The excellent lamb masala dosa and salty lassi at Chilis.
  • The Stranger
  • The excellent lamb masala dosa and salty lassi at Chili's.

Yesterday someone passed along a tip that Chili’s, the South Indian restaurant serving fantastic dosas in the University District, might be closing because the building they are located in, on the corner of 50th and University Way, is being torn down. I was upset to hear this, as I am a huge fan of their masala lamb dosa—and an even bigger fan of their coconut chutney, which somehow manages to be as scorching as it is cool and refreshing. There's a shortage of South Indian cuisine in the city, but for more than five years, Chili's has been quietly and consistently serving vadas and dosas, eventually dropping the mini-mart that was part of their initial business to focus on food.

Of their current location, Chili’s website says: “We will be at this location for another six months until July 2015. New location will be informed for our loyal customers in June 2015.” This morning, I spoke to Chili’s owner, Sam, who says the restaurant’s future is up in the air. When I asked if the building was in fact being torn down, he told me to ask the landlord because “We don’t know anything. This has been going on for two years.”

The building’s owner, Cohanim Montclaire LLC, filed a land use permit for the property on August 1, 2013 to build the Miranda, “a seven-story structure with 115 residential units above 10,765 square feet of ground level commercial space.” It's unclear when they plan to begin the project and what they have planned for the space underneath, and my call to them hasn't been returned.

Because of the building’s uncertain future, Chili’s next door neighbor, Pam’s Kitchen (which serves an excellent Trinidadian goat curry wrapped in fried flatbread roti) closed last month. Lucky for us, they’ve opened a new lunchtime location in Eastlake. And the Wallyhood blog reports this week that Pam's will be opening a new location on 45th Street. Here’s hoping Chili’s can also stay in business, either at their spot on the Ave or in a new location. Otherwise, Seattleites will have drive to Bellevue for good dosas.