Swami’s (Sammy’s, or maybe Sami?) Dosa Cart Shows Up on 50th Street

Nestled among all the bigger food trucks and carts that garner long lines every day on 50th Street between 6th and 7th Avenue, we discovered a mysterious dosa cart.  You may remember Sami Dosa Cart, which parked in this area a few years ago and was a favorite among Midtown Lunchers. It’s easy to mistake this cart for that one since the font is practically the same and on one side of the cart it even says “Sammy’s Dosa.” But the other side of the cart calls it “Indian Swami Chennai.” Could they be one in the same?

I never made it to the original Sami’s and I asked the guy working the cart if it was the same, but the language barrier proved to be an issue. He did tell me that he has another cart down on 39th Street, which is where Sami’s used to park, but then had been replaced with a spearate business called Swami’s. However, I matched the phone number on the side of this new cart with the number Brownie posted back in 2012 and it seems to be the same contact info. So perhaps Sami has indeed returned under a different name.

The menu is mostly comprised of dosas and samosas. There were no utthappams, kati rolls, or falafel listed. My eye caught a sign for a $9 combo, a few dollars more than the $6-$7 dosas, but it promised biryani rice and chana masala, so I bit. Maybe I was too ambitious and should have stuck with just a regular dosa.

Like I said, I never tried Sami’s original food, so can’t speak to how it compares but I was rather disappointed with the plate. The dosa only had a few crispy bites and was mostly soggy throughout and it got all mixed up with the rich, tomato-heavy chana masala. The potatoes themselves had a nice spice and I enjoyed the coconut chutney, but I can’t say this plate was worth $9.

Perhaps I ordered wrong or caught him at an off time. Or perhaps it’s not Sami’s at all, but a different business that somehow managed to get his cellphone number. Either way, there are dosas on 50th Street once again. Anybody else tried the food or have some intel as to which cart this is?

 Sammy’s Dosa Cart, 50th btw. 6+7th

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