WSP’s Dosa Man Has Good Food And A Great Twitter Account

If you’ve walked around Washington Square Park in the past decade or so, you might have spotted Thiru Kumar’s popular South Indian food cart. Unfortunately, you just as likely might have missed it. Unlike many of WSP’s various denizens like the infamous “Free Hugs” guy, Kumar keeps a low profile in his tiny cart.

If you missed him up till now, it’s your loss. Also known the Dosa Man, Kumar opened his vegan “NY Dosas” cart in 2001, and has amassed a solid fanbase for his cheap and tasty eats. According to an extensive profile in Mashable, he’s amassed an international following, and garnered write ups in a variety of publications. (Take the time to read the Mashable story, it’s great.)

Kumar really has it all: good food, a great life story, and an excellent Twitter account.

Kumar joined Twitter back in January 2010, but didn’t seem to post a tweet until January 2014. Since then he’s tweeted out whether his cart is open or closed nearly every day. This doesn’t sound much different than how other food carts like the popular Cinnamon Snail announce its location, but Kumar tweets almost nothing else besides the short “open today” or “not in the park today, see you tomorrow.”

Besides the occasional Retweet of a fan or article about him, Kumar seems to essentially tweet out a virtual open/closed sign and then put his damn phone down for the day.

Looking through his Twitter is a bit strange in the age of hyperactive branding: scroll through it for a bit and you’ll suddenly find yourself amongst year-old tweets. Is he a rebel, using Twitter in its purist, most economical form?

Speculation aside, Kumar should be regarded as a forefather of NYC’s current South Asian food boom. He’s been doing it since we were all in diapers!

You can find him in WSP from around 11 AM to 4 PM (or whenever he runs out of food), or order his food takeout at 917 710 2092.

[Photo via Wikipedia]