Our food trail

Our food trail 

My wife and I are not a foodie conventionally. We do not relish global food, not even some of the Indian food. But we are an avid eating-out couple so we call ourselves foodie, anyway. We are not into exotic food or expensive restaurants. Occasionally, we enjoy a good lounge bar but avoid food there. 

Our favored food trail starts at Nariman Point, the Southernmost tip of Mumbai. Status is a well-known eatery in that area. Gujaratis from Worli to Walkeshwar troop in there on weekends to gorge on Status’s Thali and Idli - dosas. One can’t have a quiet conversation here because Gujaratis talk loudly and across the restaurant to each other. It is a well-known trivia that Dhirubhai Ambani ordered idli-vada lunch from here to his Maker III office across the street. My wife is partial to their mini vada pau and mini pau bhaji whereas I stick to fluffy idlis. 

Pizza by the Bay on Churchgate Street continues to be a sentinel of this area. I knew it as a Talk of the Town in the 1970s and took my wife for a cup of tea when she was still my girlfriend. 

Sitting in its glass-fronted patio, watching waves crashing on Marine Drive while sipping draft Bira beer out of their frosted dark blue glasses is the beginning of Nirvana. We have a set menu here forever; a plate of Paprika potato wedges with Mexican dressing and 8” vegetarian Supreme pizza. Occasionally we run into Mr. Kumarmangalam Birla with his family, enjoying a plate of pasta next to our table. 

Once we have left Pizza by the Bay and driven about 4 kilometers on magnificent Queen’s Necklace, we have a choice of eateries like Cream Centre, Crystal, and Thacker’s offering elaborate Gujarati thali. Cream Centre and Crystal are popular with all age groups because of their mind-boggling verities of cuisine; Indian, Chinese, Continental, Mexican, and sizzlers. My wife prefers sizzlers at both these places while I go for chole-bhature or Dahi-Batata-puri. 

Going past Worli and not taking a detour to the Gallops would be a sin. This is an ancient but hugely venerated eatery, set amidst a lush green racecourse. We drop in here for a drink at its bar and try out Naram Dil Kabab or Achari Paneer tikka. We also like Bombay Brasserie next door for its Baby cheese Naan and crushed parathas followed by flavorful Biryani. 

Jewel of India is tragically shut down. Its small bar was our favorite. They served complimentary hot Samosas and Batata vada with your drinks. Ramesh Sipply, who directed film ‘Sholay’ was a regular patron. My wife and I miss this place terribly. 

Driving past Dadar, we can never escape a visit to Aswad, a Maharashtrian food place across Shiv Sena Bhavan, a favorite of the Marathi film crowd. My wife loves their Sabudana vada, crisp and hot. I simply close my eyes and place my finger on the menu. I love all their 75 items. 

We are fond of going to Matunga East often from here to enjoy the incredible range of South Indian food. Our family choice is Sharda Bhavan for hot idlis dipped in delectable sambhar or climb upstairs to Udipi Shri Krishna Rama Nayak for a full meal served on the banana leaf. 

Going past Mahim, we sometimes drop in at Diva Maharashtra cha for a good Zunka Bhakhar or Puranpoli. For the seafood lovers, there is a fried pomfret fish await at Goa Portuguesa. Both are conveniently next to each other. 

We are, of course, partial to the suburb of Bandra where we live, and what is perhaps the Makkah of Global cuisine. As you enter Bandra from the sea link side, a good place to visit is Salt Water Grill for a glass of wine and then head on to the Olive Bar & Kitchen at the end of Carter road for fluffy Goat cheese and potato cannelloni. 

We however end up going to the Atrium bar and lounge at the Taj Land's End for their dry Martini. The toasted Bombay masala sandwiches with French fries is what we eat here. 

The Bagels café is on the left of the lane that climbs towards Pali Hill from the Carter road. Young boys and girls and their laughter fill up the cafe all the time. We enjoy its great cappuccino and a hot bagel with cream cheese. 

 If you ever visit the café, look at the table on your left. My wife and I would be there to welcome you.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Diary of an insomniac

Diary of an insomniac     It is 1 am in the night. Most FM radio stations are off the air. My eyes are tired of reading. Watching TV is not recommended for insomnia. I am debating in my mind the options of midnight snacks. As of yet, there are no signs of sleep.   I open the window of my bedroom. Sea breeze floods my lungs with the salty air. I watch a long raw of ships anchored on the horizon i n the moonlit white night,  They are lighted like the Christmas trees. Our building is shrouded in silence that pervades the world around us after 1 a.m. A faint laughter waffles in from the railway colony across the street, a family enjoying the late-night movie perhaps.   I step out of my bedroom and stare silently at the turret of the St. Anne’s church in our backyard. The relentlessly punctual chime of the church wakes me up every day at 5.30 am. It’s only a few hours from now.   On impulse, I step out of the flat and take the elevator down. One of the two, nigh...
Read more

Wanderlust 2021

Wanderlust 2021  I am blessed with wanderlust from my boyhood. An elderly aunt of mine took me on my first train journey to Mumbai was when I was 11. We arrived on a gloomy, rainy day in 1962. A war was simmering with China. Shammi Kapoor’s all-time hit film ‘Professor’ was running to a packed house at Novelty in Grant road where we stayed.  As we disembarked from Saurashtra Mail, I had no way of knowing that this travel will turn into a lifelong wanderlust for me, that an old aunt with whom I came I would soon lose to cancer.  Life restricted my boyhood wanderlust to places around my small hometown, a cycle trip to a dam nearby, a family picnic by camel cart to a distant park or temple. The farthest travel from home in my memory was to Rajkot, mere 50 miles in 1965 when Pakistan tried bombing our hometown and failed miserably.  These outings had sown seeds to see more, dream more, travel more, choose a path of unending journey. At 18, I traveled to Mumbai with two ...
Read more

Weekend woes

  Weekend woes Friday   Mumbai weekends bear the character of its own, like everything else. Friday morning is when it begins. Everyone at work drifts in a bit slower than normal. Their gait announces whiff of freedom from the tyranny of the week. The coffee machine whirs slowly and bears witness of the gossip that gets louder.   Friday dressing transforms lobby and corridors into riots of colors as opposed to mournful whites and blacks. Menus of new eateries fly thick and fast over the intranet. By 12 pm, hoards of office goers exit for a liquid lunch that ends at 3 pm.   Bars in and around offices fill up by 6 pm and are three layers thick. Drinks are consumed in rapid-fire rounds as if to drown all trials and tribulations of the week. Married members of the gang have their eyes on the clock to catch 7.30 pm Borivali fast. Home beacons to them. Those adventurous enough to stay back begin to order paneer or chicken tikka masala and cheese naan.  Saturday Saturd...
Read more