Nandus Paratha House

Rest : Nandus Paratha House
Loc : Opp Old Custom House, Fort
Meal : Dinner

A few days ago an old friend and school mate Parin Lakhani who i had not seen in a while added me on facebook. He happened to have a group called Nandus Paratha House, intrigued i checked it out and it turns out that Nandus is a famous Pune based paratha joint and its Bombay outlet just happened to be owned and managed by him.

Ever since, then we have been making grand plans to make our way there but it didnt happen until tonight and we are the poorer for it. Located in the hard core commercial area of Fort, Nandus is small, with limited seating and the majority of their business is take out and delivery.

While its a paratha house the menu is fairly expansive, they not only serve parathas but a large selection of Punjabi dishes as well as a bunch of rice dishes and snacks. Some of the parathas are unqiue and not to be found anywhere else.. like pizza paratha, pasta paratha, schezwan paratha,there is even a chocolate paratha which is crepe like.

Each paratha is served with dahi and a delectable onion pickle. If you want more, you can go for a thali platter which is served with daal and rice etc. We had the chilli cheese garlic paratha which was brilliant, the aloo and gobi paratha which was good but the real coup was the pizza paratha. It pays to be adventurous and it pays even more to listen to the owner, fantastic is the word for this one. I enjoyed it immensely and it rightfully is one of the more popular ones.

The papad churi came by as an after thought but it was perfect, lemony and chilli peppered up, it tasted just as it ought to.

We also got a roomali roti with a spicy lasooni paneer, which was sourish and spicy, just what a garlic intensive dish should be. Spot on. Next time im trying some of the rice dishes. Their dal makhani is also brilliant and worth a go.

Overall, there is just too much choice, not one thing we had was below par, even the cold spicy chaas was out of this world. The parathas might be a little out there for some but they are worth a try. The pricing is pure value for money, parathas priced between 40-100 each with entrees around 40-60 each.

Im going to be going back very soon, id suggest you plan a jaunt down asap or give them a call, they deliver almost anywhere within reason.

Food : 9/10
Service : 9/10
Damage : 600 for 3.

Nandus Paratha House
19, Sonawala Bldg, Green Street, Fort, Mumbai
Opposite Old Custom House
Phone: 22702265

Full Disclosure: The owner is an old friend and didnt let us pay but promised he would treat us like normal folk the next time around, which i am sure will be soon. Its a meal i truly enjoyed and which is why its up here on its own merit.

Madras Cafe !

Rest : Madras Cafe
Loc : Matunga Circle, Central Bombay
Meal : Sunday Breakfast

The looney tunes gang met this past Sunday morning, after their second attempt at breakfast, the first having been cancelled due to lazy, late sleeping girls and errant maids.

Anyhow we made it to the legendary Madras Cafe, located in what was once the strong hold of south Indians in the city.

The area is peppered with plenty of udipi restaurants and the only way to survive is to be good.

By that line of reasoning the 6 restaurants within walking distance are all pretty good. One has to get in early because it gets crowded and stays that way.

The menu is hardcore south Indian, so you get a variety of idlis, dosas and dishes such as lemon rice and biselle bhat.

They also serve madras filter coffee, very cool stuff although it could have done with a little more sugar. I had 3 and it gave me a slightly elevated heart rate, so don't go too crazy.

Excellent, the vada itself was nothing great but the rasam was brilliant. Sour, hot and tangy, probably work better if you get it with Medu Vadas.

The Madras Dahi Misal was brilliant, dish of the day for me, i had to get two because it was passed around by my fellow diners. Spicy usal with the crunchy farsan and dahi to top it off, each element playing with the other. Brilliant.

The Raagi dosa is made with Raagi flour, personally i found it sourish with a coarse texture. Uninteresting but its fairly popular

The Mysore Sada was small and different from all the others i have had thus far. Not too bad though.

Some of the other things we had were butter idlis, tuppa dosa and a disgusting upma.

Bear in mind that the Dosas are flatter, thicker, smaller and pancake like, not the long, lean crunchy dosas most people are used to.

Overall, Madras cafe has been around forever and its because its a functional place, everyone goes there simply for the food and nothing else.

The ambiance is noisy, busy and rushed, its like walking into 1964, you sit where you can, we sat next to a family, that had to put up with our profane discussions. A little on the authentic side, it covers enough bases to give you a wide ranging experience with plenty to choose from.

Service is quick as a place like this thrives on quick turn arounds.

Food : 8/10
Service : 8/10
Damage : 1080 for 10

Cafe Madras
38 - II, Circle House, King's Circle, Matunga, Mumbai
Phone: 24014419

Delhi Trip – Sarvanan Bhavan

Sarvanan Bhavan is a truly epic experience in Delhi, if you by a chance of ill luck a little late in getting there, you will find yourself at the back of a line at times 40 strong.

The food they serve is traditional south Indian, snacks to complete meals. Brilliantly done, quickly served, the space is a piece of South India in the middle of New Delhi.

i hate puris but i really wanted to get something which is hard to find in Bombay and i opted for the thali.

They served dahi, dal, rasam, dry potato and a couple of other veggies along with some rice. Overall, the food was unique and well done.

Overall, the place is great, beyond the thalis they also serve crisp ghee dosas as well as a dozen mini idlis with ghee. A must visit for all those visiting Delhi. My second time here and i shall always try to visit everytime i am in town.

I always thought Bombay had it all when it comes to restaurants but there is nothing like a Sarvanan Bhavan here… one more reason to hate Delhi.

Follow up piece in the Wall Street Journal !

Hey, a follow up piece was published in the Wall Street Journal ! Linked below

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125627260506603407.html

A little piece on the film im producing !

hi,

a little piece on the animated film im producing, it can be found here

have been home sick and will update soon.

enjoy!!!

Maroosh

Found myself in Bandra for a meeting along with my comrade Mr.Merchant. Since he has been a creature of the suburbs more than i have, we decided to go on his recommendation and headed to to Candies. Unfortunately Candies was packed like Sardines and the next best thing was Carter Road and so it ended up being Maroosh.

Mr.Merchant chose Maroosh, a) because it would be a quick lunch and b) because the owner happens to be a friend of his…

The place is very small, no air conditioning and no frills, the menu is Mediterranean with the accent on the middle east.

The beverages of choice were a Diet Coke & Water, good choices on a hot day out.

The hummus was creamy, with a drizzle of olive oil, very good, better than the textured, dryish hummus you get most places. Its a pity they scrimped on the pita.

The Paneer Makhani roll was unnaturally reddish orange, food color most likely, scared me a little. The taste itself was okay, spicy sort but not too much. Not bad but not great either. We also had the shwarma which was pretty good and juicy.

Overall, its not about ambiance or about comfort, nor does it have a lot of seating. However i am sure they do plenty of deliveries and its a great place to swing by late night for a quick bite.

Food : 7/10
Service 8/10
Damage : 400

Indigo

I love Indigo, as some of you might already know, unfortunately for me the wife isnt as obsessive about it which is why i dont get out there nearly enough. Also the fact that it breaks the bank makes it not such a frequent option. Yet, every time i have been there i have left very, very happy and satisfied. The place looks great and continues to offer an old world charm, the staff is friendly and knowledgeable and the food is a great mix of the traditional, the modern and the quaint. 

 

We got in 30 mins early for our table with the intention of having some quiet time by the bar. I went in for my bloody mary (385) perfect, a little thinned out but not watered down. 

Never found the munchies of much interest here or most places, only Geoffrey’s knows what the Indian drinker wants to munch on.

The Sgorpini (365) was interesting, a margarita with champagne instead of tequila. You could gulp a pitcher down easy. Unfortunately they were missing the beers, so no Hoegarden and no Stella.

The Appetizer was off the specials menu and what an inspired choice. The sweetish, thick souffle served with a bitter salad, contrasting tastes although not complementary. The taste was amazing and the flavor heavy.

Another winner, i have had this one before and did not mind calling for it again. There is very little that can compare with fresh mozzarella, the smoked tomatoes were hot and juicy and i can still remember the exquisite if uncomplicated tastes of each  ingredient..

Yum Yum. The Goat cheese gnocchi is not on the dinner menu but on the lunch menu. We asked that the cottage cheese gnocchi be switched for goat cheese, they were happy to do it but the sauce would have to change too as they wouldn't go together. The tomato cream sauce was picked and it was incredible. A borderline orgasmic dish this one and i highly recommend trying it.

 
The water cress risotto was bitter and boring, serves me right for ordering it a second time, knowing fully well it was not that great the first time.

The creme brulee was good, not earth shattering, i chose it above the recommended dessert du jour Baked Alaska.

Overall, Indigo continues to rock. If i have any complaints its that the menu has not changed in some time and secondly it needs to get a little longer. You go there twice and you could possibly run through it all.

The lunch menu is very different and in some cases has some exciting options, which i intend to try very soon.

Service is top notch and surprisingly quick, Nafish was prompt, helpful and took very good care of us.

Food : 8/10
Service : 9/10
Damage : 4000 for 2 with cocktails.

They also serve a popular Sunday brunch from 12-4 at 1800 per person + taxes.

Indigo
4, Mandlik Road
Colaba, Mumbai
Phone : 66368980, 66368981

Hottest new place in town – Tote on the turf

Tote on the turf is the hottest new place in town, barely a week old its the brainchild of Indigo’s Rahul Akerkar. Spread across a lavish 25000 square feet, the place is like nothing in the city, you have some spiffy places but this is truly out there, with a massive bar, an indoor section with couches as well as laid out tables and an al fresco option.

The ambiance is high end, the attention constant and you can feel the newness of it all. It wont be long before it becomes a hot favorite. The menu is eclectic, there is a separate grill section, the food ranges from thai curry to lasagna.

The indigo mary is a twist on the traditional with a dash of balasmic as well as cucumber. Personally, i prefer my bloody mary original without too much messing around.

The fresh lime frozen was harmless.

Not bad, smooth full wine a little dry.

The mushroom tiramisu was excellent, there was a walnut compote and a fig mousse. Just beyond words, there was so much going on with the dish and you sort of had to figure it out. Once you did, it was quite something.

The dish was good, however there was nothing imaginative about it, considering the grill is a dead space for vegetarians it still turned out well. The stuffing was mushrooms, the sauce was a rich marinara.

The entrees, this one was pretty creatively thought up, i have had the couscous upma a few places now, so its not as new as it once was. The problem was too much pepper and salt, the whole thing was just overpowering any inherent taste.

Very good. The macaroni with some cheese on a rich tomato sauce, like mixing 7up and coke but it actually worked. The vegetables were really tomato and peppers. The dish would have worked better with something more flavorful at the centre like a ricotta or a goat cheese.

Overall, the place is a bound to be a smashing success and is a cut above Olive in terms of design, ambiance and what it offers. The bar is just unbelievable and you have a lot of choice in seating.

Food : 7/10
Service : 9/10
Damage : 4000 with cocktails and wine.

Joss

Rest : Joss
Loc : Kala Ghoda, Rampart Row
Meal : Lunch

So it turns out that the women i know had a tremendous lunch at Joss last week. Not wanting to be left behind i made it to Joss for a quick bite.

Joss has been around for a while, i had been there a few times in its previous avatar Sanuk Thai, which then became Sanuk Oriental (Thai was way better) my last visit though was quite a long time ago. Even now i find the menu to be a little weird, they have Chinese, some Eastern hot pots and Sushi.

A scary start, i asked for a Hoegarden with a dash of oranges.. my server looked at me like i had grabbed his ass. They didn't serve it with oranges, to their credit they came back with an offer of apples or kiwi but they didn't have oranges. I did the safest thing possible and ordered a Tiger which turned out to be a splendid decision. It went great with everything i had.

Now, we ordered Sushi as the wife highly recommended it. Unlike most things this time she was correct. Joss is already quite popular for their Sushi but i was skeptical as they did Chinese and other Eastern dishes as well. The house rolls with avocados and cream cheese were fantastic. In fact they were so good that we ordered another sushi platter to make the most of it.

Button mushrooms with water chestnuts were very weak. Typical fried stuff with some chilli and pepper. nothing special.

The carrot and onion houserolls were amazing as well. I think the cream cheese has the edge simply coz its so different with the use of its ingredients. However this one too was a winner. absolutely no complaints.

For the main course we went for the Balinese curry, it was okay. I have had this curry elsewhere and its always been a very heavy flavor which i liked immensely. this one had the aroma but the thick flavor was missing, it felt watered down but it was not bad.

Overall, the ambiance is average, they need to redecorate, its like the space is stuck in the 90’s.

Food wise, i think they would do very well if they just cut out their Chinese which is average and focus on their fantastic Sushi. Which as good as it is i do consider it over priced. At 520 + tax for a platter of veg sushi its about 20% too high. .

Service was okay if a little scatterbrained.

Food : 8/10
Service : 7/10
Damage : 1900

Joss
30, K. Dubhash Marg
Next to Chetana Restaurant, Kala Ghoda
Fort, Mumbai
Phone 66356908, 66334233

Sula & Beyond

The Sula vineyards are spread across Nashik & Dindori and they have created a beautiful, landscaped little gem with an Italian restaurant (Little Italy) and a tasting room.

A long road with grape vines on either side leads to the main winery and other buildings.

the space is clean and well laid out, we got there at 10 am and not a soul was stirring. Used to early starts from Mumbai we were a little surprised to learn that nothing would happen until 11am when everyone showed up.

the buildings are like charming old bungalows yet there is a great mixture of modern glass and bright colors

everywhere the eye can see you see the planted vines spread across the landscape. It was unfortunately not the right season and we had forgo the actual wine tour, instead we toured the winery itself and got a lesson in how they make wine.

the tasting room is a an outdoors and indoors space where they offer a tasting of six wines and one can also sit and order cold cuts and cheese to nibble on while sipping other wines from the menu.

The wine tasting was fun, six glasses of Sula wines were on offer, having taken a class on wines i knew a lot more than the layman but it was fun to get a refresher. Of all the wines a Dindori Reserve Viognier was the best, great refreshing taste, sweetish but not too acidic.

For those who like them sweet an interesting late harvest dessert sweet Chenin Blanc was also on offer. Indian wines are slowly getting there..

Sula also offers a space where one can stay the night, there is help on call as well as a chef, television with satellite tv and even an infinity p0ol.

the three rooms are modern and spacious, well laid out and extremely comfortable. The entire living area is modern and an oasis of calm looking out to a large lake and planted vines.

the breakfast was aloo paratha served with fresh yoghurt and pickle. plenty good this, very tasty and quite a large serving.

the dinner was tasty too, black dal, paneer kofta and mixed vegetables served with rice and chapatis. One can order the food from a set menu which is fairly expansive.

Overall the stay was fantastic, the place was a revelation and it would be foolish not to visit here at least once.

A special thanks to our beautiful hostess Mitali and birthday boy Kunal for having us over !