Jan 14, 2008

Namdhari's Fresh

# 821, 20th Main, 8th Block, Opp Indoor Stadium, Koramangala, Bangalore

Rated: Awful

Six word review...

Cockroach in my salad. Enough said.

Dec 23, 2007

Casa Piccola

26 CMH Road, Indiranagar, Bangalore

Rated: Good

'Paisa vasool' enjoyment...and great food too!

It was one of those bright, but nippy Sunday afternoons that are so typical to the Bangalore winter, when staying cooped up inside four walls just doesn’t seem fair and you look forward to getting outdoors into the lovely, confused weather and doing something...anything. Even if that something turns out to be walking into another set of four walls a few minutes later and proceeding to feed your face. Well, feeding our respective faces was muchly on the agenda of a couple of friends and myself and so we found our way to the Casa Piccola outlet on CMH Road, Indiranagar. I’d been to their flagship Residency Road branch ages ago and remember the food being the kind of hearty fare that’s perfect for the kind of weather that was in circulation.

I guess a lot of other people had the same kind of idea as we did as we walked in and managed to get one of the last few available tables in the restaurant. The dining area is large and airy, with wide windows on one of the walls, which on that particular day, allowed for the afternoon’s sunshine to pour in from all sides. From what I remember, there are close to 20 tables that allow seating for between two and four, with a couple of the two-seater tables set under green and white awnings that lends the place that European café vibe. They also have a dessert and drinks counter on display. Observations and other such pleasantries aside, we checked out the menu. The menu is all continental / European but with enough range and choice to make you take a while to decide. After much hemming and hawing, we decided on the Chicken Tetrazinni (with penne and extra spicy, please), the Fish & Chips, the Chicken Fritters and the Prawns Barbados – yes, we were three rather hungry people. To make up to it for a previous night of high-spirited revelry (or debauchery, depending on your perspective), I also decided to give my body a shot of good health and ordered the Double Berry Blast, a low-fat, low-sugar yogurt-smoothie flavoured with, well, two kinds of berries. The food took its time coming but we spent it ‘oohing’ and ‘aahing’ over what turned out to be a very good Berry Blast. Fruity, cool, smooth and highly recommended.

The food arrived soon after and the first thing you notice is the size of the portions. Enormous. Or, in the words of the Indian consumer’s indefatigable mantra, total ‘paisa vasool’. Undaunted, we dug in.

Chicken Tetrazzini: One of the largest single-servings of pasta I have seen anywhere. And absolutely slathered with grated cheese on top. But who’s complaining? It was capital stuff - the pasta was cooked just right and so was the chicken. The sauce was spicy as promised but allowed for the flavours of all the herbs to jump out when they were supposed to. Served with a large slab of garlic bread, it gets a 3.5 out of 5 on my scale.

Fish & Chips: Standard fare – crumb-fried fillets of fish fried and served with tartar sauce, fries and salad. You can’t do much wrong with F&C and they didn’t either. Again, a commendable serving in terms of size. A 3 on 5.

Chicken Fritters: My pick from the menu, and the biggest disappointment of the meal. It promised me a spicy chicken and cheese filling inside crisp pancakes, but what I got were two large and rather limp spring-roll like things with a chicken filling that wasn't spicy by any stretch of the imagination. No repeat-value whatsoever in this one, and it gets a 1.5 on 5.

Prawns Barbados: The black sheep and hands-down surprise package of the lot. Spectacular stuff. Juicy prawns in a tangy, spicy-sweet gravy are served with herbed rice and salad. And they do not skimp on the prawns, oh no, they don't. It gets a fully deserved 4 on 5, missing out only because they could have made the flavour of the sauce a little less ‘ketchupy’. Nevertheless, a definite do-try. The leftover gravy from the prawns was dribbled over the leftover lettuce from the salad and sent down with much relish - such is the charm of the stuff.

The iced tea left me cold. We decided to skip dessert over promises of home-made chocolate mousse as soon as we got home.

The service is polite, though a tad slow.

We were stuffed to the gills. We even doggy-bagged. And we paid just under 800 bucks for a meal an uncle of mine would have thought was enough for a whole starving village, including leftovers for the strays.

High on the last couple of hours, we headed back into the afternoon sun. It had become one of those bright, but lazy Sunday afternoons that are so typical to the Bangalore winter, when being outdoors just doesn’t seem fair and you look forward to getting indoors into a warm, cosy blanket and doing something…anything. Even if that something turns out be sleeping late into the evening.

Nov 27, 2007

Gramin

20-21, 7th Block, Raheja Arcade, Opposite Vodafone Showroom, Koramangala, Bangalore

Rated: Good

"Look Ma, Bhindi Masala!"

I'm the last person around to sing paeans to an institution that thrives on its reputation as the place for the best vegetarian food in town. But credit needs to be given where it's due and Grameen (why am I always tempted to finish every utterance of that with a 'Swasthya Seva Mission'?) honestly does a good job of dishing out some genuinely tasty veggie fare.

If you're a first-time visitor and want to check out how well they do across the ‘roti-dal-subzi-chawal’ quadrant, then it'd do you well to try their ‘thali’ which is made up of a couple of tandoori rotis, a dal, 2 vegetable preparations, raita, papad and a sweet (anyone wanting to start a signature campaign that would urge Indian restaurants to think beyond the done-to-death gulab jamun, let me know). Which reminds me, I'd really like to see one of these places surprise me with their ‘thali’ one of these days. If not in terms of taste, then in terms of variety atleast, all these darned vegetarian thalis that I've been trying at different places (Aangan, Dal Roti to name a couple) have started to blur into one another. But I guess the familiarity of the standard North Indian vegetarian thali is, after all, its biggest selling point.

If you like the way the thali tastes and find yourself drawn to the place a second time, then dive into the a la carte menu this time around and get a little adventurous. My mum would be doing cartwheels in the living room if she ever heard that I, her most carnivorous of offspring, actually ordered a 'bhindi' dish at a restaurant, but that it in itself is a tribute to the men (Ladies, I looked...the cooks are all male) in the aprons here. They make the 'bhindi masala' taste wickedly good - bite-sized pieces of ladies finger are tossed around in a thick brown gravy of roasted spices with just the right bit of tang and salt.

[Did I just spend more than two lines in praise of a dish that didn't have any meat in it? Sigh, the state things have come to. Someone please point me in the direction of Bangalore's first all-you-can-eat steakhouse!]

Moving on, on multiple visits here, I've sampled stuff from the offbeat to the tried-and-tested, from the Sukki Sabzi to the Dal Fry, from the stuffed kulcha to the tandoori roti. And have had very little to complain about. Their (soft) drinks menu is exhaustive as well. I second, third and fourth every other endorsement here of their 'shikanji' and have also been told that their 'gulkand' milkshake is a must-try. I'm pretty sure there will be a next time, so I guess I know what I'm having for dessert when I'm there again.

Never really had to wait or fight to be seated or served, but I guess since these last few reviews here were written, they have extended the restaurant to include a mezzanine kind of place inside. Service is quick and unobtrusive. The decor is simple and earthy - with the rough edges intentionally left in to give you that genuinely 'grameen' feel. The place is not air conditioned but is situated just off a breezy corridor in a high-roofed commercial complex, so cross ventilation is aplenty and keeps you cool.

Definitely give this joint a shot if you're a vegetarian by choice. And even if you aren't, stop by this place on your occasional ‘no-meat’ day and you should walk away pleasantly surprised.

Sep 17, 2007

Windsor Pub

Kodava Samaja Building, 71st Main Road, Vasanthnagar, Bangalore

Rated: Excellent

I've found my shrine...

What’s the first image that springs to your mind when you hear the words ‘Kodava Samaja’? Let me hazard a few guesses – in your head, it’s a place where over-the-hill members of the Coorgi community catch up on weekends (with the younger ones reluctantly in tow) to let their hair down and network with other natives at 'cultural events' over plates of piping hot ‘Coorg plate-idli’ and tumblers of steaming coffee straight from the hills. Or maybe for you, the Kodava Samaja in your city has so far been the preferred choice of venue for your all of your 3 Coorgi friends’ weddings – where, like at every other wedding, said older members engage in a bit of clandestine matchmaking for their own sons, daughters, nieces and grandnephews-in-law.

Push, if you will for a minute, these images to the back of your head and imagine instead, a Kodava Samaja playing host to a bunch of people who drink beer, listen to jazz music, admire popular art and eat what I believe is some of the best non-vegetarian food I have ever had the fortune of sinking my chompers into. Well boys and girls, such a place does exist – and you need look no further than Windsor Pub, situated on the ground floor of the Kodava Samaja building in Vasanthnagar, Bangalore.

A sucker for ‘old establishments’ (Pecos in Bangalore and Toto’s in Mumbai being my other favourites), I loved the feel of the place the minute I walked in – the place is dark and inviting with muted lighting. Smooth jazz music (the kind I don’t usually get but what sounded pretty good that afternoon), greets you as soon as you walk in and is more or less complemented by the Miles Davis & Dave Brubeck posters on the walls. What’s also on the walls are some cool paintings that have been done by the owner himself – chat him up and he’s pretty willing to explain the meaning behind each of his works and even sell you reprints, if you want. And oh, the dude has the meanest biker handlebar moustache I’ve seen in a while. :)

Seating is comfortable and ‘loungey’ with the place built to accommodate about 50 sitting people at tables of 4 – there are a couple of bar stools at the bar counter and one of those ubiquitous LCD TV screens, with which you can distract your mind from the chatter and the music, if you so wish. The waiters are prompt and come to your table with menus almost as soon as you settle down – though most of them know that the first order will be for a pitcher of the cold stuff – which doesn’t disappoint. That first sip of Kingfisher, straight from their taps and out of a frosted beer mug, feels really good on its way down.

Rubbing my hands together with visible excitement, I dived into the menu and felt my heart soar with every line that I read – what’s on offer is food cooked the traditional Coorgi / Mangalorean / Malayali way and the place is a haven for carnivores like yours truly. I’ve been told the Coorgis are unrivalled in their manner of cooking pork and the ‘Pandhi Curry’ (which literally translates into ‘pig curry’) may sound a trifle uninviting but is a universal recommendation to all who enter here. I wasn’t feeling too ‘porky’ that day and so we decided to start off with ‘Masala Fried Prawns’ – a zingy preparation of prawns tossed in a wickedly good spice paste and shallow-fried with curry leaves. Hats off to the chef for getting the texture of the prawns just right – the flavour of the masala was also brilliant. Already half-full with beer, I couldn’t wait to get to the main course – which turned out to be ‘Ceylon Egg Kheema Parathas’ and WP’s house speciality – shredded beef. We couldn’t have chosen better – the parathas were delicious, wholesome affairs – stuffed thick with an egg and mince mixture, shallow-fried just right and served with a ‘korma’ and salad. The beef dish was excellent too – quite literally, fine shreds of beef fried with plenty of garlic and onions to a crisp texture – and I couldn’t help but reach for fingerfuls of it every now and then. I’d immediately recommend all three of the above that I tried that day. The menu has a great choice of what WP calls ‘Pub Lunches and Dinners’ – with continental and Indian choices for both vegetarians and non-vegetarians. There’s also plenty more to choose from in the starters and sides menu – it’d do you well to give about 5 minutes to the menu before you order. The seafood here is another hot favourite – the lady at the next table was completely engrossed in her shell-fried crabs all the time that she was there and like me, looked completely and utterly satisfied by the time she was done.

The place is obviously popular and usually has a waiting period for lunch and from about 8ish in the evening. Smoking is allowed, though I’ve heard that all that cigarette smoke can get a bit stifling after a while, owing to the size and lack of open ventilation in the place. The place is easy on the pocket - a pitcher of draught is about Rs.195 and a starter and main course for 2 (likely to climb if you binge on the seafood) will cost about Rs.500.

As for me, I think I’ve found my temple and frequent visits here on weekends look very likely. And before I forget – to all you Kodavas out there, you people truly rule. May your tribe surge forth and multiply! :)

Sep 06, 2007

Aangan

# 4, 80 Feet Road, 7th Block, Koramangala, Bangalore

Rated: Average

Can't love it, can't hate it...

The rather misleading placemats at 'Aangan' have this portly chef in pink cradling what looks like a delectable pot roast, even in caricature. Much inclined as you might be towards digging into something like that, what you will find here is standard Punjabi fare that doesn't really disappoint.

They have a couple of good VFM thalis on offer - for both meat-eaters and the other kind. The non-veg thali has options in chicken, mutton and keema. The chicken thali has a chicken starter, chicken curry, a flavoured rice, a couple of tandoori rotis, dal, a veggie, regular rice, papad and a sweet ('gulab jamun' on two of the occassions that I've been there). The veg meal substitutes the starter and the chicken curry with another couple of vegetables, one of which is usually paneer-based. Can't complain about the quantity - unless you haven't eaten in a couple of days, it's quite satisfying. And ditto on the taste - no great shakes, but you really can't crib.

The meat thalis are a little over 100 bucks each, depending on your choice of meat and the veg thali is at 90. Their a la carte menu, I thought, was a bit on the pricey side. The other time I was there, we ordered from the a la carte menu - 1 rajma, 1 aloo methi thingy and 10 phulkas put us down by about 350 bucks.

Service is nonchalant - a lot of the staff looks positively bored. I don't know about you, but there's something about smiling faces around me that perks up my appetite. And be patient once you order - they don't really seem to be falling over each other in there to get you your food in a hurry.

The place is big but fills up surprisingly quickly between 1 and 2 pm. So if you're in this part of town and have a hankering for this kind of food, give this place a try. Then again, the area also has a 'Dal Roti' outlet that I think is way better. But that's another story...

neverclever

Navneet Potti

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