Atul Karmarkar.Com» Food

Doolally Ho !!

Atul Karmarkar — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 01:31:56 +0000

The week gone by was a crazy one, right since the time I got back to Pune last Sunday, what with meeting three sets of friends that evening, then some shoe shopping at Shoppers Stop, Wakdewadi (going there after ages) the next day, a visit to Kiva’s, then SGS Mall, McD et al. In short, something happening every day.

On Friday, we again decided to booze up and initially the choices were between a friend’s place or Kiva’s / some other place, when another friend suggested we check out Doolally, home to Pune’s first microbrewery and derived from “Deolali”, an army cantonment near Nashik.

I’d been meaning to visit the place ever since I ‘met’ one of the co-owners (Suketu Talekar) on Twitter 2-3 months ago. At the time, I’d tweeted and blogged about getting some Belgian beers from Bangalore and he replied, saying I just had to visit Doolally to check out the real thing. Added to this was the fact that it was located at The Corinthians Boutique Hotel in the NIBM / Kondhwa area, “our” side of town or “nadi ke us paar” as we keep saying. People who keep raving about Aundh and Deccan just don’t know what they are missing out at Camp, Kondhwa and Wanowrie.

So Doolally it was and we set forth around 8 pm. It was a rather leisurely drive and we avoided the traffic by navigating through all the ‘gallis’, reaching our destination by 8.45 pm or so. The place is a treat for the eyes, with it’s brand new shining steel vats behind glass doors, lots of wood work, well spaced out seating both indoor and outdoor, and an extremely relaxed air about the place. There was a live band playing as well, though frankly, the less said about it, the better.

It was a pleasure to finally meet Suketu and he instantly made us all feel at home. He had some other guests to attend to as well, but recommended the Dark Lager as he left, which pretty much made up my mind.

Apparently, the place has Happy Hours from 6.30 pm to 9 pm and the steward said we were just in time (8.59 pm) to opt for it. We readily agreed to try each of the beers on offer; 5 beers (Premium, Wheat, Rye, Cider and Dark Lager) for 6 people, the Dark Lager getting a second nod. Only later did we realise that free samples were on offer !!

Now the big difference at Doolally is that you gotta pay upfront as opposed to paying the bill at the end. I guess this is also one way of keeping people sober ! They have a system of charging in terms of Dimes (Rs.100) and Nickels (Rs.10), so we started off with five fine brews and ordered some starters too.

The beer was freakin awesome and we had a swig from each of the glasses, allowing us to decide on what was to be our chosen poison for the remainder of the evening. As there were six of us, the choices opted for fell neatly between Adam’s Folly (Apple Cider), The Weiss Man (Wheat beer) and Bob Barley (Dunkel / Dark Lager) and we ordered a pitcher of each. While the beer flowed freely, I must say the quantity of food per serving left a lot to be desired. In fact, some of the stuff seemed enough for just a single person, let alone six hungry souls. All this time, the band was playing some ear splitting music and the vocalist was getting to be a strain on my eardrums. I jokingly mentioned to Suketu that even I sang better ! He said if I could put together a band, I was in ! So what say, guys?

It was fun to read the newspaper, the Doolally Dispatch, as well as the pithy comments on the coasters (will upload pics later), but what really stood out were the comments framed on the walls, among others one right beside the loo and the other near the payment counter !

All in all, it was a fun evening, and we must have downed close to nine pitchers among us, as we left by midnight. I was there a couple of days later as well for the Sunday Brunch, which at Rs.650/- for unlimited food and beer, is a much better option, and there are no stares of disbelief when looking at the food (or lack thereof) on one’s plate.

It is an ideal place to go and laze around on a Sunday afternoon with freshly brewed beer available on tap and the relaxing ambience of the place. One thing is pukka for sure, there are gonna be lotsa meetups at Doolally for a long time to come !!

Doolally
The Corinthians Boutique Hotel
Nyati County, NIBM Annexe, Kondhwa, Pune
Tel: 26952226

Another super week at Bangalore

Atul Karmarkar — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 17:20:36 +0000

Have been meaning to write about my recent visit to Bangalore (I know I know.. Bangalore again !! ), par kya karein, it is always wonderful to see my nephew and in fact this time we all went to celebrate his second birthday.

It wasn’t as cold as it was the same time last year though during the mornings there was always a bit of winter chill in the air accompanied by a fog. It was barely possible to see more than a building away, even at 7 am when this pic was taken !

Well, as usual, Bangalore is always home to the good times and it was no different on this visit too as bro-in-law introduced us to Kingfisher Ultra. Quite a neat bottle with a peel away bottle top and best of all, priced at Rs.60/- for a pint. I was wondering how I’d never come across this in Pune, and a closer look at the bottle gave me the answer… “Not for sale in Maharashtra” and below that, “For sale in Karnataka only” !! Maan, this sucks.. though when I tweeted about it on Twitter, Kingfisher was quick to reply saying it was available in Mumbai and would be available in other cities too.

As was to be expected at Bangalore, food and drinks dominated the proceedings most of the time. Met an old friend at Le Rock, near MG Road, and while the pitcher was decently priced, the snacks were too pricey ! The seating wasn’t all that comfortable and there wasn’t much of a crowd, probably because we went in the afternoon (happy hours ).

A visit to Little Italy was also mandated and I love the place, especially as the one at Koramangala near Forum Mall is much closer. The Crostini Della Casa was good as usual, and we started off with the awesome Caesar Salad and Corleone before moving on the main stuff. Two of my favourite joints are of course Caperberry and The Egg Factory and I have a feeling I’m gonna be patronising both places each time I’m in town. We celebrated my nephew’s birthday at Caperberry and he was as thrilled to go around exploring the place. The starters were yummy as ever and though I didn’t load my plate quite the way I did during the last visit, this was a handful, especially the pineapple and chicken combo, not to mention the gazpacho, again pineapple being a hot favourite.

The Egg Factory is a fabulous place to be, and we feasted on the Southwestern Frittata yet again, along with regular scrambled eggs. The grafitti on the walls was sadly not upto the mark as it was last time, so didn’t click any pics though I remembered to click one of the Frittata unlike the half eaten one from before !

The Daily Bread (adjacent to Barbeque Nation) is another super place to hang out and they let you customise your dishes and the toppings. I decided not to experiment, and ordered a German Potato Salad. It was decent enough, but I’d still say the one at Pepinos in Pune is better. Their pasta with chicken and fettucini was also quite tasty and we topped it all off with gelatos.

Sigh.. so much for eating out… yup, there were also days when we were all too tired to go out so ordered food from home, especially the parathas and assorted stuff from Mast Kalandar and the Gobi Manchurian from a newly opened joint in Bannerghatta called Maakhan Bhog. Apparently they also have excellent veg sizzlers, but as takeaway was not an option for this, it will have to wait for my next visit there ! All in all, a super week at Bangalore and a gastronomic delight in every sense of the word.

We flew Indigo both ways, and I gotta say the winter uniform of the cabin crew looks quite tacky. The onward flight was quite uneventful but the return flight had some 5-6 kids on board. One kid in particular was bawling away right from the time we boarded the bus on the runway till the time we landed in Pune, upto the baggage claim, after which we felt mightily relieved to step out of the airport premises. Considering the excellent rapport between my nephew and me, maybe I could’ve tried to quieten this kiddo also, but my iPod won over

Till the next visit then… adios !

A Snack at The French Loaf

Atul Karmarkar — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 04:41:18 +0000

A friend and I were out for a drive earlier in the week, and as the morning gave way to afternoon, we started feeling hungry. After fixing on the area (Koregaon Park), the next thing was to decide the place.

Neither of us was in the mood for a ‘proper’ lunch, but more of a quick snack kinda thing. Several names popped up like Post 91, Italicks, Mocha, Prems et al, when she suggested ‘French Loaf’, as she’d been there before.

Located near The Great Punjab restaurant in Lane 5, the entrance is simple enough, and once in, it seems like any other bakery / confectionery shop. As you enter, the section on the left has the usual breads and loafs that people walked in and bought. As far as eating was concerned, there was an array of veg and non-veg stuff, neatly separated by a section which had cakes and desserts. The one thing that surprised me was that most of their non-veg creations had chicken sausage rather than chicken itself. I opted for a Chicken Delight, she chose a Veg Delight, and I had a look around the place as we settled down at our table.

I found the ambience of the place quite warm and cosy without being obtrusive, allowing people to talk comfortably without being overheard or eavesdropping on others either. I also liked the cutlery, which was ‘properly’ sized, unlike that at Yana’s !! :-p

The food was good and we enjoyed it, especially with loads of ketchup and mustard which both of us are quite fond of ! We also ordered coffee and chocolate, though keeping my sore throat in mind, she ‘mothered’ me by advising I have it hot rather than cold, but very graciously allowing me to have ‘just a sip, not more’ from her drink.

The conversation of course flowed on and before we knew it, over an hour had passed by. I was wondering whether to eat something else, knowing that such ‘breaded / baked’ stuff is not really fulfilling. She said she wasn’t hungry, so I went on to have a dekko, settling on the Chicken Quiche. This had actual chicken and was made well, except for the crust which was a little too brittle than what it should have been.

We also ordered a Walnut Crumble, but didn’t eat it completely there, asking for it to be packed so we could eat it later. During this entire time, I didn’t click any pics at all as my cellphone was in the car and I didn’t feel like going out and getting it, even though she was keen on clicking a few. My point about a single dish not being sufficient was also proved when she pinged me later in the day to say she was already hungry again and wished she’d eaten a bit more.

I still have the box which had the Walnut Crumble, and it lies in the glovebox of my car, carrying memories of a lazy, idyllic and pleasant afternoon spent driving through the leafy lanes of Koregaon Park and the splendid ambience at The French Loaf……

The French Loaf
Shop No 8, Winterberry Purple, Off Lane No 5,
North Main Road., Koregaon Park, Pune
Tel: 020-65106021

Lunch at Yana – fails to sizzle

Atul Karmarkar — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 16:54:32 +0000

Hadn’t met up with a good friend of mine for a pretty long time, as each of us was busy with work and travel schedules. We decided to meet up for lunch today and as usual, there was a BIG discussion about where to go and more importantly, whether it was gonna be lunch or snacks on the agenda.

Finally, we settled upon Yana on F.C Road, mainly as it was close and neither of us had been there for a long time, whereas we’d been regular at some of the other joints on F.C Road.

1.30 – 1.45 pm seemed a reasonable enough time to meet for lunch, and I expected to be out from office before then. However, before I knew it, time just flew, and then she called to let me know she’d already reached the place !!

Now, reaching early is ok upto a point, but I know it can get pretty awkward to just keep sitting there all alone. I quickly wrapped up my work and it was around 2 pm when I left the office ! With the one way traffic on F.C Road, I had to turn right from near the Central Mall on University Road, come via Deep Bungalow chowk and then find a place to park on Model Colony Road, keeping in mind the P1 and P2 signs. I finally reached the place at 2.15 pm, which meant she had been waiting for over half an hour or so. I was expecting major gyaan thanks to the delay on my part, but got a big welcoming grin instead, which set the tone for the afternoon !

Conversation just took off between helpings of the Non-Veg Italian Salad she’d already ordered by then, and we had a dekko at the menu to decide upon the main course. The steward heard us discussing fish and immediately piped in, suggesting their Fish BBQ Sizzler, which we ordered.

It took 15-20 minutes and the presentation was decent enough, but even as it arrived, what struck us was the size of the portions and it seemed pretty inadequate for something worth Rs.430. Certainly not value for money !! To top it all, even the size of our plate was pretty small, more like the one used for desserts, so the sizzler was having a tough time co-existing with the knife and fork, which we had to hold in our hands most of the time.

It was a tough call on whether to order for dessert, but we decided to have a single sizzler brownie muffin with vanilla ice-cream, which strictly speaking, was ok, nothing great.

Overall, the experience left a lot to be desired, and we came away feeling somewhat shortchanged. Even the ambience has gone for a toss, with dirt and grime all over the place, whether on the walls or the AC units. One thing is for sure, though; we ain’t going back to Yana anytime soon !!

Yana: Sizzler & Wok
S No 1181 Surya Bhavan, F.C Road, Pune
Tel: 66013897, 66013898

Breakfast at The Egg Factory

Atul Karmarkar — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 17:40:00 +0000

Woke up to a lazy Sunday morning and plans of driving down towards Mysore Road for breakfast with some friends. However, schedules were not matching, and we eventually decided on The Egg Factory.

Situated off St. Mark’s Road, the entrance is quite nondescript enough, and it is housed in a building called “Whitehouse”. As we neared the main door, we saw a sign saying the place would be closed on 28th Sept and all of us were mentally relieved we’d come on the right day.

The decor is quite “hat ke” types and not your run of the mill interior. There is a lot of wood work and metal that gives it the factory kinda feel and what caught my eye were the pithy comments on the walls like this one. The seating is also comfortable and we settled down to have a dekko at the menu.

We started with the Irish Omlette (potatoes+chives flavoured with lemon juice), and a round of French Toasts; a Classic French Toast with maple syrup for my nephew and French Toast with cream cheese for us.

The toasts were quite chunky but didn’t really seem like the “real” French Toasts that we were used to always eating. In fact they were like any normal buttered toast. My nephew of course LOVED the maple syrup and was licking away merrily even as the toast was almost forgotten, with barely a bite or two in between gobs of maple syrup.

Next up, we decided to try the Frittatas (thick 3 egg Italian omlettes served with garlic bread), and opted for the Southwestern Frittata, which was made up of sauteed veggies, cheddar and smeared with sour cream. This was an absolute delight and I remembered to take a pic only when we were half way through eating it. To top it all off, we had the caramel custard and it was simply fabulous, and combined with the earlier meal, had us decidedly agreeing that the phrase “eat breakfast like a king” was totally true !!

Last but not the least, a quick visit to the washroom and oh boy… it was a sight to behold.

All factory kinda fittings for the taps and flush, and some “thought provoking” graffiti scrawled all over the place, with an old fashioned radio just outside for good measure.

The Egg Factory
Ground Floor, ‘Whitehouse’, St. Mark’s Road, Bangalore
Tel: 080-4211 0041

Lunch at Caperberry

Atul Karmarkar — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 17:12:00 +0000

Yay ! Back in Bangalore after my last visit in June.

Flew Kingfisher Red this time, and I was informed before that there would be no in-flight entertainment, no blankets or pillows, and no choice of cuisine. Well… the person telling me this was out of touch with reality coz I watched the Autocar show and a bit of ‘Luck by Chance’ on the in-flight telly. The food was pure veg and while I don’t have any problems with that at all, the upma was orange in colour… something I’ve never had before. Also got a crumpled croissant and a bowl of fruits… mostly loaded with papaya, not really my favourite ! :-p

The initial plan as usual was for my sis, bro-in-law and nephew to come to the airport, but as B-I-L had driven to Chennai and back yesterday, he was a bit tired. We agreed to meet somewhere midway and as I had a bag plus my backpack, Koshy’s seemed the ideal meeting point, being nice and spacious.

The cab took almost 2 hours to reach there from the airport, but considering it was a weekday, this was to be expected I guess. I really love the old world charm and ambience at Koshy’s and once I parked my bag, I decided to dig into a plate of chicken sandwiches followed by hot bournvita. It was a while before the family arrived, and I had wolfed down a second plate of sandwiches by then.

Today being my bro-in-law’s birthday, we headed to our next rendezvous – lunch at Caperberry. This is a restaurant and tapas lounge, located near Manipal Centre on Dickenson Road, in the same building as the Tanishq showroom. The timings are 12.30 pm – 3 pm and 5.30 pm – 11.30 pm, so we were a bit early. This, combined with the fact that we were the only ones till then, gave me an opportunity to check out the place.

From outside, the entry to Caperberry isn’t all that great, but once you enter, there is a lounge, and a pretty impressive bar, which you need to pass as you move on to the restaurant. The seating is comfortable though it could have been more well spaced out, and the presence of bottles and glass stuff in general meant we had to constantly keep an eye on my nephew, who seemed intent on grabbing everything within reach.

One of the reasons for our coming here was also to sample the “molecular cooking” which uses liquid nitrogen and other techniques. However, we were informed that was done only at night. As we were served the complimentary breads, butter and dip, we had a Carlsberg each and took a look at the menu that was on offer for the afternoon, and it was lip smacking to say the least. We chose the 4 course menu, which at Rs.550 each, seemed quite reasonable.

We then decided to dig into the starters, and oh boy… what starters !! We headed over to help ourselves from the spread laid out, and as you can see, the starters seemed to be a meal in itself. I had chicken with pineapple, some lettuce, roasted potatoes in mayonnaise, several types of cheese, noodles, mushrooms, marinated olives and a glass of Gazpacho… Simply mouth watering stuff !

The next item on the agenda for me was pasta with chicken, which was again yummy ! Just as we were all sitting there like content cats, the stewards then arrived with the next dish(es), veg for bro-in-law, chicken sausages for sis, and fish (White Mullet)for me.

We were pretty much done and as they had been informed it was bro-in-law’s birthday, they played the happy b’day song and brought in a complimentary chocolate cake, which was actually more mousse and less cake !

There was also dessert after all this, but I was too stuffed to even think about it… and regretfully, let it pass, as we headed out to our next destination, almost 3 hours since we arrived at Caperberry.

Overall, I’d say Caperberry is a pretty good place, serves good food, the stewards are attentive without being obtrusive and the prices seem a tad on the higher side, but overall, I’d say worth it ! Do check it out…

Caperberry Restaurant and Tapas Lounge (web site under construction)
48/1 Ground Floor, The Estate, No 121, Dickenson Road, Bangalore
Tel: 080-2559 4567

Prime Circle at Hard Rock Cafe, Pune

Atul Karmarkar — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 19:19:32 +0000

It all started with an inocuous message saying that a South African band called Prime Circle were to play at the Hard Rock Cafe in Pune on Sunday (09-Aug) night.

The initial mirth at this geometric sounding name soon gave way to curiosity and then some animated discussions about who were keen to come along. We initially had a shortlist of 10 who seemed good to go, but eventually this came down to 8 of us, all “primed” and raring.

I had to meet up with an old friend prior to this and reached HRC around 8.45 pm, being the third person to arrive. There was an entry charge of Rs.500, which included a Tuborg on the house. I quickly settled down, and within minutes, our friend had even won a contest !

Hmm.. and what was the contest? Basically, a couple of stewardesses approached our table for participation in a game and the idea was to recognise the correct brand of whiskey while being blindfolded. The first peg was some other whiskey and the second one was THE one, Jim Beam, who by the way seemed to be the sponsors as it turned out.

By then our party had increased to 5 members and we were wondering when the live music was going to start. Come 9.30 pm and the other 3 also trooped in and we were all set. The band came on stage, and just then… another contest.

They had a Jim Beam guitar to give away to the person who could play it the best from the gathered crowd that night. Since it seemed to be a lucky night for our group, we prodded our ex-drummer buddy to give it a shot. After a bit of tuning and stuff, he began, and played quite decently for someone who had only been learning for 4 months. Two other guys also played, each for a minute and the time came to announce the winner. Popular opinion quite clearly pegged # 3 as the chosen one and he got the guitar.

Finally, the band began their stuff and overall, I’d say they were decent, nothing great, atleast as a first impression. It could be the kind of music that grows on you the more you listen to it, but till then I rate them a 3 on 5. Of course, there were some in our group who felt the sound was too loud. Well, that it certainly was, and wasn’t helped by somewhat poor acoustics at the venue. By the way, the food was ok too, though I’ve had better elsewhere.

As the proceedings wound down, the reunion thingy from earlier in the evening seemed to go on, as I met another friend… He grabbed my shoulder as we crossed paths and for a split second, I was wondering if it was some Mr.Tipsy even as I turned to see his face. Luckily, we’re connected on FaceBook so I had an idea of how he looked, but even then….. 18 years is a loooooong time huh !!

We all left just short of midnight. It was a friend’s birthday the next day so I sent her a message and then moved on to meet up some other friends who were close to the end of another party. A bit of hi’s n hellos here n there, before we all decided to call it a night… and then followed by a quick drive back to home sweet home.

Super end to a nice evening !

An eventful week at Bangalore

Atul Karmarkar — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 17:01:56 +0000

Just returned to Pune… and already feeling like taking the first flight back to Bangalore !!

It was a fun filled lazy week, what with the idyllic weather. No rain, however. Got to meet several friends who are now based here, including an old friend I last met some 13-14 years ago. Unfortunately, some other friends were out of town in the same week I was there, so a meet-up couldn’t happen.

Most of the evening activity was in the Forum area, as it was central and easy for everyone to reach. Also went to a place called Terrace Nation, situated in the National Games Village, Koramangala. Fantastic ambience and location, but the major sore point was with the pace of the service. Each order had to be repeated a minimum of two times, whether it was the food or even ice cubes and soda, and yes… we even had to remind the steward to get the bill !!

We went to the Bannerghatta National Park on Friday, mainly to acquaint my nephew with the animals that he’d seen so far only in his picture books. Yep, he was suitably impressed, though he couldn’t say so yet. He even touched the trunk of an elephant !

Saturday was again a lazy day, and we all went to have breakfast at A2B, followed by a visit to Cubbon Park, where we played a bit of frisbee n stuff. From there, we moved on to the Taj Residency for a spot of lunch. The coffee shop was full as Bosch had given their employees some vouchers, so they had all chosen that day to land up there. We went to the restaurant beside it, and the food was pretty good, the preparation and presentation even more so.

Come evening time and it was decided that we’d have coffee at a place called Cafe Pascucci on MG Road. The place has a nice ambience, good decor and a nice menu. The crowd is also pretty good, and the place attracts a lot of foreigners too.

I had a look at the menu, and though there were several yummy items on offer, I chose one called ‘Sorbetto Al Caffe’.

The contents seemed mouthwatering; coffee powder, coffee beans, coffee liqueur… the works !! In short, absolutely lip smacking stuff !

As it so happened, a short while later, a friend and I also decided to meet up at MG Road as it was closer to his house, and no prizes for guessing which venue I chose.

I had no qualms in ordering the sorbetto all over again, and felt like a really content cat after downing it for the second time.

Come Sunday and it was time to leave. The trip to the airport was routine enough and once there, I had to shell out some dough for the stupid UDF which only seems to be charged at the airport here.

Once I boarded the Indigo flight, the names of the crew were announced and I think this was the first time I was flying in an airline where the Captain was a lady, a far cry from Roberto Carlos !

An evening at the Sagar Plaza Formula One Sports Bar

Atul Karmarkar — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 01:40:51 +0000

Was chatting with a friend about the Turkish Grand Prix, and how some years ago, we used to watch the race each Sunday at a pub over pints of beer. The talk turned to the Formula One Sports Bar at the Hotel Sagar Plaza, and if it was worth a shot going there again.

It was ages since I’d been there of course, but a quick call to the hotel confirmed that the bar was very much in existence, and the receptionist sounded almost shocked when I asked the question. As expected, there was the usual faff about coming early and stuff, first come first served and all that blah.

Come Sunday evening, and there were a few drops of rain, but nothing much as it turned out. I reached a bit early and headed straight for the bar, and oh boy… what a change ! The seating arrangement was not like before and it seemed much more crowded and stuffy, like they had decided to just dump as many seats as was humanly possible !

There were around 15-20 people already in the bar, so anyway, the race started on time at 5.30 pm, and so did we. There was a cover charge of Rs.250/-, but what pissed me off was their insistence of serving only Fosters beer during the race. I wasn’t too keen to have a vodka or whiskey that early in the evening anyway, so we settled for a pint of Fosters (Rs.80 each), along with some fries (bloody expensive).

The projector screen wasn’t all that great either and the weird railing on one side of the seats made it difficult to see the lower half of the screen so we shifted to a different location. That was only only marginally better, as someone’s head was nicely obstructing the screen. Just when I slightly shifted my chair to get a better view, another guy came and plonked himself behind the first guy, a little to the left, which meant instead of seeing the lap timings and track positions, I only got to see two bobbing heads in different directions !

We decided to order stuff to eat, and though there really wasn’t much choice, it was ridiculous to see a chicken sandwich and chicken burger being priced the same (Rs.150). Wasn’t too great anyway, with the burger patty spilling out of the buns, and watery tomatoes to boot, which totally soaked a couple of tissues as well.

The race itself was ok, with Button taking the title to grab his sixth win in seven races this year. An amazing turnaround for the Brawn GP team. Towards the end there was a bit of excitement as Vettel, who started on pole and then lost it during the pit stops, tried to hassle his team mate Mark Webber. His race engineer even said, “Don’t push it, Mark is faster”, but Vettel didn’t seem to care and only went even faster. Webber, till then coasting along, got a rude wake up call and upped his pace, but only just, and finished second with Vettel grabbing the final podium place.

Was an ok evening I guess, though we certainly ain’t going back to the Sagar Plaza F1 sports bar anytime soon.. and yes, the icing on the cake for the day was Federer winning the French Open… Finally !!

Dinner at Sigree – disappointing fare

Atul Karmarkar — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 05:35:25 +0000

A friend was coming from Mumbai to Pune on a rare trip ever since she got married a year ago. Naturally, there was a good deal of enthusiasm among all of us and there was a flurry of activity with multiple emails being sent back and forth about a get together. Finally it was decided we’d all meet on Friday and though there was the usual discussion about where to do so, we finally zeroed in on Sigree. There were six of us (four gals, two guys), a third guy having to drop out on account of some office work that came up.

Now the reason for choosing the venue was that somewhere I guess we all had heard reviews about the place so it seemed as good a place as any. Sigree is located at City Point, at the corner where Dhole Patil Road and Boat Club Road meet. In fact, I was surprised how I’d never been there before, considering I’d visited Mainland China, Bombay Brasserie and La Dolce Vita in the same building complex.

At Sigree, one can opt for the buffet seating outside or the cool environs of the air conditioned seating inside. Obviously, with the heat wave gripping Pune, choosing the latter option was a no-brainer even though I’d come prepared wearing capris and sandals !

I arrived to find the gal gang comfortably ensconed inside and we were soon joined by #6 and the party then began in full swing. The banter was fantastic, the conversation simply flowed and it seemed like we all just picked up from where we’d left off when we last met.

We ordered drinks (vodka, lime juice combos for others and Antiquity for self) and a kebab platter for starters, mushroom in veg and chicken in non-veg. They were quite tasty and succulent and things were looking good when the discontent began.

Though the seating at Sigree is well spaced out, it is bloody uncomfortable, especially due to the low backrests which means one cannot really relax. The stewards then started bustling around and it was pretty irritating to have them hovering and then plonking / stretching themselves all across the table every few minutes, throwing the conversation off track several times.

We decided to order Chicken Biryani for all, hoping that it would be as tasty as the starters were. Alas, disappointment was in store. The biryani was quite poorly made and tasteless and even the chicken pieces left much to be desired. That pretty much decided everyone’s mind and when the steward came later asking if we’d like something cold / sweet, the icy glares from all of us must have certainly left him feeling like dessert !!

The cost worked out to around Rs.500 per head which was ok, but certainly not worth the fare dished out to us. If first impressions are to count, then this dinner at Sigree was a bad one, especially considering that it has been rated one of the finest restaurants in Pune.

Atul Karmarkar.Com» Food

Doolally Ho !!

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An evening at the Sagar Plaza Formula One Sports Bar

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Dinner at Sigree – disappointing fare

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