Café Thulp

My guest at Dakhani Degh shall henceforth be referred to as WickedWitch - no, I"m not turning into a bad boy and neither are my senses leaving the small confines of my head, but that's precisely the name she used to describe herself - wicked witch of the feast, although it couldn't be any more diametrically opposite in description. Well, whatever.

So during lunch at DD, I tell her about my quest to find the city's best burgers, and she tells me that there is this new place about to open near her house in Koramangala called Café Thulp, and it's run by Gautham Krishnankutty of Tai Tai and Asia in a Box fame. And the bait she tossed at me was "You can't finish the burger that he serves". Me, not going to be able to finish a burger? Are you kidding me lady? Well, according to her, her healthy appetite prevented her from eating anything else.

So we make plans to visit the place as soon as it opens, and she calls me and we head to the place, me all geared up to tackle this beast of a burger, this upstart that claims it can beat me down. Once we got there, I immediately liked the aura exuded by the place - in a way, I'm a sucker for nice, bright colours, so I guess it helped in a way that the restaurant was brightly coloured, but that apart, it seemed nice.

A look at the menu actually didn't do me any good 'coz my eyes automatically homed in on the burger section as soon as the menu was placed before my eyes, and all I saw was 'Moos'. If you wondering what's that, well, that's the way the burgers are named... and I saw the biggest of them all, Moos your daddy, a beast containing a 12 ounce beef patty, and Gautham asked me "Would you like some bacon with that?". Do ants like sugar? Do women marry for money? I thought of a gazillion questions that had a one word answer, which matched mine in this case. I specifically asked not to be served the French fries along with the burger but asked them to retain the slaw served with the burger. I know now that I'll be able to finish the fries as well.

Moos your daddy

Another angle of moos your daddy

Ms WickedWitch had a sub, it's name I don't know. You can read a detailed post about Thulp here. We also ordered a Chef's special salad, which had a very nice dressing. To make up for the missing fries, I 'thulped' quite a bit of the salad, which is what gave me the confidence that the fries wouldn't prove to be an obstacle now.

We finished with dessert. I had a Picasso, and no points for guessing why the name. WickedWitch had a rum tart or something like that. And as I mentioned to her, I liked my Picasso better...which isn't saying that the dessert she had was bad - no, it was good, but mine was better!

Picasso

The burger I had here at Thulp will definetly make it to the best burgers list I'm compiling. The reasons I liked it were simple:

• Bun large enough to enclose the meat and 'stuff'
  
• Nicely toasted bun
• Bottom half of bun not too thin making it crumble
  
• Lettuce wasn't a large leaf making me feel like a cow (esp. while eating cow!)
• Onions in it weren't raw - they were caramelised
• Burger patty placed on the lower half of the bun without anything between it and the lower half of the bun

What's so special of the last point you may wonder? Well, a good burger has all the other stuff on top of the patty, and the patty shouldn't have anything between it and the lower half of the bun because if the burger had been made right, the juices from the meat need to be absorbed by the lower half of the bun. So full points for construction!

I guess a detailed review is in order, so I won't go into giving the usual gyaan about a place. Stay tuned!

Café Thulp, #998, 1^st Main, 1^st Block, Koramangala, Bangalore. Phone: 25487788

TGIF on Wednesday

Two of us were recovering from a slight illness - me from a fever and a sore throat and Mr VP from an upset stomach. Well, ok, let's add one for Mr P as well - he was recovering from working a lot unnecessarily. VP had a presentation at work on Tuesday but it didn't go through, and on Wednesday all of us were yearning for a break, and so TGIF it was.

We got there during the 'happy hours', so buy one-get one drink free time, but since they didn't have anything 'hot', I was a bit peeved (didn't want my sore throat to flare up again). But what the hell, we were there to enjoy, and so that's what we did. We had a lemonade and a summer cyclist - mixture of strawberry and orange juice, and since it was happy hours, we got one extra of each.

To nibble on something while we were planning the movies to watch during the coming weekend, we ordered a plate of grilled pita dippers, with hummus and salsa.


Angels & Demons it was, but with the governments new rule for theatres to show movies only at certain fixed times had us in a bit of a bother - none of the usual multiplexes that we go to would be showing the movie :( [eventually we went to watch it at Rex on Brigade Road]. Mr P and I also had a bowl of soup, broccoli cheese, which wasn't the best I've had, it was just eh.

For the mains, I had a nice fat juicy strip steak, and it was juicy. 12 ounces of red meat, and it was only once the order came that I remembered that I'm supposed to be off beef - my 2 cents towards helping in the fight against global warming. :( I'll need to remember from now on.

VP had a half rack of ribs with the Jack Daniels sauce, which came with a side order of onion rings. And surprisingly, this was the first time he finished everything he ordered! I mean he actually finished everything, and I didn't have to polish his food off lest it were wasted.

Mr P ordered something called a Mediterranean veg stack.

For desserts, we ordered the mini desserts, four mousse like desserts in glasses slightly bigger than shot glasses. After much debating as to who will have which flavour, I can say with some authority that none of them were good. Try to avoid these if you go there, order something else, or go out to Corner House next door and have a nice ice cream there.

Chilis Grill and Bar

Chilis is in Bangalore! Well, actually, it's been here for a couple of months now. So Friday night (2 weeks ago), since mom and bro are out of town, and I wasn't in the mood to cook dinner (for once), P and VP accompanied me to Chilis. As usual, I got there first and had to wait as VP went over to P's place to pick him up (off late, P's been acting a lil cranky and fussy about going out - kinda like when women are on the pill!).

The one thing we instantly agreed was that this place was another TGIF - with the kind of drinks and food available, but where it would score is with the number and variety of veg dishes. However, overall, I think TGIF still ranks above this place as being more memorable...for what reason, I'm able to put my finger on it right now, but take my word for it.

P and I ordered a cream of mushroom since it was a cold, rainy night outside, while VP, who had a tummy bug, just had a glass of orange juice. The soup was nice - hot, thick, creamy, with a hint of pepper.

Cream of Mushroom

For starters, we ordered the Texan veg roll and a plate of nachos (which came at the end of the meal - confusion on a Friday night I guess). The veg rolls were amazing - not just the way they looked when served, but they tasted great too, and the dip along with it was super as well. As for the nachos, they were ok...nothing mind blowing - you know, the usual nachos, crispy chips covered with cheese with a piece of jalapeno pepper on it.

Texan Veg Rolls

For the main course, I ordered a chicken fajita, which came on a hot plate. It was nice, although considering the cold weather outside (and that it had a Mexican sounding name), I wanted it to be a little spicier.

Chicken Fajita

Mr P ordered a veg quesadilla with mushrooms, and although the only other place I've had a quesadilla was at Shanghai Salsa, I can say that the quesadillas here were at least as good if not better.

Veg Mushroom Quesadilla

Mr VP ordered the honey fried crispy chicken, and soon after eating one piece, wasn't in a mood to continue - not because the chicken tasted badly, but he just wasn't up to eating.

Honey fried chicken

And so the evening passed, with us discussing the upcoming marriage of a classmate of ours, and about all those married, and those in the queue. I'm sure you've all heard, or even imagined a scenario where it's raining outside, and a small group of friends (3 in our case) discuss, gossip and bitch about classmates and acquaintances from the past over drinks or food. Many of you would probably have already indulged in such activities. And if you're wondering what happened to the chicken that Mr VP couldn't eat, don't worry, I didn't let it go to waste, I had it parceled and took it back home.

Food: Pretty good; vegetarians can feel happy as there's more veg here than non-veg.
$$$: Expensive, a la TGIF
Service: Good, prompt
Verdict: Veggies can frequent this place if they like TGIF sans the non-veg. Drinks are almost the same here as in a TGIF. Non-veggies can stick to TGIF.
Extra Info: It's just after Total Mall on the old Airport Road. They have Valet parking.

Chili's Grill & bar, Phoenix Idiom, Above Papa John's Pizza, Old Airport road, Bangalore.

TGIF

Finally I get to go to the famed TGIF, and it didn't matter at all that I happened to be there on a Monday. And surprisingly enough, there was a pretty decent sized crowd even for a Monday evening. Ms BakeAcake had asked us to be there for her birthday dinner (her birthday was on the 31^st), and as usual I was there first, and soon was joined by Ms WeightConscious and her boyfriend...well, let's just call him Saucy :) Soon everyone but Mr P were there, and so we dove in for what seemed to be an interesting night ahead.

Now the interiors of TGIF are more or less similar to another restaurant here called Indi Joe, with an almost retro American look and feel inside, and the loud music and the look of the bar gives you the impression that they're also trying to make it look and feel like a pub where the patrons would have to speak in higher decibels to be heard over the music being played.

Since the happy hours were still going on and we would get a free drink with every ordered drink, we started off with orders for a White Russian,

an ultimate Long Island Ice Tea,

and a Blue Martini.

Since Mr P said he'd be late, we started off with our appetizers. A plate of chicken wings was ordered

along with a plate of Fried Mac & Cheese.

And since I'm still on my quest to make a list of the ten best burgers available in Bangalore, I ordered the Bacon Cheeseburger.

Everything was good, from the drinks to the food ordered to the speed at which our food and drinks were served to us. My ultimate Long Island Ice Tea was served in a glass the size of a cauldron, and it's the most potent Long Island Ice tea I've ever had. I mean this baby was mean! Not even halfway through my drink I could feel the room starting to spin a little, and standing up was something I did not want to even think of. However, of the three drinks ordered, the martini was the strongest, but since it didn't measure to even half the quantity of the Ice tea, it was a no contest. We later ordered a Manhattan, which is a Jack Daniel's whiskey with Vermouth and Angostura bitters with ice, and a Pina Colada.

For dinner, I continued on the burger trail (which turned out to be a mistake). I ordered a Jack Daniel's burger, which has a 7 ounce patty (and I said mistake because it turned out to be the exact same as the Bacon Cheeseburger, only difference being this one was served with the JD sauce and the patty was bigger. Sigh!),

Mr VP and Ms BakeAcake ordered a Jack Daniel's Chicken which they were going to share,

Saucy ordered a Sirloin steak,

and Ms WeightConscious ordered a broken noodles pasta (penne) with tomatoes, basil, olives, mushrooms and cheese.

Well, everything was good, and I don't think anyone was disappointed (except for me a tad). Since both my burgers were more or less the same, and the bacon cheeseburger had only 2 strips of bacon, unlike the bacon burger I had at Millers 46 during Mr P's birthday, I felt the guy making the burger got it wrong. It was good, but since there was so little bacon, and the JD burger was a larger replica of the bacon burger, I was a lil disappointed. What's more, the bacon was really salty! I mean, maybe if it was eaten with the bun and the patty and all the stuffing it would have been ok, but I love to take a bite of my bacon before I tuck into it and this thing was salty to the core, like it came out of the dead sea or something.

That apart, the other dishes were fabulous and the JD sauce was simply phenomenal. The service was quick and we never felt like we were let down on any front, and I'm willing to let the burger incident pass (I may still have some of the alcohol swimming inside my head). This place is a little heavy on your wallet, but if you enjoy American comfort food and booze, then once in a while, it certainly is worth it.

Food: Pretty good
$$$: Expensive
Service: Decent, prompt
Verdict: If you like American food, and alcohol, pay a visit once a couple of months or so
Extra Info: Happy hours are till 2015 hrs - buy a drink and get another glass of the same one free

TGIF, Carlton Towers, Old Airport Road, Bangalore. Phone: 25210570, 25210571

Millers 46 for a birthday

Mr P called us out for lunch on Monday for his birthday. He had taken the day off and called Mr VP, and also Ms BakeAcake. Luckily, I didn't have a lot of work to do at office, and so could slip out for almost, gulp, 4 hours for lunch! Millers 46 it was again, and so good food was guaranteed.

It's been a while since I'd met Ms BakeAcake, and it wasn't just me. None of us (P & VP included) had had a lot of meetings with BakeAcake since she got married. Yeah, we have a married girlie in our group, although I'm sure if Mr P or Mr VP read this, they'd protest saying she's not a 100% part of the group now that she's married (they're a little millitant that way). We started off with a round of lime sodas and soups, and we pretty much covered the soup menu of Millers. I had a combo stew, which had shrimps, mixed veggies and ladies fingers (okra) in it.
Ms BakeAcake had a chicken creme soup with mushrooms,
Mr VP ordered a chicken Minestrone soup,
and the birthday boy Mr P had a veg creme soup with mixed vegetables.

After the soups (actually while we were having the soups), BakeAcake told us she would need to hurry things up because of an irritating colleague of hers who usually tried to sabotage her work if she realises BakeAcake isn't at work. So we wuickly ordered a plate of chicken tenders for ourselves (the meat eaters)

and Mr P ordered a plate of cottage cheese fingers.
While tucking away at the food, we caught up on a lot of things we'd missed over the last several months (almost a year) with BakeAcake. And yeah, in the midst of all that, we also ordered our main course.

Mr P, being the veggie, went for a veg lasagna, and I have to say that every place I've been to that serves lasagna has a unique way of presenting it, and Millers was no different.
Mr VP stuck with chicken and ordered a chicken cheese grill with rice, and that thing looked mean and I was wondering how Mr VP was planning on finishing that alone.
Ms BakeAcake ordered a classic New York steak with cheese and bernaise sauce.

Before we go any further, I'll let you all know that she ate around 20% of the steak and said "I'm too full to continue" and tossed it over to me. All afternoon she kept saying that I've lost so much weight, now I know: she was readying me to eat what she couldn't! Women, you can never get anything straight out of them.

I was a lil busy clicking pictures of others food and engrossed in the taboo topics we were discussing that I forgot to click a picture of the bacon burger I ordered until I was almost half done. It was a classic BLT with some salad by the side for garnish, which I've always found a little funny, coz I've never seen anyone clean that up from their plate while eating.
I've been on this quest to find the perfect burger, and so I've been looking to eat burgers wherever I can. The steak sandwich I had the last time I came to Millers was very good, and although they called it a sandwich, if you're gonna put a steak in the middle of a piece of bread, sorry, it doesn't become a sandwich, it's a burger. I go by the stuffing, and not the outer bread/bun jacket to call it a sandwich or a burger.

I've had crisp bacon before at Fresco's, but this bacon was something totally different.. It was a little think, and had fat on it, and it wasn't chewy at all. Now I know why Americans and Europeans go gaga over bacon, especially when there's a little fat on it. This thing is delicious, truly delicious, and I'm glad I had the pleasure of wolfing it down.

We decided to have desserts outside at the Sweet Chariot on Cunningham Road, but while walking there, BakeAcake got a call from work that required here to go back at the earliest because, no surprises, the sabotage had begun. Mr VP took her, while birthday boy dropped me back to office and headed home. I wonder if BakeAcake owes us dessert now, since it was her work that got dessert taken away from under our noses. I guess we'll never know.