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 - California Pizza Kitchen, Lower Parel

Food: 4.5/5
VFM: 4/5
Ambience: 4/5
Service: 4/5
Veg friendly: 3.5/5

Absolutely adore this place. I've been there multiple times and never got around to writing a review. Must do now!

Veg Platter: 4/5

The usual veg platter has a different combination of starters, but the CPK Dessert Festival is going on, and their platter seems delightful. So I ordered. And it was! 

Hummus with flavoured pita, spinach and corn cakes, bruschetta, quesadilla, cheese sticks and paneer taquitos, with a yummy dip. I loved the cheese sticks (obviously) with the sharp melty cheese. The table had a divided opinion on the paneer taquitos but I liked it. Hummus was good, and so was the quesadilla. 

Capri Pizza: 5/5

Utterly delightful! Exotic veggies, pomodoro sauce (that's tomato, basically), and a rolling of arugula and basil leaves, with lemon herb dressing and thin slices of parm to finish it off. Undoubtedly one of the best pizzas I've had in Bombay. 

 
Lately I have been more open to experimenting with mushrooms and I'm pleased to say that this pizza opened the door a bit more for mushroom to gain entry to my life.
Chocolate Trinity: 4.5/5

The bottom layer is a chocolate devil sponge cake. Then comes baked dark chocolate, cream and chocolate mousse, and a dusting of cocoa powder. With chocolate crumbs sprinkled around and some on top as well. They could have done a way better job of presentation, like see the chocolate? It looks like someone has alread eaten through it. Not great. Yet it tasted good enough to make up for it. But minus 0.5 for presentation definitely.


So I took a picture from another angle.

VFM: It's a tad expensive, but pizza in India is. And if you can spend that much on a pizza chain, it's definitely more worth your money here. Desserts are all worth it. The sundae is amazing too.
 
Ambience: The place is open and airy, yet with booths that afford a sense of privacy.
 
Service: My favourite kind of service here - attentive and unobtrusive. But when there's a rush, they're a tad distracted.
 
Veg friendly: Enough to keep a vegetarian happy, though there are more non-veg options overall.

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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 - Mad Over Donuts, Churchgate

Food: 3.5/5

VFM: 3/5

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

Mad over Donuts, popularly called MOD, was one of the first donut entrants on the scene. As someone who grew up with donuts as a weekend treat, I was wildly happy to see it come to India. 

As you guys may know, I'm a total fan of Dunkin Donuts, but the new range at MOD makes me feel like it's going back to the awesome standards it set coming into the country. 

We had the brownie crumble, which is a cocoa donut with dark chocolate and crumbled brownie bits. Filled with a dark chocolate ganache, which could have been more generous. However, it was heavenly. 

Next, we had the chocolate decadence, which I think is a best seller at MOD, and with good reason! Simple and delicious, it checks all the right boxes. 

This was accompanied by a coffee latte. Nothing spectacular though, but as an accompaniment it was just about acceptable. They might want to work on making their beverages better. They're slayin it with the donuts though! They're definitely delicious. 

VFM: Not exactly affordable, but donuts do fall in a certain price range and there's no two ways about it. 

Ambience: Nice and spacious, the faux wood tables were a nice touch, as was the playful decor on the walls. Can surely spend time here hanging out with friends. 

Service: Impeccable. No other words required. 

Veg friendly: Yes! Everything here is vegetarian, though I'm not sure if the cookies have egg or not. Do check once in case you don't eat egg.

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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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