Road to Mysore: Shivally MTR and Lokaruchi

It is a pity that you cannot eat at both these places on the same day. They are just a few kilometers apart on the Bangalore Mysore highway - thats why. Both serve a powerful breakfast menu, though the Kamat Lokaruchi has lunch options that can put a stomach of any capacity to shame. The former usually has lower crowds which usually becomes a factor.

Shivally MTR is a simple place that looks straight out of the 1980s. No frills, bare bones decor and a service that is ruthlessly efficient. No time to hang around for a chit chat - there are too many people around to be served. A blink and you can miss this place on the highway - we have retraced our path a couple of times seeking this place. The food though, is heavenly. Dont miss the Maddur Vadas and the Kadubu Idlis here. Note that this place is a few kilometres after the Lokaruchi.

Lokaruchi though crowded and far more spacious than the former, does not mean that you have too much more elbow room. The place has the capacity for a lot more diners, thats all. They have also modelled the place on the lines of a village - including turbaned waiters, a space where you can have meals sitting barefoot on a cowdung cladded floor . There are cows in a cowshed, a sugarcane juice option, a souvenir shop and some geese merrily clacking away. They have tried to way too much, when the food itself is reason enough for people to coming again and again here. The crowds here on any weekend, starting 7 am will testify to that. Once you add the people, their cars, the waiters, the kitchen and the geese and the place is a wee bit crowded. Again, ruthlessly efficient - it is not place a place where time stands still. This place is unmissable both because Janapada Loka is nearby and because of the cars parked outside and big sign boards.