Brewsky, JP Nagar, Bangalore : Restaurant Review

Chill with the Brewskasuras? Precisely what we did last Sunday evening – that is, chilled at Brewsky, the new microbrewery in South Bangalore!

A microbrewery in the residential area of JP Nagar – close to home? Too good to be true, was my first thought! And hope the place lives up to expectations, was my second. 

In a span of 1 month, I visited Brewsky twice. Conveniently located bang on the 15^th cross ring road in JP nagar, the microbrewery is housed on the topmost floor of an unfinished building. There are two levels of terrace seating; a partially covered area that houses the bar and the brewery, and an open to sky lounge area with smart and minimal interiors for a warm and casual ambience – funky demons/asura pictures, on the menu and walls add to the cool attitude. I can’t really rave about the view I got of South Bangalore from here as it is disappointing to see the mass of concrete apartments all around – albeit the twinkling lights. There is apparently a covered section on the lower floor that will soon be open for performances.

On my first visit, we tasted the beer samplers – Giltasutra Golden Ale (medium bitter), Ooperworld Hefeweizen (light wheat beer with aromas of banana & clove), Kamacitra India Pale Ale (a citrusy and fruity aroma beer) and Kala and Handsome Dunkelweizen (a dark beer with notes of caramel, cocoa and coffee). I loved the Ooperworld Hefeweizen, light and just right for my taste, while the husband freaked out on the Kala and Handsome Dunkelweizen. On my second visit however, we were very disappointed as the crafted beer was not available due to an excise licence issue. I loved their green apple martini – not too potent, yet good enough to give you a buzz with an apple after taste. 

On the food front, vegetarians like me are at a bit of a disadvantage in terms of options. For appetizers, we had over loaded nachos and veg la bhudina. The nachos were ok but not really overloaded, a little more garnishing and cheese sauce would help; the bhudina is an innovative wanton with a crisp vegetable filling served with a yummy sweet and spicy sauce. The tomato basil soup was excellent – thick and creamy with nice basil after taste and not too tangy. The atomic wedgies pizza was pretty good, loaded with juicy veggies on a thin and crisp crust and a generous topping of cheese. 

In the mains, the pesto pasta was a bit of let-down. Pretty dry with a few pieces of carrots and broccoli thrown in - very Kerala avail types. The pasta arabiatta was decent but could have been saucier. For dessert, we tried the chocolate cigar – a cigar type role made of wanton wrap with a creamy chocolate filling and a drizzle of sauce. Rich, but with a wanton crusty after taste served with a scoop of ice cream. Service was pretty good both times in spite of a packed house.

I must mention the management is extremely accommodating for groups with kids. Not many microbreweries in the city are accommodative in that sense. Request for mashed potatoes, extra cheese and a warm corner were happily obliged.

Overall, a great place for food and drinks in South Bangalore. Not too heavy on the wallet and value for money. So yes, go people - Chill with the Brewskasuras!

Verdict : 3.7/5

Thalassa, Vagator, Goa : Restaurant Review

Thalassa means sea in Greek.  Perched on the edge of a cliff, this open air Greek restaurant in Vagator, a small village in North Goa offers a stunning view of the Arabian Sea and sunsets.

Thalassa offers a fabulous ambiance; ocean view, cool sea-breeze, interiors styled in white and beige, white muslin drapes, white walls and beige cane furniture complete with strands of white flowers suspended along the drapes. Plus comfortable seating and candle light as it gets dark. Unfortunately I do not have good shots of the property to put up on my blog, please do google and have a look.

A big group of us happened to visit Thalassa on a Saturday night with a reservation the previous evening – in spite of which we had to wait for about twenty minutes. Being a weekend, the place was swarming with diners with hardly any leg room. We almost decided to head out of the place doubting the efficiency of the staff on such a busy night…well almost, because out of laziness we decided to hang in right there and – surprise surprise!!! The owner Mariketty and her team turned out to be super-efficient and friendly. Our orders were taken real quick, and drinks delivered to the table even quicker – the hospitable staff even provided us a room to feed a small infant who was in our group. Furthermore, food was served piping hot and fresh.

White wine sangria was WOW! Very refreshing, fruity and fresh – surprisingly not sweet.

 Vegetable grill platter was decent, with dips and pits bread on the side

 Pita bread tomato bruschetta was served with crisp and crunchy tomatoes and fantastic feta cheese.

 Pita bread garlic and cheese margarita pizza for the kids was yumm – they loved it.

 Vegetable Moussaka was creamy, rich and full of flavor

Risotto was a disappointment – tasted like our very own lemon rice aka chitra anna with olives thrown in. No red wine flavor as promised in the menu.

 Chocolate mousse cake was yummy – the kids loved it, rich, chocolaty, soft and moist.

 Kataifi was…well different. Sugary and rich, loaded with nuts. Could not help noticing how very similar it is to our South Indian traditional sweet – peni. We even called it the Greek Peni!

 The Baklava was to die for – crisp and flaky with a heavenly coconut filling, served with ice-cream.

Profiteroles were good.

It is easy to see why Thalassa is popular and packed; warm hospitality by Mariketty and team, relaxed Greek culture infused ambiance,  personalized service and recommendation, deadly and exotic cocktails and most importantly delicious Greek food.

Surely going back there very soon!

Verdict: 4.5/5

Gaadi Thindis

One evening, a bunch of friends and I set off on a 'gaadi thindi' (street food served in carts/small joints) expedition in Jayanagar.  We craved authentic delicious street food, close to the vicinity we lived in, and decided to try Hari's Super Sandwich first as we had never been there.

Hari's Super Sandwich

Situated in Jayanagar 3rd block, this is a simple hole-in-the wall kind of joint, where you stand and eat. Their 'Sakath Sandwich'  (Sakath is a Kannada slag for superb) menu includes a variety of sandwiches such as chilli cheese toast, dahi toast, cheese gulkan sandwich, jam toast, and chocolate toast to name a few. Their signature dish is the chilli cheese toast and vegetable cheese toast. 

 I loved the fact that the bread is toasted on the typical home-style 'tava' as opposed to fancy grills. Toasted with loads of butter and stuffed with cheesy /  chocolaty delights - it is a sure-shot hunger pang killer.  The sandwiches are cut into small bits and served piping hot off the tava. Delicious & truly Sakath!

Their 'Chindi Chaat' (chindi is a Kannada slang for awesome) section includes most of the local Bangalore style chaats such as dahi  chudwa, congress masala, bread masala and dahi mix. Chaats are spicy, tasty and fresh.

Service is quick even when there is a crowd. Lovely to eat here on a cool evening, under the trees. A slight drizzle makes it even better!

Sandwiches, although filling for me, were not enough for my friends. So we zeroed in on Krishna's idli-dose gaadi which is a few streets away.

Krishna's Idli-Dose Gaadi

In Jayanagar 2nd block, every evening after 6pm, 9th main road  comes alive because of Krishna's gaadi. The road is choc-a-block with  cars and two-wheelers struggling to find parking space, and people thronging in groups on the footpath to sample the delights from Krishna's gaadi.

He serves super soft and fluffy masala  idlis and varieties of doses. Apart from the regular masal dose, he serves beet-root masala. The dose stuffing in this one has a beet-root palya which is pretty tasty. Chutney is spicy and tangy. Car-service is an added advantage.

A must-try for idli-dose lovers.

Street food, apart from being easy on the wallet, offers variety, taste and is normally served in a jiffy. Plus, the entire experience of eating 'street food' is totally satisfying in every sense of the word.

Caperberry, Dickenson Road : Restaurant Review

‘Provocation of Desire’ is what “caper berry” means in Hebrew and namma Caperberry lives up to its name for sure.

When Chetan Kamani, a foodie, organized an elaborate continental vegetarian dinner and tasting session at Caperberry for the Foodies in Bangalore group I was thrilled and marked the date on my calendar for two reasons; I love European cuisine and it was my first dining experience at Caperberry. And boy, what an experience it was!

We were treated to an elaborate six course dinner cooked using a food science called molecular gastronomy!

And that's right - a six course spread with a variety of exotic dishes - something like this;

Warm carrot and fennel soufflé with almond cream 

 Pan tossed asparagus, yellow bell pepper and tofu with honey chilli glaze

Avocado and mint gazpacho; Avocado cannelloni with cucumber and jalapeno's

 Tomato and roasted beetroot with feta cheese, arugula and sherry vinaigrette

 

Cauliflower and roast garlic risotto with panko crusted broccoli

Potato, goat cheese and onion perogi with herb butter sauce and sour cream

Spinach and ricotta gnocchi with char-grilled vegetables and pesto rosso

Roasted red and yellow bell peppers, sauerkraut and feta stuffing and paprika sauce

  

Ratatouille stuffed grilled portobello mushroom, saffron polenta, olives, garlic, chilli and extra virgin olive oil

Mixed beans cassoulet, wilted spinach and tomato basil sauce

 

Beet and honey caramel centred sponge cake with pineapple-celery sorbet

Baked pumpkin cheesecake with caramelized walnuts and orange sauce

Every course served was a visual and gastronomic delight. Food not only tasted good, but looked good as well. Quality of food in terms of freshness and flavour, presentation and service - just about everything was par excellence.

Every dish had a distinct flavour and there was nothing that I did not like or was not good. However, a special mention of the carrot and fennel soufflé for its delicate texture and flavour, the avocado cannelloni with cucumber and jalapeno dip for its yumminess and the way the avocado was painstakingly rolled, mind-blowing spinach and ricotta gnocchi and the beet and honey caramel centred sponge cake – I’d never had a dessert as delicious as this ever! 

Last but not the least – we had a demo of cryo cooking (cryo is Greek and means "icy cold") as part of the molecular gastronomy culinary trend. Basically, liquid nitrogen and dry ice become gases at room temperature, leaving no residue in the food at all. This technique has now become popular to make smooth ice creams and flavoured bubbles. Here, litchi flavoured cream balls were dropped into liquid nitrogen to make extremely smooth bubbles that are firm on the outside and soft inside. 

I popped a bubble into my mouth and it burst into cold and smooth litchi flavours that quickly melted away.

This post would be incomplete without mentioning the hosts – Shruthi & Abhijit Saha who co-owns Caperberry. Abhijit was constantly looking for feedback and very patiently heard what each guest had to say. And Shruthi - warm and friendly person that she is, put everyone at ease and took excellent care of the guests.

Caperberry is an expensive restaurant, but then, it is worth the money spent.

I am already looking forward to my next visit to, and that says a lot for sure.

Verdict: 5/5