Jimmy Boy

Jimmy Boy is an Irani in Fort. We were standing outside Nandus Paratha House after dinner and were trying to give my friend Parin tips on how to run his restaurant (we Indians have opinions on everything) one of the thing my other mate VP came up with was selling raspberry soda. He went into a long spiel on how great it is and cant be found. Parin grabbed both of us and walked us up the 10 metres to Jimmy Boy.

Jimmy Boy is an old Irani and has been around forever. Located in the heart of commercial territory, their finest hour is lunch. I havent been to an Irani in a long long time but it looks just like it needs to. It was deserted and we were the only ones there at the hour.

Since we already had a huge meal we were in it only for the delightful sodas that are unique to Iranis. Parin knows the owners well and just strode in and picked out two bottles.

The masala soda, a taste unique to India, it is like thums up, but on the other end of the spicyness. Brilliant.

Raspberry soda has long been a talking point for Iranis and it does not disappoint. Perfect in every aspect, its got a sweet aftertaste.

Jimmy Boy,
Opp Turner Morrison Building
Fort

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