Saturday, February 19, 2011

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)

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