BPBWeekend - Brown Paper Bag - Pune Weekend Guide, Food & Drink, Shop, Events, Services, Feel Good, Travel, Freebies

December 24: Christmas Eve dinner with mulled wine, The Westin Pune, Koregaon Park, 67210000, Rs 1,200 excluding taxes.

December 24: DJ Amely (Ukraine)- Electro house, Hard Rock Café, Pyramid Complex, Koregaon Park, 67258888, 8 pm, Rs 1,500.

December 24 – 25: 5^th Annual Pune Wine Tasting Festival, Rohi Villa Palace, Pingale Nagar, Koregaon Park, 8806005050, 11.30 am onwards.

December 25: DJ Caroline Banx + DJ Deep, 1 Lounge, Koregaon Mundhwa Road, Koregaon Park, 9561090264, 8 pm.

December 26: : Band on a Bus with Bay Beat Collective- Bus ride from Mumbai via Pune to Goa for the Sunburn festival organised by White Collar Hippie, 9930260748 , email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , visit Facebook event page for more details.

December 31: New Year’s Eve party, Sky Bar & Grill, ICC Trade Tower, Senapati Bapat Road, 9922907205.

December 31: DJ Vicky, Hard Rock Café, Pyramid Complex, Koregaon Park, 67258888, 8 pm.

December 16:  Axetortion – Daniel Rego,Vinay Lobo & Chandresh Kudwa, High Spirits, 35A1 North Main Road, Koregaon Park, 9 pm.

December 16: DJ Pawas (Germany) & DJ Cawas, Swig, North Main Road, Opposite SBI Bank, Koregaon Park, 8.30 pm.

December 16: Afternoon Blast with DJ Ameet and DJ Nash, 322 Amba Complex, 1st & 2nd floor, M G Road, 66012011, 1 pm.

December 16: The House Mechanics (UK), 1 Lounge, Koregaon Mundhwa Road, Koregaon Park, 40477777, 7.30 pm.

December 16: DJ Sunny – Pop and rock, Not Just Jazz By The Bay, E-Square, 132-A, University Road, Ganeshkhind Road, 8 pm.

December 16: DJ AJ, Spice Island, Le Meridian, R.B.M Road, 8 pm.

December 17: VDJ Tashi – Hip-hop, 1 Lounge, Koregaon Mundhwa Road, Koregaon Park, 40477777, 8 pm.

December 18: That Cold Fcuker, High Spirits, 35A1 North Main Road, Koregaon Park, 9 pm.

December 18: 6th Sense - Painting Exhibition, Art2Day, Samarth, 1048, Near Hirabaug Chowk, Tilak Road.

For all you un-jolly folk that want to escape the holiday-party madness of Pune this year, we’ve got a plan – come, meat the elves.

High on Travel along with the happy campers at Big Red Tent is organising an overnight barbeque festival on Christmas eve, at a lake-side, fully equipped camping ground a couple of hours from Pune, off the Mumbai-Pune expressway. Here you’ll find barbeque experts, pitched tents and yes, proper loos.

All Grills Attached

Guided by not just three but five wise men including Chef Anish Rai, Corporate Chef of the Barbeque Nation chain and his team of four, you’ll begin with marinating veggies, paneer and meats and graduate to not only grilling them but also learning about the different aspects of barbeque, from gauging the amount of charcoal required to achieving the best texture for your Chicken teriyaki, paneer tikka and mutton steak (this apparently goes best with mushroom rosemary sauce, which will also be available at the site).

And if despite the expert guidance you end up burning your food, there’s always salad and dips for you to nosh on.

Silent Night?

Other activities will include hanging out around a big bonfire and crashing in pre-pitched tents big enough to fit Santa in, tricked out with sleeping bags, inflatable pillows and camping mattresses. If you’re feeling particularly enthusiastic, you can even take a trek around the area the next morning.

The food and equipment will be provided on site, so all you have to bring along is your overnight change and a bottle (or six) of your favorite wine. Santa hats are optional, but hey, come on, it’s Christmas.

Getting there: Visit http://www.highontravel.com/bbq-fest-details/ for details and to book or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , Rs 3,500 per adult and Rs 1,500 for kids.

December 9: DJ Nawed Khan, Mi A Mi, Pune Marriott Hotel and Convention Centre, 66833333, 9.30 pm, Rs 2,000/couple.

December 9: Quirkboxx launches Dream Factory + Dualist performance, Swig, North Main Road, opposite SBI Bank, Koregaon Park, 26150081, 8 pm.

December 9: Arjun Vagale (Jalebee Cartel) live at 1 Lounge, 81/1, Koregaon Mundhwa Road, Koregaon Park, 32340001, 8.30 pm.

December 9: DJ Ivan’s Videotheque, Ouzos, Lane 7, Koregaon Park, Pune, 26109191, 8 pm.

December 9: Para Vayu plays tribute to The Doors, High Spirits, 35A1 North Main Road, Koregaon Park,  9765988742, 8.30 pm.

December 9: Hard Kaur (Live), Symbiosis Centre for Management and Human Resource Development, plot no. 15, Rajiv Gandhi Infotech Park, MIDC, Hinjawadi, 22934304, 7 pm.

December 10: Sivamani (Live), Symbiosis Centre for Management and Human Resource Development, plot no. 15, Rajiv Gandhi Infotech Park, MIDC, Hinjawadi, 22934304, 7 pm.

December 10:  Apache Indian (Live), Pancard Clubs, Baner Hills, Baner Road, Aundh , 66035000, 9 pm.

December 11: Lucy Swann + Droolian (Norway), High Spirits, 35 A1 North Main Road, Koregaon Park, 9765988742, 9 pm.

Darwin-win Situation

It's nice to see designers evolve and price tags regress. At Evolv, a spanking new multi-designer store at Phoenix Market City, super high-end designers collaborate on garments that are targeted to the youth and are therefore more affordable.

Along with usual fashion suspects - Manish Arora, Rohit Bal, Rajesh Pratap and Namrata Joshipura - Evolv also stocks fun brands like Melissa (love those Melissa heels!), Skullcandy, Suhanie Pittie and Play Clan. These creations are housed in a vibrant 850 sq. ft. space where walls are pasted with fun pencil and scissor graphics. Interestingly, the clothes are sorted by colour scheme rather than label, making it easier to browse. Somewhere over the rainbow we found a red Gaurav Gupta dress for Rs 6,000!

Still suspicious, haan? Need another way to look at the situation? Read it backwards and 'Evolv' turns into 'V love'. Did you notice?

Getting there: Evolv Luxury Concept Store, Phoenix Market City, Nagar Road, Rs 6,500 for a pair of Melissa heels.

Prey on This

In Koregaon Park, an area dominated by spiritual seekers and culinary crawlers, a newish entrant tries to combine both. At least in its moniker.  Froguru, a frozen yoghurt store at Lane No 7 dishes out ‘prasad’ in the form of fun yoghurt flavours. Regular or soul grain?

In the face of neighbourhood fro-yo store Cravingz’ 150-strong flavour menu, Froguru’s is super skinny, but it does feature interesting varieties like brownie batter (yum!) and fig-honey, and also the usual single fruit flavours. These you can jazz up with fruit, biscuit crumble, chocolate sauce, choco chips and other fun toppings. There are also smoothies or 'froothies' , made using yoghurt and fresh fruit of your choice.

For a froguru dakshina of Rs 35, you can get a small cup, while Rs 50 will get you a larger blessing. While you decide which one to go with, know this - bless is more!

Getting there: Froguru, shop No. 4, Gulmohar Garden, Lane 7, Koregaon Park, call 32343759, Rs 50 for a small yoghurt.

The Courtyard by Marriott shares its recipe for the Financier, a light, moist French cake said to resemble a bar of gold. Rich!

Ingredients:

250gm Butter
250gm Castor sugar
8 Nos Egg white
80gm Flour
100gm Almond powder
20ml Honey
Vanilla

Fresh Strawberry Compote:

200 gm Fresh strawberry
100gm Sugar

Method:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C). Melt butter in a pan over a high flame until it starts to brown and strain through a fine sieve. Let it cool. In a bowl, mix together the flour, almond powder, castor sugar, honey and vanilla. Fold in the egg white and stir in the butter. Pour the mixture into the moulds and bake for 15 minutes, until golden brown and risen in the centre.

For the Compote:

In a saucepan, over medium heat, mix the strawberries and sugar. Bring the liquid to a boil, and reduce the heat to medium. Let it simmer until the fruit is soft for 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and cool.

Serve with whipped cream, or accompanied by ice cream and other frozen confections.