Bangaloreans love to eat and every locality stands testimony to that. Walk through any of the major streets and you’ll find it brimming with restaurants, pubs and cafes, so much so that the city is now emerging as the grub capital of the south. However, the street that undoubtedly offers the greatest variety fare of these all is the legendary “Thindhi Street” at VV Puram, popularly known as Food Street or “Khao Peeo Gali”, and is a vegetarian’s paradise.

A leisurely stroll through the amazing lane is a veritable treat for food lovers. Flanked by shops and food carts on both sides, this delectable maze draws a swarm of epicureans from all over the city, who take great pleasure in their bite but are not particularly squeamish about its hygiene quotient. After all, street food is enjoyed best where it’s meant to be: amidst the bustle and grime of the wayside.

These hole-in-the-wall outlets at Food Street sell everything, from pint-sized munchies to plates full of wholesome fare. You could start off with spicy Masala buns or peanuts doused with chilli sauce. Or else, there is a bouquet of cheeky flavours to be indulged in—spicy bhel puri, sev puri, and masala puri or the tangy pani puri. If eating healthy is your new tune, play it well with a cup of steamed baby corn enveloped in mint paste, a plate of fruit salad or a glass of fresh fruit juice.

For a slightly filling experience, dig into steaming hot idlis or dosas, served with an array of relishes like fresh coconut and onion chutney, peanut chutney and mint chutney. Alternatively, you could seek out the awesome potato, chilli, capsicum and banana bondas with a local version of coleslaw on the side.

For some South Indian Chinese fare, straight off the carts, dig into a plate of noodles with gobi Manchurian, or some paneer fried rice with babycorn Manchurian. The staple roti sabzi is also available if you are not in a particularly indulgent mood.

For the sweet-toothed again the list is endless—hot gulab jamuns , juicy rosogollas, hot obattus with oodles of ghee, melt-in-the mouth jelebis, soft milky khoya, thick creamy basundi and good-old ice-creams.

As with all street foods, the fare at Food Street too is easy on the wallet and essentially favours you when you throw all caution to the winds and decide to pamper yourself with the not-so-innocent pleasures of the palate. Moreover, you could catch in a late night snack as the place remains open till two in the morning!

Brace yourself for a stroll through this amazing street … you’ll be pleasantly surprised at what you discover!