A flawed gem

These are the words i would use to describe Mama Mia. It was originally just one outlet located besides the Opera House theater, but now it has shifted to a comparatively remote location near French bridge and also has a number of other outlets all across Bombay. It was one of the first pizza places in Bombay and for those of you who have been frequent visitors to this place right from the time it started, you would understand me when i say that it holds a special place in my heart. Describing an extremely good or extremely bad place is simple, but one thats somewhere in between is a bit tricky. But i'll give it my best shot.
Right from the time you enter this place, it'll give you a feeling that it going to be a hit or miss. Theres not much in the way of ambiance. Its just a simple place with no uniqueness to it. When you enter a place which serves one kind of food, it has a sort of character to it which is completely different than a place which would serve some other kind of food. But thats totally absent here. This is a place which might put up a banner that it serves pizzas, but might get away with serving South Indian or even Moghlai food. You're sure to get negative vibes if you're visiting this place for the first time on the recommendation of a friend who told you that you get pizzas here.
Even the service can be a hit or miss. I've been here so many times, that the waiter knows what i'm going to order before i place my order. But thats a big disadvantage. Because according to them, if a customer is loyal to you, then he can wait a while while you serve the people who are visiting your place for the first time. So if you like this place and plan on visiting it again any time soon, wear a disguise. The one good thing about the service is that everybody is very hospitable. They'll greet you with a smile, and they'll bid you farewell with a smile. But this might be because they always make me wait so long. So individual experiences may vary.
Now the food. Well if i had to say one thing about the food in general, i would say that its not great, but it is good. The pizzas are really decent. The subs are quite nice. The chinese is good. The salads are awesome. The burgers are awesome. If i had to suggest some of the stuff you just cant go wrong with, i would say try the pizza dello chef, the partita quattro, the chicken royal burger and the chocolate mousse. All of these are simply awesome and are reasonably priced. Although most of the things you get are pretty decent, there are some dishes you just shouldn't touch. A shining example of this is the garlic bread. Its just bread with cheese and will hardly leave a good impression on your taste buds. Also, the frankies are disappointing. Actually they were good before, but now the quality has dropped somehow. Thankfully thats not true for the other dishes. If you're ordering chinese, go for the American chopsuey which is quite nice. Also if you're having anything in chinese, be sure to order a serving of the shezwan sauce. Its pretty good.
As a whole i wouldn't say the Mama Mia is one of the best places in town. Its not even the best place in the area in which it is located. If you take into account the ambiance and the occasional lapse in service quality, one might even say that its not a place you should visit often. But still i would give it three and a half stars out of five simply because its the one place where i can order anything and not be disappointed with it. Thats because even though theres nothing great about the food at this place, theres nothing bad about it either. They've maintained a level of consistency with the food, which is quite a rarity these days. Add to this the fact that its very reasonably priced and you have a very nice package. Even though they've raised the prices quite a bit compared to what they were before, still they're still probably the cheapest pizza place in town. Even though its overshadowed by places like Pizzeria and Pizza Hut, still Mama Mia is worth at least one meal of your life. Just don't expect something extra ordinary and you'll have a pretty good time there. Cheers!!
-Mambo

A Cha(a)tty Encounter with Two Unsung Heroes

Many a times we come across eateries which we are certain that not many people know of, and wished that your friends were there with you when you had what u had at those joints. this post is dedicated to describing two such, perhaps obscure, places which are my absolute favourites(specially when it comes to chaat).

1.> I accidentally had stumbled into "New India Dairy", for i make frequent visits to lamington road, and hey, I WAS HUNGRY!! So this is the best part of visiting any place without any expectations: you can be completely honest to yourself while appreciating the food.

The place looks a bit shabby, a mess towards the ends of the two rooms. they somehow manage to accomodate a cooking area, a display section, and seating for roughly 35-40 patrons and a couple of refridgerators in these two rooms. it seems very crammed up, which further adds to the "not the most hygenic place to eat" look of it.

now that the negatives are out of the way, lets get down to where it all melts down. on the waiter's recommendation, i had asked for a plate of Samosas(no Paav please), and a glass of Lassi. Simply put, in my mind it has silenced all the other places in SoBo i have been to for the Samosas exclusively, and certainly one of the best placesfor Lassi. the portions are generous, but dont expect something magnanimous. the Lassi has a slight rose-water hint to it, which provides a different dimension to the taste of the same, and never in my many visits there have i been served stale/overly sour lassi, or cold samosas. they are fresh and sell insanely
quick in that locality, its a serious pity that not many people know of this place. a lesson is learnt here that appearances should be one of the last criterion when it comes to eating at places. over my multiple visits, it is safe to say that i have eaten almost every snack/beverage this joint serves. From Kachoris to the jalebi-paapdis, and from the lassi and other buttermilk variants to the masala milk, everything is a pleasure for your senses. personally, the samosas and the lassi are still the first things i call for when i'm there. there is no limit to how much one can spend here for the food is downright tasty, but i feel 75-100 Rs. will easily fetch you a heavy snack or dinner perhaps.
it is a great treat, make it a point that the next time you are at lamington road, you are thinking about things other than computer, amplifiers, LEDs, hardware equipment,and errr.. cheap(in more than one aspect) porn, add this place on your must-visit checklist rightaway.

2.> Opposite the grim boundaries of Bhatia Hospital, right between a BEST bus-stop and "Sparkle Dryers and Cleaners", lies a small little Red reason to live. A Sev-puri walla(s) which perhaps would have been just another vendor in the great invasion of the North, which has now resulted in such small make-shift stalls to have dotted all roads and lanes of Mumbai. One of the few aspects that sets this stalls manned by two brothers, is the service. Never have i seen such great co-ordination between brothers(seekho ambani seekho!!), the speed at which your order is made is quite mindboggling. after that one might expect them to goof up, courtesy the haste, the consumer is gladdened by the quality and quantity of the material used and how it collectively tastes phenomenal. all of this served with a smile and generous nylon sev. since its strictly a chaat/snack-only  place, their item list is very limited, like every other sev-puri walla. the usual fare of Bhel, Sev puri, and Batata Bomb are probably the only things that this place serves, but they work really hard at the "less is more" factor and are successful at it. for people wanting something else, there usually is a sandwich stall adjacent to it, which in my honet opinion is better left un-noticed.

to basically seal the deal, this vendor is completely worth the visit. one shouldn't be so narrow minded to think that Girgaum Chowpatty serves the best chaat. ofcourse it is a different experience all together, but then again this place has always been one of those few where i can count on all the aspects of a catering joint. and yes, "service with a smile does go a long way".

-Gaurang(Gabo)

Never again..

Those were the thoughts that were resounding in my head as we left Kyani. Am sure gabo shares the same sentiment. Here we have what is supposed to be one of the best bakeries out there. Burrp gave it a resounding thumbs up and called it one of mumbai's gems. Well i strongly disagree. Personally i believe it to be one of the worst places a food lover can go to.
For those that have never been to this place(lucky sobs), Kyani is located near metro besides Furtados(the music hardware store) and was once the best place for breakfast one could find. They have a very big menu ranging from sandwiches to puffs to cakes and a variety of omelettes. There was another bakery exactly in front of it(can't remember the name) and both had a very fierce competition between them. But as soon as it got closed down, it seems the kyani staff got so full of it that customer satisfaction totally fell off their radar.
Before delving into the ugly, lets first deal with the bad. The service at that place is pathetic. On a crowded evening, don't be surprised if you feel ostracized. Add to this the grim look on the faces of the waiters and you might just be tempted to not order anything at all. Its as if they really really hate you. On the bright side, you can bitch about them all you want without feeling any regrets about it. And don't try arguing with the waiters if a particular dish turns out to be kind of incomplete or undercooked. I once ordered a mayonnaise sandwich over there. When it arrived, there was no mayonnaise. Actually, there was mayonnaise, but it was made in a way so that it would appear that there was no mayonnaise at all. Such fun \s. When i complained to the waiter about it, he took the sandwich to the chef who got pissed and started cribbing loudly about it(another fine example of how to keep cordial relations with the customers). When i finally got the sandwich back, it had enough mayonnaise to make 3 proper mayonnaise sandwiches. But i did not complain further. No point arguing when nothing is to be gained from it :|.
Now the food....well what can i say. I already talked about the sandwiches. The club sandwich is an absolute joke. Its bout the thinnest club sandwich you'll ever see and they charge 65 bucks for it. The puffs are cold and they hardly taste good. Even paying 10 bucks for one feels like a sham. If you feel the kheema is good, then you obviously need to visit more places(thats for you Date). The cakes are tawdry. They might look good but they're harder than they should be. Even the icing on the cakes tastes bad. I can go on and on about the food but thats just beating round the same bush. Take whatever i said bout the food and apply it to nearly all the dishes over there. Thats kyani for you.
But wait!!! Thats not even the worst part. The last two times i've been to kyani i've been down with stomach flu. I normally don't care bout hygiene that much but when the food is this bad, hygiene matters a lot :p.
For the above reasons, i feel that theres really no point going to this place. But if you're really really hell bent on giving it a try, have the cherry cold custard. It still hasn't lost its glory and is easily worth having twice :p. Also have the frankfurter with fried eggs. Its about the easiest thing to make and even kyani doesn't fuck it up :p. But for those of you who like trying new things, refrain from going to this place. Rather go to sassanian which is just a couple of minutes away from Kyani. It is a far far better irani place and serves some pretty awesome food. So all i would like to say is enjoy your life, try out different places, maintain some level of hygiene, find a life partner(??), fall in love(???), have kids(????), work hard(???????)....but don't go to kyanis(!!!!!!!) lol

Taaze-garam, Garma-garam !

 That is their motto, its embossed on their windows and adhered by them. The place im talkin about is ' Vinay Health Home'. Its our friendly neighbourhood breakfast place, located on the Business end of Fanas wadi, (whatever that means) opp. Jawahar Mansion in Thakurdwar area. Started in.................. well long ago, by the Tembe family, this snack place was passed down through generations. I can vouch for the generations part coz my grandpa used to take my dad, my dad took me and if it is still running when i have kids, i am gonna take them. Now us friends usually meet up there for a good breakfast.They say breakfast is the most important ,meal of the day ;).

     Done with bragging...... now lets get serious shall we (haha, i know). It is divided into two sections, as most of the restaurants are nowadays AC nd non AC..... (thankfully the non AC section is bigger). I just dont like my food getting cold, dats all. It has 15 tables entirely nd though they are all 4 seaters u will always find ppl cramped up on 1 (maybe ul catch us only). It doesn't have reservations (so dont bother calling), u will have to stand outside in a line to enter. Trust me on good day it will take almost an hour to get in. Opens by 8:30 am and closes by 9 pm, and it is closed on wednesdays.

    Ahh YESS!!!! FOOD !!
   It serves Maharashtrian cuisine, in its best form. Quick, Hot & Spicy. With recipes handed over by their Grandmothers, they can give any delicacy in the world a stiff competition. It is known for its 'Puneri Misal' (this one dish can take up the entire blog) and they probably put out 600 - 800 servings of the misal alone. Then follows your usual Usal Pav, Sabudana wada (the best part of this is the potato chutney), Kothimbir wadi,Kanda Batata bhajji, Thalipeeth, Kanda Poha....... i can go on & on. 
When i visit  i usually have more than one dish always (no surprise there, i know). They also have an option of South Indian food (the idli vada sambar is delicious) and some Sandwiches, which are decent,  I would go with the Marashtrian stuff. They also have an option of fresh fruit juices, u know for those "health concious ones". They also have a 'Diet misal', which is an insult to the hardcore misal lovers (aaarrrrgggghhhh !!!!!!).
      The one thing you cant get out without having in Vinay is their own coffee aka 'Saadhi Coffee'. It is awesome and even after hogging on all that food the first sip of that coffee just makes it disappear (hmmmm..... good business strategy). No other coffee tastes like theirs and after the Puneri (thats what they call the misal) is their most guarded secret.
       The service is good, not always with a smile but still appreciative of your existence :P. The one thing i like about them is...... they let you have a conversation (directly aake bill table par nahi rakh dete). We have overstayed our welcome quite a few times (were all a chatty bunch), still they ask us if we want anythin (with a smile here). They have adopted the no hassle way of cooking so ur order will be at ur table in max 15 mins.
Conditions Apply* :P.

Word to the wise people, Do not (i repeat) Do not go there in your car, u will not find a place to park (even the residents dont always get one). catch a cab or just walk it up (it'll make room for all the food).
Since it was renovated a few years back, ALL the Gujjus in my area have a 'Vinay Sunday'. It is flocked all day long. So i would suggest avoid it on a Sunday if u dont want someone yapping in your ear.

 To summon it all up, Vinay is a place where generations after generations have preserved their memories. You wud always see someone telling their kids or wives "we used to sit in that corner or that table". The homely atmosphere and ambience makes u feel welcome and tempts you to return and re-return. So when are you going ??


- Date.

Barbecuing for an entire nation!

Thats what we felt as we entered this popular restaurant. Its located in bandra and the other end of pali hill in a nice and quiet area(compared to the rest of bandra). The people at BBQ nation advice you to reserve a table one day prior to going there, and now we know why. There is so much food to explore at that place that you can easily end up spending upwards of 2 hours over there. So people don't let go of their tables that fast. Well luck was not on our side and we couldn't get a reservation, but the manager told us to come anyways and try our luck. After waiting for almost an hour, we finally got a table. The first view we got as we went inside was that of the grill. It is located right in the center of the restaurant and is surrounded by almost 20-25 tables. The restaurant has a seating capacity of around 100 people(but don't let this make you think that you don't need to make reservations :p ).
  If service is an indicator of how good a place is, then BBQ nation would rest comfortably at the top. There is no A la carte over there(except for drinks), just the buffet. We sat down and had just barely started looking around when the first round of starters arrived. Shocking yes, but one of the people accompanying us was a regular, and he was acting as if it was no big deal. So we played along ;).
 The starters are comprised mostly of kebabs of various types. We had seekh kebabs, fish kebabs, prawns, drumsticks, broccoli(and it was awesome), mushrooms etc. Not one starter i had over there made me feel that there was something missing in it. And the amount of starters we had is a testament to that(we had a lot). To keep the starters from getting cold each table has a mini grill(!!!). After spending around 2 hours just feasting on the starters, we finally decided to try the main course. For the main course they had crabs in manchurian sauce, chicken hyderabadi, kheema and biryani. You also have rotis which you have to order. In addition to this, you also have a variety of soups(crab meat and chicken). The main course was simply great! In particular, the chicken hyderabadi and the crabs made me regret spending so much of my storage capacity on the starters.
 The thing about this place is that you lose track of time too easily. When we finally got the table it was 9. We thought we would be out of there by 11. When we got done with the starters it was almost 10.45. And you have to take it easy over there. Our main strategy was to let the food digest to make room for more. And it was being executed perfectly. After having so much of the starters and the main course, we still had room for desserts.
Please don't leave BBQ nation without having the desserts. They're really the fitting ending you deserve for having such great food. We had mango mousse, strawberry cheesecake, gulab jamun, ice cream with chocolate sauce, cake, rum brownies and firni! Nuff said ;)
 By the time we were done it was already 12.15, but we didn't care. Time is not a factor if the food is this good. And the more time you spend here, the more you'll be able to eat. So for once, being lazy is a good thing. Bodes pretty nicely for me ;). The funny thing is before entering the place we thought 600 per person for a buffet is too much. By the time we were leaving, it felt as if it was a discounted deal. I will not divide the review into parts rating each part individually; thats for places which aren't this good. I'm sure i must have left out some negative aspects. The strawberry cake, as good as it was, could have been better. The booze could have been cheaper. But as a complete package this easily trumps anything else out there. If you don't like one dish, you can just have something else without having any regrets since you payed for one unlimited meal, not just that one dish. And the menu is huge enough to discard one faulty dish. Not that i had the misfortune of having to eat one though. Thats the best thing about BBQ nation. Its just awesome!

-Mambo

Never thought eating in Paradise will be as such!

A few days ago i had the privilege (or thats what i thought then) of visiting the famous Colaba eatery "Paradise". I was glad that i was visiting a so-called institution of Parsi cuisine. Located near the landmark Kailash Parbat, just before Colaba market, its a small, quaint and well lit place. From the outside, one can easily miss this place if ur driving at a decent speed(keep your eyes open!). at the entrance itself we got to see Mumbai' stamp of recognising a decent restaurant , the"Burrp!" certificate(and another one inside). A Grade I restaurant with a seating capacity of around 8 families of four.
many-a-man has made a big deal out of certain dishes at this place, and i thought its better to stick to the house specialities for it was ofcourse my first time at paradise. one look at the menu card can be a bit frightening for the layman, or can get ones hopes really high, which it honestly did in my case.
we began with the "scotch broth"(chicken) which we decided to share 2 bowls by four. the quantity of the same was perfect for one, although it was the price that compelled us to call for two between the four of us. now u know the service is good and well prepared or the dish has been a favorite when the dishes come to your table within 2-3 mins. this was evident at paradise. about the broth, i was really pleased with the flavours, very simple and basic yet so full of 'em. it made me forget about the quantity. content with broth we ordered three more stalwarts of paradise, the mutton cutlets with roast potatoes and grilled onions, the Salli Boti, and the chicken Farcha. all these three were heard of and were also recommended by our host, saying "its good enough for the four of you."
i'll cut the chase and get to the food, the salli boti , taste-wise, was exceptional, the mutton was just how i like it, boneless yet maintaining its robust texture and flavour. but wen it cam to quantity, it was very difficult to share it within two people, let alone four. also they could have been more generous with the Salli, for it is Salli-Boti and not Boti-Salli. the Farcha was just a single leg of chicken deep fried in some mild spices, which we guys couldn't quite decide as to how it was to be split four ways. the chicken was underseasoned, the spices subtle, and lets not get started with the quantity. the mutton cutlets were probably the heroes of that night, one plate was good enough an appetizer for two, but again WE WERE FOUR!! the grilled onions in the brown sauce were a superb example of how a brown sauce should taste. a complete delight for the palate. the Salli Boti and the Farcha were had with roomali roties(one each), which were again a bit under. i could taste the flour and were extremely chewy. but sine they were generous with the size of the roomali, we were faced with a dillema as to wat to do with the remaining roti, for our appetizer and main course dishes were done with, and we were miles away from being full. so we called for what they called the chicken chilly-paradise special, expecting something new. sadly, that too was another disappointment, for it was the chicken chilly which u must have certainly had for ever since the indianised chinese cuisine exploded on the indian palate, only difference being u get the same thing outside for better rates, better taste, and even more, generous quantities. that chilly chicken was blasphemous, salty, and the soy sauce was overly done. completely avoidable.
to summarise
the good: the broth, mutton cutlets
the bad: salli boti(solely on the quantity issue)
the ugly: the farcha, the chilly chicken(paradise special!?), and the roomali roties
even more ugly: the quantity, the value for money factor(WE PAID Rs.1275 including a round of soft drinks for the four of us).
Verdict: Go to paradise for only certain dishes like the scotch broth and the mutton cutlets, and if u think that your heavy wallet is making your ass-cheeks go out of alignment, and if that bothers you.

two and a half  chicken drumsticks out of five. :|

- Gaurang(Gabo)

Hello there! This is rahul. Welcome to our blog. Here we'll be reviewing all the so called best food joints across the city of mumbai and giving our own views about them. We will also be talking about all the lesser known places, some that you should absolutely make it a point to visit. The harsh critics that we are, don't take it personally if one of the places you love has been cast in negative light by us. We're just sharing our personal opinions, and you are entitled to your own. So feel free to comment on our posts and share your own views. Cheers!!!

The title of this blog may be misleading to some....so if you came here looking for something other than posts related to food, then i'm sorry but you'll have to search in the other million sites out there which will serve the purpose :p