A Tale Of Two Thalis

As mentioned before, i was parked at the Saifee Hospital for a bit and took an outstation guest for lunch to Golden Star which is just around the corner. For some reason Golden Star has never really been high on our radar, perhaps because my dad never favoured it and also because it has no parking available.

Great food, not so great service but that's okay.

A photo posted by Gaurav (@gauravgjain) on Dec 27, 2014 at 10:32pm PST

Thalis have become more and more about excess, cramming things in and offering vareity as well as more and more desserts.

While the food on the whole was pretty good, no complaints with quality or taste. I do think that adding Dal Bati which was strictly okay was excessive and its not quite Gujju. The Undhiyu too is always around in these months but is a specialist dish it should be done carefully. I am not a fan of puris either, a bhakri would have been kind of good.

In any case this was my guests first thali ever and he loved the experience. The service was pretty slack and i had to pretty much ask for everything i wanted which is the sign of a badly run crew. The dhokla showed up only twice.

Price wise, it was def not cheap, 400 bucks per person is hefty.

A photo posted by Gaurav (@gauravgjain) on Dec 27, 2014 at 10:32pm PST

#lunch

A photo posted by Gaurav (@gauravgjain) on Dec 20, 2014 at 12:34am PST

One of my fav meals, this one, i cant go more than a month without a visit. this one too was pretty spectacular, Luckliy enough on a weekday we were able to get our tables without too much of a wait.

Overall, nothing new except the awesome food but the beans which were very tasty but seemed kind of odd, i wouldnt have expected them in a meal like this. Will check up on this when i can but there is little to complain about here. Rasam & Sambar were terrific, the buttermilk was super spicy and yoghurt as it should be - tangy. The tamarind chutney was awesome too.

Bliss. at 150 bucks.

Misal at Vinay

Dahi Misal #snack

A photo posted by Gaurav (@gauravgjain) on Dec 28, 2014 at 4:57am PST

Vinay is an age old name, another one of those joints my dad turned me onto. unfortunately their menu largely has less maharashtrian stuff and more south indian and sandwiches than it should. Most of it is not that great in any case.

This though is the star dish. no one in the city does it as well. NO ONE. Its spicy sweet but with just enough yoghurt to dial it down. 

Sharma's at Tarabag

Ever since i was a kid, my folks have been taking us to Sharma's for Chaat,  since its located on a very busy street, we attack it like gureillas with someone watching the car while the others gorge, or we take a cab.

Although i haven't been here in a while because i hate being the guy stuck in the car during peak hours.

Recently I was parked out at Saifee Hospital next door, which meant i was at Sharma's a whole lot, sometimes twice a day for my meals.

kanji vada is one of my fav things in the world. Not easy to find. This one was above average

A photo posted by Gaurav (@gauravgjain) on Dec 28, 2014 at 4:59am PST

The Kanji Vada, is a rare thing to find, this is the only place i know where these are available, they can be hit and miss, the taste depending on how well the water has been pickled and for how long. The guys here serve it nice and cold, which i love.

Dahi puri after years

A photo posted by Gaurav (@gauravgjain) on Dec 15, 2014 at 8:54am PST

The Dahi Puri, is another specialty, the dahi can be cold sometimes which is not much fun but this is rarely a miss.

Ragda Pattice just as good as I remember it

A photo posted by Gaurav (@gauravgjain) on Dec 15, 2014 at 8:57am PST

the Ragda Pattice is easily the star here. love it. served UP style, although not fried red, like the northerners like it.

The space, is cheap, even now, each dish is about 30 rupees. My mother swears by their Pani Puri and they do serve more things like bhel, sev puri, dahi samosa, etc. So its a short but varied enough menu. And you are served almost immediately.

Do check em out if in the area. 

LocoChino

Rest : Loco Chino
Loc : Peddar Road, near Vama
Meal : Lunch

Loco Chino replaces the ill fated Buddha Belly at Peddar Road, a location where parking is nigh impossible and that is about the only drawback i see with the place. The menu oddly is Chinese & Mexican, perhaps to capture two rather popular cuisines which would suit the residents in the area just fine. 

While i was there strictly for the Mexican i could not resist getting the Turnip cakes, which were FIERY hot, not to taste as such but a few hours later, they were raging. good but be careful with these. you have been warned. 

the nachos, well they were generous with the sour cream salsa and the guacamole but i was not too impressed with the chips. i hope they switch to a different, plainer kind, still worth getting however. 

my brother went for the burrito bowl which is what happens to a burrito when it implodes i suppose. pretty good. 

the chimichangas, everyone has given me grief over this picture, well its fried people, this IS a chimichanga, its unfortunate that its been cut and presented like a quesadilla, but this too was pretty good. 

the soft shell taco was again good but small.

the burrito, going by the bowl, was not going to be bad and it wasnt. worked out well, this one.

Overall, i loved the food here, id like to give some dim sum a try but i think the mexican is a winner here. Infact, i was shocked at how good the food was. I chalk it down to freshness, even the Guacamole was fresh and generously shared.

Dont know how long they will be able to keep the standard up, i hope it is for a while, def going back for more this weekend.

Only complaint so far is that the salsa chips arent that good to taste but that could be just me. The portions could be bigger. Its not expensive but again, its not cheap either.

Service is kinda slow but hopefully they will get their act together soon.

meal for 2 was about 1100.