THE BREAK

In spite of an inflation in food prices, new places keep cropping up. Today’s restaurant is a massive 350 seater with spacious ambience and a name plate too! But I didn’t understand why the “AK” from the name Break is hugely stretched out. There are new concepts that can be seen here. For instance, a postersize cutout of a crumpled cigarette is pasted on the walls to notify the message instead of writing it usually. A pure vegetarian restaurant, the style in which the food items are presented on the menu card is different. Using different permutations and combinations of ingredients, the menu is a massive one with over 500 preparations. That’s why I found 19 varieties of pav bhaji here. Some items fascinated me merely because of their names - Tex Mex Pizza, Desi No. 1 Pizza, Jade Corn Soup, Duke Salad, Rocket and Mango salad, Brinjal Hot Garlic, Veg Ganesh, Veg Dragon, Paneer Chocolate Masala... I don’t know how they taste, but full marks for imagination. The juice section had some interesting varients too - Kohinoor (orange + anar) and Taal (strawberry + lichee). I was left wondering what ingredients could be in the Honeymoon Special in the dessert section! The taste of the food here is typical. Authentic preparations are out of the question. The quantity is very good considering the price. Their Chinese variations are also good — I liked the Veg Hot Pan the best. As The all time fav paneer tikka masala too was good. It also has Chinese desserts too namely honey noodles, date pan cake or fried ice-cream. Visiting this place is like watching a typical comedy movie which has no connection with reality, but does satisfy your funny bones.

MY OVERALL RATING: 6.5/10

THE BREAK (veg restaurant)

Comet House, Next to Big Bazaar,

Satara Road, 020-24211111

MALGUDI DAYS

What’s in a name,” Shakespeare asked. Well, after visiting this place, I’d have to say there is definitely something to it. Naming a restaurant in a certain fashion may make a certain type of foodie client naturally gravitate towards it, which makes people go out of the way to use whacky names. There is a strong possibility that eventually the customer could get disappointed, since there is also that important aspect — taste. Even if eating patterns have changed and new themes have been introduced over time, a large chunk of customers still crave that onegravy- in-different-combinations type standard taste. It’s really not their fault either, as when you travel in or out of Pune within Maharashtra, this particular dominance on the palate is witnessed in restaurants across the board. You have no option left but to dig into these ‘typical’ dish names and their preparations. I was one such customer who got pulled in by the name of the establishment in this case. My visit had great expectations… and one knows what generally happens to them. The menu here is predictable, with one ingredient in different combinations. It is touted as more than just a seafood place — the fact is that seafood is 15 per cent of the menu. The rest is replete with the aforementioned ‘typical’ preparations. The Bombay duck roasted in rawa, and deep fried wasn’t too exceptional but for its absolute freshness. If this particular variety of fish is not served absolutely fresh, it falls apart when you take a hold of the piece. Mutton could probably be avoided in the starter options — the Boti Kebab was clearly not a thigh piece as it should have been. The Makai Kebab looked bright green (with probable colour enhancement), but also tasted pretty good. The curries (dominated by fish preparations) come in about five gravies – Tawa, Masala, Goan, Koliwada and Hara Masala, names that more or less suggest exactly what is going to arrive on your platter. We chose the Goan Curry. There was complete absence of coconut and the gravy was tangy but not from the small amla like fruit — bimla — which is usually used in original Goan recipes, but by an excess of tomato. The inflation in onion prices was visible in the gravies as well. The biryani was more like a tawa pulao in terms of taste and preparation. The ambience of the place had not much to do with the name, or theme or the menu — even if the wonderful fictional town created by R K Narayan is immortal, the preparations here aren’t exactly so. If you like that familiar ‘typical’ taste and do not wish to have a pinched pocket, do visit!

Opp Shivaji

Statue and

Thorat Udyan,

Kothrud Circle

WOODS

The stretch from Chandni Chowk to Mulshi is a very famous area among couples, ‘spirit’ ual friends and corporate people.There was aboom around 10 years ago on this stretch. Saturday nights used to be a hot spot for every hotel on this road. Unfortunately and eventually the quality of the food, service and ambience started to decline in the past few years, making it difficult for couples and female friends to dine in safely till 11.30 pm or so.However,now, after visiting this place, I feel that it has crated a benchmark for other fellow hoteliersto follow some decent guidelines, improve the quality of service and food and most importantly, include global variety in their food preparations. After visiting Woods, which is exactly opposite of octroi post on Paud- Mulshi road, I could hardly believe its existence in that area.The ambience itself is represented in its name.With a pool table in the centre and three other sitting areas, tells you how ample the space is. Even the dim lit tents have a cozy feeling, with no sketchy or shady undertones.And the food factor isn’t lacking either. An amazing wide spread, this place has almost everything including sizzlers, Indian, Chinese, oriental,Thai, pastas and Arabic food.The taste, too, is great.Apart from food, hookahs are also served. Drinking buddies might through back an extra peg or two as the rates are very reasonable. But what I would love to talk about most this week, is the ambience and the fact that you can bring along a date and truly enjoy the evening below an open sky. I also noticed different genres of customers here, all having their good time.There was a couple, a family with kids, pool playing youngsters and only-girls groups.The service is good, polite and on their toes. The owner being around, helped to maintain that standard and also I think keep away unwanted disturbances. One thing to keep in mind though, is to make sure, you have your feet covered when you visit as you might have crawly friends giving you company.After all, you are going to dine in the Woods!

MY OVERALL RATING: 8/10

Woods, Opposite Octroi Post, Paud Road, 9890222230

GANDHARV RESIDENCY

After a request from a reader, I decided to eat at this restaurant. And the visit here took me down memory lane — about 18 years ago, I used to eat my fill here on weekends. At that time this breed of restaurants were limited to just a handful, and this was one of the most popular. That was also the time when eating out was a much bigger deal and happened only once or twice a month for most Puneites. So, I had another reason to visit - to refresh the taste of this place on my palette. Gandharv Restaurant is in the lane behind the Gandharv Residency. The resto-bar here is called Rasagandh. While browsing through the menu, I noticed that it had evolved — the change reflecting the world around it which is changing too. The menu is varied with lots of paneer dishes prepared in different forms. Shorbas too come in five different options. The Murg Pudina Shorba was different and tasty. Motiyon ke Bahar (stuffed paneer tikka flavoured with herbs and spices) was of a sweeter taste with a negligible amount of herbs and spices. Jhinga Anarkali (prawns marinated in spices and pomegranate seeds) was something new and turned out to be very tasty. Though the variety in main course was abundant, with options from murg, prawns, fish, lamb even Pan Asian with Sichuan style preparation with five spices and a few more well-known Thai and Chinese preparations. The Pan Asian section also has an elaborate soup section. We chose to order Paneer Tikka Masala and Chicken Walnut Broccoli with Fried Rice. I imagined (quite rightly) what the taste of the paneer would be. However, I found the Chicken Walnut and Broccoli lacking. If only the walnut had been crushed and added and chicken pieces cut in slivers, it would have turned out well. The dessert options here aren’t many — Jelly, Fruit Salad, Gulab Jamun, Kulfi and Caramel Custard. So, there wasn’t much to comment on this. Gandharv Residency is a great place for friends in their late thirties to have a reuinion. There’s a long list of spirits, quiet ambience and below-average speed of service. The ones who are impatient and hungry, will find that taxing. Even though there were only a few tables occupied, the service was slow that day. Otherwise, those who wanted to reconnect with the place (as I did) must visit.

MY OVERALL RATING: 7.5/10

Gandharv Residency, 1291, 1292, Shivajinagar, behind

Gandharv Restaurant, 020-25520903

SICILIA

The place I visited this week is known as Sicilia, and I assumed it is an Italian restaurant. Well, though the food prepared here is Italian, it has a huge backdrop of Mediterranean cuisine! Sicilian food has influences from the Arabs, Greeks and Spanish, and this does make it Mediterranean in nature. The preface at the start of the menu is informative and tells you about the history of Sicilian cuisine and its origins. The menu (since we’ve established it is Mediterranean), has antipasti, homemade pastas, rissottos, shawarma, falafels, babagounush, etc. They also have a well stocked wine menu to make your dining more appealing. For starters, we had the soup of the day which was Minestrone. It happened to be a great choice to start the meal with. It was a generous portion, with ample vegetables and a perfect spiked flavour. We also ordered Funghi Ripeno al Forno (mushroom tossed in garlic) and Roasted Prawns and Cherry Tomato, both tasty and with generous portions. The prawns were especially good — succulent and blended well with the sauce. Basically, if the base sauce is well prepared, its derivatives are bound to be tasty. In this case the tomato concasse (French for ‘crushed’ and a term that can mean ‘sauce’) was so well balanced, that the Mediterranean Pizza we ordered next also turned out to be pleasurable. Here too, the toppings were generous. Usually, we get to see more sauce and less toppings; here it was exactly the opposite. For the main course we had Kingfish Steak with Polenta and Asparagus and once again, I was surprised with the portions! Polenta (yellow corn meal) was well prepared; and the fish steaks had a cheese filling making it more tender. Having been served and attended to very well by the staff, I performed an almost ritual by ordering the alltime favourite Italian dessert — tiramsu. I feel incomplete not trying out the tiramisu at any Italian joint. This time (again!) I was impressed by their portion and the presentation. Every single preparation brought to the table had two or three garnishes. And even more admirable, not even one garnish was repeated. The Tiramisu went down well with a hot shot of the classic cappuchino served on the house with the dessert. Overall, a fabulous place to visit once and being treated not only to Italian cuisine, but Mediterranean as well. This five course dinner for two with generously served portions, great presentation will cost around Rs 1500. Bon Apetite!

MY OVERALL RATING:7/10

SICILIA, City Point, Dhole Patil Road, 020-26168555

JAGAT BHARI KOLHAPURI

Ihave always in reviews, cribbed about two things - the authenticity of preparations and the value for money. Also, I believe in the thumb rule that taste is inversely proportional to the food items listed in the menu. The less the number of food items means a higher assurance of taste. This time, everything mentioned above was fulfilled. Jagat Bhari Kolhapuri (loosely translated to Kolhapur is the best in whole world) is actually the name of the restaurant. Its menu is probably the only one in Pune with just nine items on it. And imagine it to be a thela, or a roadside eatery. This is an 80-seater, a full fledged restaurant! The other thing that you get only here and not at any other Kolhapuri joint is masoor (whole red lentils). Jagat Bhari Kolhapuri is a masoor specialist with new preparation methods from this cuisine, that was not commercially showcased before, is served here. Other than this, you will find Khuskya Rice (translated to crisp rice, which is actually plain rice temperd with pure ghee, and topped with golden fried onions and coriander), Sol Kadhi, Tandoori Roti, Bhakari, Thecha, Dahi, mineral water and aerated water. The taste is exceptionally good and preparation is done in almost a household style because there are no trained chefs employed, apart from the tandoor chef. The kitchen is taken care by the owner and his family members. They have shown us a new face of Kolhapuri cuisine. That is what I like about the place, they have something new to offer and that too, something original and authentic. The gravy is far from the cliched Dal Makhani (which I thought initially being similar to this preparation). The service is good. They serve you a small portion to taste so that you know exactly what they have to offer. It’s been less than a month since it opened and there was wait to get in for dinner. I guess that says it all. A fulfilling meal for two will cost Rs 170. That makes me able to recommend the place to everyone. And no, unlike the Kolhapuri food cliche, you don’t need to carry handkerchiefs. The preparation here is authentic - not spicy, but very tasty!

MY OVERALL RATING: 7/10

Jagat Bhari Kolhapuri

47/1 Taware Colony, opp City Pride,

Next to Bhapkar Petrol Pump,

Pune-Satara Road

Cell no: 8087231218

CREAM CENTRE - FERN HOTEL

Many of us believe that options in vegetarian cuisine are few. This happens when we take a look at the menu and find it difficult to choose a particular preparation. It is even more tedious when half of the items on the list are tried and tested. When you visit Cream Centre, the tables are turned. For the menu is vast, varied, completely vegetarian and most importantly they have all sorts of global preparations under one roof. Cream Centre, they say, is a 50-year-old eatery that began on Mumbai’s Chowpatty. Having traveled sucha culinary journey, they now have found a place in Pune - a restaurant outlet at the Fern Hotel. Plush interiors, well-lit ambience and ample seating capacity makes this place suitable for family outings. Two things in particular will make me always remember this place. Firstly, for its menu card. I haven’t seen such immaculately presented content before. Clear, high definition photographic illustrations make your mouth water. The first few sheets present their all-time hit preparations, things for which this place is famous. So, I tried those. Among them are the Original Chana Bhatura, the World’s Best Nachos, Onion Rings, Lime Ice Soda and Sizzling Brownie. Except for the Lime Ice Soda and Onion Rings, the rest were true to their word. Lime Ice Soda had ice-cream blended with lime and soda, which I, personally, thought to too sweet. I had thought it would be like an iced tea. As for the Onion Rings, the batter was more puffy and less crispy. I make it the other way around. However, with Onion Rings, there’s an abundant variety of preparation methods, so I’m not rejecting their version. The other unique thing about this place is its dedicated management. The huge success of any restaurant lies in this. I had ordered a Lebanese Original Falafel after seeing a photograph in the menu. The picture showed iceberg lettuce in it, but when it was served it had more of cabbage shreds. I brought this to the notice of the manager and he promptly requested me to note it down in the feedback form. As usual I filled it up thinking no one would bother to read it (it happens in most cases), but to my surprise I got a call from a concerned general manager the very next morning! This is the first time such an event has taken place since I started reviewing. Cream Centre is recommended for families with children (they will love pouring chocolate over the Sizzling Brownie). Not recommended for diet conscious people. Why? The name itself should be a clue. It would be pity if you discuss diet plan while dining here!

MY OVERALL RATING: 8/10

Cream Centre

Fern Hotel, Lane no 10, Opp Solaris Gymnasium,

Kalyani Nagar, 0204018000