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

September 30: Q for Comedy presents standup comedian Dan Nainan at Ista Hotel, 88/4, Pune Nagar Road, next to Aga Khan Palace, Yerwada, for invites contact Damini on 9860390005, 8 pm.

September 30: The Zoo Project, a jungle theme party featuring Varun Venkit’s percussion set at High Spirits, 35 A1, North Main Road, Koregaon Park, view the Facebook group here, call 9765988742 for Invites.

September 30: New Italian restaurant Favola opens at Le Meridien, Raja Bahadur Mill Road, see the bpb review here.

September 30: Wine tasting with Lindsay Groves at Prego, The Westin Pune, 36/3-B, Koregaon Park Annexe, Mundhawa Road, Koregaon Park, 67210000.

September 30: Friday Night with DJ Agnel at Scream, Le Meridien, RBM Road, Camp Cantonment, 26050505, 8 pm.

October 1: Oktoberfest starters and drinks at Four Points by Sheraton, 5^th Mile Stone, Nagar Road, 39406699.

October 1: Happiest Music Fest at Arc Asia, ABC Farms, North Main Road, Koregaon Park, 64156676, 7.30 pm onwards

October 1 – 5: Acting and filmmaking  workshop by Zen Ideas at The Zen Hall, Ghole Road, Near FC Road, call 9960039961 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , 6 to 8 pm.

Glam Slam

Make room in your closet for Radhika Dhawan of First Row, who invades Pune this October, armed with lust-worthy designer clothes and accessories, all at deeply reduced prices – think Gayatri Khanna and Lina Tipnis, Rajat Tangri and Princesse K.

These will be available at a weekend sale held at the beloved Terttulia, which means you can gorge not only on cocktail rings but also thin crust pizza and cold mango soup. Delish!

Instant Gratification

The sale only starts next weekend (October 7 and 8), but you can whet your appetite by visiting the First Row website, easy to navigate, fun and chockfull of great deals.

Also check out bpb’s lust list of things we love, currently on First Row. Look out for them at the sale or better yet, snap them up on the website now.

Bow-backed nautical  shirt by Sinbad, Rs 1,080.

Embellished hair bands by Bansri – top notch! – Rs, 1,050.

Casting Directors

On a day as clear as vodka, you see a sturdy ship steering its course. Then out of nowhere, an iceberg appears and the vessel you thought was invincible goes down without so much as a whimper.

This familiar sea scene plays out in a glass of Grey Goose, where ice set in the shape of abovementioned boat-killer floats ominously around other frozen Titanics. These fun nautical ice trays you can buy from It’s Our Studio (they spell it ‘Its Our Studio’ but we can’t bear to keep the typo), where cast-ing directors buy moulds of every kind from around the world to sell in India. These guys will be showing in Pune at the Shopoholics 2011 fest at The O Hotel from September 30 to October 2. If you miss them, you can always browse the pictures on their Facebook group and call in/ email with your order. Or better still, shop on their web store which will be up and running in a week. A quick flip through their mould album revealed super innovative trays for ice, jelly, chocolate, butter and custard.

Marco Solo

Sick of your boy toy? Abandon him for the real stuff, (finally!) available at Masala Toys, a year old pan-India website where you can find everything from vibrators and sex dolls to female condoms and even KY jelly. Toy ahoy!

In-site Entertainment

Easy to navigate and well stocked with merchandise from all over the world - they just received a new shipment from Japan - Masala Toys features internationally recognised brands such as Durex (which is launching it's own sex toy website soon), Cyberskin and Fleshlight.

Plus, it's non-sketchy (or as non-sketchy as a site peddling handcuffs can get), offers a competent hotline and customer service, and is quick to ship - you'll receive your order in three to five days.

Tail Mail

Based out of Bangalore, the site is run by a friendly, chatty guy named Abu, who refuses to give us his last name (sale of sex toys in India is still a legally iffy matter - we've heard a gamut of legal opinions, running from "you're allowed  to sell but not promote", to "certain boys in Saffron are coming to get you now.")

So we  suggest you stock up, and  make love while the sun's still shining. Here's to happy endings!

Getting there: Visit www.masalatoys.com or call (+91) 7760767727, start at Rs 2,500 for a vibrator, shipment received within 3 to 4 days.

Dairy Tales

According to the chef of the new Italian eatery that replaces Spice Island at Le Meridien, “Favola” means stories in Italian. Indeed, the restaurant looks like something out of a romance novel, boasting pristine white walls, an expansive wine cellar and massive chandeliers crafted from candles, the soft light of which makes everything look good, from make-up to meal.

From Eataly, With Love

During a press preview, our meal began with a classic Caprese salad, plated to resemble something out of Masterchef – tomato slices mingling with rocket leaves to accentuate a perfect sphere of mozzarella cheese, about the size of a tennis ball. Pretty and amazingly fresh – the mozzarella was white and soft and juicy on our tongues – the salad was ultimately a little awkward to eat, with a heavily skewered cheese-to-tomato ratio. The ingredients did better in a Pizza Soup,          tomato broth swimming with oregano, croutons and mozzarella cheese.

Thin-crusted, wood-fired pizzas were up next (all of these are named after popular Italian stories – Pizza Captain Uncino, Pizza Pinocchio, Pizza Biancaneve), pleasant but ordinary, a bit of a letdown after all the tossing-kneading-baking theatrics from the show kitchen. Small eaters might want to skip these for Pollo Alla Diavola, chicken breast cooked in Vodka (pink) sauce and served with sautéed vegetables and enough of a punch to shoot us right to a little Tuscan village, where ivy grows on bricks and a portly old man sings aria.

Operation Dessert Storm

Turns out though, that the most subliminal portion of a meal at Favola is dessert, panna cotta and airy, zesty lemon cheesecake - Chef Roberto Boggio is a bit of a happy-ending specialist, recently recognized for his Bavarese in Croccante di Mandole at the Olympics of the Desserts in Turin, Italy. Can we have one of that, please?

Getting there: Favola at Le Meridien, Raja Bahadur Mill Rd, approximately Rs 1,000 per person without alcohol.

Try This At Home: Caterpillar Roll Recipe From Harajuku
bpb rolls out recipe for yum caterpillar sushi from Harajuku at The O Hotel (North Main Road, Koregaon Park, call 40011000). Butterflies in your stomach?

Caterpillar Roll

Ingredients (available at Nature's Basket)

1 sheet nori
80 gms sushi rice
2 crab sticks (optional)
40 gms cucumber
20 gms avocado
20 gms lettuce
20 gms ebiko (caviar)
10 gms wasabi
15 gms pickled ginger
15 gms pickled radish

Method

Roll the sheet of nori and boiled sushi rice together with the topping of your choice eg, crab sticks, cucumber, avocado and lettuce. Top with avocado strips and ebiko. Cut into 8 pieces. Serve with wasabi, pickled ginger, pickled radish, and light soya.

September 23: DJ Sultan and Ned Shepard live at Mi A Mi, Pune Marriott and Convention Centre, Senapati Bapat Road, 66833333, 10 pm, Rs 2,000 per couple.

September 23: Ay Auto launches dial-a-rickshaw service. Call 8446001234, http://www.ayauto.in, operational in all areas under the PMC, Rs 11 minimum fare (night charges separate).

September 23 – 30: Spiritual Realm – painting exhibit by Ramesh Thorat at Ark Gallery, 1322 Valentina Society, North Main Road, Koregaon Park, 11 am – 7 pm.

September 23 – 24: The Festive Feast with Nuts workshop by food blogger Rushina Ghildiyal at Nature’s Basket, behind Axis Road, DP Road, 4.30 – 6 pm.