White Owl

My friend, fellow diner and frequent punching bag Nikhil Merchant (@nikhil_merchant) has taken his skills out to the restaurant world. In collaboration with Chef Kshama of The White Owl, a special new menu has been created and they were kind enough to invite a bunch of us over to check out his creations. 

the first thing out were the poached eggs on garlic toast with mushrooms on a murette sauce, a fairly classic French dish this one, was tremendous. I love poached eggs to begin with, the sauce was perfect but the mushrooms were just stunning. Should have had more. 

the Asian style mango salad with julienned veggies and a hint of chilli, was a spot on summery salad. 

pumpkin gnocchi casserole, im not a fan of pumpkin, while the dish tasted okay, my pumpkin prejudice does not allow to offer a better take. 

the bleu cheese quiche was a tad low on the bleu but tasted okay as quiches go. 

Overall, i thought the food was pretty inventive, not your usual safe generic fare. 

Having dined at Nik's a few times, i reckon he should do more of these and feel free to experiment. and if you ever get invited over to his place for a meal, insist on the sizzler. 

Indigo

Rest : Indigo
Loc : Colaba, Behind the Taj
Meal : Lunch

Indigo has been around for a while, i have been there quite a few times now and have admired their willingness to experiment. Despite the years, the ambiance of the place is still quite stellar, dining in an old Colaba bungalow is like a bit of a time warp. 

They have recently launched a Prix-Fixe and they had us over. A Prix-Fixe is a good idea but it hasn't taken off in India yet, although a few do offer it (Zia, Souk, the erstwhile Pure) but its an idea worth pursuing. The three course Prix Fixe is only available for lunch and one gets to choose from a dozen dishes each for the first two courses and six desserts.

We sat next to the lovely Miss Malini  (Twitter : @MissMalini) the conversation was entertaining and one can see why she is Queen Bee !

Indigo has always done decent cocktails, the mojito was pretty good, the frozen lemon thingy was way, way too tangy.

The Baby Beet with Horseradish Panacotta was okay, Indigo has some sort of a fetish for Beet, seen plenty of it over the years. Never been a big fan, while this wasn't too bad, it was nothing special. 

The Salad of Green Asparagus with Labneh was pretty good. Enjoyable.

Potato & Roasted Ricotta with artichokes, delicious. Dish worked pretty well. The potato was almost ravioli like, filled nicely. Good stuff.

The Grilled Portobello was stellar, just brilliant, however it was marred with the barley risotto which was completely unnecessary. No special flavour here, something slightly sweeter on flavour or perhaps going for a salty finish with cheese would have worked better. 

The Pana Cotta with Rhubarb confit & Champagne consommé was a total let down. Did not work at all. the consommé tasted like a cough syrup as one of the diners mentioned. 

The chocolate raspberry meringue tart was pretty good, very well done, the texture was a little too grainy for my liking but it was quite stunning by itself. 

Overall, the ambiance is great, the service impeccable, if a tad slow. I am not a fan of the weird shaped dishes and the very uncomfortable silver ware, makes for a weird experience. 

As for the food, while there were hits and misses, if you can pick the right ones, you can have a pretty good meal. Plenty of options for vegetarians as well.

Price wise, its a tad on the higher side(1320 with taxes) but what one would expect at Indigo. A thousand bucks ain't what it used to be. I could see myself do a working lunch here if in the area. 

rest: smoke house deli
loc : phoenix mills, lower parel
meal : lunch

I have written about my visits to Smoke House Deli before (here) not only is it one of the most interestingly designed places in the city, its also a viable and slightly cheaper option to Indigo Deli. In the short time they have been open, they have become fairly popular, have been turned away twice due to interminably long waits.

So i was only too happy to accept their invitation to a preview of their new Summer menu this past week. The old menu continues supplemented by daily specials, however they have now launched a summer specific menu as well which will run through the season.

They have a new Cucumber & Dill Soup served cold with a smattering of white balsamic. Brilliant little concoction this one, perfect for the summer, very refreshing.

The Beetroot & Mustard soup also served cold was not to my liking, i have never been a big fan of beetroot but and this one was definitely weaker than the cucumber/dill.

The Cherry Tomato with Sour mix & Tequila was fantastic, not a very summery option but still very interesting. A little along the lines of the Sangrita i had at Wahaca in London (here) went down very well indeed.

Carrots with Raisins & Pineapple Mayo.. a little sweet but it went down pretty well. Nice light salad to do the job.

Chickpea, croutons in olive oil and curry vinaigrette, this one was intriguing. Not only did it taste brilliant but the curry taste turns this into something more than a salad. A new taste this one.

The roast vegetable gallet was a  little weird. While the pesto and the cheese tasted okay, the base itself was difficult and unwieldy to eat.  Perhaps re imagining the dish without the base might make it better. The Goat Cheese & Pine Nut Ravioli was a better dish, though a tad too creamy.

A mocktail of tangerine and i think raspberry was fantastic, deserves a place on the permanent menu, very nicely done, a great way to kick the heat.

The Berry Pavlova was decent but the mango cheesecake was soft and on the money. No crust, which is odd for a cheesecake but nicely done nonetheless.


Overall, the summer menu is a good addition to the regular menu, the soup and salads are great, the main courses are a bit hit & miss. The Beverages are fantastic. Smoke House Deli would move up a notch further if they were to learn a few tricks from their molecular gastronomy inclined elder brother based in Delhi


                                                     Full Disclaimer : I was there by invitation

Indigo Deli Opens in Bandra

Was fortunate enough to get a preview of the new Indigo Deli in Bandra which is set to open its doors officially from tomorrow. The eatery has taken over Da Vinci as well as Gostana and is going to bring some snazz to the Bandra dining scene. Sorry no pictures this time. Images are courtesy of Indigo Deli. 

Indigo Deli is an immensely popular brand with two locations (three if you count the Cafe) their absence in Bandra has been felt for a while, although there are a myriad options, most of them are hit and miss and the closest Bandra has come to ID is Cafe Basilico.

So i think the Bandra folks should rejoice and revel.

The space is largish and fairly well laid out with a massive open kitchen. There are smaller tables for twosomes which an be put together for larger ones, the booths are quirky and saucer like and there is some outdoors seating as well.

Looks like it will make a brilliant Sunday place. I spent two hours noshing up with some wonderful company and wonderful food.

For Indigo Deli loyalists, the menu will seem familiar but it has enough dishes to give it, its own identity. They serve an all day breakfast and the Eggs on the Beach (610) a take on the traditional Eggs Benedict come highly recommended.

The Asparagus Artichoke & Arugula salad (365)came with a ranch/cranberry dressing, was pretty good i thought until i had a taste of the Poached Pear in Wine with caramelized Gorgonzola (365). It was just something else,  I spent more time picking at this while continued to grudgingly share my salad, just brilliant and i highly recommend this at any of the IDelis.

The baked mac & cheese (485) was good as always, also had a taste of the famed Indigo Deli pizzas but this margerita (445) was somehow very different. Thin as always but bursting with favour, couldn't eat just one, no siree bob.

A Chillee Cheese Toast is also on the menu, however i didn't get a chance to taste it, i did taste the charred asparagus & feta in a roomali. Brilliant, quite a huge roomali it was but pretty good.

The Dessert was okay, the crème brulee (285) was so so, the Tiramisu (285) was good and the Blueberry Cheesecake (345) was outstanding. The Dulce De Leche was much missed...

Overall, it was a great evening, Rahul Akerkar is not only a knowledgeable man with a great sense of humour, he is also a generous and attentive host & a cigar smoker which is a thumbs up in my book.

One of the first restaurants i went to with my friends as a kid was Under the Over at Kemps Corner where Rahul was the chef. Twenty odd years later, here we are. I hope to be at some more of these openings in the times to come.

Indigo Deli & Bandra are going to be great friends.

Indigo Deli.
Ground Floor, Fatima Villa. Just up the street from Golds Gym.

Suzette's - New Crepe place at Nariman Point

Rest : Suzette
Loc : Ground Floor, Atlanta, Nariman Point
Meal : Lunch with Mr.Patel

Mr.Patel had the day off as his office is in the diamond district and the explosion at Opera House was a street away. Its rare that VP & i hang out in the middle of the week when the sun is out, so we decided to head to lunch. VP had heard of Suzette and wanted to try it out while i just wanted some regular Indian food from Crystal. Since it was his treat i went along (he usually pays anyway)


Suzette is a new French style creperie but was a pain in the a** to find, Atlanta is the building next to Status at Nariman Point. Enter from the gate next to Status and it will be to your right. Suzette is run by a bunch of expats who also double up as managers, a large number of expats were also lunching along with a few society mavens.

The place is well designed, simple decor, dark wooden tones, lovely table mats, tap water served in glass bottles, this city certainly has gotten its designs down pat. However its very small, seating for about 20-25 and at full capacity it can get seriously cramped.

It also gets loud, really loud and you spend a lot of time trying not to eavesdrop on tables around or perhaps the other way if you are a voyeur.

Started of with a Chevre salad, which was a nice healthy portion, Lettuce, some toasted crepes, feta cheese which was an addition, diced apples and pistachios (dont think i tasted any) the dressing was honey. Lovely, fresh salad, went down really well despite the sweetness, feta was a good call to add a touch of sourness. Very nice.

We both went for the savour crepes the Provence which was sundried and fresh tomatoes, olive spread and the Italie whic was rocquette, tomato coulis, mozzarella and oregano. Both were excellent, tasty, fresh and filling. No complaints. We also split a sweet crepe which was melted chocolate with fresh fruits. Delicious.

Overall, the place food is good, you shouldn't have any problems with the dishes, for the uninitiated the savoury crepes are like gourmet dosas.

My real complaints are that the location can be painful to find, there is no valet and finding a parking spot is impossible in the area. I recommend parking at CR2/Inox and taking the short walk.

As i mentioned before, the space is very small and the service was friendly but very slow.

Sorry about the picture quality, blackberry is conked and wont be back for another few days. If any and all of you wishe to donate an iphone 4, ill be glad to accept :)

Food : 8/10
Service : 6/10
Damage 1800 for 2 no booze.