Local Restaurants
In India highways are dotted with local restaurants popularly known as dhabas (singular: dhaba; {Hindi: ढाबा). They generally serve local cuisine, and also serve as truck stops.Food at a local Dhaba in Punjab.In India they are most commonly found next to petrol stations, and most are open 24 hours a day. Since most Indian truck drivers are of Punjabi descent, and Punjabi food and music is quite popular throughout India, the word dhaba has come to represent any restaurant that serves Punjabi food, especially the heavily spiced and fried Punjabi fare preferred by many truck drivers.
The word has come to represent sub-continental cuisine so much that many Indian restaurants in Europe and America have adopted it as a part of the name.