The Ant Blog

Ever since the day I had eaten at Punjab Grill  , I had made a mental note to myself to be back soon. However, weeks added to months and for reasons one or the other I have not been able to re-visit this lovely chain. Made in Punjab is a newer restaurant chain by the same celebrity Chef Jiggs Kalra. At the beginning of this month I came to know of a Mid-night dinner buffet event to be held specially at Made In Punjab, so it was time I thought to make it for this event. Despite it being at least an hour's drive from my place, we booked a table and went for it. It was a Friday night and the weekend was upon us. And our Punjabi culinary journey had just began for the night. We had entered a little late so we had fortunately not had to wait for a table. We sauntered in, without being attended to, found a table and sat down. We headed straight away for the salads, and a few Punjabi snacks on the counter. I particularly liked the Dahi Vada . The starters arrived on our table. ...

Our cravings for Pizza heightened on a Wednesday night, after a long and tiresome day. I knew I had to try this place out, named Pizzaroma because I had read about it and also because i did not want to hang out in the fast chains. This place is about 10 minutes away from my house, so it couldn't hurt to visit and sample a few dishes from their menu. We reached there to find it empty, which was understandable on a weeknight. Pizzaroma is situated in the corner of a commercial building named Powai Plaza, taking up a very tiny place. Once we sat down with the menu, the names of the pizzas intrigued us. So we wanted to sample quite a few of them. To start off, we ordered for a Mushroom and Chicken Bruschetta. The bruschettas were crispy but were a tad too salty for my palate. We  downed it with an Appy fizz which went quite well.                                 Mushroom and Chicken Bruschetta at Pizzar...

  It had been a while since we had visited TGIfridays .   What with all the new eateries in the city, there is always a new destination to experiment food in. And even the thought of doing so is exciting. However, we have had many a happy memories associated with this place. We reached here  quite late, by when most of the restaurants were closing for lunch. It was relatively empty as the peak hours were over. I ordered a November Seabreeze. For starters we ordered Loaded Potato skins topped with bacon. The dish was at it’s greasy best (but of course it was all fried!) but I let myself enjoy this rude boy lunch. The bacon gave the potatoes a nice salty aftertaste.                                          Loaded Potato Skins topped with Bacon at TGiFridays Although we wanted to try a few more with a side orders, I knew I wouldn’t have space for my m...

It was a Saturday evening, and I was catching up with my BFF after  many weeks (read ages). So I had this place in mind, as I hadn’t been there before and also because of it’s proximity to where we met up that day. At 7:30 pm this place was 80% occupied, playing eighties rock music and had an upbeat vibe.                                                                                           Nachos with tomato salsa at BBC We stepped in, and got ourselves seated. Meeting after long calls for celebration, so it was cocktails all the way! She ordered a Appletini  and I was in mood for a Cosmopolitan   ! Our drinks came in, with a side order of Nachos. This place has a great many kind of beers to offer, and a lively decor. ...

For a weeknight, which was bordering on boring, I found a very simple and inspiring recipe to perk my mood up. I rummaged my freezer, and found legs of Chicken. The dish comes out really well with breasts though, but I gave it a shot with what I had. This dish is inspired by a recipe of the very famous and one of my fav Chefs, Jamie Oliver! So, I slit the flesh, and rubbed the chicken with cloves of garlic, sea salt, black pepper, and thyme. Also squeezed a lemon and rubbed everything together. After heating the griddle, added butter and placed the legs to cook on grill. After a good 15 -20 mins, turn it over. Note here, that since this chicken has bones in it, it will take a longer time to cook. However, chicken breasts would cook faster.                                                                  Chicken legs ...

As surprising as it may sound, I was not fond of sweets as a child. I feel sorry for myself now to think that I have missed out on all the home made sweets that my mother used to make and everybody used to adore. Now, i do not miss out on any such sweet or desserts. This one is a famous and a very favorite Indian dessert made with Carrots or  Gajar . This recipe is as simple as it’s flavor is gorgeous! Inspired by the famous Indian Chef late Mrs Tarla Dalal, below is the recipe. In the Making: Gajar ka Halwa Ingredients for Gajar ka Halwa: 2 cups grated Carrots 1 tbsp desi Ghee 2 tbsp Milk 4 tbsp Sugar 4 tbsp Mava (khoya) 1 tbsp Raisins 1 tbsp chopped Almonds 1/2 tsp Cardamom powder Procedure for Gajar ka Halwa: Heat the ghee in a pressure cooker; add the carrots and sauté on a medium flame for 4 to 5 minutes, while stirring continuously. Add milk, mix well and pressure cook for 1 whistle. Transfer into a broad non-stick pan, add the sugar, ...

It had been long since we had eaten at a Goan or Mangalorean restaurant. These coastal cuisines can be a delightful treat. So I was surfing through the internet one day, when I came across this quaint little place in Malad. Now that is really far from where I stay, but I kept a mental note of trying it out when we plan to head that side. And so that day came along a month or so later. We had a little difficulty finding the place, as the restaurant’s signage could not be located from the road while driving. It is a small rooftop eatery. But it has its loyals, even on a late weeknight people had come over to dine there. We were quite hungry by then and we began by ordering a plate of Spicy Squid batter fry, and Pork Chops BBQ. Spicy Squid batter fry at Mangoes The squids were very good, they went well with the dip. Also the Pork chops were delish. Full of spices and cooked to a nice brown hue. The quantity was humongous. We were instantly doubtful, as we had come a long w...

This place feels like a confluence of the new and old..the ambiance is classy, the staff are very genial and polite which is a rare find in the new world , while the food itself has a contemporary flare to it. Also the average crowd sitting around would be within their thirties, so the place felt young and vibrant. I liked the wall graffiti, as if it was all pencil sketches. Very chic.                                The view from my table in the restaurant at Smoke House Deli For starters we skipped the Soup and, ordered a bucket of Sea food fritters which came with a delicious sour cream. The fritters were of calamari, prawns and fish but the dip was the show steal-er. To go with this I had a Red wine Sangria . I liked the punch in it, it was just right!                                         ...

This visit occurred about 2 weeks back, when i went out for dinner with my girlfriends. After dinner, we had strolled into this place. And seeing the display and choices, it was really a difficult task at hand. Yet in the end,   Bailey’s English cream  had won unanimously for us! So , I can tell you only about that flavor. It was  balanced and mild, I really loved it. I am quite sure that I would have loved some of the other  flavors too sadly there was no room for them, namely the  Chocolate To Die For  or the  Ginger Lemon with Apricot Topping. Not only did we not like the ice-cream, we also had a happy posing session for pics, and a very obliging staff helped us out there :) In short we had a good time! This places gets a go!                                 Bailey's English cream at Ice cream Works              ...

“I am not a glutton - I am an explorer of food”  ―  Erma Bombeck This saying truly defines me..although I have probably “explored” only a few cups from an ocean. Despite my quest for new location and experiences, I sometimes find myself returning to a few regular hangout or even old favorites, from college days.  Alfredo’s is one such place. Perched next to the famous Juhu beach in Mumbai, it can be easily missed because of it’s size but if you turn to look, you will never find this place empty. This place is abuzz with vibrancy . Most of the Italian fare is present in their menu book. I for one am a fan of their thin crusts, and no matter how much I eat, I always land up ordering a pizza if we have missed it.                                 Bucket of Fried Seafood at Alfredo's So we visited this place last weekend, when we were in Juhu. We ordered for our chilled beers and ...