If you have been living in Maharashtra at least for a week then there has to be one breakfast or snack time fulfilled with delicious Misal Pav!!! Just a little desi, vegetarian and hell of a hot version of it. Not for the faint-hearted. Wikipedia has a page dedicated to Misal. And they describe it as a popular breakfast dish from western Maharashtra. This is the unarguable truth. Misal is a maharashtrian delicacy which is cherished…by everyone. The idea is to bring to you the tastiest of them.

When it comes to rural, rustic ambiance and craving for yummy misal the first name pops out of brain is Hotel Sudarshan which is actually at Makhmalabaad gaon near to Nashik city and bit far too. As the hotel is not in the city, the place was not that much publicized. But foodies are always in search of some toothsome food, they got to know about the place and now hotel sudarshan has become one of the popular food joint for misal in town. It is a food joint and not hotel because of the food they serve is only misal and tea. Though the place is on main road of Makhmalabaad gaon it takes you at least 15 minutes to search if you are going for first time make it a point you the joint before 10 am because it gives you awesome feeling and then one realize why the rush out there waits for hours together though the cream crowd is awaits in line to taste the misal Mania at Pingle Bhau’s joint that is Sudarshan hotel. Having misal here is like a treat from goddess Annapurna that to with the whole family in Bhartiya baithak (sitting) arrangement.

Hotel Sudarshan was started by Mr. Rambhau Pingle around the year 2005 as a small “chai ki tapri” where he was selling tea only and after some period he started selling misal too. Because of warm nature of Mr. Rambhau, many people know the place as “Rambhauchi misal” and not with its name “Hotel Sudarshan”. The joint take care of the hygiene part and the cleanliness and quality of misal he serves is scrumptious. The hotel was started in Mr. Rambhau’s house only. It looks like an old school type construction. In the front when you enter you find tables and benches to seat but inside in another room he still prefers to serve misal with traditional Indian style and that is sitting on floor and eating with your hands and not using fork or spoon.

At Sudarshan they serve fresh curd and crispy fried papad with your plate of misal-pav which enhance the joy of eating spicy misal. As Mr. Rambhau cooks the misal in “lal masala” which gives you that spicy acrid feel while eating it and which you can’t get while eating misal cooked with “kala masala”. The joint opens around 8AM and closes around 12.00AM. And trust me this place is always buzzing with people eager to try their signature misal. The joint is small in occupancy and hardly occupies less than 100 people at once & hence you will find a long queue during morning hours. But even if there is a long queue, the wait is always worth it. This place remains closed on weekdays and the Misal mania can be experienced only on Saturday & Sunday.

Hardcore Misal eaters dwell upon the hot, hotter and hottest taste of a Misal…at Rambhau’s Sudarshan you get served with a choice of having the hottest as well as a balanced one. The spices flavoring the Misal are grounded fresh every day and the sprouts and its gravy is fresh as ever. A good taste that will not only touch your heart but also your palate. You need to be there early as the delicacy gets served only in the mornings and you would typically find a bunch of crowd waiting for their turn to get accommodated in Ramu’s heaven! The formula of Sudarshan misal is the saying little twisted “the path to a customer’s heart is through his stomach”. And as per the saying this misal have won hearts & stomach!!!