LEO/LHB: DakShin Indian: A taste of a different South

[Robin Garr]

LEO's Eats with Louisville HotBytes.com

Step into DakShin's spacious, almost cavernous quarters, blink until your eyes adjust to the dim, and you might think you've found your way into an oddly named barbecue joint. Square, rough-hewn log walls frame heavy booths of oak; atop a wall at the back, looming above a large-screen television, rests the biggest canoe you have ever seen.

But take another look, and then a sniff. Elusive, aromatic scents of curry direct your palate away from barbecue. Check the television and you'll find Bollywood-style MTV, piped in straight from India. The art on the walls is Indian, and so are the massive, colorful, Tiffany-look light fixtures that dangle from the high ceiling.

DakShin is Southern for sure: The name means "The South," assuming that you are speaking in the dialect of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India, whose major city, Chennai - formerly named Madras and perhaps best known for its colorful fabrics - is India's Motor City, a center of world-class canoe racing and home to a distinctive Indian regional cuisine.

This recent arrival ranks as one of Louisville's most unusual Indian restaurants. Tucked away in a storefront in Eastland Shopping Center, where Buechel meets Fern Creek on Bardstown Road, it has become a favorite among the region's Indian community. Now hungry Westerners are discovering it, too.

Dakshin Indian Restaurant
Eastland Shopping Center
4742 Bardstown Road
491-7412
Robin Garr's rating: 86 points

Read the complete report in LEO and on LouisvilleHotBytes.

Glad to see a nice report on a hidden gem that's close to my house. I'm sure this will help their business with the non Indian crowd also.

[Robin Garr]

Glad to see a nice report on a hidden gem that's close to my house. I'm sure this will help their business with the non Indian crowd also.

Brian, if I lived in that neighborhood, I'd eat at DakShin and Las Gorditas all the time! It's funny, it's only 9 miles from my house by actual measurement, but because Seneca Park lies right in the middle and you can't go straight, all the routes are indirect and seem much longer.

I only live about 2miles away down Watterson Trail. I've eaten at Dakshin 3 times I believe, only once to the Mexican trailer. What do you get at the Mexican trailer that you love? I might have gotten the wrong thing. I think I got tacos and they were good but i wasn't going crazy like I've seen so many that love the place. I also got the corn elotes dish. It was good but I think it was $3.00. I'm not cheap but it just seem way over priced for a cup of seasoned corn and a dallop of mayo. It also seems that the more traditional preparation may be on the cobb. I just found some info online. That would be cool and fit their theme as a street type vendor.

So what should I order next time?

http://www.mexicanmercados.com/food/cornfood.htm

[Robin Garr]

So what should I order next time?

The elotes didn't particularly ring my chimes, although I'll say that given a restaurant - even one on wheels - has a lot of fixed expenses, I'm not going to complain about any filling dish that costs only $3. Yeah, the ingredients cost less if you buy them and make it yourself, but hey, think like that and you'll never eat out.

I've loved the tacos there, and consider them comparable to other taqueria tacos around town. And of course the namesake gorditas are their signature dish, and it's hard to get away without having a couple of those guys.

I am so so pleased that you wrote such a nice review for such a deserving place...now my favorite will become everyones favorite!! That delights me and scares me...will I now have to wait for a table??

At the Gordita Trailer, try the beef deshebrada in any of the tacos/gorditas/burritos, it is outstanding. Yes, you can make elotes at home, I've done it myself, but $3 for a styrofoam cup of mayonnaiseysourcreamyparmesanycorny goodness seems like a deal to me when you can't get a freaking cup of coffee for a similar price.

I'm at the other end of Hurstbourne Pkwy and it's quite a marathon with all the lights between here and there, not to mention traffic, but this is one grueling drive I keep making over and over and over...

We make the drive from US 42 to the Watterson to Breckenridge Lane to Bardstown Road. We are at the Gordita trailer or Dakshin every weekend or so...one or the other. The carnitas tacos are wonderful as are the chorizo. My family of 3 can eat for $20 with "real" Cokes no less. I love hanging out and chatting with the others gathered there....like a mini party.

I found the timing of this review ironic, as my husband and I ate at DakShin for our anniversary lunch the day before this was posted/printed. We both absolutely loved it. The flavors of everything just popped again and again, and the service was wonderful. We ate everything on the buffet, and also had the Dosa, which was outstanding. I can't tell you most of the names of what we ate, but I can tell you that we will be back, and often!!! It inspired me to learn more about Indian cooking and dishes. Side note - we still need to try the Gordita Trailer, but that's been more of an issue of timing. Definitely sounds like a place we need to check out, though!

Not having seen Robin's review, my co-workers and I went to DakShin for their lunch buffet yesterday. For $6.99, it's a steal! Admittedly, I know nothing about Indian food, but I tried just about everything on the buffet, and fell in love. In fact, although it's a 20-30 minute trip for us (getting in and out of our building is a pain), I have a feeling it's going to become one of the places we frequent. Fortunately, it's maybe 3-5 minutes from my house, so a regular dinner is a possibility (hint, hint, hopefully The Wife is reading). One of the guys from India who works with me says that he hits the place frequently, saying it's the best Indian food around. Oh, and Robin's not kidding about the dry chili chicken (which is available on the buffet) ... good lord, it's hot, and I love spicy food!

I can't believe that it took so long for me to try it. How sad I am...

Oh, and if you didn't already know, the international grocery a door down is owned by the same people, and how I found out about the place the first time. Extremely nice people.