Restaurant Review - Cafe Curryleaves

We may have a contender for "New Favorite Restaurant".  We have many loves in the Favorite Restaurant category, which obviously is great, because they are each unique. Each restaurant usually makes something amazing that we realize our life has been an empty shell without.  Cafe Curryleaves in Morrisville, NC is one of those restaurants.

The restaurant itself is small and casual.  A bit of a combination of counter service and sit-down, you walk in and can place your order or have seat and peruse the menu.  The menu isn't huge but it is filled with great Southern Indian dishes that are not as common as their Northern counterparts. We'd read a few reviews on Yelp before we impulsively made an hour and a half drive to check it out and they all sounded great.

We were not disappointed. We knew from the reviews that we had to get the Imli fries as a starter.  The fries, along with an order of the Samosa Chaat (Chaat meaning starter), were an AMAZING start to the meal.  I am not kidding you.  These fries, covered in tamarind sauce and fresh onions are ridiculously good. They were inhaled in just a few moments.  If I could have eaten another order, I probably would have.

There were a ton of other starters I wanted to try but I know those fries will have a permanent spot on our appetizer list.

For our main meal, SL (the husband) go the Mixed Vegetable Uttapam which is a lentil and rice pancake mixed with fresh veggies. It's served with a small bowl of soup and a tomato chutney and a fresh coconut chutney. Think light but crispy deliciousness.

I got the Masla Dosa which also comes with the same soup and chutneys. Dosas are a huge, very thin rice-lentil crepe which is cooked and then folded in half with a filling.  In the case of the Masala Dosa, the filling is a gently spiced potato filling.  This is comfort food at its best.

And were talking huge here.  There is actually a tray under that Dosa somewhere! Also note the empty fry bowl in the center.  Picked clean.

The Dosa is deceptive, though.  It isn't filled to the brim with potatoes, just at the fold, so I don't feel like a total glutton. Although afterwards, I slept the whole car ride home.

So, yes, Cafe Curryleaves is amazing and affordable. I think our whole meal was just over $20.  They have desserts too but I was too stuffed to try them.  Maybe next time because, in spite of the drive, we are totally going back. If you are going to be anywhere near the Raleigh-Durham-Cary area you have to stop by!