Sampan Fast Food

Our little spot is at the Chaturshringi Corner in Ganeshkhind. It’s right near where the road turns toward the temple. Sampan Fast Food is basically a small kitchen with a counter. We serve things like vada pav, bhajji, and sometimes noodles. It’s all made right in front of you. The oil sizzles all day long. We don't have much space for sitting, so most people just stand around the counter or lean against their scooters to eat. It gets very crowded during the festival days when everyone is going to the temple. We get quite tired then, but we keep going. The plates are mostly steel or paper, nothing fancy. We don't have a big staff, just me and two other guys. One handles the frying, one does the chopping, and I handle the money. The counter is stainless steel and we try to keep it wiped down, but with so many people, it’s hard. We use a lot of green chilies. The smell of frying onions is always around. We don't do any advertising. The sound of the spatula hitting the pan is enough to bring people in. Sometimes we run out of buns by three in the afternoon and have to wait for the delivery guy to show up. It’s a simple life. We close up when the food runs out. Ganeshkhind is a busy place, and we are just happy to be a small part of it.