FIRST IMPRESSIONS: Max Jacobson, who is one...

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: Max Jacobson, who is one of my favorite gourmets, called to tell me that he had just had dinner at the brand-new Dasaprakash (819 N. La Cienega Blvd., (213) 659-2036), and that he liked it so much that he’d happily eat there every night. The restaurant is strictly vegetarian; he is not, and this made the recommendation even more intriguing.

This quietly elegant restaurant is among the few in Los Angeles serving the food of south India. This vegetarian cooking is lighter than the meat-based northern Indian food, and the use of spices is more varied and more pronounced. (Everything here is not hot, but if you are a fire-eater, this food is sure to please you.) The various dosai, (crepes made out of wheat or lentils or rice) are all delicious, but be sure to try the masala dosai, which are filled with spicy potato, onions and nuts. Iddly (steamed rice cakes) are especially good when eaten with the wonderfully varied chutneys, and the spicy tomato and green pea uppuma should not be missed.

South Indians eat a little of this and a little of that; the result is a sort of vegetarian grazing--you have the sense you are dining on appetizers. Nothing on the menu is more than $5, and at the moment you would be wise to bring along a few bottles of beer.