Eatalica, RA Puram Chennai

Up until recently Chennai has had a serious dearth of affordable places that offered a decent beef burger. Yes, beef burgers not chicken! Of course there have always been the star hotels but unless you want a rip in your wallet it's better to stay away. It is only now with places like Double Roti that this has changed. But this quiet place in RA Puram has been faithfully churning out burgers and other comfort food for those in the locality for years now.

The menu

They have chicken and beef variants of most of the burgers on offer. Eatalica is well known for their very entertaining menu that is named after Hollywood celebrities. If you're a fan of garlic bread you'll order a "Bread Astaire" (Fred Astaire) or Stew Barrymore or Francis Ford Cupola if you're in the mood for soups! And in the burger section there's Harry Cowdini (BBQ burger), John Marlboro (smoky flavored patty burger) among others waiting for you. Kudos to them if this menu is an original creation.

Known for

As the name suggests, Eatalica offers some good Italian fare of which I have had only the lasagne and found it good. It comes in lamb, beef and chicken. I've had the Spicy chicken wings (Ethan Hawke) which was good but not great. Their pastas also are recommended although I haven't tried them. They even have sizzlers on the menu and I've seen many people order them when I've visited so they must be decent, at least. As for me I only order from here when I feel like having a good beef burger which is yummy and doesn't cost too much.

My favorite burger here is the beef Jennifer Showpez which is a Mexican burger topped with chilli flakes and Jalapeno topped with cheese. The beef patty is not too large like the one at Double Roti and the sauces are quite flavorful too mixed in with loads of mayo and some other sauces. You will bite into pieces of Jalapeno which goes very well with the beef. All in all a yummy burger which hasn't let me down most times. The cost comes to around 180 including tax. Some people find that it's too full of mayo so if you don 't like your burgers to get messy you can ask them to reduce it. It also comes with a small side of fries and ketchup packets. Friends love the items with bacon here but I am not a huge fan of bacon yet so maybe later.

Definitely a place to check out if you like burgers, sandwiches, lasagna and such comfort foods.

Cook and Bake Along with Master Chef Renae Smith at Food Consulate, Velachery, Chennai

Having been invited to the Cook and Bake Along event with Master chef finalist Renae Smith, I was eager to go see her in action finally. I used to watch the odd Masterchef Australia episode but not all of them, however I do remember a tattooed contestant in one of the episodes! It was probably her. This event would be held at Food consulate an interesting new venture started by Mr. Mohammed Ali, founder of one of Chennai's popular food groups, Chennai Food Guide or CFG.

Disclaimer:
The cost of ticket has been waived for me since I was invited. I will offer my unbiased view in spite of this as constructive criticism. I have not been paid to cover the event doing it out of my own interest to see how this kitchen concept is and also because I cook for myself and would like to see how someone like Renae does it and learn something from her techniques. And of course taste the dishes! Also, such a concept may help spawn new methods of cooking in Indian cuisine so encouraging such startups is ultimately good for the average foodie.

First off, I reached at 10:30 am and found almost everyone assembled in the cafe adjoining the FC [Food consulate] kitchen. The sun was absolutely blazing then and I had to sit for a few minutes to catch my breath. In a few minutes we were ushered into the kitchen and Renae was fitted with a handsfree microphone so she could explain what she was doing and why. There was also two flat screens setup so those in the back rows could see what exactly was happening on the cooking range. But the camera was pointed at the wrong place for most of the time unfortunately. Wish it was showing the food being cooked properly.

Dishes to be prepared for the day:

Tomato tart
Crispy Salmon and roasted fennel salad
Baked chicken and porcini risotto
Creme Brulee

Now many of the ingredients for these dishes had to be brought in from abroad and other places so the dish could be accurately recreated. For example, the crispy salmon and roasted fennel salad required the actual cumin bulb and not the seeds we are used to. Apparently this had to be brought in from abroad and then with a stopover from Mumbai!

Starting off..

Chef Renae started with making the Creme Brulee since that takes a longer time to set and needs to be done carefully. We had a printed copy of the recipes of each dish along with the basic steps. But she did give us a continuous commentary as she was making the dish. The brulee is a delicate dish she said and needs a lot of attention while heating the cream and vanilla. Too hot and it will curdle and render the dish useless. Too cool and you won't get the desired thickness in the end product. She switched off the flame at the right moment so that the dish cooks in the leftover heat. Once the egg yolks and sugar were mixed in, they were put out to bake for some time while she got busy with the next dish.

Then she got started with baked chicken and porcini risotto for which again the porcini mushrooms were brought in. Risotto apparently is made with a different variant of Italian short grain rice called Arborio that is more sticky and shorter in length because of it's higher starch content as wiki tells me. It reminded me of the Seeraga samba variety used at you know which biriyani chain but this has a much more intense taste of "rice" in it. ;D But the booklet mentioned it is Arborio rice.

                                               Baked chicken and porcini risotto

Once, this went into the oven, she immediately got started with the crispy salmon and roasted fennel salad dish. This was one I was looking forward to since I was curious to see how her preparation of fish would be.

Rapid multitasking

One of the takeaways to me was how she juggled multi tasking many dishes which were at various stages of preparation and somehow they all turned out perfectly. I'm sure this is par for the course in any restaurant's kitchen but I was pretty impressed how she did it even while talking to us, answering queries and remembering to take dishes out from the oven at the right time amidst all the buzz.

So, the salmon pieces were sliced Indian style and fried for a few minutes on each side. In the meantime the other ingredient of the dish, the fennel was sliced up, sprinkled with orange zest and baked. Finally the onion pieces and the toasted almonds were arranged nicely along with the fried bite sized pieces of salmon. As another blogger attendee, Shankar from the Green Gastronomist blog says, it really was the "killer dish" of the lot. I assumed it would be tasty but when I bit into the first toasted almond along with the orange flavored crispy salmon and chewy fennel strips, I felt like Emile does in the movie Ratatouille as he bites into the cheese and really feels the combination of the cheese and grape hitting him! :D Great great dish!

                                      Crispy Salmon and roasted fennel salad built up

 

                                  

The work on the Tomato tart had begun with the pastry dough being rolled with chilled butter. She gave plenty of tips while preparing for example the butter has no structure of it's own hence needs to be chilled in the fridge before dunking it into the oven suddenly. If the butter was not chilled beforehand, the final baked pastry would be misshapen.


She encouraged experimentation and told us to use ingredients which we thought would add a unique twist to a dish. On a question by Chef Willi about whether the masterchef participants would have an idea or warning of the dish/ingredients beforehand, she replied that they had no clue and had to make do with whatever ingredients was left in the pantry. Sometimes there was hardly anything left after the others took their choice of ingredients. Also her familiarity with so many combinations of ingredients could be attributed to her reading every cook book she could lay her hands on during the masterchef program she said. For six months they had no access to internet or other distractions and spent their entire time reading and understanding recipes and techniques. During the trials, she saw a lot of food being wasted after the cooking sessions were done and they got the excess food delivered to the people around the area.

For the tart, they had cherry tomatoes brought in which was fried until it was chewy and the raw flavors is removed. The balsamic vinegar was meanwhile being reduced and sugar added. The baked pastry was plated and the sweet vinegary syrup drizzled around the dish. I didn't get a good bite of this dish since everyone had almost finished it off but the tomatoes were fudgy almost and the pastry light.
                                                              Tomato Tart

Now that all the dishes were done, it was tasting time and everyone gathered around her to have a small bite. The creme brulee remained hidden in the oven and I forgot to take a bite unfortunately. I'm sure it would have been awesome as well.

                                                               Creme brulee

                                

                                                     

                                              Mohammed Ali with Chef Willi

                          Mr. Keshav Krishna & Ms.Suzie helped out Chef Renae throughout.

                                                        Other Chefs in attendance

        Chef Willi answering some questions

A final observation about Chef Renae is she has a message to try and eat vegetarian food with some regularity. Most of her dishes has plenty of veggies and fresh produce. She has a PR firm and also has designed the menu for restaurants in Australia. All in all it was a very nice event as you might have guessed. She gave out lots of advice on cooking style every minute which was almost too much to digest for an amateur like me. Also we were all standing during the 3 hour event. I asked Mr. Ali if there was a reason seats weren't provided, he said it is a sign of respect to the chef who is standing and working and that if any guest had issues they would be provided with seating. However, I feel seating would be good since it is easier to pay attention if you're comfortable. It is one thing for young catering students to stand and work in kitchens quite another for unhealthy people to be standing for hours. :D  In the first session, there was no cooking along everyone was only watching but the second session in the evening did have all participants cooking the respective dishes along with the chef. I bet that would have been a lot of fun! Now I am excited to experiment more with ingredients that we get in Chennai and give it a fresh twist. 

Muniyandi Vilas & Vaniyambadi Biriyani, Mandaveli

While visiting a proper restaurant is good, one cannot afford to go often to such places and it's actually fun and easy on the pocket to try out different local places. Two such places I have frequented over the years for decent non veg food in Mandaveli are Muniyandi vilas and vaniyambadi biriyani. Both these are budget, hole in the wall joints but they provide good food for the price and definitely have a standard and consistency. Both are located only a few metres away from each other after you cross the Mandaveli bus terminus on Venkatakrishna road.

Madurai Sri Muniyandi vilas:

This place is the typical Madurai kind of joint and has a blue colored doorway. The seating is below street level and you get the feeling you are entering a hobbit household when you enter. :D  I've never eaten from here but the seating and tables are just plain wooden benches. You will find a parotta master on the outside beside the entrance briskly churning up all kinds of dishes and constantly turning over parottas to a waiter who takes them to eaters inside.

When requested for a menu, they would bring you a tray full of all the non veg items that's on the menu for your choosing! This is something not seen often in the city I would imagine. All food is served on the banana leaf and even packed in a wrapping of banana leaf and newspapers. This seems to keep the food tasty as well.

I had a few parottas and a chicken curry. The chicken costed only 60 rupees and has 6 to 7 pieces. It is semi gravy type, the chicken is soft and there's more curry leaves in it. The masala is standard and not too spicy. It tastes decent for the price and goes well with parotta. They give a salna kind which is also good. It's better than other salnas that we get in the area at least. I just get 2 parottas to sample it since I am also getting a biriyani from Vaniyambadi next door. The other non veg items they have are mutton sukka, nethili fry, botti masala [innards of the goat!], mutton blood curry! and of course the egg dishes that are made immediately. All these cost less than hundred bucks. Have been eating here for a few years every few months and the food is mostly good and fresh for a road side place. Most of the staff of MTC terminus eat here and in vaniyambadi. They open from evenings till 11 in the night but some of the non veg dishes run out by then.

Vaniyambadi Biriyani:

This place has been operating for many years now and makes some good biriyani on a budget again. They have only chicken/egg biriyani and costs 80 bucks for a half plate. Me and friends have frequented here during college days often when we see the biriyani pot just arriving we can't resist so used to have a quarter plate here. The guy who serves biriyani also hits the metal pot annoyingly loudly. I feel this is a good marketing tactic. "See! Im serving hot biriyani to eager buyers come and get some!"

But nowadays the demand and size of the biriyani pot has gone down with many biriyani joints opening up nearby but these guys still provide good biriyani consistently. In the many times I've bought takeaway from here, the rice was never dry or old like you get sometimes even in famous restos sometimes. Few times the biriyani has been lukewarm but that is okay. When it is just made, it is quite delicious it has a distinct taste [vaniyambadi style?] and pieces are quite soft. I am not sure if every biriyani lover will like this taste though. They also give a small packet of brinjal side and onion raitha which usually has very less curd in it.

California Pizza Kitchen, Phoenix Market city, Chennai - Part of Phoenix Food Trail

About the event: This is part of a nice marketing initiative conducted by Chennai Food Guide (CFG) and selected restaurants in Phoenix Market City mall, Chennai to introduce interested bloggers to the sought after items in their menu. After the first stop at Jonah's Goes to Japan, the next restaurant we were headed to was CPK or California Pizza Kitchen. This is an unbiased account of our experience there. 

Location California Pizza Kitchen is located outside the main mall building or kinda adjoined to it. We had to exit the mall to enter here. True to it's name, CPK is pretty "Californian" in character. It's laidback, bonhomie ambiance made us forget we were in a mall. With the dim lighting that's just right and the tables low and comfortable, it would make a good place to chill with friends or family. The affable manager Mr. Nishant spoke to us, explaining the concept of the restaurant and the kind of dishes they offered. Their main innovation is on pizzas and dishes that are extremely favored in the American westcoast like Fajitas, Toastadas and the like which are tailored to the Indian palate but also invariably have the Mexican twist in them as we will see. 

New Range of pizza being introduced

Mr. Nishant announced that they are currently introducing hand crafted pizzas ranging from a more affordable 245 rupees onwards. This is a nice addition to their usual range to make it more economical. However, he added that they don't offer delivery of their pizzas because most of them are thin crust and made fresh so they prefer to let customers enjoy the pizza immediately. 

                                                    Brick walls. Decor reminding of the Golden state.

Once we were settled in and introductions made, the dishes were brought in quickly one by one and we took turns to take photos and taste them. We were worried we would be too full to eat more food after Jonah's but it's surprising how your appetite increases when you see well-made food right in front of you. ;)

On to the dishes now..



SALAD:

Thai Crunch Salad

CPK is known for their great salads. "Crispy veggies and fresh cilantro with chicken and the crunch of peanuts and rice sticks. Tossed in Thai peanut dressing." .... is their description of this dish. Mmm. It was everything I had heard about this favorite dish. Just scrumptious for a salad. The delicate crisp rice sticks with the fresh chopped veggies added a whole new dimension to the lip smacking peanut chicken combination which was just sweet enough but not too much. The Thai peanut dressing was just more peanut goodness on top of everything. A totally yum dish and from someone who never orders salads!

APPETIZERS

Lettuce Wraps

Another healthful looking dish was placed on the table and it was explained that the lettuce serves as an eatable bowl for this salad! This dish was an exotic combination of  shittake mushrooms, water chestnuts, carrots tossed in soy ginger sauce. Loved the taste of the sauce that was well coated on all the crispy veggies. The mushrooms added the soft bite to the dish and crunch was provided by the rice crisps as in the previous dish. Another flavorsome dish.

Spicy Chicken Supreme

Who doesn't love fried and sauce coated chicken?! I wanted to taste this dish while it was still hot. But unfortunately by the time we got done with clicking pics, the dish had cooled quite a bit. I could see customers at another table enjoying this one. It is a pretty tangy dish and not mildly so. However, dipping it in the herb ranch sauce would provide the ideal balance to the intense flavor. There's also a small side of chopped veggies with strips of tortilla chips. You'll find these chips in many dishes in CPK. I guess it's their style. It adds a unique crunch to everything.

Black Bean Quesadilla

A light quesadilla that's not overly stuffed. The inside is filled with a combination of black bean sauce, sliced onion and serrano peppers. It was mild tasting to me and when dipped in the salsa the dish took on those stronger flavors well. The other dips were chipotle sour cream and crispy tortilla salad. I did not mix and match too much but enjoyed munching on a few of these. The quesadillas did not seem rubbery and was just right.

PIZZAS!

Tostada

I've never had CPK pizza before but this was something totally new for me. Most of the pizzas of California pizza kitchen are thin crust. It's what they specialize in. When they say thin crust they mean it. The crust is wafer thin but still firm and needs a decent bite. The tostada comprised of black beans, cheddar and fontina, topped with shredded lettuce, crispy tortilla strips and plenty of ranch as you can see. The whole thing seemed too "airy" to be a pizza but still when you bite into it, it's definitely a lovely new experience. And you can't really complain that pizzas are bad for you here because it has a ton of veggies on that thin crust. It's almost like eating a topping laden thick tortilla chip!

Kasundi Paneer Pizza

Makhani sauce, kasundi flavoured paneer, roasted peppers tomatoes and onions make up this unique pizza. I had no clue what kasundi is and it seems it's a kind of Indian mustard. I was eager to taste it. It tasted just as zesty as it looked with the strong flavor of the mustard coming through in a spicy way and the veggies and makhani sauce doing their bit to up the taste factor. A very interesting and welcome Indian addition to this menu although the paneer could have been even softer. Definitely try this one!

DESSERT

Tiramisu

Desserts were again a cause for much anticipation and enthusiasm and fellow foodie Avanthi was eagerly waiting for the Tiramisu. The manager explained that the mascarpone cheese was indeed imported however the kahlua was non alcoholic. This is probably so it would cater to a wider audience or maybe real alcohol is not legally allowed in such dishes? Not sure. 

The tiramisu looked awesome with the cloak of sabayon covering it. The interior was thick and cheesy with the coffee flavoring it slightly. I relished a few bites and it was enough to satisfy me as I was getting dangerously full now. I wonder how tiramisu with the real alcoholic kahlua tastes now. ;) Perhaps they can introduce it soon. 

Red Velvet Cake

It looks a beaut doesn't it? The vanilla cheese frosting and white chocolate shavings were really thick and this could easily serve two people. I had a single bite and the cake was moist enough and tasty. However, I'm not a big fan of red velvet generally and prefer chocolate and other "real" flavors. 


















That brought us to the close of the event. We were quite proud of ourselves at having eaten so many dishes from two restaurants in one evening. But the fact that the dishes tasted great made it very easy for us thankfully, not just eating but also for the review!! :D For the next few minutes we couldn't move and spent time chatting. The manager and chef were with us throughout and answered every query enthusiastically. It seems to be a well run place and the freshness of the food made me happy. And then, it was time to go home. :) 

Jonahs Goes to Japan, Phoenix Market city part of Phoenix Food Trail

About the event: This is part of a nice marketing initiative conducted by Chennai Food Guide (CFG) and selected restaurants in Phoenix Market City mall, Chennai to introduce interested bloggers to the sought after items in their menu. The first stop on the food trail for the day was at Jonah's Goes to Japan [one of the restaurants in the Jonah's bistro chain] who have tied up with Momoyama and Baker's street (Pondicherry). What follows is an unbiased account of the experience there.

As I've always wanted to check out Jonah's Bistro on seeing lots of good reviews about the good experiences there, it was great to finally head there and do some tasting myself. The chain has been doing well and they have opened up restos each dealing with a distinct cuisine like the Malabar coast, Italian and more. Very neat concept if you ask me. We arrived at around 6 pm and fellow foodie Asmita was already on time there and sipping on a drink along with the others. I was on a quasi diet for the day so that I could be generous with my portions. ;)

Introductions

On entering, noticed a smart gentleman Mr. Praveen who settled me to our table and we then waited for the others to arrive. Mr. Praveen was from the Phoenix mall's marketing team and was very attentive to any need we had throughout the event! In a few minutes, the Store manager Mr. Imran and the continental menu's Chef Venkatesh introduced themselves, told us about the brand and mentioned they would be serving each pre-selected dish one by one. We were even provided notepads Anton Ego style. ;)


The decor is cozy yet modern with shiny fittings and comfortable seating.

The Grub! 


                                                      Veggie Delight Croissantwich

When this one came in, I knew it would taste great because I could smell the fresh bread from a distance away. It was a hearty and wholesome tasting dish that was chock full of veggies seasoned with a delicious sauce that rounded it off well.

Grilled Chicken Panini

Again, this was a dish where the bread made the most impact for me. Light, crispy and you got the flavor of the herbs and grilled chicken just right. It wasn't too spicy. It's like a light pizza with lesser cheese, more bread and more flavor making it healthier too!

Jonah's Monster Burger Beef

Felt like meeting a long lost friend when I saw this meaty fella coming my way. It is quite a sight to see burgers like this in good ol' veggie Chennai lol. I could see the thick turkey bacon patty and panko chicken sticking out and a fried egg to top it off! Yum is the word.

 However, I was unable to find a way to stuff this in so had to remove the panko chicken patty and then try it. The Turkey bacon patty if I'm not wrong was quite thick and dense, like a proper burger patty. And it was tasty as well. This burger could easily fill up a heavy eater unlike some other monster sized burgers at other restaurants. The buns were not crumbly and were well made. As there were plenty of other dishes left to try, I could only have a few bites of this beauty. 

Pasta Alfredo Chicken

  Did not get to taste this one in the melee unfortunately. 

Curried Beef Stroganoff

This dish took us by surprise. This was easily the one of the best dishes and it's the first time I was tasting beef with rice paired with such a creamy base. The taste reminded me of the Keralan mutton stew and ghee rice that we Malayalees often eat with much relish. This dish is similarly delicately spiced and the beef melts in the mouth. The rice was just perfect as well. A good dish to be had for those who are cannot handle spicy stuff and love meat. 

Jonah's Steak

The steak came medium rare, and when I first bit into it, the juices were just what I expect from a steak. It was slightly sweet and "fruity" but I would have preferred the meat to be a tad more tender. Perhaps medium would have been better for me. Will give it another shot next time. 

                                                               Japanese Cuisine!
         California non-veg roll                                                             

 Kappa Maki

Now the Japanese dishes started coming in. Since I am a newbie when it comes to Sushi, I am unable to give a proper review of it. I did have a taste of the wasabi paste whose taste cannot be described! It definitely gives a nice kick to your tastebuds. The California non-veg roll is filled with Kanimi, Tamago and veggies. Kanimi is crab meat and Tamago is grilled egg is what Google tells me. I had one to taste and it was pretty good, not overly fishy but Japanese cuisine is new to me except Ramen. :D They provided us with chop sticks and there was soy sauce to dip these in. The presentation of the dish was impressive as you can see!



    Desserts!
 

                                                                  Chocolate Dome

The name although simple, describes this awesome dessert aptly. It is quite literally a dome of succulent chocolate. The glossy outer coating of chocolate holds the rich but not too heavy chocolate interior together and the center is filled with thick raspberry coulis that compliments the chocolatyness well. Jonah's has tied up with Baker's Street to bring such desserts all the way from Pondicherry.

                                                                       
                                                                            Opera

The "Opera" is a coffee cake with chocolate base cream. The layer of coffee flavored topping was yum but the cake layers would be better if they were softer was our feeling.


Anyway, that brings us to a close of the dishes we were served at this meet up. It was really enjoyable and the staff at Jonah's impressed us with their courteous service and the chefs were willing to answer any questions we had and took feedback that we offered graciously. Jonah's seems to be great at many main dishes like the steak, burgers, pasta and the superb desserts will let you end a trip here on a happy note. They are also reasonably priced.


                                                                Sayonara Jonah San!