Barbeque Nation- A delectable rendezvous.

       Each taste receptor on our tongue tingled away to glory. Item after item was being served, re-served and re-re-served; but we were not to be satiated. The travails of an arduous week lay mindlessly forgotten in the mélange of Zucchini cottage cheese, Assorted Mediterranean Grill, Lebanese chilli garlic potato and Gobi aachari (we being vegetarians were gorging on the shakahari upahaar. Of course, our dad, ever the carnivore, was busy devouring the chicken and the fish!). Even the humble cauliflower, usually lying forgotten in the gloomy confines of the refrigerator, was being greeted with eager anticipation and heartfelt delight. Yes. It really was that spectacular. (And we were just one round down!!!)

     Inaugurated a few months back, Andheri’s Barbeque Nation near Fun Republic Mall is one gratifying, tantalizing, scrumptious and gargantuan experience. With a seating capacity of nearly 270 people, this restaurant is surely going to be the next suburban hub. The taste is rich, the ambience, pleasing and the service is a delight. The live music jives well with the food and the humongous space gives one enough privacy and comfort. The interiors are intelligently designed with ample places for couples, gangs of friends and families alike. It is an apt place to spend an evening out with close ones where the food competes with the chit- chat!

         As is its USP, the barbeque was exquisite! The variety offered in both the courses was good and there was a fine consistency maintained in the taste levels. No particular taste was over- whelming and there was a feel- good factor about every dish. The buffet was interesting and in spite of the monstrosity of the barbeque, it was nice to have the succulent staple to add to the already full innards. The desserts were ravishing with my favorite Gulab Jamuns taking the cake (in that manner of saying!). Lastly, the mukhwaas and paan were, as usual, amazing! (Collected around 10 packs in total I guess :P)

          One thing however, that marred the wonderful night was the effort involved in reaching the place. A south Mumbai resident has that 'god-knows-where-this-forsaken-place-is' experience which was a disappointment. Another drawback, in spite of the unmatched service I told you about, was probably the over enthusiastic waiter who would insist on stuffing us with the starters every time he crossed us by. Though amusing at first, the unbridled service ate up significant main course tummy space!

         The august restaurant regaled our appetence and stoked both our gustatory and olfactory senses! The mouth watering symphony along with the tranquil karaoke spread appetizing delight to tongue, tummy and heart. All in all, the medley of food, music and banter enraptured our minds and gladdened our souls.

Looking forward to another reverent visit to this delicious restaurant.

This is the Sciolist, along with Tilak Vaidya.

Signing out!!!

About the authors:

Pranav Vaidya, who goes under the pen name The Sciolist, is an avid reader, food enthusiast, zealous blogger, Lord of the Rings fanatic, Android addict, fervent writer and sporadic poet. To follow his other work, visit Sciolism, which is an advocacy of his perspectives.

Tilak Vaidya is a budding computer engineer, amateur cricketer, neophyte guitarist, voracious reader, effervescent blogger, spasmodic poet and aspiring novelist. When he isn't gobbling up books by the dozen, he preaches at Opinionate.

OMG, What a Movie !!!

Rating: 4 out of 5

To describe in one word – Amazing

To describe in two words – Simply Outstanding

OMG is an outstanding movie, delivering a strong message. Movies are usually not for me, as I seem to hardly like any movies. However, OMG has an amazing concept, something which one can relate to. It would touch that very part of your belief in God and make you think whether your belief about what is God is actually true.

The director gives interesting insight and perspective about what is God. Not denying the fact that the movie does preach about what is God and what is not. But the best part is, the director has managed to mix entertainment and a strong message in a smooth way and there is not even a single moment in which you would feel like taking a loo break or fidgeting with your Android.

The story begins with Kanji Mehta (Paresh Rawal), a typical Gujrathi, who knows how to do business. Atheist to the core, Kanji does not believe in God. His business is to sell the idols at super expensive prices by making up stories. He even manages to go to Haridwar in a trip sponsored by a son in memory of his mother an all he does is buy more stuff.

Then one day Kanji’s son takes part in a dahi handi. In order to dissuade him, he spreads rumours and the whole dahi handi thing goes for a toss. And as one would guess, God punishes him for his act. An earthquake completely destroys his shop. But hold on, everything else is unmoved. Thus, God plays the cruel role of destroying his source of income. Even the insurance company rejects his claim saying that the damage is due to act of God. That is when, he decides to sue the God and your movie begins.

The movie has amazing dialogues and arguments put forth are nicely scripted. Each and every character is flawless and plays his role to perfection. Paresh Rawal, Mithun Chakraborty, Mahesh Manjrekar, Akshay Kumar and Om Puri are wonderful and keep you engaged. The real life resemblance of Mithun Chakraborty, Govind Namdeo as Siddheshwar Maharaj and Poonam Jhawer as Gopi Maiyya makes them all the more fun (That is if, you can guess that they actually portray real life sadhus).

After ages, there seems to be a Hindi movie which has balanced the fun and the message part nicely. I would even dare to say that this movie is better than Barfi. Must watch movie, do not miss it. It’s something you will never regret.