South Asian food and culture abound in the Bay Area. From Morgan Hill to Oakland, restaurants, markets, dance studios and cricket pitches catering to Desi people are flourishing, and anyone interested in experiencing that culture need only peek inside a nearby Indian grocery store — Patel Brothers, New India Bazar, Apni Mandi — for a taste.
But if you’re looking for something beyond grocery classics, like Amul butter and Haldiram’s salty snacks, we’ve got you covered. Here are five ways to eat, drink and play that will scratch the rich surface of the Bay Area’s South Asian experience.
Bowls, bats and wickets
There are two types of people in this world: people who understand how cricket works and people who don’t. Cricket Champs is your opportunity to join the former category.
Pleasanton’s indoor cricket batting facility – the largest of its kind in the country – offers indoor cricket lanes ($70 per hour) and bowling machines ($45). And for the uninitiated, Cricket Champs also sells basic cricket gear, so you can stock up on the iconic red leather balls, heavy wooden bats, gloves and more.
Got a youngster with an interest in the sport? Cricket Champs’ afterschool cricket program offers 90 minutes of cricket coaching daily, along with supervised homework time.
Details: Open daily from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. at 7073 Commerce Circle in Pleasanton; cricketchamps.net
Desi scoops
Pints of Joy isn’t your typical ice cream shop. You’ll find expected flavors, like chocolate and cookies and cream, but you can also find flavors inspired by classic Desi desserts such as gajar halwa, gulab jamun, falooda and more.
The Sunnyvale store is the brainchild of two “mompreneurs,” Ketki Dandekar and Arshiya Shaikh, who started making ice cream as a hobby during the throes of the pandemic.
If you’re new to these flavors and want to sample them all, there’s an ice cream “flight” that features four small scoops. And if you’re looking to avoid dairy or eggs, they can help. All their ice cream is eggless, and they offer an array of vegan options of their regular flavors, including Alphonso mango, guava and blueberry lavender.
The dish: Bring a buddy and share a flight ($15) of four kid-size scoops of different flavors. Our favorites include Alphonso mango; meetha paan, a sweet digestive wrapped in betel leaves; gulab jamun and blueberry lavender.
The details: Open from 2 to 9 p.m. Monday and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. or later Tuesday-Sunday at 717 E. El Camino Real in Sunnyvale; pintsofjoy.com.
Mumbai-style street food
You’ll be hard pressed to find a restaurant as clear on its specialty as Fremont’s Pav Bhaji Hut – it’s in the name.
This street food, which originated in Mumbai, India, pairs soft white bread (pav) — ideally toasted in salty Amul butter — with a vegetarian, tomato and potato-based spiced curry (bhaji). It’s an irresistible combination, regardless of the time of year or day.
Pav Bhaji Hut serves up the classic with an almost impressive authenticity. Order the regular pav bhaji to try it in its simplest form or opt for cheese pav bhaji if you’re worried about the heat. For an extra-indulgent treat, they also offer an option that’s both spicy and cheesy.
The dish: Go for the classic pav bhaji ($15) – sprinkle it with the lime juice and diced raw onion that comes on the side. You can always go back for an extra side of pav ($5), if you need to soak up any leftover bhaji. Try one of their cold-pressed juices or a juice shot to cut the richness of the dish.
Details: Open from 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily at 37100A Fremont Blvd. in Fremont; pavbhajihut.com.
Celebrate Bollywood
Some Bay Area theaters offer a handful of screenings of blockbuster Bollywood movies, but Ciné Lounge Fremont 7 takes that much further.
The Fremont movie theater almost exclusively plays movies for South Asian viewers (with English subtitles), and they’re not limited to just Hindi-language films. Screenings range from rereleases of Bollywood classics to movies in languages such as Malaylam, Nepali, Telugu, Tamil and more – with the occasional English movie in the mix.
Ciné Lounge’s concessions booth sells popcorn, candy, soda and other typical fare … and mango lassis, samosas and masala fries, too.
Details: Ticket prices vary, but time your visit for a Tuesday, and you might score an adult ticket for as low as $5.50. Find Ciné Lounge at 39160 Paseo Padre Parkway in Fremont; fremont.cinelounge.com.
Chai stop
It’s not hard to find a good cup of chai in the Bay Area. But Berkeley’s Elaichi Co. is distinguishing itself from the crowd by putting an emphasis on quality ingredients and fostering a community gathering space.
The chai and coffee shop near UC Berkeley was inspired by co-owner Muhammad “Mojo” Joyo’s memories of time spent with family and friends at chai stands on visits home to Pakistan. Elaichi Co. is an effort to re-create that feeling, evident in the shop’s later-than-usual hours and curated array of chai offerings and snacks. They also offer standard coffee shop fare with South Asian flavors, including a salted jaggery latte and haldi doodh or turmeric latte.
The dish: Order a hot karak chai ($5) – a milky spiced tea – with a cake rusk ($1.50) for dipping.
Details: Open from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday-Thursday and until 11 p.m. Friday-Saturday at 2161 Allston Way in Berkeley; www.elaichico.com.
Holi and more
Of course, you can’t discuss Desi culture without talking about festivals, too. The Hindu festival of Holi celebrates spring, color and love in an explosion of revelry and music. The traditional throwing of colorful powders – or gulal – into the air turns participants into a rainbow of vivid fuchsia, scarlet and marigold. The Association of Indo Americans will host its big Holi Fest at San Jose’s Discovery Meadow on March 15, with more festivities planned in Fremont, Milpitas and other cities.
Diwali, the Festival of Lights, celebrates the power of light over darkness each fall. The Alameda County Fairgrounds in Pleasanton typically observes the five-day holiday with a festival in October that includes Indian food and craft stalls, Bollywood dances and fireworks.
More desi flavors
If you’re looking for more restaurants to explore, here are more hot spots.
Check out Zareen’s in Palo Alto, Mountain View or Redwood City for Indian and Pakistani options.
With locations in Pleasanton, San Mateo and at San Jose’s San Pedro Square, Urban Momo serves up fresh momos — Nepalese dumplings — seven days a week.
Curry Pizza House offers Indian-inspired pizzas with flavors like palak paneer and achari chicken, as well as classic pies like margarita and pepperoni at locations across the Bay, from Redwood City to Pleasanton, Cupertino and more.
And San Jose’s Sam and Curry offers a fresh take on the fast-casual dining trend with Chipotle-style bowls using classic Desi ingredients like saag and lentils.