Review - Boston Butt, Fort

Food: 4/5
VFM: 4.5/5
Ambience: 5/5
Service: 5/5
Veg friendly: 4/5

This is a fairly new place in Fort, which means it already has a lot to live up to considering the amazing places nearby. Yet it lives upto the challenge and how! Boston Butt is actually the American name for the cut of pork that comes from the upper part of the shoulder from the front leg. It is the most common cut for pulled pork, a barbecue staple. It originated in Boston and hence was known countrywide as the 'Boston Butt'.
 
And now we know it in India too! 
 
On to the food and drinks now..
 
My friend ordered a cocktail, Blasé Blasé. I don't recall the ingredients, however she said it was strong and yet smooth, which is a good thing. 

 

Siddharth Kashyap, the owner, suggested we try the kaffir which was carbonated using SCOBY. Scoby stands for Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast. It adds a sharp fizziness to the drink. I am not a fan of fizzy drinks per se but this was great! 

We also had the apple cinnamon and ginger, which was similarly carbonated and delicious. The ginger worked great as a palate cleanser, whereas the apple cinnamon tastes like Cinnabon! It was like I was drinking Cinnabon. I couldn't get enough of it.
 

My friend, being a non-vegetarian, got the Buffalo style chicken lollipop with a Gorgonzola and blue cheese dip. It was spicy, super spicy. She had tears streaming down her face and she was saying 'oh my God this is delicious!' Hilarious but she loved it. It had been slow barbecued and she said there was a smoky flavor in each bite. Surprisingly, she managed to finish it. Siddharth said most people are unable to without copious amounts of dip.
 

I, on the other hand, got the smoked bbq potato skin. Loaded with yellow cheddar and mascarpone (which looked like dainty whipped cream), caramelised onion, all topped off with a jalapeño slice and scallion. It was superbly done and had that smoky flavor as well. 

So they bake even the veg dishes in the charcuterie, which I loved, because why should us veggies miss out of these amazing flavors?

Next up, bloom bread. That is a round bread with criss-cross cuts, all stuffed with cheddar, Gouda and burnt garlic. It was yummy and melty and each bite was a delight. However, the bread was gone a little too soft due to the cheeses getting soaked through. Maybe if they used a firmer bread like sourdough it might hold its texture better? Just a thought.

After that, we had the four cheese Mac and cheese. White cheese, yellow cheddar, Gouda, parmesan, and sundried tomato. Served with a crispy slice of bread. I am a cheese fan and I absolutely loved the medley of flavors in each bite.
 

Up next, smoked bean mini sloppy. Served with cider slaw. By the time I reached this dish I was pretty much stuffed already. But it was really cute, tiny and yummy. But considering this place is known as a charcuterie, you would be better off trying their bbq specialties.
 

My friend had the chicken chilli, which she liked, but she preferred the chicken lollipop mentioned about because of the perfect spices and the smoky flavor.
 

To top it all off, Siddharth suggested we get their skillet cookie. That's basically a HUGE cookie baked right in the skillet. Served with three types of house-made ice cream - chocolate, vanilla and salted caramel. It was DIVINE. I thought I was full before but clearly I was wrong. It was so good that I would go back just for that. I should go back soon, in fact. Specially the salted caramel, God, that takes it to another level altogether.

Also, the singer for the night was Ramya Pothuri, an amazingly talented vocalist and guitarist. She is absolutely amazing, and she's been performing since the age of 5. Check out her Facebook page. They have live performances pretty often and jazz is a favourite, from what I heard. 
 

VFM: For the variety and complexity of flavors on offer, the price seems to be worth it. The service and the ambience is also fabulous. If you consider that, which you should, then the price is most definitely worth it.
 

Ambience: Amazing! The place is beautifully done up, reminiscent of pre-Prohibition era charcuteries. Loved the vibe. 

 

Service: Very attentive, I didn't even have to ask for a water refill. The servers were just that good.
 

Veg friendly: For a place that specialises in meats, cold cuts, bbq, and the works, I didn't expect much in the way of veg. I was pleasantly surprised about the number of options there. Enough for even a picky vegetarian - I should know, I am one! 

This review was on invite, and the meal on the house. However, all views are unbiased.

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Review - 145 Kala Ghoda, Fort

Food: 3.5/5
VFM: 3.5/5
Ambience: 4/5
Service: 4/5
Veg friendly: 3/5

This place has a pretty nice ambience, effortlessly switching from a restaurant by day to a happening hotspot by night. We had a pretty weird melange of dishes, but it was decent overall.

According to them, their ambience is evocative of Bombay nostalgia. I didn't feel that, but I guess it's a matter of perspective. My favorite part was Tom and Jerry playing on the projector.

I do love Tom and Jerry (who doesn't?) and that instantly made me feel like, yeah, maybe this place would be nice. 

Kickstarter - eggs, hash browns, a solitary sausage, bacon strips, bread and a banana smoothie. From my hardcore non veg friend, the smoothie was the best part. She was pretty disappointed with the food, and the bacon was not tender at all. The sausage was not great either. 

Nutella pancake - Beautiful. Just amazingly beautiful. Chocolate chip pancakes slathered with Nutella. Served with maple syrup and melted butter. 

I cannot stop thinking about it. If you have just one thing on the menu, make it this. You will not regret it. Look at it, just look!

S'mores tower - marshmallow, Nutella, cake, repeat. Six layers of deliciousness. 

And it turned from a marshmallow into a beautifully burnt marshmallow, with a blowtorch right at the table. I do like that blue flame. This was sooooo sweet. The pancake was comparatively balanced in terms of sweetness. This was a little on the sweeter side. Maybe it would be fine without the Nutella; it might temper the sweetness. Just a thought. I'm the first one to proclaim my love for Nutella, but sometimes it's alright to not add it to things. 

VFM : I feel like the place is slightly over priced for the quantity as well as quality. They could do well to make it affordable, but considering its a maxed out nightspot I guess it's to be expected. 

Ambience : Decent, but doesn't give me that nostalgic feeling. However it's pretty clean and hygienic, plus brownie points for the Tom and Jerry love. 

Service : Attentive and unobtrusive, this kind of service is my favorite. It always hits the sweet spot and for me, service should be exactly like this. 

Veg friendly : Enough options for vegetarians, but could be better. Plus there are quite a few options that include egg so that isn't great for people who don't eat egg. 

It's nice, but competition is high in the area here. I still might go back for the Nutella pancake. 

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Review - Cafe Military, Fort

Food: 3.5/5

VFM: 5/5
Ambience: 4/5
Service: 5/5
Veg friendly: 1/5

This is an old and tiny Parsi café located in the little bylanes of Fort. It might be a little difficult for people to find, but it's at the corner so it'll be visible when you're walking around. Alternatively, you can ask around - I'm sure someone will be able to direct you to it. 

Now, as you know, I am a vegetarian so it's not exactly easy for me to find something to eat at Parsi cafes, no matter how much I like the old world charm and pretty decor. I do need the grub, my friend. 

I asked my very polite server what I can get, and he suggested veg dhandal patio, which is rice and veg gravy. I didn't really want rice that day so I skipped that. Since I do eat egg (I'm an eggetarian!), I figured I would go for the egg bhurji. It came with bread, not the Pav of the quintessential vada Pav, but actual proper bread. Soft yet with crusty edges, it was good bread. 

The bhurji was pretty decent too, but a little on the spicier side. Not too much though, plus I told them not to add green chillies, so that helped. It had finely chopped tomatoes and cilantro, served with sliced onions and lemon wedges, as you can see in the picture below. 

My friend had the mutton salli, which was served with rice and gravy. The bowl on the left contains the gravy, and the bowl on the right contains the mutton salli, garnished with cilantro. It seems to be a Parsi food mainstay, atleast at Cafe Military. She loved the mutton and said it was well cooked, and it's not even one of her favorite meats. The quantity of rice was generous too.

To top it off, we had caramel custard. I'm not generally a fan of caramel custard, so I had a taste when my friend ordered it. I liked it so much I ordered another for myself! 

VFM: One good thing it's very easy on the pocket, and considering the number of corporates nearby, they're probably cooking up a storm at any given point of time. The affordability definitely does not hurt. 

Ambience: It has an old world charm, and there are rickety bookshelves and the servers are great. It's got a great lazy charm. 

Service: The servers are really nice and attentive. Ask for anything, they'll bring it with a smile. And they suggested options for me when they found out I was veg. So that's nice. All Parsi cafes do tend to have that comfortably homey feeling. 

Veg friendly: Honestly if you don't eat any non veg or even egg, and you visit a Parsi cafe, be prepared to eat rice and gravy. 

Go try out the caramel custard at the very least! And if you try the dhandal patio, do let me know how it was. 

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Review - Kala Ghoda Cafe

Food: 4.5/5
VFM: 4/5
Ambience: 5/5
Service: 5/5
 
This place is in a little lane, close to Jehangir Art Gallery. It's tucked away, and you might miss it if you don't know the area. Just follow google maps to get there, it's quite precise. Also, La Folie is right opposite, so pop in there too, if you've got some time. You'd love it.

The architecture here has an old-school feel to it and it's got such an open, bright layout that one could sit here for hours; and indeed, I have!

The tiny tables are self sufficient in terms of whatever add-ons you may require; tissues, ketchup, mustard, the works. I do appreciate a place that doesn't need me to ask for something like tissue paper.

But the best part was these dinky containers, of jaggery and brown sugar - healthy alternatives to white sugar or sweeteners. It's the little things that make a place worth coming back to, and KGC hits the nail on the head.

 

On to the food now! 

Without any doubts, the hot chocolate here is one of the best I've ever had. It's so rich and satisfying - it'll make your day instantly better, I guarantee it. They use Belgian chocolate and you can really tell the difference in taste from other generic hot chocolate mixes that many other places use. 

We also ordered a cappuccino which was also pretty good, but if you compare with the hot chocolate; you honestly aren't going to find anything better than that. 

We also got the superbly made egg sandwich. Now you'd wonder what's so special about an egg sandwich, you'd get that anywhere! But this one is amazing, with the eggs done perfectly, micro greens, multigrain bread, a hint of mustard - all perfectly balanced. It was filling and fabulously flavoured.

Just LOOK at it. How can you not want to eat it. I crave this at random times of the day. And night.

And to polish it off, we got the waffle with dark chocolate. There again, the chocolate was great, however, the waffle could have been better - case in point, the waffle at Mövenpick.

According to me, a good waffle is one that would taste wonderful even without any toppings or additions. The one here comes close, but isn't as good as the one Mövenpick offers. It's just a little more chewy that it should be. And a little more crisp on the outside as well.

It's just a little tweaking, and probably I'm being nitpicky about it, but they are definitely good in most aspects and so I can afford to be picky about the little things. The mark of a good place, I must say. All in all, Kala Ghoda Cafe is one of my favorite places to hang out at, and the ambience draws me in each time, and so each time I fall in love with this place a little more.

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