Place: Babubhai’s Seekh and Paratha’s
Location: Tardeo area, near Rusy Mehta Chowk, Arabgulli.
Seating: On a busy night can seat maximum 35-40 people.
Ambience:
A: There is nothing as what you would like to call ‘Ambience’ at this place. It is an epitome of ’Shady’ for a food joint. A rusty old place, with chipped paint who seems past its glory days at the turn of the century. Their motto is to just serve you the cheapest and the best (at that price) seekh and paratha. For a shady place they seem quite hygienic, as I have never fallen sick after eating there. The sigdi (barbecue) is located outside joint, but is covered, they serve the food in stainless steel plates which are clean (I checked).
R: The ambience is a mess. The place is outright dirty, to the point that anyone who expects even a very basic level of cleanliness from a place will refrain from eating here. The tables are dirty, the place is dirty and no one bothers to clean it every once in a while. Also the waiters serve chatni in a mug one would use to take a bath, which is frankly a bit disgusting and a huge turn off.
G: I have been to some really nasty places to eat, for never has the look of a place attracted me, rather I depend on word of mouth, or where my nose takes me. But even for the ones who are tolerant enough, I would not recommend this place for its location, crowd, seating, hygiene and well almost everything, but take-away.
Food:
A: It once served a variety of grilled and barbecued preparations but those days are history now. Since the last 10 years they have been what we would call, a specialty restaurant, as they serve only seekh and paratha’s now.
The first thing I want to inform you all is, they ONLY serve beef seekhs. The mince they use is awesome, it has a proper amount of fat and grind to a level that it just disintegrates in your mouth. The flavor is very simple and consistent like a basic kheema (minced beef preparation). The seekhs are al dente which bodes well for the lack of hygiene. In our last visit though, the beef was pretty lean and hence resulted in drier seekhs than usual.
The seekhs are served with the paratha, a deep fried roti made of maida (flour). Don’t get turned off by the ‘deep fried’, the parathas are not at all oily or too much fatty. They are rich and very crisp.
R: All you get at this place is seekh kebabs with paratha, and its well worth it. I've been to this place around 4 times, and barring the last time, my experience at this place has been simply sublime. The seekh kebabs are well marinated, well cooked, and go very well with the paratha. The paratha by itself it nice and crispy.Although i must say i was a bit disappointed with the kebabs the last time i went there. Not that this hampered the experience though.
G:This is a speciality place, they serve beef seekh-kebabs and parathas, and nothing more. Out of my many visits here, the last one was the first time I got kebabs which were dry. The flavors were spot-on, it used to be one of my favorite joints for seekh-paratha, but I guess we'll have to stick to “you are as good as your last performance” policy. Maybe, a little more fat would have given the seekh a different dimension all together, overly lean mince meat is not all that good, or perhaps all the fat got wasted on the charcoal . The paratha is typically a white-flour paratha, deep-fried in dalda(weight watchers, stay away). The combo used to be a winner, but its a pity that the quality of the seekh kebab refrains me from complimenting its past glory. Despite the criticism, we ended up having a quick snack of two parathas and two plates of seekh each with a half liter bottle of cola in the middle.
Presentation: The place is made so as to cater to people who find eating meat luxurious, hence its cheap, and works little on how the plate, or even how the food is to look to the consumer once presented. The guy attending to your table will provide you 3 quarter plates, one for the paratha, one for seekh kebabs, and one for the relish. Also if you want to avoid getting turned off about the food, even before it is served, avoid looking at the way you are served the mint chutney, and from where.
Accompaniments:
A: This is served at side of sliced onions with a watery green chutney and bunch of mint. The way they serve that mint though might make u feel like cattle(made me feel that way). None the less it compliments the dish very well.
R: Along with the kebabs and paratha, they also give you a very generous serving of chatni and pudina leaves which complement the kebabs perfectly.
G: Every visitor is provided with a plate of relish, which is a generous quantity of sliced onions with a runny mint chutney poured on top of the heap. Also we are provided with chillies, lemon wedges, and a bunch of mint leaves.
Service:
A:The service is quick, since there are no other items on the menu. Once you sit on the table, a plate of onions and the watery chutney (in a mug) are served to you. The order takes somewhere between 5 – 10 minutes to reach your table. The only issue anyone would face is the hygiene.
R:The service is pretty good. When the food ordered by you arrives at your table within five minutes, you know the service is upto the task. They should really clean the place once in a while though. The tables are never clean, and the place is always dirty. Its understood that you're in a bad area and your target crowd is different, but that does not justify not trying to keep your restaurant clean.
G:Its rapid, even before you place your order, the waiter knows exactly what you want, so we just have to do our part of getting ourselves seated, everything else works like a machine.
Cost:
2 pieces of seekhs in a plate and paratha cost you 21 bucks.
"Worth" factor:
A:The worth factor is the value for money and the taste of the seekhs. 2 pieces of seekhs in a plate and paratha cost you 21 bucks. Yes, it will cost you just that.
R:Totally worth it, that is, if you're ready to completely overlook the lack of cleanliness and absence of any kind of ambience. One the money side, its very light on the wallet and is worth every penny you spend and then some.
G: For the money spent, I felt it was well worth it, the food was tasteful, and service was fast, only thing is that this one visit was a little disappointing for me, for I have had much better seekh kebabs at the same place.
Verdict:
Pros:
A:
1.>Value for money.
2.>Delicious seekhs.
R:
1.>Great food
2.>value for moneyR:
G:
1.> Cheap, ultra-affordable food.
2.> The food is good, just that this had been one bad experience, but I have been here too many times to strike this off my places to visit, clinging on to a thread of hope that it will be much better, the kebabs, will have the same texture, same melt in mouth quality that they always had.
Cons:
A:
1.>Cleanliness and basic hygiene.
2.>The first timers may have a hard time finding the joint.
R:
1.>dirty as hell
2.>no ambience whatsoever
G:
1.> A big NO!! for the people who are even slightly conscious about appearance, presentation and hygiene.(emphasis on this point)
2.> This place is best enjoyed with an open mind, but the issue is the magnitude of open-mindedness needed to digest this experience might be collosal.
P.S.:
A: I will really suggest take out to people with weak stomachs. But overall it is really worth a visit. You wont find that good a seekh at that price anywhere in the town.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
....and the pompous neighbor is humbled by the Big Daddy.
Place: Bagdadi
Location: Colaba(Mumbai), near Regal Talkies, next to "Bade Miyan", opp. "Gokul bar"
Seating: Accommodates 75 people at a time with ease.
Ambience: The place, by the looks of it has nothing to offer. If one has been to a kebab/bhuna/kheema joint anywhere in the ghetto areas, then this place is pretty much it, with perhaps larger seating area. Certainly, it is not a place that directly draws you towards it. But it is miles ahead of its much hyped neighbor when it comes to the matter of hygiene, and seating. otherwise its strictly a minimalistic joint. One thing that people will notice is the number of "Burrp!!" certificates that are hung on their walls, which are in a way testimonies for many things that u can anticipate.
Food: We started off with the chicken soup, which turned out to be the stock in which all the chicken Bagdadi gets is cooked in. to my surprise, it was a delightful broth, and it got my belly ready for whatever they had to offer .I had always craved a traditionally done mughlai beef preparations. Since most restaurants in Mumbai don't serve beef, it was a pleasant surprise to see a one-too-many beef preparations. We called for the "Beef Chilly Fry", of which I was initially skeptical, for I didn't want to eat its south-indian namesake at a self-proclaimed authentic "mughlai" restaurant. Along with that we called for the Butter Chicken, on a friend's suggestion, who had once mentioned to me that it was "the best butter chicken ever!". Along with that we asked the guy to get two roti's for each of us, to which he kindly replied,"ek hi khaao, bahut bada aata hai"(just have one, its very big). So considering his advice, we asked for a roti each. The guy not only forgot the chicken, he got us two plates of the beef, which after tasting, I really didn't mind. it was delightfully succulent and moist, not overly chewy, it still had a little gristle to it which added to the taste. These guys know how to choose their meat. Now, the waiter was right about the rotis, they re freakishly huge, which got a big smile on my face.The combination of the really well done "garam masala" and fried onions infused beef with the roti was superb. we asked for our butter chicken, which he promptly got in no time. To my surprise, it was not the run-of-the-mill butter chicken, with the masala overdone and the sparse quantity of the chicken. It was quite the contrary, simply to describe it in relation to anything is like describing a good pasta, where the sauce is just about perfect, so as to coat the chicken and not something that will supercede the quantity of the chicken. Only difference between the pasta and the chicken, apart from their respective sauces, was that the chicken was not al dente, it was perfect! the sauce too was not heavy, with the cashew/melon seed paste, it was surprisingly subtle, which how I think it should be. I was beaming after the main course. We ended up calling for the Caramel Custard. This was going to put the perfect end to a delightful meal. The caramel prepared till it gets a toffee-like flavor, and the Custard perfectly set so that it literally disintegrates on your palate.
Over-all the experience was sublime and immaculate.
Presentation: The presentation was nothing great, every dish was just served directly off the skillet, without any garnish or anything that would perhaps make it look any more appealing. Everything is served in the Orange-ish plastic plates that we must have seen all across Mumbai, if not Maharashtra at local Chinese food stalls.
Accompaniments: The chicken and the beef dishes were provided with a helping of sliced onions and lime wedges, the standard fare.
Service: The service was quick for certain, and that perhaps lent to clumsiness, which led to us getting a extra plate of beef chilly fry, which I honestly do not regret.
Cost: 2 bowls of chicken soup, 2 plates of the beef, 1 Butter chicken, 2 butter rotis, 1 plain roti, 3 servings of the caramel custard, and 2 soft drinks came to a grand total of 320 rupees.
"Worth" factor: For the amount eaten, the quality of the food eaten, and the grand total of the money spent, I think this place is definitely worth more than a few visits. I won't be surprised if certain people call it one of their favourites after their first visit itself.
Verdict:
Pros:
1.> The most important part of being in the food business is to deliver great food, and Bagdadi does the exact.
2.> It's not just the Quality but also the Quantity that is excellent here.
3.> You are assured a full stomach within 150 bucks. People interested in rice items can select from a variety of them. They also have daily specials, so watch out for those too.
Cons:
1.> A big part of the negative things that I can think of are mostly personal. People who have issues with "shady" looking places, mediocre(or worse) plating and crockery, might not appreciate this place so much, but then again, the million dollar question is: "do you like the food and service at it's much regal(in stature) neighbor?"
2.> Another thing that might bother you(for it did bother me just a little bit), that the caramel custard is for 25 bucks, which i felt that in comparison to the other dishes, and for a dish that vanishes so soon, is a tad bit too much.
3.> I really don't know how authentic is the food here, but I think that we should stick to how it tastes than analyzing what it is.
P.S.: Try the Beef Bhuna over there, I had had it on another occasion, and was delighted for it seemed like a tailor made dish for me, with good deal of chillies and tomatoes, and that brilliant roasted texture it got from prolonged exposure to the hot skillet. That sealed the deal for me.
-Gaurang(Gabo)
=======================================================
Place: Bagdadi
Location: Colaba, right opposite Gokul's bar
Seating: Can easily seat upto 50 people at a time
Ambiance - Not much in the way of ambiance. If anything, it feels like your typical irani place where the owner doesn't care about renovations. The walls are crowded with all the commendations from various websites which review such joints such a burrp. And deservedly so.
Food - As far as food goes, this place doesn't have much competition. Although i haven't tried all the dishes this place has to offer, whatever i've had has been simply awesome. The butter chicken is probably the best butter chicken i've had. The beef bhuna was really good. The roti was a big win. You pay 10 rupees for 1 roti which is equal to paying a lot more for 3. Its that big. While placing our order, we called for 2 rotis. But the waiter told us to call for just 1 and then decide whether we want to order more. We ended up having more than 1 roti, but then we do have a huge appetite. But for someone who eats moderately, one would suffice. So the waiter doubting our capacity to eat was justified. We also had soup which was basically just normal chicken stock. One word i would like to highlight here is simplicity. The soup was your basic soup which your mother would serve you when she makes chicken. But it tasted awesome. Even the butter chicken and beef bhuna were nothing out of the ordinary when it comes to preparation. But as they say,"keep it simple but do it right". And this was reflected in each and every dish we had. To top all this we had caramel custard for dessert. To put it simply, the best caramel custard i've had. Again, nothing too extravagant, but yet so good.
Presentation: Nothing great. But then you wouldn't expect anything great when it comes to places like these. Its just the food that matters.
Service: The service was pretty decent. The waiters were pretty helpful, which is accentuated by the fact that the waiter warned us about the size of the roti when we ordered for 2 of those. Also the dishes didn't take much time to arrive.
Cost: Taking into consideration the prices for a similar quantity for food at other places, this felt like one awesome bargain.
"Worth" factor: One of the most under-appreciated places in the city. A must for any food lover.
Verdict
Pros:
-Great food
-Decent service
-Not heavy on the wallet at all. If anything you'll come away feeling as if you've spent your breakfast money on lunch and dinner combined.
Cons:
-Not much in the way of ambiance
-Presentation goes a long way to curb some competition. And with all the undeserved hype that its neighbor gets, this place needs to up the ante as far as ambiance and presentation are concerned.
-I really don't have a problem if a place is shady, which in this case is irrelevant, specially after considering the prices they're charging. But it can be a bother for some.
-Rahul(Mambo)
Location: Colaba(Mumbai), near Regal Talkies, next to "Bade Miyan", opp. "Gokul bar"
Seating: Accommodates 75 people at a time with ease.
Ambience: The place, by the looks of it has nothing to offer. If one has been to a kebab/bhuna/kheema joint anywhere in the ghetto areas, then this place is pretty much it, with perhaps larger seating area. Certainly, it is not a place that directly draws you towards it. But it is miles ahead of its much hyped neighbor when it comes to the matter of hygiene, and seating. otherwise its strictly a minimalistic joint. One thing that people will notice is the number of "Burrp!!" certificates that are hung on their walls, which are in a way testimonies for many things that u can anticipate.
Food: We started off with the chicken soup, which turned out to be the stock in which all the chicken Bagdadi gets is cooked in. to my surprise, it was a delightful broth, and it got my belly ready for whatever they had to offer .I had always craved a traditionally done mughlai beef preparations. Since most restaurants in Mumbai don't serve beef, it was a pleasant surprise to see a one-too-many beef preparations. We called for the "Beef Chilly Fry", of which I was initially skeptical, for I didn't want to eat its south-indian namesake at a self-proclaimed authentic "mughlai" restaurant. Along with that we called for the Butter Chicken, on a friend's suggestion, who had once mentioned to me that it was "the best butter chicken ever!". Along with that we asked the guy to get two roti's for each of us, to which he kindly replied,"ek hi khaao, bahut bada aata hai"(just have one, its very big). So considering his advice, we asked for a roti each. The guy not only forgot the chicken, he got us two plates of the beef, which after tasting, I really didn't mind. it was delightfully succulent and moist, not overly chewy, it still had a little gristle to it which added to the taste. These guys know how to choose their meat. Now, the waiter was right about the rotis, they re freakishly huge, which got a big smile on my face.The combination of the really well done "garam masala" and fried onions infused beef with the roti was superb. we asked for our butter chicken, which he promptly got in no time. To my surprise, it was not the run-of-the-mill butter chicken, with the masala overdone and the sparse quantity of the chicken. It was quite the contrary, simply to describe it in relation to anything is like describing a good pasta, where the sauce is just about perfect, so as to coat the chicken and not something that will supercede the quantity of the chicken. Only difference between the pasta and the chicken, apart from their respective sauces, was that the chicken was not al dente, it was perfect! the sauce too was not heavy, with the cashew/melon seed paste, it was surprisingly subtle, which how I think it should be. I was beaming after the main course. We ended up calling for the Caramel Custard. This was going to put the perfect end to a delightful meal. The caramel prepared till it gets a toffee-like flavor, and the Custard perfectly set so that it literally disintegrates on your palate.
Over-all the experience was sublime and immaculate.
Presentation: The presentation was nothing great, every dish was just served directly off the skillet, without any garnish or anything that would perhaps make it look any more appealing. Everything is served in the Orange-ish plastic plates that we must have seen all across Mumbai, if not Maharashtra at local Chinese food stalls.
Accompaniments: The chicken and the beef dishes were provided with a helping of sliced onions and lime wedges, the standard fare.
Service: The service was quick for certain, and that perhaps lent to clumsiness, which led to us getting a extra plate of beef chilly fry, which I honestly do not regret.
Cost: 2 bowls of chicken soup, 2 plates of the beef, 1 Butter chicken, 2 butter rotis, 1 plain roti, 3 servings of the caramel custard, and 2 soft drinks came to a grand total of 320 rupees.
"Worth" factor: For the amount eaten, the quality of the food eaten, and the grand total of the money spent, I think this place is definitely worth more than a few visits. I won't be surprised if certain people call it one of their favourites after their first visit itself.
Verdict:
Pros:
1.> The most important part of being in the food business is to deliver great food, and Bagdadi does the exact.
2.> It's not just the Quality but also the Quantity that is excellent here.
3.> You are assured a full stomach within 150 bucks. People interested in rice items can select from a variety of them. They also have daily specials, so watch out for those too.
Cons:
1.> A big part of the negative things that I can think of are mostly personal. People who have issues with "shady" looking places, mediocre(or worse) plating and crockery, might not appreciate this place so much, but then again, the million dollar question is: "do you like the food and service at it's much regal(in stature) neighbor?"
2.> Another thing that might bother you(for it did bother me just a little bit), that the caramel custard is for 25 bucks, which i felt that in comparison to the other dishes, and for a dish that vanishes so soon, is a tad bit too much.
3.> I really don't know how authentic is the food here, but I think that we should stick to how it tastes than analyzing what it is.
P.S.: Try the Beef Bhuna over there, I had had it on another occasion, and was delighted for it seemed like a tailor made dish for me, with good deal of chillies and tomatoes, and that brilliant roasted texture it got from prolonged exposure to the hot skillet. That sealed the deal for me.
-Gaurang(Gabo)
=======================================================
Place: Bagdadi
Location: Colaba, right opposite Gokul's bar
Seating: Can easily seat upto 50 people at a time
Ambiance - Not much in the way of ambiance. If anything, it feels like your typical irani place where the owner doesn't care about renovations. The walls are crowded with all the commendations from various websites which review such joints such a burrp. And deservedly so.
Food - As far as food goes, this place doesn't have much competition. Although i haven't tried all the dishes this place has to offer, whatever i've had has been simply awesome. The butter chicken is probably the best butter chicken i've had. The beef bhuna was really good. The roti was a big win. You pay 10 rupees for 1 roti which is equal to paying a lot more for 3. Its that big. While placing our order, we called for 2 rotis. But the waiter told us to call for just 1 and then decide whether we want to order more. We ended up having more than 1 roti, but then we do have a huge appetite. But for someone who eats moderately, one would suffice. So the waiter doubting our capacity to eat was justified. We also had soup which was basically just normal chicken stock. One word i would like to highlight here is simplicity. The soup was your basic soup which your mother would serve you when she makes chicken. But it tasted awesome. Even the butter chicken and beef bhuna were nothing out of the ordinary when it comes to preparation. But as they say,"keep it simple but do it right". And this was reflected in each and every dish we had. To top all this we had caramel custard for dessert. To put it simply, the best caramel custard i've had. Again, nothing too extravagant, but yet so good.
Presentation: Nothing great. But then you wouldn't expect anything great when it comes to places like these. Its just the food that matters.
Service: The service was pretty decent. The waiters were pretty helpful, which is accentuated by the fact that the waiter warned us about the size of the roti when we ordered for 2 of those. Also the dishes didn't take much time to arrive.
Cost: Taking into consideration the prices for a similar quantity for food at other places, this felt like one awesome bargain.
"Worth" factor: One of the most under-appreciated places in the city. A must for any food lover.
Verdict
Pros:
-Great food
-Decent service
-Not heavy on the wallet at all. If anything you'll come away feeling as if you've spent your breakfast money on lunch and dinner combined.
Cons:
-Not much in the way of ambiance
-Presentation goes a long way to curb some competition. And with all the undeserved hype that its neighbor gets, this place needs to up the ante as far as ambiance and presentation are concerned.
-I really don't have a problem if a place is shady, which in this case is irrelevant, specially after considering the prices they're charging. But it can be a bother for some.
-Rahul(Mambo)
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