Out for Dinner
Category: Food Mood: ExploratoryLast week I had a chance of going out for dinner with a friend of mine. The moment I say the word dinner what are the thoughts that instantly come to your mind ? I'm sure itwould be "Pizza Hut" or some hep shops in one of the few thousand malls that have "engulfed" your city! The ones that have exotic names for their dishes and by the time you are through with your starters you have already burnt a couple of hundred bucks.
The place I visited was neither in some "happening mall" in Pune nor was it a place to "chill out" and "check out" babes. It was a small non-descript place in Sadashiv Peth called Baadshahi(As you walk across the street you need to keep your eyes open else you might just miss it). There were no "glass doors" no one at the entrace to wish me good evening as I walked in. There was no light music playing or chandliers and curtains to setup the ambience. Infact there was nothing that you would associate with the "modern" world.
Yet it was an absolutely brilliant place. The moment I entered the place, it transported me back a few decades. Traditional notice boards (all written in Marathi) welcomed me. I got my prepaid coupons and waited in the queue. As the demand far exceeded the supply (no of people > no of seating places) a guy took our names and wrote it neatly with a chalk on a small slate that he had (again in marathi). After about 5 minutes he called us in and we were seated on a bench (arrangement similar lunch @a South Indian wedding).
The food was nice..The food was hot....Plain and simple roti & sabji along with "unlimited" buttermilk. No paneer shanner, garam masala and everything one associates with north indian cooking. (Not that Im against it, its just that I have had enough of it). All for 40 bucks! Infact the food and the ambience was so simple that the Crossword bag that I had in my hand seemed a bit out of place !!!!
The dinner was followed by a walk in along the area to soak in the tradition and culture of the place known as 'Pune gaon'. Rich in tradition and history. Again no high rises, no fancy apartments....More about it later......Who needs malls ????? Atleast I don't
3 comments:
Reminds me of the Udipi restaurant Ramakrishna or something, in Matunga, near the Nalli shop.... Mast rehta hai. Awesoem south indian fare, no nonsense and unlimited.
the best food can often be found in such non-decrepit places ... it's literally like having to rummage around in a coal pit to get to a diamond! i love the fare dished out on the 'dhabas' by the highways of Gujarat... No-nonsense Kathiyawadi fare... all for 25 bucks or less!!!
seems you are having the time of your life in pune.. oh..how i miss that place!!! i have my list of these small places to eat out.. yummy food which makes you and your wallet feel loaded.
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