The Rogue Elephant

Mr P's away to the US on work, and so it was only Mr VP and I who set off to this place called The Rogue Elephant. I don't know why it's called that, and sadly, I couldn't ask the owner why it's called so. But tucked away behind no.119 next to FotoFlash near the Ulsoor lake is a quaint and quiet little place with just 6 tables and a whole lot of plants with a quintessential backyard look and feel, serving Italian/European cuisine. Thankfully there aren't too many who know of this place as yet and so Mr VP and I were able to get a table as soon as we walked in. The menu is little limited, but I can assure you that every item on it is awesome!

The owner was a nice gentleman who took our orders and explained about the dishes while taking the orders and while serving them. We started off with customary lime juices

and the soup of the day, which was a cream of tomato,

and it was perfect - not too thick, not too thin, and not too sweet. Along with it, we had the special salad of the day - a savoury pannacotta with caramelised figs in a balsamic vinaigrette reduction,

which was a first for me in terms of taste, and it was quite light yet delightful to taste. Also as part of the appetizers was a 'just like crab meat' with a garlic mayonnaise.

This was the first time I had even heard of this, and it's actually fish that is used to replicate crab meat, and just for the effect, a crab claw was added. The garlic mayo perfectly complimented the dish.

For the main course, we had another special, seer fish medallions in a mildly spicy Putanesca sauce

and a herb roasted chicken with a mild lemony sauce

along with mash and beans. Both the dishes were good and even at the end of the meal, I certainly didn't feel heavy, which usually is the case after you eat a north-Indian meal.

We finally rounded up lunch with a sweet peach pannacotta for dessert,

and I have to say that I think pannacotta is my new favourite in the dessert section. A point to note is that this place is open only from 12 to 5 and closes after that, so lunch is the only option here.

Wonderful location in the backyard, away from the traffic and noise, great food and atmosphere and conversations with friends...sigh.

Food: Very good.
$$$: Moderately expensive (around 400 or more per head)
Service: Decent, prompt
Verdict: A must visit if you love conti food.
Extra Info: Come to FotoFlash and look out for the Ambara board. Enter the compound, and go to the back of the building through the garden.

The Rogue Elephant, No 119, Annaswamy Mudaliar Rd, Ambara Complex, Ulsoor Lake, Aga Abbas Ali Road, Ulsoor, Bangalore

Egg Factory...re-redux

Seriously, I just can't seem to get enough of this place, and any and every time I'm in the vicinity and it's time to eat (when isn't it?), I meander towards this place like a gondola heading downstream with the current. I started off with a fresh lime soda and decided to try out a pasta dish this time, since the owner, Yogesh, had suggested it when I visited the place the first time with Mr P and Mr VP.

So a penne Alfredo with cilantro pesto and eggs it was. This order is also served minus the eggs for those inclined to stick to flora at all times.

The pasta was indeed as good as any pasta I've had anywhere (save for my own cooking, which would beat even the pasta at Fiorana hands down any day ). The quantity was sufficient, the pesto wasn't too oily; in short, just perfect. The garlic bread at the side along with the order really complemented the dish and there was nothing that I found lacking at all. And to round things up, the owner, Yogesh, came and sat with me and we had a nice chat about Bangalore, food & beverages, the economy and how it could (would) impact the F&B industry and what not.

I rounded off my lunch with a poor knights of Windsor for dessert, something that I've always had when I've come here (except when I came for breakfast with my brother). And it was just as good as it was when I first had it.

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

Casa Del Sol

After a lot of deliberation, I finally agreed to go to this place. I'd heard it wasn't all that great a place, and with Harima's one floor above, Mr VP and I were both tempted to go there instead of here. Well, Mr P was insistent enough to get us into this place, and so Casa Del Sol it was. The place is nice and very spacious, and the decor is simple, but hardly Spanish. We were informed that the Sunday brunch consisted of unlimited alcohol which included wine, beer and Sangria (a Spanish drink consisting of wine, brandy, orange juice and fruits) to go along with the buffet laid out. Fair enough we thought.

And so we started off with a glass of sangria, which all of us agreed was nothing more than a glorified fruit punch, and the alcohol was noticeable only when the liquid slid down our throats; we got a very slight tingle of the alcohol only after we 'concentrated' to detect it.

We then had the veg stew soup, which tasted good, but didn't seem to have anything 'solid' in it. So I spooned in a couple of spoonfuls of mushroom and broccoli from the salad table nearby.

The starters were served to us at the table itself, and the noteworthy ones were the lamb balls (trust me, it's not what it sounds like) and the mushrooms, while the paneer and the chicken were not too bad either.

The sangria kept us company while we finished the starters, and once that was done, we ordered a round of beer: and would you believe it, Fosters, straight out of the bottle.

From the salad counter, we got a mixture of spiced pineapples, cinnamon apples, cheesy potatoes, Thai chicken salad, Tuna pasta, and a mixture I made using walnuts, spicy mayonnaise and cheese (which tasted amazing).

For the main course, I served myself the seafood paella, and I immediately realised that the rice used was not the kind typically used for a paella or the flavouring was off, when compared to the awesome paella I had at Bangalore Bistro. The chicken roulade was bland, while the fish in white sauce tasted good. I didn't have the Mexican rice that was there since I had served myself the paella, but had a helping of the ricotta & stuffed capsicum, which all of us agreed didn't have a very nice texture.

There was a pasta counter where we could get 'make' our own pasta as part of the buffet, and upon hearing that, Mr P and I went ahead there, only to realise things weren't as good as thought. There was only spaghetti and some funny coiled pasta, only two basic sauces (red and white), and the pasta wasn't anything great either.

Dessert time! And as usual, I wasn't disappointed with the desserts, although I was hoping for a little more variety.

The lemon mousse was very good, while the two cakes that were there were good too. And to wrap it all up, we decided to go with a glass of red wine.

Well, according to Mr VP, it tasted like the toilet water from the Air Force Command Hospital (I don't know when and why he tasted that, but whatever), and Mr P and I too agreed it wasn't the best we've had, although I didn't mind it. It certainly wasn't a sweet at all, but it wasn't as disgusting as Mr VP made it out to be.

So all in all, the food at this this place was average. There was enough food and booze for the Rs. 725/- we paid per head (all inclusive), but I'm certain we won't be going back there in a long time. And to the owner of the place, all I can say is "Por favor, este no Español" (excuse the Spanish if it's grammatically wrong).


Casa Del Sol, 131, Devatha Plaza, 3^rd floor, opposite Bishop Cotton's Boys School, Bangalore. Phone: 51510101

Russell Peters, the game at Tavern, and a burger

Russell Peters came to Bangalore for the second time in 3 years (he came here last in 2006), and as usual, there was a mad scramble for the tickets, but the real mad scramble was at the venue, which was crammed with cars of all shapes, sizes and makes, all hoping to get one of the limited parking slots. And again, as usual, some of us Indians who love being so Indian, turned up late for the show (no surprise there!). As much as I'm tempted to type out a few of the new jokes Russell belted out, I won't, so let's not push this thing any further.



After the show, we headed towards Tavern at the Inn (in Museum Inn) to catch the Manchester United - West Bromwich Albion game. Oh, I forgot, I was with my friends SeniorAnalyst (my classmate in school from class 1 to 12, with whom I've played several games of cricket in the school team and wear our house colours in school), and another school friend CrazyHairDude, who, well, is lucky coz he's got curly hair and girls find that cute! Well, in any case, we got to Tavern and ordered our first round of drinks: Mojitos. I think the show, along with the prospect of catching the game at Tavern with booze and buddies must have gotten to my head (even before the booze), coz normally I don't drink if I have to drive back home (I think we've been through this before, I'm a goody boy). In any case, this was the first time I was having a Mojito and to be honest, rum kinda felt good in my system :) I think I have a spiritual connection with the spirits, no one spirit in particular coz I'm not the kind who discriminates.

After the Mojito, SeniorAnalyst ordered for some chilly chicken, and was just the kind of food that we required while the game started. Chicken and booze...I hope they have this in heaven, or else I wouldn't want to go there. I had a tequila after the Mojito, and with the introduction of some American corn and peanut masala, followed by SeniorAnalysts favourite- french fries and chilly sauce.

The first half turned out to be pretty boring, and by that I mean there were no goals scored, although Rooney netted a beauty only to be disallowed by the ref. A round of beers followed, and that's when the fun started to begin. I finished my first mug, and when I started on the second, a friend of SeniorAnalyst joined us.

I had to shift my cute bottoms to make room for him, and when I got up, the whole room spun around my eyes, and I realised that either I need more water in my system or more food, or I'd have a tough time driving home, especially since it was a Saturday night and the coppers would be out checking for drunken driving.

The draught beer served at Tavern is called Spitfire beer, after the famed world war 2 British fighter aircraft, and there's a sign board at Tavern that's a play on words, and reads "No Fokker can come close" or something like that, obviously referring to the Dutch Fokker plane, and any fu**er (I'm guessing).

A second mug and a lot of spoons of peanut masala later, along with a couple of glasses of water, I was on my way out, saying my byes to my pals. Walking past The Only Place, I suddenly had an urge to have a burger parceled to take back home, and so that's just what I did. I ordered a steak burger with cheese (for my lil experiment to find the best burgers in Bangalore). The drive back was uneventful, thankfully.

The steak was well done, and it was worth the 110 bucks I paid, but there wasn't anything 'special' about it, and so I don't know why this was particularly recommended to me by someone who had previously posted a comment for one of the articles. Maybe next time I'll go for the all American beef burger with cheese, and hopefully I'll have better results.

And for dinner, it's chicken again...

Chicken with coriander and apple cider vinegar

My last meal which I'll be cooking for a while, coz my mom is back tomorrow morning. So dinner had to be grand, and there was a chicken leg and thigh joint that was just begging to be eaten. It had the skin on, which made it that much more scrumptious.

So I started with the marination process: made a paste of some coriander leaves with a green chilly and applied it on the chicken, and under the skin. A little salt and pepper for seasoning, and to get the marinade into the chicken, I made parallel cuts across the meat. I then mixed some oregano with butter and applied it under the skin. And the final touch, something I've fallen in love with, apple cider vinegar. A splash of it over the chicken and under the skin, and then sent the chicken into the fridge for a several hours (I kept it for 5 hours, but you could very easily take it out after around 2 hours).

Next, heat some oil on a pan and when hot, place the chicken on it and fry on each side for at least 6-8 minutes or until cooked. After that, I preheated the oven to 200 degrees Centigrade and cooked the chicken in it for around 25 minutes. The brownish liquid you see in the picture below is the butter from under the skin that had melted and mixed with the cider. It was heavenly, and I think I ought to give serious thought to opening a restaurant sometime, or have a side business where I could start by first charging my friends when I cook for them(obviously less than what the restaurants would charge), and see how it goes :)

Another pasta sauce...

Another day without mom at home and so more experimenting. There's a chicken breast lying in the fridge, some mushrooms, and a bit of the squid from last night, along with some corriander. Perfect! Start by chopping a bunch of corriander (depending on how much sauce you want), add a chopped tomato and a chopped onion, along with one green chilly and some salt and pepper to taste. I also threw in the last few mushrooms that I had. Run this mixture in the mixie (blender/food processor) and keep the paste aside.

Mince the chicken breasts and season with salt and pepper and add to a bowl along with the squid. Add some apple cider vinegar to this and let it marinate for a few hours in the fridge. After a couple of hours, take the chicken out. Finely chop an onion, and fry the onions in a pan with some oil. Once the onions are caramalised, add the chicken to the pan and cook. Once the chicken is more or less cooked, add the sauce and bring the mixture to a boil and then simmer on a low heat for a while. The below picture was taken just before I added the coriander paste/sauce.

Mix with a bowl of penne and bon apetit.