Spaghetti Kitchen

I don't seem to understand where the space comes up from for new(er) places in Indiranagar. I've now noticed that Little Italy has opened up again on 100 Feet road, a couple of hundred meters from their previous location (their earlier premises saw another Italian place called Italia come up). Spaghetti Kitchen and Copper chimney are what seem to be the new kids on the block. Having visited Copper Chimney at Bangalore Central (MG Road) and not in the mind for north Indian cuisine, we decided to visit Spaghetti Kitchen for lunch.

The decor at Spaghetti is quite tasteful. The restaurant is nicely lit with natural light from the facade and then there are enough lights that ensure you aren't shrouded in darkness. Since it was a working day and we didn't have the luxury of spending a lot of time, we had to (sadly) opt for the fixed meal (Rs 399). The starters arrived at the table and almost immediately vanished into the mouths of my colleagues before I could take a picture. I'm guessing that's why I don't have pics of the non-veg starters... or were there non-veg starters? Can't remember. Anyway, the veg starters were a little insipid, except for probably those cheese balls in the background. Also, as part of the meal, we could have a glass of wine or beer. While some opted for beer, some had wine.

Veg starters
Red wine
A complimentary bread basket with a very nice dip was actually one of the highlights of the meal. Imagine that - free stuff that tastes good! The pizzas (both veg and non veg) come only in thin crust, and were decent, although from a taste point of view, it wasn't anything to rave about. The spaghetti was just plain boring - not too much of flavour, and if someone has to add oregano/chilli flakes for flavour, then something is seriously lacking in the dish.

The fish was nicely done, with a slight crust on the outer surface and the body soft inside. The tofu dish too wasn't too bad although my colleagues who had it claimed it was a piece of rubber that was coloured white-ish and served :) I didn't think so though.

Garlic bread & dip
Pizza
Spaghetti
Fish something
Tofu something
I thought that desserts would be saving grace, and in terms of taste they were. However, from a service stand point, I think I found something seriously lacking. We were a group of 6. Now take a look at the photo below and tell what's wrong.

Dessert platter
Couldn't figure it out? Well, we were 6, but there were only 4 of each! I dunno if this is because that plate on which they're served can have only 4 per type, but I don't care. Why are things so rigid? And no, they didn't get another plate with 2 more of each little cake. I guess it pretty much summed up the entire experience.

I won't be giving my usual report card because I only had the fixed meal, and would love to try the a la carte once. But if the standards set by the fixed meal are anything to go by, then this would be another case of a big brand hoping to survive only by reputation and by catering to only those who aren't very discerning (sadly that number is still quite large).

# 2006, 1^st Floor, 100 Feet Road, Adjacent to Vodafone, Indiranagar, Bangalore. Phone: 41113500

100 Feet

Apart from P and VP, there's another buddy who spends most of his time in the US, and we were fortunate enough to have him over the weekend (he's here to renew his visa). He's pretty witty at times, so let's call him NitWit. So we met him for lunch on Saturday afternoon at 100 Feet Boutique Restaurant, before moving on to ThePilot's house. ThePilot, while being a valid license holder, doesn't fly, and in keeping with Bangalore's traditions, works for an IT company that's into storage. Yeehah!

While Ms WeightConsious, who along with Saucy were to drop by, we started off with something to drink. NitWit stuck to his Heineken, while P had some wine, and I had a drink with ginger, lime and grenadine in it. I don't remember the menu of the past, but I must say that they have some very boring and insipid starters (maybe it's for this very reason that I haven't visited this place for more than 2 years now). Since P is veg, we asked for a plate of potato cheese kibbe and some crostini della casa, while NitWit's eyes fell upon the chicken tzatziki. And if you've noticed, whenever there's soup, P usually has one, and I usually split with him, and so a potato and leek soup it was.

Now, kibbe (or kibbeh) is a croquette from the Arab world, usually stuffed with rice and meat. Since ours was potato and cheese, it was expected that we'd be served with a dip that may be a little on the spicy side. However, tomato sauce is what we got, and although the kibbe was decent, I think it would have been a lot better with a little more heat. The crostinis were very good, and the toppings of olives, capers, onions, tomatoes, on some good bread covered in mozzarella made it quite good indeed. The chicken tzatziki was just yogurt marinated chicken, grilled and served along with a salad and the tzatziki, a yogurt dip having cucumbers, garlic, salt, pepper, and olive oil and at times, lemon juice as well. Our tzatziki was more yogurt and cucumber, almost no garlic and certainly no pepper, olive oil, lemon juice. The soup was quite simply brilliant compared to the rest.

Potato and leek soup

Potato and cheese kibbe

Crostini della casa

Chicken tzatziki

Just as we were finishing the starters, Ms WeightConcious and Saucy walk in, and they weren't in a mood for starters, and so we moved on to the main course. Pastas seemed to be the meal of the day, as there were three pasta dishes ordered. P had a farfalle boscaiola that came with a sauce called Woodcutter's sauce - made up of mushrooms. Ms WeightConcious, who wanted to only have penne with white sauce, eventually settled for a penne riviera, which had a few veggies and, well, the white sauce. I asked for a spaghetti bolognese. All three pasta dishes were quite good, and there wasn't too much talking while we ate - usually a good indicator that the food is good.

Farfalle boscaiola

Penne riviera

Spaghetti bolognese

NitWit ordered a chicken princess, a grilled piece of chicken with a mushroom sauce, while Saucy ordered a chicken mascarpone, a breast of chicken stuffed with mascarpone cheese.

Chicken princess...cluck, cluck, pakaaak!

Chicken mascarpone

I'm not sure if it's a sign that I'm getting old(er) or if it's the weather in Bangalore, but I seem to be getting full a lot faster these days. The only silver lining - I wasn't the only one at the table who felt full. We ordered a couple of apple & berry pies - more apple than berry I must add, but still pretty tasty along with the little scoop of ice cream - and started planning for the evening at ThePilot's house.

Apple & berry pie

I must say that the quality of the food at 100 Feet has certainly gone down a bit - food is probably one of those fickle things in life that tends to change with time, and not necessarily for the better. The menu and the dishes on it haven't changed much in a while, and to me, that's a sign of a 'chalta-hai' attitude. Don't get me wrong - it's still quite nice, but it doesn't seem to have anything new done to it (from a food point of view) and the prices aren't getting cheaper, so what does 100 Feet have to draw me towards it - like say a Thulp or an Egg Factory?

Food: Decent, but not inspiring anymore.
$$$: Slightly on the higher side. Maybe around Rs. 500-700 per person.
Service: Good
Verdict: Can visit if you haven't, or if you're in the area, but whether you'll come back again and again and would continue to do so is something only you can answer.

100 Feet Boutique Restaurant, 777/1, opp. New Horizon School, Near Satyapaul, 100 Feet Road, Indiranagar, Bangalore. Phone: 25277752

BM Review: Matteo Coffea

Last weekend I had visited Matteo Coffea (notice the spelling) on Church Street as part of a review for The Bangalore Mirror. The review can be read here.

If you’ve lived in Bangalore through the early 90’s, then Mac Fast Food, or Macs, would’ve been in your lexicon of Bangalore vocab for fast food in a classy environ. This time around, the Sterling’s Mac group brings to Bangalore a coffee shop, albeit with a difference – and a profound one at that if you ask me. Educating the patrons about coffee and tea, and serving food that’s miles ahead of that served in other ‘coffee’ shops at very affordable rates, Matteo Coffea guarantees you more than just a hot beverage.

Matteo is the Latin name for Mathew, and the cafe is owned by the Sterling Mac group’s John Mathew, and is located at the very spot that housed Mac Fast Food on the ever crowded Church Street. The family had moved their business to Qatar in the late 90’s, and have now come back and started Matteo Coffe, with Mr. Mathew’s son Mac in charge of this outlet.

Apart from the usual fare of puffs and croissants, some of the delightful snacks are the cinnamon rolls and the Danish pastries. The ‘shekeratos’, or milk shakes were nice and refreshing (applicable for any season). Sandwiches and pastas constitute the core. 3 of us had the spaghetti Bolognaise and the penne in cream sauce with shrimps, which were pretty good, and the portions served were huge. The veg grilled sandwich was good as well, and those of you belonging to that elitist minority we call ‘vegetarians’, you needn’t worry about choice – there are several options. The Caesar salad with grilled chicken was nice, but was missing a lot of the Worcestershire sauce and lemon juice dressing – necessary to give it its zing.

Espresso Shekerato

Iced Latte

Black & White Shekerato

Caramel Shekerato

Veg grilled sandwich

Another angle

Caesar salad with grilled chicken

Penne in cream sauce with shrimps

Spaghetti Bolognaise

One for each – a fruit tart, apple pie with ice cream, a strawberry cheesecake, a Tiramisu, and a chocolate pie. The fruit tart and the apple pie were quite good, while the tiramisu, in all its splendour, seemed to have a little too much gelatin making the mascarpone a little stiff. The chocolate pie seemed to have the texture of a mousse on the inside, something that didn’t seem right. Maybe ‘pie’ wasn’t the best choice of words to describe it.

Tiramisu

Chocolate Pie

Apple pie with ice cream

Fruit tart

Strawberry cheesecake

Food: Nice
$$$: Not too expensive. This meal cost us a tickle over 1800.
Service: Relaxed (what did you expect?)
Verdict: Don't visit specifically for lunch, but if you're in the area around lunch time, then drop by. If not, just visit for some good coffee and while you're at it, grab a bite or two - that'll make it worth it.

Matteo Coffea, #2, Church Street, Bangalore. Phone: 43336000

Dinner at BakeACake's house

Ms BakeACake invited P, VP and I to her house for dinner, where she and I would be involved in the preparation of the dinner. So once I was done with work, I drove down toward her office (which was on the way to her house) , picked her up, and we went shopping for what we needed. Once that was done, we got into the serious business of making the Bolognaise, and also a white sauce (a la Alfredo) for the spaghetti that we'd bought.

We also mixed some minced garlic with butter and applied it on a loaf of bread, and then put that through the microwave oven.

Garlic bread, our style

Proportions be damned, we just went about adding stuff in quantities that 'seemed' and 'felt' right. The result, though, shocking as it may sound, was fabulous.

Spaghetti Bolognese

Penne Alfredo

BM Review: Zoe

Last Friday I had the opportunity to visit the resto-cafe lounge Zoe in Indiranagar to review it for Bangalore Mirror. The review can be read here.

The lung fung soup was not the usual fair we get at Chinese restaurants that dot the city. The flotilla of beaten egg whites was the stand out in the dish.

Lung Fung Soup

The spicy lamb chimichanga, a Mexican dish that is like a deep-fried burrito, was really good, served along with a spicy sauce and the lettuce salad in the middle.

Spicy Lamb Chimichanga

The best dish of the evening was the mushroom fritters, stuffed with Fontina cheese and chicken, served with a peri peri sauce.

Mushroom Fritters

The crispy chicken fritters also came with a spicy peri-peri sauce. I only wish they had used a different type of sauce rather than the same one where ever something spicy was required.

Chicken Fritter

My favourite - the mini lamb burgers, especially since I"m on the lookout for the best burgers in Bangalore.

Mini Lamb Burgers

The Mediterranean cheese wrap was probably the only dish that wasn't all that great. That said, the muhammara dip that came along with it was fantastic.

Mediterranean Cheese Wrap

Chicken with mushroom sauce - simple, yet perfect.

Chicken in Mushroom Sauce

Moroccan Lamb with couscous. Nice.

Moroccan Lamb with Cous-Cous

Spaghetti Primavera - could have done without the extra olives (a few is OK, but not too many).

Spaghetti Primavera with Chicken

Blackout - Simply superb!

Blackout

Yankee Doodle Do - Nice name, nice ice cream, no need to have added watermelon along with the other cut fruits.

Yankee Doodle Do

Food: Very good
$$$:Not very expensive for the quality, quantity and type of cuisine served. Our bill, with taxes, came to a touch over 2400, that's 4 adults who pigged out and 1 extra dish for the kids.
Service: Good, although the condition of the menus needs a drastic redo
Verdict: A place you certainly must try out.
Extra info:No alcohol served. Also, someone told me they were put off by the location - it's opposite Anbhedkar College, and the surroundings after Zoe aren't all that great, but hey, once you're inside, why your mind should wander out beats me. You can park in an of the lanes nearby.

Zoe, 3790, HAL 2^nd Stage, 7^th Main, Opp. Ambedkar College, Indiranagar, Bangalore. Phone: 42115257

The full review can be read here:

Pleasure drives out pain, and excessive pain leads men to seek excessive pleasures.”
— Aristotle

It’s been a while since a restaurant would turn out to be a panacea to my predicament of a happy dining experience. Almost at the end of a quiet street is Zoe, like the elusive Leprechaun’s pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. Although I just cross-pollinated Greek and Irish cultures in the opening few lines, Zoe does a bit of the same — with food — with Lebanese, Mediterranean Greek, Spanish, Italian, Algerian, Moroccan, and a little bit of Mexican in its cuisine within the confines of it modern resto-lounge setup. Zoe is a Greek word which means ‘God-given life’ or ‘abundant life’, unlike bios, which refers to natural life. One look at the vibrant colours inside should be enough to bring some life (and colour) back into you after a hard day at the office.

Health and vibrancy being the theme, owner Ravi’s message is made clear with no alcohol being served here, and no smoking inside. No points then for guessing why he chose Mediterranean cuisine to be served here. My guests were Deboshree, a broadcast professional who’s also doubled up as a food critic in the past, and her daughter Zoe (coincidence, huh?) and a couple of friends. We started off with a lung fung soup and a chicken and cilantro soup, the chicken cilantro being great. The chicken fritters were nice and crispy, while the runaway hit was the mushroom fritters stuffed with Fontina cheese and chicken, served with a spicy peri-peri sauce. Another well presented and equally tasty dish was the lamb chimichanga rolls, a type of deep-fried burrito, served here with a spicy sauce. The presentation was good, and in spite of having oodles in terms of types of cuisines, neither taste nor presentation is compromised.

Apart from the food, the layout of Zoe makes it very friendly for kids, as Zoe the kid exemplified, almost tearing the place apart along with a couple of other kids. Thankfully there weren’t too many reservations from the staff. Another snacker on the menu is the mini lamb burgers — a set of 4 mini burgers served in small buns that somehow instill a sense of being homemade, and couple that with a perfectly cooked lamb patty with some caramelised onions, and presto! you’ve got yourself a first rate snack.

Along with the mini burgers, we also ordered a Mediterranean cheese wrap. This was probably the only dish there wasn’t anything to rave about. However, the muhammara dip that came with it had a lot going on inside it. The Lebanese muhammara is a dip primarily of walnuts, red chilies, and garlic, and had a really interesting taste that complemented the slightly bland cheese wrap. My only concern was that the menu didn’t explicitly mention what the dip contained (not everyone would know what a muhammara dip is), and since there are a lot of people who have violent allergic reactions to walnuts, which could be fatal, it would serve them well to mention this explicitly, or at least inform the patrons while the order is being placed.

For the main course, we ordered a spaghetti primavera, a Moroccan lamb with couscous, and chicken with mushroom sauce. At first, going only by looks, the spaghetti looked a little dry, but once we started to dig in, we realised that it was indeed good, although the chefs seemed to have hammed up the whole Mediterranean thingy by throwing in a good number of olives, which a classic primavera wouldn’t have. The chicken in mushroom sauce was fabulous. Simple and unpretentious, the sauce had the perfect consistency, neither too runny nor too thick, and the chicken was seasoned and cooked just right. Lastly, the combo of the lamb with the couscous was as good as it’s made out to be. Although it’s a standard dish and not one ‘cooked’ up by the chefs, the fact that it was done well earned them points.

For desserts, a chocolate cake with ice cream called Blackout, and an ice cream called Yankee Doodle Do multiple flavours of ice cream with cut fruits. The watermelon should have been omitted. That aside, the desserts were a delightful epilogue to conclude the saga called Zoe. “If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world” — JRR Tolkien. Go figure.

Fiorano Ristorante

This Italian restaurant, named after the municipality in the northern part of Italy (south-west of Modena), in Koramangala promises and delivers authentic Italian fare, and how! From the outside, Fiorano looks like a winner...just the kinda place that could sweep you off your feet, let alone the imaginary date you plan to bring some other time. But once we stepped in, I felt a bit deflated. The walls were all white and there was nothing on 'em...not one painting, not a single piece of...anything. I'm not sure if they were under partial renovation or what, but the wall on the far side of the restaurant had patches of cement all along. I'm never a big critic of ambiance - or me as long as it's a clean place I'm good, but even I had to mention this.

Mr VP, Ms WeightConscious and a friend of hers, let's call her Ms LiberalBong for the time being, headed towards this place on a rain soaked Sunday night (when India were playing England at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, and most of the city was glued to their TV sets). After making ourselves comfy, we ordered our respective poisons from the drinks menu. And so it was a glass of Grover La Reserve (red wine), a Pina Colada, a Kiwi Martini and a Green Apple Martini that we settled for. Actually, Ms LiberalBong wanted to have an Baileys Irish Cream, but that wasn't available so she settled for a Pina Colada (I apologise for not taking snaps, I forgot). Since we were at a coffee shop before we came here, we settled for only one appetiser - a Crostini Misti, which was little crostinis with toppings of salmon, prosciutto, and chicken. While the others found it oily, I loved it! Mr VP also said that there was something in it that his stomach didn't agree with, but I guess there was an uneasy truce signed between the two parties.

For our main course, we stuck to pasta: Penne, spaghetti and fettuccine. We had two dishes with Penne: Penne al Amatriciana

and Penne Mushroom & Cream.

While the former was a dish with garlic, Parma ham and tomato, the latter was a cheesy, creamy sauce with mushrooms. Both were good, but the Parma ham was a super hit with all my friends. The spaghetti dish ordered was a Spaghetti Alla Carbonara,

which was spaghetti with eggs and ham, and lastly, the fettuccine was a Fettuccine Alla Siciliana,

which had a bologna-type sauce. All the dishes tasted heavenly, but again, there was a complaint - this time Ms LiberalBong, who thought the spaghetti was a little too oily for her liking.

All in all, I enjoyed the meal thoroughly, although I think I'm echoing only my sentiments and not a collective opinion. On a rain-soaked night when India won the ongoing ODI series against the visiting Englishmen 4-0 with 3 more dead rubber games remaining, 'twas a nice meal to finish off a nice, rainy weekend.

Food: Very good
$$$: Expensive (around 600-800 per head)
Service: Pretty good
Verdict: If you like Italian food, you'll like this place (also see review on Via Milano)

Fiorano Ristorante, 63 5^thA Block, 100 Feet Road, next to Sukh Sagar, Koramangala, Bangalore. Phone: 25534231