Best Indian food in Socal is in [Bakersfield]

roti literally just means bread.

no clueā€¦ just wondering if nomenclature mattes in this caseā€¦ sounds like you can call it either

Great sleuthing. Starting the countdwon 'til LATimes writes this one upā€¦

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oh wait a minute, weā€™re driving up to Paso next weekend and weā€™ll even have a food interested Indian with usā€¦ hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

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itā€™s a pretty elite place homieā€¦just not worth the 2 hours to Bakersfield IMO. If it was in LA proper, Iā€™d be hitting frequently.

i think i feel like rolling over to swadesh for lunch todayā€¦ i know itā€™s not the same or even the same country but i want fresh roti/curry action.

The difference between roti ($1) and plain paratha ($2) is probably that the paratha is folded over with more ghee to form layers.

Both terms are broad. Indians and Pakistanis Iā€™ve worked with used ā€œrotiā€ to mean any kind of round flatbread. There are many kinds of parathas.

Yup. And roti/chapati/phulka are all names for the same thing.

not exactly but close.

roti has the sense of bread in the same metonymic way that ā€œbreadā€ does in the west. buns of various kinds; rolls; croissants; sourdough, whole wheat, multigrain breads of various shapes; etc. are all covered under ā€œbreadā€. roti covers the gamut in a similar way for griddle cooked breads* but usually when people say ā€œrotiā€ they mean chapatis or phulkas. tandoori roti, missi roti, rumali roti etc. will always have the qualifier attached. but chapatis and phulkas are not exactly identical either: phulkas are chapatis that are puffed up over an open flame.

*it would be unusual to find people referring to puris or luuchis or bhaturas (which are all fried) as roti. but itā€™s a large country.

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Def off-topic, but do most people consider a ā€œcroissantā€ to be a type of ā€œbread?ā€ Iā€™d consider a ā€œcroissantā€ a ā€œpastryā€ and completely distinct from a ā€œbreadā€ (b/c of the use of shortening, just as I would never lump a ā€œpie crustā€ and ā€œbreadā€ in the the same category).

Itā€™s a type of viennoiserie.

thatā€™s my indian view talking: parathas are also layered with fat and folded before cooking. scratch it to not distract from the larger analogy.

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I had to look that up. :slight_smile:

Thatā€™s a normal word on signs in France. In the US I see the term used mostly by professional bakers and serious hobbyists.

In punjabi, we call them roti or phulka, and they are always puffed, either on a flame or the Tava. I believe chapati is Hindi.

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The NYT caught wind

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Another excellent article from the New York Times of Los Angeles.

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We actually stopped by on the way to Sequoia this past weekend. We had the butter chicken, dal makhani, and chole masala. I think the butter chicken was the standout, followed by the chole masala and the dal makhani. A few other people who were there ordered one of the chaat options, and they looked fantastic. Next time I go, iā€™ll probably do those.

As the NYT article says, the seating area is about as nice as an outdoor truck stop in Bakersfield can be (shaded, with a large fan and plenty of seating). Definitely a good place to visit should you ever find yourself in out that way.

OK now I am pretty convinced places mine this forum for article fare. Even in Bakersfield this place is so far from mainstreamā€¦ seriously nobody knows about this place. Like I said in the post, my boss was a Punjabi woman who worked in Bakersfield for years and never heard of it. There are a sea of Indian restaurants here and they all have indoor seating and, most importantly of all, buffets, and that attracts 90% of the people here. There is absolutely no way they ever should have heard of this place.

So in case NYT needs it or any of you care, we also have the best BBQ (especially for brisket lovers, which I know you all are) IN SOCAL.

Yes, the best brisket within 200 miles of DTLA is in Bakersfield and I really donā€™t think any of you who come to try it will disagree with that. In Texas itā€™d be good.

The place is called Porkchop ā€˜nā€™ Bubbas. It deserves its own thread and I intended to make one but I donā€™t want to annoy you guys with Bakersfield stuff and if I put it in the proper forum, none of you would read it. So Iā€™m just burying it in this thread to avoid starting a new one, but mods ā€“ feel free to do what you want.

Porkchop ā€˜nā€™ Bubbas.

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