If you happen to pass Deccan Gymkhana ground coming from Chitale's side, you can't miss the queue of people outside Appa's canteen eating "sabudana khichadi", a famous Maharashtrian snack dish.
Appa's canteen is a very old institution.
The canteen also serves "khamang kakadi" a cucumber raita which tastes sweet and has lots of groundnuts. The sabudana khichadi is absolutely fabulous.
Here is an article from a website on the canteen
Yesterday I took couple of plates home and enjoyed it. I had a bottle of Chateau d'ori Merlot.
So what a strange combination!. Sabudana Khichadi and red wine!
Three cheers for the new India!, ready to enjoy western habits but not willing to shake Indian roots
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Sunday, November 9, 2008
"Coffee house" on Moledina road
Went to my favourite bookstore 'Landmark' today. Bought myself a big fat book on wines by Andre Domine
After spending a good 3 hours in the bookshop, was feeling hungry and went to "Coffee house" which never ever dissappoints
Had a bowl of Idli Sambar (with idlis mixed in Sambar) and felt elated
Udipi restaurants in Pune have been hallmark of high quality, very reasonably priced, clean, fast service, and to a large extent healthy food
Vaishali, Rupali, Coffee house and many more Udipi restaurants make Pune a wonderful place to enjoy South Indian food
They will never go out of fashion. They are popular among all crowds, among working class of people, families, students, and even 'yuppies'
Things change with time. I really hope Udipi restaurants stay like the way they are today forever.
After spending a good 3 hours in the bookshop, was feeling hungry and went to "Coffee house" which never ever dissappoints
Had a bowl of Idli Sambar (with idlis mixed in Sambar) and felt elated
Udipi restaurants in Pune have been hallmark of high quality, very reasonably priced, clean, fast service, and to a large extent healthy food
Vaishali, Rupali, Coffee house and many more Udipi restaurants make Pune a wonderful place to enjoy South Indian food
They will never go out of fashion. They are popular among all crowds, among working class of people, families, students, and even 'yuppies'
Things change with time. I really hope Udipi restaurants stay like the way they are today forever.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
"Cinnamon Spice" restaurant at Seasons, Apartment hotel in Aundh
Went out for dinner at the "Cinnamon Spice" outdoor restaurant located Seasons, an apartment hotel in Aundh
http://www.seasonsaundh.com/
The place has a lovely ambience. You can see the chefs preparing the rotis and kebabs
The food quality is actually very high. But for some reason I felt this time that the taste of the food had changed from what it was before
I ordered a glass of Riviera Pinot Noir red wine. Not bad. The complimentary roasted papads were neat
The starter was tandoori cauliflower which was excellent. What was interesting was it had been liberally cooked with mustard. And the result was unexpected, but amazing
For the main course ordered dal makhani, bhindi pudina masaledar and jeera rice.
All good but for some reason I felt something's changed in the taste of especially dal makhani
First time I had gone to Cinnamon spice was an unbelievable experience. This time however just felt the food taste had changed.
The live music band was poor and sounding very artifical
Cinnamon Spice is still a wonderful place. Combined with ambience and quality of the food, it really is a great place for spending a lovely evening
http://www.seasonsaundh.com/
The place has a lovely ambience. You can see the chefs preparing the rotis and kebabs
The food quality is actually very high. But for some reason I felt this time that the taste of the food had changed from what it was before
I ordered a glass of Riviera Pinot Noir red wine. Not bad. The complimentary roasted papads were neat
The starter was tandoori cauliflower which was excellent. What was interesting was it had been liberally cooked with mustard. And the result was unexpected, but amazing
For the main course ordered dal makhani, bhindi pudina masaledar and jeera rice.
All good but for some reason I felt something's changed in the taste of especially dal makhani
First time I had gone to Cinnamon spice was an unbelievable experience. This time however just felt the food taste had changed.
The live music band was poor and sounding very artifical
Cinnamon Spice is still a wonderful place. Combined with ambience and quality of the food, it really is a great place for spending a lovely evening
Sunday, November 2, 2008
All Stir Fry at Gordon House hotel, E-Square
A really nice restaurant to enjoy Wok cuisine in Pune is at All Stir Fry, located in the Gordon House hotel at E-Square (Ganeshkhind road).
The Wok is priced around Rs 300 and it's unlimited. One can choose as many vegetables, meat items, place them in a bowl and then the chefs will put them in a Wok, add sauce and condiments of your choice and toss it around on a quick flame. You can do multiple rounds!
I normally add lots of vegetables, noodles, rice and then ask the chef to add all condiments!. For the next round I go for a little milder sauce
They serve some good liquers too (in addition to regular choice of drinks). I normally have a Grand Marnier which is an exquisite liquer. It's made from fine cognac and flavoured with bitter orange peel and the aroma, taste and colour is absolutely stunning. This is really one of my favourite liqueurs.
The liqueurs are normally around Rs 200 but the price varies.
Make it a point to go to All Stir Fry. It's worth the visit and reasonably priced.
They also have a nice A La Carte menu serving Asian/Oriental food.
The Wok is priced around Rs 300 and it's unlimited. One can choose as many vegetables, meat items, place them in a bowl and then the chefs will put them in a Wok, add sauce and condiments of your choice and toss it around on a quick flame. You can do multiple rounds!
I normally add lots of vegetables, noodles, rice and then ask the chef to add all condiments!. For the next round I go for a little milder sauce
They serve some good liquers too (in addition to regular choice of drinks). I normally have a Grand Marnier which is an exquisite liquer. It's made from fine cognac and flavoured with bitter orange peel and the aroma, taste and colour is absolutely stunning. This is really one of my favourite liqueurs.
The liqueurs are normally around Rs 200 but the price varies.
Make it a point to go to All Stir Fry. It's worth the visit and reasonably priced.
They also have a nice A La Carte menu serving Asian/Oriental food.
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Little Italy's Le Pizzeria restaurant on Ganeshkhind road
Went with a friend of mine to "Le Pizzeria" restaurant on Ganeshkhind road (next to Pune central). This is their second restaurant in Pune (first one is close to Koregoan park)
The first shock that I received was that these guys were having trouble with their drink licenses. So ended up ordering Indian Sula Merlot wine! (when I was hoping for some Italian wines). I had to be contended with the fact that even Sula wine is actually Chilean. But why can't a good expensive Italian restaurant keep some Chiantis! Anyway for a good wine selection, I will have to head to "Le Dolce Vita" at City point, Dhole Patil road.
The second mistake was they brought the wine in a coke glass! But the waiter explained the problem they were having with their licensing...Later on they replaced the glass with a normal wine glass and I was relieved
Anyway onto food, we ordered an asparagus soup. This was nice
For the main course ordered the classic "Pizza Margherita". This was close to the authentic Italian Pizza. Thin crust, wood oven baked, tomato sauce, mozarella cheese. But the waiter forgot to add fresh basil. which I forced him to bring it out!
I sprinkled fresh basil leaves on the pizza and then it really really tasted good
My lady friend was amazed. She was used to Pizza Huts, Dominoes etc. So to taste the authentic Pizza Margherita was a surprise and it made her realize how good the taste can be with the simplest of ingredients.
We also ordered a nice penne pasta dish(called Barberesca) which had bechamel sauce, pinenuts, asparagus, broccoli. This was also very nice
Lastly ordered 'Tiramisu' for desert which was again close to the authentic Italian version
The bill was about Rs 1500
The first restaurant of this chain is considered one of the best in Pune. But the one on Ganeshkhind road will need to improve. I expect that will happen and then this restaurant can again live upto the reputation it has built up over the years
Time for me to close for the day. But I am not itching to drink a Cabernet Syrah wine that I have at home.
I am totally dissappointed that a good restaurant serving good Italian food does not keep Italian Sangiovese/Nebbiolo wines (Tuscan, Piedmont area wines).
The first shock that I received was that these guys were having trouble with their drink licenses. So ended up ordering Indian Sula Merlot wine! (when I was hoping for some Italian wines). I had to be contended with the fact that even Sula wine is actually Chilean. But why can't a good expensive Italian restaurant keep some Chiantis! Anyway for a good wine selection, I will have to head to "Le Dolce Vita" at City point, Dhole Patil road.
The second mistake was they brought the wine in a coke glass! But the waiter explained the problem they were having with their licensing...Later on they replaced the glass with a normal wine glass and I was relieved
Anyway onto food, we ordered an asparagus soup. This was nice
For the main course ordered the classic "Pizza Margherita". This was close to the authentic Italian Pizza. Thin crust, wood oven baked, tomato sauce, mozarella cheese. But the waiter forgot to add fresh basil. which I forced him to bring it out!
I sprinkled fresh basil leaves on the pizza and then it really really tasted good
My lady friend was amazed. She was used to Pizza Huts, Dominoes etc. So to taste the authentic Pizza Margherita was a surprise and it made her realize how good the taste can be with the simplest of ingredients.
We also ordered a nice penne pasta dish(called Barberesca) which had bechamel sauce, pinenuts, asparagus, broccoli. This was also very nice
Lastly ordered 'Tiramisu' for desert which was again close to the authentic Italian version
The bill was about Rs 1500
The first restaurant of this chain is considered one of the best in Pune. But the one on Ganeshkhind road will need to improve. I expect that will happen and then this restaurant can again live upto the reputation it has built up over the years
Time for me to close for the day. But I am not itching to drink a Cabernet Syrah wine that I have at home.
I am totally dissappointed that a good restaurant serving good Italian food does not keep Italian Sangiovese/Nebbiolo wines (Tuscan, Piedmont area wines).
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