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Thursday, 17 January 2013 16:58 |
 What: Masaya and Maddox opening at M-68, GK 1, M Block Market.
Why: It’s not often that two new bars open within a week of each other in the same market, let alone the same building, but that’s what’s happening with Masaya and Maddox. Situated in the same building as Haute Saute, Masaya is a lounge speckled with blue lighting and a long bar. Maddox is also a lounge—heaven help us!—which doesn’t yet have a liquor license but is lined with enough red velvet to make you feel like you’re in a shady part of Moscow. Despite their Siamese-twin locations, natures and names, however, we have received assurances that they belong to two different owners. Bar-thers from another mother?
When: Masaya slated to launch on January 26; Maddox is currently serving mocktails and food.
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Wednesday, 16 January 2013 19:19 |
 Expansion, expansion, expansion, plus new menus and a mobile app - owners of the city’s top restaurants share their big plans for the new year with bpb.
Smita Singh Rathore – Elma’s & Edward’s
We’re going to encourage people to eat better, and provide ingredients for them to cook more at home. We’re definitely opening another Elma’s and Edward’s in about six months, at an undisclosed location!
Kula Naidu- Asian Haus
We're looking to expand pan-India and have three new outlets up and running before this year ends. The details of this are not final yet, but we're keen to take the ethos of our outlet wherever we go. This will go hand in hand with my personal resolution to stay healthy. Rahul Khanna- Mamagoto
2013 will prove to be our most challenging year yet. We will travel with our brand to other cities. We're excited about a new flagship outlet in Mumbai (Bandra) by April. A second outlet in Mumbai to follow soon.
Raman Verma- The Blue Door Cafe
In 2013, we're looking to open a terrace or create an open space, in our new Khan Market restaurant. This space will offer a chance for patrons to step out for a smoke, or be served outside in the fresh air, if they so prefer.
Rohan Gupta- Ploof
2013 is an action packed year for us. We will introduce a live, authentic BBQ section on our terrace. Here one will be able to design dish according to preference of meat, seafood etc, these will then be cooked in a variety of special Ploof sauces. We are also soon launching a Ploof mobile app. You will be able to get special notifications, a loyalty program, promotions and discounts, order our food and deli products online, book a table and other such fun features. Plus, in 2013, we're also looking to expand and open several new outlets in NCR as well as Mumbai and Pune.
Sid Mathur –Smokehouse Deli and Smokehouse BBQ
We’re looking to double the amount of Smokehouse Delis across the country in 2013. My own personal food resolution is to eat at Noma in Copenhagen, the world’s best restaurant three years in a row.
Vaibhav Singh –PCO
We’re making drastic changes in the food menu this year, introducing more food like sliders and steaks. Plus we’re revamping the cocktail menu a little bit to introduce more prohibition drinks (at the moment, they're all pre-prohibition).
Jatin Malik - Tres
We’re toying with a new location. We haven’t decided where yet, but Delhi could do with a few more places. Maybe even a new concept? Vivita Relan – Potbelly
We’re going to get a lift, or a flying carriage, or damn Sherpas with donkeys - anything to get customers up 4 storeys of stairs so we don't have to hear how they would love to come but can't and why don't we open on the ground floor. Also we’d like to develop a slick delivery service - need to get our delivery packaging and little Vespas going around South Delhi so people who wouldn't deign to come to Shahpur Jat- let alone trundle up its 'Qutab Minar' heights - can experience authentic Bihari cuisine. Then there’s giving the whole place a paint job. But when you're open all day every day figuring that one out is tough.
Good luck, and god speed~
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Monday, 14 January 2013 16:55 |
 We’re big fans of Gung The Palace in Green Park, home of free flowing soju and a karaoke machine on the top floor, and so have great expectations for the week-old café at the new Korean Cultural Centre (KCC), which opened recently in the maze that is Lajpat Nagar. Will it be Gung-nam style?
Ginseng And Tonic
The café is housed in a large space festooned with random decals on the wall, couches in corners and low lights. Apparently a film club meets here on Fridays, with free screenings of Korean movies followed by a discussion and snacks. It also hosts taekwondo and flower arranging classes, and sits next to a gallery space showcasing Korean artists as well as a library where you can check out DVDs or just stay and work. At the moment, anyone can use the facilities, but they might limit it to only members soon.
Kimchi Jong Un
But back to the café: If, like us, you go with a palate primed for beef stir-fried and bibimbap, you’re bound to be disappointed, for here you’ll find only snacks, tea and milkshakes, which you’ll have to go through an elaborate miming session to order.
After much pointing and nodding, we settle on two kinds of sushi – plain rice and tuna with kimchi, the first of which is too bland, the second flavorful and crunchy. We wash this down with Fairytale Tea (how could we not?!), which smells like a bouquet and tastes a bit like chewing petals. Strange, but still better than pomegranate iced tea, which is frighteningly pink and syrupy.
K-Popcorn
It’s almost time for lunch, so we decide to spring for spicy noodle soup and prawn spaghetti as well. The spicy noodle soup tastes like Shin Cup noodles, but is hearty and hot. And hey, if you can go to a café and eat Maggi (we’re looking at you, Mocha), we don’t see why you’d complain about it here. The prawn spaghetti arrives after a protracted period, swimming in spicy Indian-style tomato sauce with little bits of prawn. Inauthentic and brawny, it sticks out like a sore thumb in this quiet, authentic little café.
We end with bingsu, dessert featuring sweet red beans, ice cream and chopped fruit on a bed of shaved ice. This is refreshing, especially the sweet melon and ice combination, and promise ourselves to come back for more in the summer.
The KCC’s café turns out to be that rare thing—a pleasant surprise—hidden on one of Delhi’s busiest roads with thoroughfare everywhere. Just the very idea of it – and Fairytale Tea – seems deliciously romantic. Hopelessly Daewoo-ted to you?
Getting there: A 25, Lajpat Nagar 4, view Google Map here, call 43345000, Rs 780 for a meal for two without alcohol.
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Monday, 14 January 2013 09:25 |
 Indian coffee is routinely bartered for Russian arms; the Ethiopian Coffee Exchange is antiquated but yields a flavorful bean; The Atlantic extols you to drink as much coffee as you like. And here's a cup of freshly-roasted, custom-ground Arabica to go with all your new reading. Dear Blue Tokai, we like you already.
Black is the New Black Founded late last year (they got their first batch of coffee in December 2012) by Matt Chithiranjan, an "economist turned coffee roaster in New Delhi", Blue Tokai is a new service that offers to deliver freshly roasted - twice a week by order - Arabica coffee from select Indian plantations, right to your doorstep. Added bonus: they can custom grind the beans based on the equipment you use, including South Indian Coffee Filter, French Press and Moka Pot. Regular Perks Currently on sale are three different beans, including aa Arabica beans from Attikan Estate in Bilgiri Hills, Karnataka, and two varieties of Arabica from M.S. Estate in Chikmagalur, Karnataka. All three, the owners assure, are vetted and approved by seasoned coffee-swilling palates. The beans can be bought in batches of 250 gms and up, and you can even sign up for better-priced regular subscriptions of three, six and twelve months. Time for a change in brew-tine? Getting there: Visit www.bluetokaicoffee.com, start at Rs 270 for 250 gms excluding shipping charges.
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Thursday, 10 January 2013 16:41 |
 What: Sugar Blossoms Cake Studio, 132 Meharchand Market, Rs 720 for a dozen cake truffles.
Why: We sampled Sugar Blossoms' cake truffles at a party once and their taste lingered in our tequila-fogged memory for days. It is therefore with great anticipation that we await the opening of a full-fledged Sugar Blossoms bakery in Meharchand Market next week, where the baker, Kajal, will retail not just the truffles but also cookies, cupcakes and cakes. The tiny space will be mostly takeaway in the beginning with only a couple of chairs, but Kajal plans to expand soon, and also add in a coffee machine. Bake away service, indeed!
When: Slated to open next week.
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Wednesday, 09 January 2013 23:58 |
 We went to three-day-old Edward’s, a highly anticipated new sandwich shop and deli by the same people behind Elma's and TLR, on a cold weekday and it was bustling with people. The open kitchen was a blur of motion, the blackboard menu mostly sold-out, every seat in the tiny space taken. We don’t need to be prophets to predict this place is going to be very popular.
Bready Or Not
If Elma's is a tea-pouring, country-living Barbie, Edward's is her Goth cousin from the big city. Instead of tinkling Christmas music, here there is smokey jazz, and chintz is replaced by black walls, one aflutter with mounted butterflies. Over the door hang a trio of antique spoons. All seating is low and wooden, except for a solo diner bar counter on one side. Everything is served on wooden chopping boards.
The chalkboard menu—divided into carnivores and grass eaters—lists five or six sandwiches in each section, but they were out of a lot of options when we visited. We lusted briefly after a chorizo stuffed baguette (sold out), and settled for a chicken salad sandwich and a pate sandwich with onion marmalade. We loved the chicken liver pate, smooth and creamy, mixed with the crunch of fresh lettuce and the salt of the onion marmalade. Our companion liked the chicken salad version, mixed with mayo and stuffed with chopped black grapes. Both were built on white bread with thick crunchy crusts, sturdy enough to hold the meat but without turning soggy.
He’s A Fungi
For the vegetarian selection, we chose a croissant stuffed with oyster mushrooms (the girl behind the counter took pains to tell us not to get used to the croissant—they were just out of the normal bread) and a Greek salad sandwich. The latter, stuffed into a pillowy bun with a crust we longed to break off and dip into olive oil, was just that, a Greek salad on bread. Good for a light mid afternoon snack, not so great for dinner. The croissant was light and flaky, very buttery, lifted to new heights by the mushrooms and cheese. No sandwich should taste this sublime. Most beverages, at the moment come from the big sister upstairs, and they also have a loyalty card—buy four sandwiches, get a free drink, buy eight and get a free sandwich. We’re almost there!
Deli Lost And Found
All in all, Edward’s had us making happy noises throughout our meal. The service was prompt, and maybe thanks to the fact that Elma’s is already an institution, there were no first-week hiccups (except running out of a lot of the food). On the counter are various hipster products you can take home, including Miss Chhotee’s Dips and Gourmet Jar jam. We bought a linzertarte from an Erma’s Gourmet, but it was a bit dry - we suggest sticking with the in house stuff. The manageress upstairs also recommends you visit during mornings for packaged ravioli, brought from Grey Garden and apparently so popular that they finish stocks by noon. You might have to fight us for the last packet - and that chorizo baguette.
Getting there: 24/1 HKV, call 2650435, approximately Rs 1,500 for a meal for two without alcohol.
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Tuesday, 08 January 2013 00:28 |
 First, a confession: we’re a bit late to the Haute Saute party, which opened a month ago. Tucked away with minimal signage, it is hard to find with a nondescript exterior. In direct contrast, the interiors at this restaurant are splashed with graffiti and cheerful lighting, to go with a cheerful owner. Apart from a table of his friends, we’re the only other diners, but hey, it's a weekday and close to 1 degree outside, so we aren't surprised no one was venturing out.
Haute Saute’s main focus, its plat du jour or plat signature even, is parmigiana of two kinds—chicken or eggplant—and since our fellow diners are immensely curious about this, described as “sort of like pizza without the crust”, we order both. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves here. First, on the owner’s recommendation, we get the chicken barbie bites, disappointingly not blonde with high heels, but tangy and flavourful, marinated in a spicy sauce and chargrilled. There’s also mushroom quesadillas, which this reviewer’s mum, who had come along, dismissed as “too much like roti. I could make this.” The salsa that accompanies our dish is hot enough to jazz it up a bit, though.
Trail Of Breadcrumbs
On to the parmigianas: These arrive at our excited table - four slices of aubergine, bread crumbed and greasy - in massive, chunky portions. The chicken version comes with salami and cheese topping, basically meat on meat and is even larger. Be warned: you’ll need at least three people to finish this dish. Maybe as a good accompaniment to lots of drinks—but while Haute Saute has a bar menu, it's the usual vodka-whiskey-wine-beer, and it being a school night, we decide to go without.
Less overwhelming but also less pleasing is ravioli with spinach and vodka chilli cream sauce. While the sauce is delicious, the ravioli itself rather too al dente for our tastes.
Custard’s Last Stand
At last, we identify Haute Saute’s must try, rage-against-the-dying-of-the-light dish, a vanilla brulee. The caramel cracks on top in a way that would make Amelie happy, the vanilla custard underneath is silky and it's the first dish all evening that we eat entirely. A good way to end a big meal, and definitely grounds for a re-visit.
Getting there: M 68, first floor, M Block Market, Greater Kailash – I, call 41753366, Rs 2,345 for a meal for two without alcohol.
bpb reviews anonymously and pays for its own meals.
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Thursday, 03 January 2013 21:38 |
 What: He Said, She Said, 31 Hauz Khas Village, approximately Rs 200 for a beer.
Why: He Said, She Said sounds like a cutesy romcom diner, but in fact it’s a lot more badass than that: popping up right under TLR, here is a shot bar with over a 100 different shots and a bunch of finger food that promises to reach your table in under 10 minutes after you order. The décor is billed as “yellow, and it’ll make you laugh”, but right now, we’re just focusing on the giggle-water.
When: Sink those B52s next weekend.
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Thursday, 03 January 2013 00:43 |
 “It’s like Nike got rid of the ‘just do it’ but kept the swish,” opined a friend about the rehoming and rebranding of N Block Market’s traffic causing beloved, Shalom, which has moved two doors down and now goes by the moniker S Bar. It’s really quite a lovely change, keeping most of Shalom’s vibe, all of its staff and stiff drinks, but changing a few key elements, like the menu and decor.
S Is For Shalom
The new menu branches out nicely from it's predecessor —we ordered jujeh kebabs from Iran, marquit ommalah from Tunisia, and a chickpea and feta dish. Marquit ommalah - lamb meatballs in a spicy tomato sauce —was served with rice, great winter comfort food and generous enough for two. Chickpeas were also in a tomato gravy, the feta crumbled on top, and crunchy garlic bread on the side. Jujeh kebabs should have ideally been baby chicken, said our Persian companion, but the meat was tender, stuffed into an overflowing pita and served with orange, garlicky hummus.
S Is For Spirits
We carried our drinks (from the old bar menu, a Levitation, gin and pomegranate juice, and a Mojito) and went to explore the rest of the space. More changes: there’s now a lovely terrace section, with hot coal angheetis, a long bar, hookah and pretty lamps everywhere. It was still a bit cold to sit outside, but we anticipate this will be the most popular bit in a few weeks. The mezzanine is the same design as the old one, a wrap-around balcony with not much seating but enough space to dance. Under the DJ console, cut out letters spell “Tranquil” and “Serenity”. Cheesy and in line with the Sufi music pumping out of the speakers.
Walking out of the new and improved space, we were beset by an urge to do what we never do, which is make a new year's resolution. We grappled with the impulse, and almost caved before getting into our car and driving into the dark, thankfully resolution-less but with the strong urge to engineer a facelift. S Bar will do that to you.
Getting there: N 10, Greater Kailash I, call 41032280, Rs 3,518 for a meal for two with alcohol.
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Thursday, 20 December 2012 20:04 |
 What: Flavor’s Bistro, French Embassy Cultural Centre’s new restaurant, 2, Aurangzeb Road, call 9718182974 or visit the Facebook page here, Rs 1,500 per person for membership to the Cultural Centre.
Why: We loved P’tit Bar, Flavor’s little French sibling in Defence Colony, and this new café at the French Embassy’s outpost building is meant to be an “upgrade”. Normally reserved for members only, they’re throwing their doors open all through December for walk-ins and offering membership forms too. Once you join, you can bring up to three guests, or book the whole place for a party. On the menu are pain au chocolat, crumbly croissants, beef fondue, macaroons, mille feuille and a pretty al fresco section. Cry me a Riviera!
When: You want Eiffel pudding.
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Thursday, 20 December 2012 19:50 |
 What: Miss Chhotee’s homemade dips, sauces and spreads, call 9810544565, or pick up select spreads from Modern Bazar, New Friend’s Colony/Vasant Vihar, Rs 155 for peri peri mayo.
Why: Good dip can be a meal on its own, especially when we have to do our own cooking. The best kind is by Shradha Agarwal or Miss Chhotee (she is the youngest in a very large – and apparently unimaginative – family), who whips up peri peri sauce that would give Nando’s a run for its money, and great guacamole. Also check out her Christmas baskets, available for pick-up from her Vasant Vihar residence.
When: You want to be lavash with your condiments.
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Tuesday, 18 December 2012 22:41 |
 Here's something that’s been on our radar a while: Elma’s little ground floor space. We spotted it several months ago, intrigued with the curiosity-shop dust-speckled windows, and hoped it was going to be a bar. Then we heard it was going to be a deli, which has been threatening to open for months and finally will, housing not only a deli but also a sandwich shop.
Dough, Re, Mi
As expected from the pastry and bread at Elma’s, all Edward’s bread will also be baked in house. When we spoke to someone at Elma’s, they also said that the décor would be similar to the old tea shop feel of its mother ship upstairs.
Also expect to see organic vegetables and meat on sale, as well as gourmet jam and homemade pasta. One of our major gripes with HKV is that there aren’t accessible local stores where you can buy eggs and bread—looks like that’s going to change. This is how a hipster goes grocery shopping. Full review out soon!
Getting there: Ground floor, 24/1, HKV, call 26562434, opening this week.
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Monday, 17 December 2012 00:19 |
It’s somewhat ironic that this writer chose the week we went to Az Bar—Blue Frog’s new standalone bar that’s replacing Azimuth—to quit smoking. Ironic, because it has one of the prettiest smoking sections we’ve seen, low couches, smooth jazz piping through the speakers and—if you ignore the Blue Frog gig revelers on the other side of the screen —a date place perfect for all the awkward knee touching and sideways glances of a first encounter.
Movers and Shakers
Nevertheless, we pushed our cancerous temptation firmly aside and picked an indoor seat, pausing to consider the bar stools before plumping on a couch, stacked full of cushions. From here, we had a vantage view of the crowds and also the crazy optical illusion wall, made from metal balls, which undulated in a rather alarming fashion. Properly settled, we were given a massive bar menu, which included several different kinds of vodka cocktails—from in house to Ketel One to Grey Goose—and a binder full of food. Mitt Romney would’ve been pleased.
We chose a vodka martini with pomegranate and passion fruit and a Blue Frog, which the menu only described as “blue and potent”. The former was sweet and fruity, slipping down easy and leaving our head reeling a little bit. Blue Frog was very blue,and tasted of kaffir lime. It was a bit like drinking an aquarium.
Under The Canape
In contrast, bar snacks were uncomplicated and tasty. Beef galauti served on top of mini paratha rolls stuffed with red cabbage sauerkraut were an unexpectedly good combination, the paratha flaky and the cabbage offering the crunch that the soft kebab needed. Chilli fried potatoes served with sour cream and bell peppers were a large tangy bowl, soaked through in sauce and yet retaining their crispness. Our companion called them the most “more-ish chips” he’d ever had.
We washed down chilli cheese toast, dotted with chopped chillis and covered in melting cheddar, with a Cider House, a gin, apple juice and cinnamon cocktail which was sadly served cold instead of warm. Still, it was refreshing, the cinnamon not overwhelming the Tanqueray. Also good was complimentary makhanas, freshly roasted and dusted with a spicy powder, much better for you than popcorn and with and equally addictive taste.
We emerged into Blue Frog land, the smokers from the gig inside being valiantly fended off by waiters checking the guest list outside Az. And maybe we bummed a cigarette while tilting our heads back and gazing at the stars, the gin warming our stomachs. Call it—the whole evening—a guilty pleasure.
Getting there: Blue Frog, Mehrauli, call 30800300, Rs 4,500 for a meal for two with alcohol.
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Thursday, 13 December 2012 19:50 |
 What: Firefly, India Mall, New Friend’s Colony, call 9999499142, approximately Rs 600 per head.
Why: This new bar in New Friend’s Colony offers a selection of finger food, including mini hot dogs and burgers, as well as (allegedly) cheap booze: the interiors are rather TGIFriday’s, with a long bar and a gathering of nondescript tables, but suspect it’ll make for a better after-work Tuesday evening spot.
When: Opens this week. Full review out soon!
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Thursday, 13 December 2012 19:46 |
 What: The German Bake Shop, visit www.german-bakeshop.com to order, Rs 900 for 1 kilo of Christmas stollen.
Why: This old bakery (famous for being the same people behind the German Bakery in Varnasi) now has an online avatar much more accessible than the Pahargunj outlet. Along with Christmas cookies, you can order semi-frozen bread, stick it in the oven for five minutes and have fresh bread every day. Orders must be placed the day before, and even though they were a little late with ours, a complimentary bag of Christmas cookies made up for it. Also delicious: sugar-dusted stollen with almonds and vanilla kipferl, Christmas cookies frosted and shaped like stars.
When: You would like your very own nibbula.
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Monday, 10 December 2012 22:37 |
 The Cavalli Cafe is fashionably late to Delhi's culinary party (it was scheduled to open in the summer and finally did this week) but arrives in style, fittingly furred over in zebra print and leopard spots. It also showcases an empty bar - no liquor license yet - and a menu that's a lot better edited than the designer's Fall collection.
We've never understood how people can eat at a fashion cafe - the thought of fitting into those jewel-encrusted swimsuits is usually enough to have us sticking to a salad - but we begin nevertheless, with a selection of vegetarian crostini and a smoked salmon salad. The salad is gorgeous, pearled over with fresh pink salmon, but stingy with capers and horseradish dressing. Crostinis are worth their carbs, dressed in aubergine, cheese and olives, or mozzarella and pesto that's just bitter enough. Pesto Control
We also sample bucatini with pepper and pecorino, slick with oil and sharp with pepper, perfect for ladies who lunch and diametrically opposite of chicken cacciatore, a burly, indelicate but ultimately satisfying mess of tender meat, brown gravy, beans and potato. Dessert is ginger and vanilla panna cotta with a blood orange filling, it's deeply gingery taste rounded out with silky wet texture, epitomizing perfectly the Cavalli experience: a bitter pill to swallow sometimes, but it sure goes down smoothly.
Getting there: DLF Emporio, Nelson Mandela Marg, Vasant Kunj, call 46950000, Rs 3,400 for a meal for two without alcohol.
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Sunday, 09 December 2012 22:16 |
 MGF Metropolitan may be the place where light (and retail) come to die, but it does have one bright spot: Cafe Ludus is an adorable little eatery featuring a doodled-on menu, pretty walls and a library in which magazines are slung on clothes hangers. Because it was perfect weather on the evening we visited, with orange squash skies and gentle breeze, we headed straight for its outdoor terrace. Eating out, indeed.
Life Of (Cano)py
We sat on crude-looking chairs made of planks upcycled from delivery crates and began with fizzy drinks- Ludus Style Mojito and a Guava Cran Cooler. The Mojito was rather flat but the guava cooler better, granular and just sweet enough. We’re attempting to eat healthier too, so we chose Waldorf salad with juicy apples and walnuts tossed in Thousand Island over a lettuce bed.
The meat eater with us chose a maximus burger, stacked with crunchy strips of bacon and a well-done beef patty. The bun were crumbly and the burger capriciously assembled, but it made up in taste what it lacked in form. Casanova chicken sticks were flaky and deep-fried but thankfully, not too greasy. We were also quite happy about a section on the menu for people who want to try a little of everything. So, you can have half a soup with half a pizza among another combinations. We chose a vegetarian half and half pizza: sun dried tomato, asparagus, bell peppers and a perfectly toasted crust. The dip, however, was a weirdly pickle-y concoction.
The dessert was a tepid ending to an otherwise intriguing meal, with more than half the options unavailable; so we settled on stinky cheese cake and hazelnut flan, which while strangle addictive, essentially tasted like a Bournville dunked in a puddle of chocolate syrup.
Woodpecker Stuff Nevertheless, Café Ludus is charming; plus they’re scoring their liquor license soon! Grab a table and a magazine, sip on a drink while waiting for your monster burger. And if you really must go shopping after, the other, better stocked malls are only a stroll away. It’ll do you good to walk off that lunch.
Getting there: Café Ludus, second floor, 24/25 MGF Metropolitian Mall, Saket, call 41416844, Rs 3,000 for a meal for two without alcohol.
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Thursday, 06 December 2012 18:24 |
What: Cafe Ludus, 24/25 second floor, MGF Metropolitan Mall, Saket, call 41416843, Rs 3,000 for a meal for two without alcohol. Why: There was an army of guys in red Converse sneakers who stood guarding the little woody entrance and brightly painted walls of this new restaurant, hovering over tree-trunk tables and antique radio sets, lurking amongst the sheer curtains that beckoned us to the outdoor area, strewn with seats of worn out khaki. Basking in the terrace sun, we sampled and enjoyed an enormous burger and delicate hazelnut flan, but you’re going to have to wait for the full review to know more. Patio(ence) is a virtue! When: Full review out next week.
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Wednesday, 05 December 2012 16:36 |
 bpb's quick guide to the best barbecue party ever.
Got Meat?
French Farm, Off Jaipur-Gurgaon Highway
This is where all our favourite restaurants and hotels in the capital source their special cuts from. It’s all organic, and especially great for chicken, pork chops, quail and duck. Call Roger Langbour on 9810166196 to make an appointment and for directions if you’re up for mini-road trip. French Farm also retails at certain outlets across the city. Inducia, www.inducia.com, call 45756666; Tattva, Hauz Khas Village, call 8860244640; The Altitude Store, www.thealtitudestore.com, call 49050405.
Steakhouse, Jorbagh Market
This used to be the place you’d come to once a month to stock up on imported (expensive) meat treats, when they were still a rarity in the country. Fifty years in the business and it's still popular with the South Delhi crowd. Stop by to pick up Indian and Belgian baby back ribs, pork chops and tenderloin. 13/8 Jor Bagh Market, call 24611129.
PigPo, across Delhi
Delhi has quite a few PigPo outlets across the city. Their selection of meat includes the usual lamb, chicken and fish, but their pork chops are the best. Shanti Niketan, call 24115335; Jorbagh, call 24611723.
Fresh ‘n’ Frozen, Lajpat Nagar
Choice cuts of salmon, scallops, New Zealand lamb chops, pork ribs, deli meats and an assortment of exotic sausages. Get them all into your shopping cart on www.freshnfrozen.com.
Caspian Caviar and Fine Food, Kailash Colony
If you like all creatures big and small and fresh from the sea, this is probably where you should look first—especially for fillets of salmon, trout, tuna, scallops, langoustine and different kinds of caviar. B-33, Kailash Colony; call 9811478506.
Grills and Boys
Lok Nayak Bhavan, Khan Market You should be able to get barbeque coals from your colony market, but if you’re out of luck there, opposite Lok Nayak Bhawan in Khan Market is a white wall that conceals a timber house that will gladly supply you with as much coal as you need.
Adventure 18, Osaba, Chandni Chowk The most tricked out outdoor grills (charcoal and flat top) now live in adventure shops like Adventure 18 and general electronics stores like Osaba in Vasant Vihar. A backyard barbeque revolution is Weber's range of dome-shaped grills: try the One-Touch premium, great for amateurs and priced at Rs 19,995. If you have a large enough space and want to go old school, there’s nothing like those massive metal grills that you can get a local ironsmith to make for you in Chandni Chowk. Adventure 18, Satya Niketan, call 32970400; Osaba, Priya Complex, Vasant Vihar.
Online If you're inviting friends around for your BBQ party, don't poke your meat about like an amateur, it's your reputation at steak. Embrace your inner BBQ ninja, and this nifty three-in-one spatula, fork and tongs. So you can go from flipping burgers to grabbing those chicken legs to spiking slabs of sirloin without any prior training. Rs 3,805 (free shipping); order from www.zansaar.com. Perfect steaks with your name on them? Sure, if you're unimaginative like that. Because we can think of all sorts of other hysterical (but unprintable) things you can personalise your meat with before you pass it around at a party. This branding iron comes with all the letters of the alphabet so you have free reign to play with, and on words. Available at www.neatoshop.com for US$ 18.95 (approximately Rs 1,000).
Barbebook Flipkart
BBQ Sauces, Rubs & Marinades For Dummies by Traci Cumbay and Tom Shneider (Rs. 692) has countless tips, crystal-clear instructions and 100 recipes for chicken, beef, pork, lamb, seafood and even sides. If you go wrong with this, you’d best warm up to the idea of eating out for the rest of your life. Once you’ve mastered the basics, go a level up and get yourself the The Little Black Book of Barbecue: The Essential Guide To Grilling, Smoking, and BBQ (Rs. 471). Both available on www.flipkart.com
Lazy Bones
Ploof Deli Kitchen & Bar Don’t feel like doing all the work yourself but still want a top BBQ dinner? Ploof will marinate (to your taste) beef patties, steak, sausages, basa, sea bass, red snapper and salmon for you—so when you get home, you just need to slap it all on to your grill and…you’re done. Lodhi Colony’s Main Market, call 24634666.
Food, Inc. Catered by the Yum Yum Tree, this nifty culinary service will send over equipment, a chef, and a bunch of poultry, meat and seafood (king prawns, Cambodian basa, lamb chops, chorizo, beef patties, chicken) and set up barbecue in your home. Call 9810077019/20. A Recipe for Luck Chicken Marinade Recipe from Chef Xavi of Smokehouse Grill
For the Dry Rub:
(About 2 tablespoons of each of the following, but feel free to switch it up according to your taste):salt, black pepper powder, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, dark brown sugar, red chili powder. Mix all ingredients and rub generously all over the chicken pieces, and marinate for 6-12 hours. For the barbecue sauce: Tomato ketchup, chili powder, garlic powder, lemon, paprika, red wine vinegar. Cook together for about an hour until you get a thick sauce. Baste the meat, grill and enjoy.
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Tuesday, 04 December 2012 18:09 |
 Ciré is the French word for fabric that has a highly glazed look. It’s a bit of an odd choice of moniker for a restaurant, but we’ve been in Delhi long enough to roll with it. Perhaps in an attempt to be all bright and shiny, this 10-day-old restaurant in HKV was still doing some housekeeping when we walked up the stairs, past a man taking out the garbage, lifting our feet for the mop that swept by our table, not finding a trash can anywhere in the freshly wiped bathroom. We were a bit waxed.
Fabric Of Time
The menu turned out to be a hodge podge of European cuisine, with a bit of Mediterranean thrown in. We started with Persian chicken satay along with asparagus rolled in ham and cheese sauce. Our part-Persian companion thought the satay could have done with some saffron marinade and zestier tomato sauce, but we liked the combination, a very plain kebab served with only spicier tomato sauce and woken up with a whiff of oregano and basil. Asparagus was limp (we’re going to resist the cruder comparision) in a roll of ham and cheese on top of it. It was too pulpy a combination with no bite to round it up. The chef did send out a plate of complimentary garlic bread though, which we ate on its own without the accompanying herb butter, toasty and crisp.
Waxing And Waning
We were excited to find pork on the menu and got loins with mashed potatoes and camembert sauce. Pork was far too tough and when we pointed that out, they offered to replace it. But we had already eaten most of the mashed potatoes plus a mushroom pizza, so we declined. The pizza had an unusual combination of mushrooms—oyster, shitake and button—and while the shitake tasted too funky for the pizza, we loved the Neapolitan-reminiscent crust, thin and crunchy, almost biscuit-like in texture.
For dessert, we got strawberry-blueberry crepe and an apple smoothie to wash it down with again. Perhaps, excited about having customers or just trying to sweeten the blow of the pork, the kitchen comped the dessert as well, but they needn’t have, because we would have been happy to pay for the moist crepe lined with blueberry-strawberry compote and served with ice cream. However, the exorbitantly priced smoothie was far too sweet, even though they assured us it was only apples, no sweeteners.
Shimmer Shimmer Shake
Much like other places in HKV, Ciré is all sheen with not much to back it up, except an extensive menu and an enthusiastic staff. Some things they get right off the bat, but for others, we’re going to have to wait and see. Our eyes are glazing over already.
Getting there: First floor, 30 HKV, call 9899221456, approximately Rs 2,000 for a meal for two without alcohol.
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