is not as famous as some of its South-Indian bhawan kin, but nonetheless, it has a reputation for the heavy crowds that eagerly line up at lunchtime to enjoy its cheap thali offerings. We had scheduled to meet our friend Rohit at the canteen, but when we arrived, he was nowhere to be found. Finally, after some puzzled phone conversations, we discovered he'd instead been directed (and offered no resistance) to the hotel's more fancy executive dining room, meant for guests staying at Kerala House. Of course, the entrance of a rather gangly white man into this otherwise exclusive space invited some questions, and eventually we were escorted out of the spacious dining hall and pointed down the stairs and across the courtyard to join the commoners. So a note to any hungry souls who have the privilege of visiting Kerala House: make sure to head across the courtyard to the building at the far end of the complex when enter...

The lunchtime trip to Meghalaya House marked our tenth state canteen outing. It also marked our worst. The entrance to Meghalaya House's restaurant was nice, with a well-swept brick path lined by well-pruned trees leading to a room filled with floor-to-ceiling windows. But the agreeable part of the experience ended there. A pleasant exterior masks the indifference within Despite having a man at the desk and another waiter standing nearby with only one other table of eaters present, no staff approached us for the better part of ten minutes. Finally, PJ was forced to approach the man at the table, who handed her a worn menu listing various north Indian standards and Meghalayan dishes. After we had settled on a number of distinctive dishes to order, still no waiter approached our table. So finally, PJ again headed up to the desk to order. Upon arriving, however, she was informed that in fact the menu was not accurate and that instead they had only a few dishes of the day a...

Still not sick of southern food, we headed off to Tamil Nadu House's canteen the day after having enjoyed Andhra's famed state cafeteria. The canteen offers a cheap thali, but we instead offered for the restaurant's more renowned (at least according to Zomato ) Chettinad chicken and Malabar parathas with vegetable kurma. We also ordered a buttermilk and lemon soda, but these drinks never arrived to the table—perhaps a testament of the rather hustled atmosphere and lack of waiters to serve the lunch-rush crowd. The Chettinad chicken and Malabar parathas with veg kurma  Due to the crowds, we were seated with another couple at a four-person table. Not an uncomfortable arrangement by canteen standards, the seating also allowed us to spy upon their thalis and biryani that, admittedly, also looked quite tasty. A bustling bhawan The Chettinad chicken was delicious, with the stewed meat melting in one's mouth and accompanied by a spicy gravy thick enough to be ...

While up until this point we had visited the canteens during lunch or slightly later, PJ's father's eagerness to eat at Andhra (Pradesh) Bhavan, one of his favorite cheap-eat spots in Delhi, led us to a late dinner at what is perhaps the capital's most famous state-house restaurant. We arrived to Andhra Bhavan a bit after 9:00pm and the place was hoping. Lucky timing landed us a spare table upon arrival, but we saw others having to wait a few minutes after we arrived—apparently not an uncommon occurrence at this most-loved of bhawans. A simple atmosphere filled with customers  The style of Andhra Bhavan is no frills. All visitors are required to purchase a thali, which costs ₹130 during both lunch and dinner and includes various vegetarian delights. In addition, non-veg side dishes are available. Chicken, mutton, and fish can all be ordered either fried or in curry, with prawn curry rounding out the options. (In addition, for Sunday lunch Andhra Bhavan offers a Hy...