Chef and entrepreneur Kunal Ghose is preparing to open a new downtown restaurant catering to the users of the Pandora Avenue bike lanes.
Ghose, who has established two downtown locations of his Fishhook restaurant — at Fort Commons and Mermaid Wharf — will open Dobosala Cantina and Ride-Thru this spring.
“Obviously, there is a lot of controversy about the bike lanes, and I figure why not embrace the change,” said the chef.
“I have been riding bikes my whole life, so I thought why not connect the two in some way.”
He’s done it physically.
Dobosala, which will be situated at the back corner of the second building of Jawl Projects’ 1515 Douglas St. building, will have a window open to the bike lane for ride-through customers and pedestrians looking for a snack.
Ghose said he expects bicyclists will get off their bikes and off the bike lane and walk to the window, place an order and wait a few minutes while it’s prepared.
Then, they can eat along the street or take it and go. “It’s a fast-food concept, but using as much local and fresh ingredients as I can,” he said.
The ride-through menu will not be as extensive as the one inside at the cantina, but it will still bear the same influence — what Ghose calls Indo-Pacific — which mashes an Indian influence with foods from around the Pacific.
“The ride-through menu will have seven or eight different tacones [hand-rolled taco], from vegan, seafood to all the meats,” he said. There will also be salads and soups.
“The ride-through is all about prep work,” he said, noting meat will be braised the day before and vegetables will be pre-prepared. Menu items will be brought together quickly, with a goal of having orders out the window within three minutes. “We want to keep speed up in that window, so only certain things can go out there. As we figure out what we are able to pump out we will expand it.”
Inside there will be a 47-seat cantina, with a bar, serving an extensive menu of Indo-Pacific tapas. The restaurant is expected to open in March.
