Heart Attack on a Plate

I have always wanted to follow the Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations trail....that is, go to a destination and try the food and visit the restaurants shown in the episode. Couldn't do it in Europe, because I had not seen many episodes then. Couldn't really do it in Morocco, coz I did not have access to rich Riad owning families of Fez or the Berber tribes of Sahara.

But in London, it suddenly became possible...to an extent at least. Hunting in the countryside with Marco Pierre White would have to wait. But certain other joints featured on the No Reservations London/England episodes were more accessible. And I wasted no time getting started.

My first stop was at the Smithfield meat market in the Farringdon area. An unlikely place to go hunting for breakfast, you would think. But this was not just any breakfast. Ever heard of the Full English Breakfast?? What I was about to eat (read confront) took the concept a step further.

The Cock Tavern is located in the basement of one part of the Smithfield wholesale meat market and has been an iconic institution in the area for several decades, especially among the butchers working in the market. It's a routine for them to have breakfast with a pint of Guinness early in the morning at the tavern every day after their shift ends. It was on one of the early episodes of No Reservations that I saw Tony eating at the place while chatting with some butchers - their white coats stained with blood.




While the place serves breakfast, lunch and dinner and has quite a menu, what it's famous for is the Butcher's Breakfast, named after the men in the blood-stained white coats who frequent the place. You can call it a version of the Full English Breakfast. A quick comparison. The English Breakfast has...Bacon, black pudding, fried eggs, grilled tomatoes, hash browns, baked beans and bread. The Butcher's Breakfast has...Black pudding, white pudding, four pieces of steak, devilled kidneys, bacon and fried egg. In short, it's the baap of the English breakfast sans the veggie stuff and loaded with more meat. No wonder the butchers like it.



When I got to the place, I knew exactly what I wanted and went straight for it. However, I wasn’t sure if I wanted the traditional pint of Guinness with it. I knew that was what the butchers did, but hesitated. Drinking in the morning?? Alone?? On my first day in London?? In the end, I opted for the tea. A decision I wouldn't regret. Oh, this is what the breakfast looks like, in case you're wondering.



The meat was top quality and not a surprise considering the place is in the basement of the largest meat market in London. I started nicely and till the halfway point, I was quite happy with myself for having come to the place. But then I started getting full. Sips of tea now and then helped and I finally managed to conquer the mountain of meat. At the end of it though, I felt like keeling over and dozing off.
Thank god I didn't go for the Guinness...:)

Jaipur

I thought it would be Hyderabad. Or Lucknow. Or Chennai. Or Bangalore even. Two years back, I went to Delhi with two friends and got the idea of going to other cities in India in search of the best food they had to offer. The plan never took off, though I did keep going back to Delhi for some reason or the other and managed to eat well every time.

Jaipur was never on the list. Not because I thought it did not have good food to offer. It just got hidden behind the more famous/hyped Lucknow and Hyderabad. But as fate would have it, Jaipur found me before I could find Jaipur.

A friend had moved into an awesome house there with his parents and called me over for a weekend. This was April and it would be scorching hot, but I had nothing better to do with my weekend, so I decided to go anyway.

I always make a mental list of things to eat whenever I go to a new place and this time was no different. Spicy meat dishes and the famous Jaipur sweets were on the top of my list.

So I landed on a scorching hot Friday afternoon and headed straight to my friend's awesome house. I couldn’t escape the family dinner (vegetarian) as that would be impolite, so the 'hunting' would have to start the next day.

Laal Maas is probably the most famous Rajashthani meat dish. And Spice Court is the place to try it in Jaipur. It serves good Rajasthani non-vegetarian fare and there's a good feel to the place with lawns, the option of outdoor seating and the famous Rajasthani hospitality.

There were other options on the menu but I knew what I had come for. So Laal Maas it was. My friend pointed to Kheema Bati, which is like a non-vegetarian version of Daal Bati with minced meat in it. It sounded very interesting and was apparently the most sought after item on the menu at Spice Court. So we decided to come back for it later. The Laal Maas was very good and very spicy indeed. Thank god for the chilled beer.

In the evening, my friend insisted on taking me to this omlette place he kept talking about. I wondered what the big deal was, but decided to go along anyway.
Sanjay Omlette is a small shop located in a square in Jaipur that somewhat resembles Delhi's Khan Market. Apparently, it’s been doing business for a few decades and has quite a reputation. We ordered cheese omlettes and they came with not only bread but also, green chutney, red chutney, ketchup and onion salad. Good omlettes and great value for money considering the variety of accompaniments.

The next morning, as planned, we returned to Spice Court to try the Kheema Bati. But my luck had run out and apparently they did not have any. So there was little choice but to go for the other Rajasthani meat dish on the menu - the Jungli Maas. Only one problem...it's the hotter spicier version of Laal Maas...:) Even the waiter called it 'super duper spicy' and told me it was against house rules to make it any less spicy!!

With the other choice being a repeat of the Laal Mas, I decided to brave it and called for a nice chilled beer to take the edge off the deadly Jungli Maas. When the damn thing arrived on the table with the Rotis, I said a short prayer and tucked in. The waiter was right. It was the hottest, spiciest thing I had ever put in my mouth, barring the odd accidental green chilly. But it was also very delicious. Dilemma?? Catch 22?? I don’t know what to call it, but one the one hand I liked it very much and wanted to have the next morsel, but the bloody thing was scorching my palate and I was damn sure it would scorch my digestive tract later. In the end, I managed to fight the heat and almost finished the plate of feared Jungli Maas. I conquered the Jungli Maas!! Or did the Jungli Maas conquer me?? I'm not really sure.

The last items on my list were the snacks and sweets. So, on my last day in Jaipur, we headed to Rawat Mishtan Bhandar. This place is known for its Onion Kachori and Mirchi Vada and both were really good and very filling. The Mirchi Vada is just like the Batata Vada but with a large milder green chili inside the batter. It was time for the sweets next and there's no better place in Jaipur for that than Laxmi Mishtan Bhandar. And when in Jaipur, one must try the Ghewar. There are several types and it comes in many sizes, but most 'exotic' varieties are available only in winter, except for the standard Paneer Ghewar. And LMB as it’s called is the best place for it. So I ended my Jaipur sojourn by savoring the famous Ghewar and packing boxes of it to take back home.

Spicy meat dishes, Omlette stalls, snacks and sweets made a good Jaipur trip. I'm sure there's much more to Rajasthani food than just that and I'm looking forward to coming back in winter to Rajasthan to eat much more in much better weather. As far as the idea to go to other cities is concerned, it's time to get cracking...wish me luck!!

Merci Beau Coup, El Dayaa!!

I write with a lag. Always. I don't sit at a restaurant taking notes in the middle of a meal. And I don’t rush back from dinner or a trip and write about the blogworthy experience immediately. It’s all stored as a memory in the head and I typically take one or two months to finally get down to writing about it.

But 3 1/2 years is a huge lag. One that owes an apology followed by a good post. So here goes...

During my 3 months in Europe, I was based in Toulouse, France, a great place to eat no doubt. Its home to French classic Cassoulet, has a Sausage named after it, and is also the birthplace of the Entrecote steak. But being on a tight budget, I had to restrict my culinary adventures to times when I was travelling to different parts of Europe. When in Toulouse, my batchmates and I mostly cooked at home. Which is why all my posts from Europe were about the stuff I ate in Italy or Spain or Portugal. Maybe that’s how this one was missed out.

El Daaya is a Lebanese Cafe on Boulevard Lascrosses in Toulouse, right opposite ESC Toulouse, where I studied for a 3 month term, five minutes from where I lived. But this was not just any Lebanese restaurant. It was run by Lebanese immigrants and was frequented by Toulouse's sizable North African/Middle-Eastern community. The owners/cooks were a cheerful lot, knew a lot of their patrons by name and were always eager to entertain. We used to drop in for a mid-day snack and whenever we were too bored to cook.

The spread at El Dayaa was pretty huge. From the standard Shawarma to Keftaa and Kibbeh to the ubiquitous Hummus and Falafel and a never-ending list of salads, dressings and other accompaniments including the ever present Baba Ghanoush. But a favorite with the crowd were their sandwiches. These were wrapped in Durum Bread which resembled a large but thin Roti, like in between a Chapati and a Roomali Roti. And the fillings were....onions, Lettuce, tomato, Sauce Blanche (White Sauce), a spicy red Lebanese sauce called Harissa and your choice from the following: Shwarma/Keftaa/Kibbeh/Chicken Kebab/Falafel. And that’s not all. The sandwich always came with fries and you could choose to either have them put inside the sandwich or served by the side. An El Dayaa sandwich filled with fries could set you up for a day's hard work. What's more it was really, really good.

Shawarma/Doner Kebab places are everywhere in Europe and are probably the most common street food joints on the continent. So, it’s no surprise that I ate a lot of these sandwiches on my travels. Especially after I'd spent a bit too much on the last meal. I can remember Paris, Amsterdam, Munich, Barcelona and Rome, but I'm sure there were more. But none were as good or as elaborate as the ones at El Dayaa. During my last few days in Toulouse, I was bored of cooking and ate almost every meal there. No wonder, an ode was long overdue.

So, Merci Beau Coup El Dayaa, et je suis très désolé pour le retard!!

Delhi: Redux

When I went to Delhi last time, I had thought of following it up with trips to other Indian cities like Hyderabad, Lucknow and the likes, checking out the food scene in each one of those, and then chronicling those trips here. Sounded easy enough, but my work life had other plans. So while I've not been able to make plans for any of these, I've been to Delhi again. Mostly to chill out with some friends, but also to take care of unfinished business.

Five days in Delhi sounded like enough time to cover all the food-joints I had missed when I went to Delhi last time. That was what I thought, till my friends who have been living there for a while now, started bombarding me with one restaurant after another, each one with a different cuisine and a different specialty. Kashmiri Wazwan, the best Kebabs, Israeli and Greek food, places to drink....the list grew many fold, and what had looked like a piece of cake, suddenly looked like it would take some doing. Couldn't do it all, so here's what I did.

State Bhavans are an awesome place to eat in Delhi and after gorging on the spicy delicacies at Andhra Bhavan last time, it was time to choose another state. Assam Bhavan was recommended to us, so we decided to go there. This one has a regular restaurant as opposed to a canteen, which is the case with most other Bhavans/Sadans. Jakoi has a cozy feel to it and the outdoor seating is highly recommended when weather permits. The menu was big with a lot that piqued my interest, but the Parampara Thali sounded like a good deal. It sounded like a huge spread, which it was and had a few choices within it. It was time to try exotic meats and I went for the pigeon curry while a friend went for the duck. Everything on the Thali was good, from the dal and chutney to the freshwater fish (which is not usually a favorite of mine) and the fish steamed in bamboo. The pigeon meat was gamey as expected and the curry was well made, but the duck was certainly better. We ended the meal with a peculiar dessert with puffed rice, milk and molten jaggery. Jakoi doesn’t beat Andhra Bhavan but I would still recommend it, especially if you're a carnivore. That’s 2 hits out of 2 for State Bhavans and I still have some 33 to go...phew!!

On my last visit, I missed Kareem Hotel coz it was during Ramzan, when the restaurant remains shut during the day. So that’s where we went the next day, looking silly riding cycle rickshaws from Chawri Bazaar metro station through old Delhi's crowded bylanes. Now with all the attention, the restaurant has become a bit commercialized and I've heard people saying one should try some of the other eateries in the vicinity to get a more authentic Mughlai experience. But, for lack of time and research, it had to be Kareem's. Over the years, the restaurant has expanded and taken over other shops in the vicinity, so now it occupies several blocks in an alley/courtyard. The menu is small but loaded with several Mughlai classics. We went for the standard Seekh Kebab for starters and I could not resist ordering the Bheja Masala, especially since it had been a while...:) I had to have some mutton, so I ordered a plate of Mutton Burra and my friend got some chicken dish, the name of which I can’t remember now. All of this was really good except for the Burra which was really chewy and seemed virtually uncooked. But surprisingly, the star of the show here was the Sheermal, which is the Roti we ordered to go with the food. It’s a thick, slightly sweet bread that for some reason reminded me of a waffle, but it was easily the best item on the menu. All the food at Kareem's floats in a sea of oil and with the amount we had ordered, I was too full to eat anything for the rest of the day.

The next evening, my friends took me to Khan Market, to an Italian place they really like - Big Chill. This seems to be a real crowd-puller and the decor was really nice. There's decent Italian to be had here and I like my Ravioli and the Pizza we had, but it's still your typical Italian-adjusted-for-Indian-palate kind of a place. The deserts are really good though.

On my last evening, I really wanted to go to this one restaurant I had seen on TV called Yum Yum Tree. It’s a Pan-Asian restaurant in New Friends Colony and the name really caught my attention. Also, while browsing the menu online, I found Pho, the Vietnamese noodle soup I wanted to have for a while.
The place is split into two sections - one for Japanese and South-east Asian and one for Chinese. We did not know this and sat in the Chinese section thinking it was all the same. But determined as I was to have the Pho, I managed to convince the waiter to get it for me. Now I know I'll have to go to Vietnam to know what it tastes like for real, but this one wasn't too bad. Beef, noodles and greens in a flavored broth, it hit the spot. And it went down well with Asahi beer. The pork buns were quite good as well. The place is definitely recommended, but do take care of which section you chose to be seated in.

Two trips and there's still a lot to be done in Delhi. The State/UT Bhavans and Sadans alone will take several visits and I'm not even counting all the stalls at Delhi Haat. Add to this, all the new places my friends have come up with. I think I'll have to make this Delhi trip thing a semi-annual affair...:)