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.

The Irish House

For all those who wanted a Mclarens kind of bar to hang out at, here’s a great option – The Irish House at Phoenix Mills. Yes, it’s inside Phoenix Mills. In case, you are wondering how come you missed even though you Phoenix mills is your second home on weekends, join the club. JFYI, it’s up the stairs next to Smoke House Deli and Noodle Bar.

Conspicuousness apart, the place has great ambience. They've got the typical bar look just right with brick walls, bare wooden tables and high chairs. Just the right mix of the classy and the casual. The walls are interspersed with TV screens playing the ongoing  sport events. What takes your attention away, and I mean this literally, is the huge roll down screen. If you want to enjoy a match with buddies over beer, this is the place to be. Gives the place a sports bar-ish feel. I ve heard they also have a Karaoke and stand up comedy too. Should check that out sometime.  There’s something about the place and one liners. You’ll find one liners “Ask not for what your country has done for you, ask whats for main course” and “Reality is just an illusion caused by the lack of alcohol”J all over the place right from walls to the coasters. The crowd quality is also pretty good (Read between the lines!).

 Anyway, the ‘must try out’ as far as food is concerned would be the Grande Nachos. Cheesy and saucy, it forms the perfect munching option .There is another heavenly dish full of cheese rightly named ‘Heavenly Cheese’ - a delight for cheese lovers. In general, the place has yummy appetizers are quite good. Vegetarians are not really left with too many options as far as main course is concerned though I would recommend the Meditteranean Sandwich for veggies. The pastas and spaghettis are nothing special but then hey it’s an Irish pub and not an Italian restaurant. My carnivore friends say that the shrimp bucket was excellent so you may want to try that out.  If you are a lover of cottage cheese, then you got to try out the Double Double – An ultimate delight consisting only of cottage cheese. They serve most beer brands and also a decent variety of cocktails though the mock tail menu leave doesn’t really leave you spoilt for choices.

The menu is slightly overpriced but worth it I would say considering the quality (and quantity) of time that can be spent there. If you believe that “Beer is the answer ... who cares about the question!!” or you are a sports aficionado or you are just looking to chill post work, just grab hold of a couple of friends and go Irish.

Thank God @ TGI Friday's

TGIF

      Feeling lazy on a weekend? Or do you just want to chill with friends? How about enjoying the game and have some beer with great food? Then why not thank God for a Friday? TGI Friday's aka TGIF is located in Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad and Bengaluru. This place is a superb hangout place where neither the staff nor the patrons at the next table are bothered as to what’s going on (in a good way of course).

       When we went to the TGIF at Palladium Mall, Mumbai we thought we would have to wait for our table. But to our surprise the place is huge and we found ourselves in a very comfy booth in a couple of minutes. It took me some time to take in the ambience and adjust myself to the music. The place was very brightly light with the lamps in their trademark red and white. They had a dedicated smoking room which seemed more crowded than the restaurant itself. The walls contained all kinds of things right from super hero posters, idols, banners, helmets, bikes, jerseys and the likes. The décor really impresses and more often than not you find someone clicking photos of the interiors. The menu is very complicated with same dishes repeated at different parts of the menu.

Strawberry Lemonade

          We ordered a Vegetarian Platter & a Simply Veggie Pizza (SVP) to start with. Since I am a teetotaler I cannot recommend any cocktails but the Strawberry Lemonade was very smooth and so was the Green Apple Slush. Go in for an unlimited refill of Soft drinks which is priced at only Rs125. Although the rules say one can’t share the unlimited soft drinks but they are not so stringent about it so you can always share it with your friends. The Vegetarian Platter comprises of potato skins, fried mozzarella & vegetable pyramids (which are awesome), some salad and sauces. I am not a fan of thin crust pizzas but the SVP was surprisingly tasty and filling too. Caesar Salad is tasty but the size of the portions is not encouraging. The enchiladas were nice and so is the Pasta Arabiata. But the pick of the day was the Veg Garden Burger which I ordered after seeing it served at another table. And that was the best thing I ever did. The burger is huge (you can read about the same in my earlier blog post here ‘How I met the 'perfect' burger!!’). The burger comes with thick golden French fries. You will definitely need a drink and a friend to finish off the burger. For all ‘Snickers’ fans, the peanut butter crumble brownie is a safe and satisfying option.

Red & White theme @ TGIF

TGIF is an expensive place with an average bill for two without alcohol in the range of Rs 1350. The Veg Garden Burger is priced at a whopping Rs390++ but it’s totally worth the money and it easily suffices one. The prices on the menu are exclusive of any taxes, so you can safely add 15-20% to the menu price for taxes and service charges and taxes on service charges.  TGIF is a cool place to hang out with your friends or colleagues but it does leave a hole in your pocket. They are also running a promotion on Mondays – Fridays 7pm onwards. A two course set meal (with a good variety) for Rs299++ per person which certainly is good value for money. All in all I would rate this place an 8 on 10 and surely recommend it.

You can check TGIF out @ TGIF

How I met the 'perfect' burger!!

McVeggie Burger

When I was a kid I used to see McDonald’s advertisements on TV and always end up dreaming and fantasizing about them. I come from a small town in the state of Chhattisgarh which didn’t have a McD store in our state let alone my town (Till date there is no McDonald’s in Chhattisgarh. McVeggie was the ultimate burger I wanted to have and every time I saw the advertisements there used to be a small tsunami in my mouth. My dream came true when I was in class VIth. We visited the dream city of Mumbai  and I was really excited. It was going to be my first rendezvous with McVeggie. We went to the McDonald’s store inside Water Kingdom (by the wave pool). Dad went and purchased McVeggie meals from the counter and I was running behind him till the time we settled down. I opened the cover of the burger and the first bite was heavenly. Oh boy! It was so tender and hot and crispy. The mayo oozed out of the burger and I caught on to the mayo and licked my fingers - my hunger was satiated. I felt complete.

Time passed by and as I grew older and shifted to Mumbai for studies. I realized that the Mcdonald’s McVeggie was not the only burger in town. And then I happened to watch this episode of How I Met Your Mother where Marshal is on a quest to find the ultimate burger in town. I was motivated. Even I made it a point to find out the best burger in Mumbai. I started trying out burgers from all the places I could but I never found that perfect burger. Being a vegetarian I did not have many options. I tried the Veg Snacker @ KFC which was good value for money but wasn’t all that great. I came across this place called Bembos (in Bandra) which serves only burgers. Their burgers were good and they served free extra Mayo (unlike McDonald’s). The search went on… I had burgers at various joints in Bandra but none came close to the burger I was looking for.

Relishing a Burger

Then one day my fellow quill-er ‘the soul searcher’ took me to a small joint in Bandra called ‘Hearsch Bakery’. The place is a bakery which also serves snacks like rolls, burgers, chicken lollipops. The Veg. Burger there was the best burger I ever had. The burger comprised of the normal thick aloo patty, onions, tomatoes, mayo, cheese and the buns and it came along with some potato chips. The ingredients sound like any other normal burger but there is something about this burger which leaves you satisfied. Priced at a meagre Rs50 the burger was the best till date. I thought my search had come to an end. Hearsch was ‘the’ place. Although I am a vegetarian I can safely vouch for their Chicken Burgers also which are equally good. One burger would fill your stomach but won’t fill your heart so share your second burger because you won’t be able to finish the second one off. Chilled Sweet Lime / Ginger Lime go well with the burgers.

Burger @ TGIF

All was going good till last week when I went to TGIF at the Palladium Mall. I had not gone to this place to eat burgers. As we were going through our meal I saw a waiter carrying what looked Iike an inflated burger and my eyes just popped out. Although we were full by that time I was adamant about ordering the Veg Garden burger (which by the way is priced at a whopping Rs 390++). The Burger was at least 4’ inches high and at least double the bun size of a normal burger. They serve the burger in a plate which has very little space for thick golden French fries as the bun takes the entire plate. The patty is at least 1’ thick and is better than any aloo tikki you would have at any chaatwala. They use those orange colored goat cheese slices which gives it an English look. With a decent helping of other veggies and mayo the larger than life burger is complete. I bet no one can eat the burger with one hand and that too without dropping any of the fillings. I used both my hands and opened my mouth as wide as I could and took in the first bite and it immediately took me back to that day in 2001 when I first ate the McVeggie. This burger was heavenly! The cheese coupled with the fried patty and those veggies just melted in my mouth and I felt like I had a mini ‘Burgasm’. It took me 25mins to finish the burger with the help of my friends and yes the soldier was finally down. The quest for the perfect burger had finally ended. The Veg Garden Burger at TGIF is ‘the’ burger you want to eat.

And this is the story of I how I met the ‘perfect’ burger!!!

Café by the Beach - Sun, Sand and Mumbai !

In Mumbai, what do you think of doing when the monsoons hit the city? Well you hit the road and head straight to Marine drive. That’s what we did last weekend when the first real rains hit the city of dreams. We packed ourselves in a car and off we went slowly manoeuvering our way through the heavy downpour. It being a Saturday didn’t help as like us the whole city wanted to enjoy the rains at the queen’s necklace. We finally reached the beach and the sea was roaringly beautiful what with the huge waves. We couldn’t get down from the car as that meant being completely drenched in a matter of seconds so we thought we would go to this place called ‘Café by the Beach’ which was near Girgaum chowpatty.

We parked the car opposite the café and the valet came running with umbrellas and escorted us inside. None of us had been to the place before. Café by the beach is this wonderful beach side shack, like the ones you find in Goa. That was a pleasant surprise. The place was so breezy that you would just feel lost in awe of the Arabian Sea. It’s dimly lit with yellow lights and leaves protruding from the pillars. The flooring is of natural sand which gives makes you feel you are on the beach and not in the restaurant. The waiters are all in Hawaii shirts and comfortable capris. The tables and chairs were made of wood with candles and artificial lighting on it. The tables towards the sea carry a cover charge of Rs 500 per person (which, with the benefit of hindsight, I feel is a throw away), whereas the tables in the centre do not carry any cover charge. For those looking for a little privacy can book a Shamiana which carries a cover of Rs 3000 (flat) irrespective of the number of heads. After racking on our brains as to where we should sit, we finally found ourselves on a cosy table in the centre.

The menu was divided into two separate booklets, but neither of them was an exclusive drinks menu. And the only disappointment is that they do not serve any hard drinks. So for those who were thinking of spending a totally Goa styled Sunday will have to make do with juices and shakes. The menu was pretty much continental and Italian with a variety of drinks. The place opens at 8am so there were cereals, cornflakes, eggs, tea, coffee and the likes. We ordered a ‘mezze platter’ and ‘nachos’ along with our beverages. The choco tsunami (a milk based drink) is a must have. The drinks came soon so we took them towards the sea and stood there enjoying the mesmerizing view of the queen’s necklace. We had left our shoes at the table so the wet sand felt like heaven coupled with the drizzle and breeze.

The food arrived soon thereafter and the occupied almost the entire table as the mezze platter comprises of 7-8 quarter plates of salads, dry fruits, pita, humus, cheese, etc. The bowl of nachos was at least 3 inches high. It comes with sour cream, schezwan sauce and a mint sauce. Everything was very tasty and filling. The garlic bread is also a must have. We were so full that we couldn’t go in for main course or dessert. The crepes (which I have had another time) are also really yum. We again lazed around the solo swing towards the sea before ordering for the check. The prices were all inclusive as mentioned in the menu plus a 10% service charge (but no service tax on that J).

The overall experience was one of a kind as one didn’t feel like leaving. We felt like we were in Goa, away from the hustle bustle of the city but we were right there overlooking marine drive. One should definitely go in the evening to Café by the Beach to experience some wonderful time at the beach. Average bill for two would by around Rs 1200 but it is totally worth it.

You can reach CBTB at Cafe by theBeach @ Facebook