The April Rain in Spain? - April Rain, Aundh

Happy Birthday, Midget!

And for today's special menu, we head to eat "Contemporary global cuisine...".
This is a direct quote from the positioning of April Rain.

Let me state, at the outset, that overall, I loved the food we ate. For two people, we spent less than Rs 1000 and were stuffed. We're both eaters...

So. To the brass tacks:

The 'global cuisine' part of the menu was surprisingly limited. The majority of the menu read Indian to us. In fact, the global stuff seemed forced.

But we wanted to eat non-Indian food, so we took up the challenge and went for it.

We shared a Roasted Bell Pepper soup, a Chicken April Rain Caesar Salad and a Lamb Bolognese. Two of us, three dishes, and we were very full for quite a long time.

The soup, while delicious, lacked the 'roasted' element that we were first drawn by. However, it was rich, tangy and rather yummy. Points added for the bread (bread is yummy and solves all problems).

The salad, we loved. Not overstating, here. We really loved the salad. There was lettuce, chicken, olives, cheese and a decent dressing. What more could one need? Oh yes, and there was a whole load of all this. Points for catering to 'desi mindsets'!

The pasta was amazing. Perfectly done spaghetti, with sauce that was heavy on the meat, light on the smell and spiced to perfection. I think the issue with a lot of pasta dishes I've eaten till date is that they keep it bland. Let's face it, we're India, and pasta-eaters here need a certain tribute to their tastes as well as to the original dish. I know this implies bastardizing the dish, but what is globalization teaching us if not ways of making sure we take the best from the world and adapting it?

Look at Bollywood, for example.

So overall, we loved our lunch, because it was just right for us. We loved the lightness of the food, despite pandering to our spice-needs and whatnot.

Points for value for money and bread.

Bombay to Goa

I remember the first time I went to New Martin's Resaurant. I didn't know what to expect. I wanted to go to my cosy, safe hostel bed and eat me some toast and tea.

But Martin's is epic. Thank God I went.

As you head down Colaba Causeway, away from Regal cinema, you'll reach a temple, otherwise known as 'that turning opposite Theobroma'. Once you take that turn, take the first right and walk about ten paces. And you're there. It's a tiny place, but very clean and very, very good at what it does. Note to you, though, it's only open in the mornings from 12.30 to 3.00 and in the evenings from 6.30 to 9.00. And it's closed on Sunday. And at mealtimes, if you want to sit as soon as you reach, I'd suggest you get there early-ish. Or after 1pm. Because otherwise you'll have to wait outside while people chow down on something that smells amazing. The service is brilliant, though, and everything comes out to you very quickly once you've ordered and they're very prompt with the onion and lemon that you're to eat with the food.

Goan food is generally supposed to be drugs and booze and fish. Popularly, at least. Martin's serves a dish I had never heard of before, though it's a thing, apparently: Goan sausage chilly fry. It's basically a sort of pickled pork sausage that they then make into a tangy, onion-y dish which they serve with pav. The first tangy bite can send you to heaven. They also serve a very ncie Beef Chilly Fry. Again, to be eaten with pav, it's good beef, spiced to perfection and it hits all the right spots. One must also definitely try the steak onion and chips. And the fish curry-rice. I haven't eaten the fish fry or the sausage-egg business, but it seems to do okay. The one encounter with the vindaloo was not one of my better experiences. But I must insist that you eat at Martin's if ever the thought crosses your mind.

Sadly, it isn't the place to take your vegetarian friends because they don't do vegetarian. They have a dal and vegetable on the menu; but I don't know how that will work out.

The menu is another very quaint thing about Martin's. It's a chalk-board with all the items listed on it, with the drop-dead-gorgeous prices and when they run out of something, they put a little cross next to it, much like they're playing a long drawn-out game of battleship.

And the prices. Assuming you have a regular appetite, one dish is enough for one person. The heavier stuff like Steak and Fish-curry-rice might even be rather stuffing. And so you're spending around Rs. 70-100 per dish. Which, in my opinion, for the food you eat is pretty brilliant.

So the next time you want to try out something different on Colaba Causeway, think about Martin's. It's addictive. And if you're only going to be going there the one time, you HAVE to eat the Goa sausage chilly fry.

And when you leave, take a look at the Dry Cleaners next door. They have the most amusing felines on the premises.

Broth Without Bread? NEVER!

Bread is beautiful.
In fact, bread is the best thing to happen to a hostelite. What can you keep around that won't need maintenance beyond an eye on expiry dates? Bread.
I won't break into song, I promise.
Now, the question is, are we happy with plain old Wibs from the nukkad ka bread wala? Most people are. I like my bread to be good. And cheap. Either-or, sometimes.

As a young, intrepid explorer, I stuck to my safe spots. Gaylord, the bakery-restaurant at Churchgate was where I bought my loaf of bread from. For the simple reason that it was nicer than the packet stuff and it was a LOAF! Although, now, given insanely rising prices, it's the bread I buy in a fit of craziness and when there is an urge to splurge. They have some very good breads, still, though. Baguettes, milk rolls, white, brown, loaves, slices, croissants, puffs, savouries, cakes, they have it all. It's a heavenly place to be in. Plus, you get to use trays and choose what you want and take it to be wrapped up for you.

Next, while hunting for something else, I found a little bakery for pav and brun very near Camy Wafers on Colaba Causeway. With Camy on your left, walk ahead on the same side of the road till you reach a lane on the left, sloping slightly upwards. It is the same lane as the famed Nariman House of the 26/11 terror attacks. Walk down the lane, staring hard at your left till you read "Rex Bakery". They sell fresh pav and brun all day long, and at rates you read about in books your mother read as a child. Maybe that's an exaggeration. But it's good, cheap, fresh, warm, tasty pav.

Another amazing place I found recently (although I've heard of and read of for a while) is Yazdaani. It's this little bakery place in the by-lanes of Fountain. I cannot give exact directions, because I generally play it by ear myself. But ask anyone and they will direct you. Their bread is fresh out of, what they claim to be, a wood oven. I believe them. The pizza bread I bought from there was the most divine bread of any sort that I have tasted in life. At 3.30pm every afternoon, they also sell apple-pies. Little ones, but they impressed me. And I don't much enjoy sweet things. If you have a mind to, you could sit inside and have some buttered bun and chai. Is nice.

However, I am a loyalist. Kayani's at Metro is the place for me. At Metro cinema, with Metro on your left, walk ahead. You'll cross a road, and find yourself at a bus-stop. Opposite, you will find Kayani's. Don't expect anything of the service, it's erratic. But the bun-chai is lovely. And I like the various egg preparations. Also, they have a bakery section where, around 11am everyday, they get newly baked buns. I lived off them during my exams. They also have decent doughnuts, and nice bread, milk bread and WINE BISCUITS! Among other biscuits as well, not just those. But those are my favourite. Must go. Really.

As of now, I can recall only this. Be warned, I love bread. If I find a nice bread-place, I will mention it.