This week’s brunch adventures took us to Pondicheri. I’ve been there before for dinner (luuuvvved it) and was super stoked to try out their brunch because Houston Press had a few good things to say about it. Pondicheri is a super vegetarian friendly (they do full on Meatless Mondays!!) Indian food place. Intrigued no? What could an Indian restaurant possibly know about brunch? Let me tell you. 

Not going to lie. The brunch menu is a bit overwhelming. Lots of words. And since everything on there is some sort of Indian-fusion-inspired-concoction it takes some time to get through. I consider myself pretty decently versed with foodie lingo, but it still took me a while to figure out the crazy combos that Pondicheri was throwing out. The menu has your basic french toast and omelette options but then it also has some crazy things like “Morning Thali” and “Uttapam” and “Masala Pav.” Thankfully I’m not a picky eater so I was fine with just kinda randomly picking out an egg dish prepared with Indian spices. But if you’re not one for adventure and spontaneous selection, stick with the French Toast or Google Bing the menu beforehand and figure out if masala fried eggs is something you’re into.

Brunch is pretty casual at Pondicheri. You order at the counter, get a number and then seat yourself. At 11 am on a Sunday, there was a line, but it moved quickly. The food came out even quicker. We seated ourselves and I went to the bathroom and by the time I came back the food was there. Major points.

Also they have some great outdoor seating. If you’re lucky to nab a table outside, its perfect people watching for all the beautiful and fabulous who are out shopping at Tootsies and Johnathan Alder and other designer stores in the Upper Kirby block.

Using my super scientific system of randomly pointing at the first thing I see on the menu, I ordered the Beet Uttapam. I also ordered a glass of fresh squeezed orange juice. I don’t even like orange juice, but you really just can’t beat something fresh squeezed. One downside was I could not find the drink menu. Like I know they have a bar, but like what is brunch without mimosas. Lucky for Pondicheri, I am doing the half marathon thing so I didn’t miss the champagne in my orange juice. But kind of a major downer nonetheless.

Anyways, back to the food. The Beet Uttapam was a beat infused fermented rice and lentil pancake topped with a fried egg and ginger and coconut shavings. Yeah. Wut. It was accompanied by cilantro chutney, a coconut arugula salad, and this cold lentil soup. I was a little confused on how to eat it. Like was I supposed to dip the pancake in the sauce or the soup? Idk. It was the perfect amount of food though. (I hate when you order an egg dish and it seems like they used a whole carton of eggs for your plate.) This dish was light and healthy and so beautifully presented. I would totally get it again.

Looking over the menu again, it seems like some of the options are ayruvedically balanced. If you don’t know what Ayurveda is, buy the book Aryurveda for Dummies. They sell it upstairs in the Pondicheri Bake Lab + Shop, which by the way is just the cutest little store. The Bake Lab sells baked goods (duh), juices (yum) and all sorts of Indian spices (cool).

Pretty much obsessed with all parts of the Pondicheri franchise. I don’t normally go back to restaurants, as I like to try as many new things as I can, but I definitely foresee myself going back to Pondicheri. Quite often really. It’s just so fetch.