Jonah's Bistro

I LOVE BURGERS... not just any burgers.. its gotta be BEEF .. period

My love for burgers have made me try at almost every place possible. It must be grilled red meat and beef in particular.  I have visited a number of places ( no 5 star hotels) in Chennai hunting for the same. Eatalica, Pupil, Llyods Tea House, Sandy's all the usual suspects i can think off. Apart from Sandy's the rest of them have crumby buns and meat is okayish at the max.

Sandy's has  a nice flavorsome meat and the buns don't crumble but doesn't fill your stomach. I have been reading up nice reviews from other bloggers and in food groups about this place. So on quiet weekday decided to stop by at this place in Besant Nagar.

The ambiance was blissful and liked the setup. They had high chair tables as well and so got myself seated in the corner. I knew even before the menu was handed out to me what i needed there. Ordered myself the beef burger while the water was served in glass which carried the restaurants name and so did the coasters, nice touch.

Then came the burger and boy was i impressed, the shiny bun was tempting with egg partially covering the meat patty sitting beautifully on tomato cucumber and lettuce perched on the heel of the bun. I was salivating like a dog and had to fight the urge not to take a bite before i took a nice pic of it.  Also, it was served with fries and salad made of white and purple cabbage, red peppers with lemon dressing i guess. But focus on the burger only....

Big question will the bun crumble and after the first few bites it did not.. kudos to the Jonah's team.
Patty was acting slippery  until i poked the toothpick all the way to the heel of the burger. Patty was juicy at its best.. not mushy neither dry... clearly it was rested  post cooking to retain the juices in it. The burst of juices with every bite was too good.. cleanly finished the plate. Veggies were fresh and added the crunch to the dish.

Next time i would order without the egg, personally i dont like egg in a burger unless its an egg burger.  Also, if i have to pick a grouse, not fair on my part but for the sake of it. I would set the patty on the heel maybe leave the lettuce and move the tomatoes and cucumbers to the top and replace the egg with bacon rashes. Also, go for pickled cucumbers instead of  fresh ones.

Jonah's Bistro is located on the first floor above Sree Krishna Sweets on the lane  before the petawrap kiosk.

Food  9.5/10 Ambience 9/10 Service 9/10 Price 9/10
Would I Recommend?  Yes,totally without hesitation

New Tandoori Tadka - Moved out

New Tandoori Tadka opened sometime back in second half of 2010 if i may recollect. It was one of those days we decided to get some food from outside. I decided to try out the Tandoori Tadka  on Radhakrishnan salai, upon entering the place i found out it was a pure vegetarian place. The restaurant has two levels, ground and first floor and tables are not too closely placed. I checked out their menu and the first thing that caught my eye was they serve Chinese food as well, was quite intrigued as they called themselves a Pure Punjabi kitchen.

I did engage in a conversation with the guy at the counter who looked like the owner and asked him about the chinese food in the menu. He said that it was due to their experience from their previous restaurant venture where customers asked for Chinese dishes and lack of such menu cost them customers. He also pointed out that Chinese food at their joint does not get influenced by the Punjabi kitchen. 

Menu at Tandoori Tadka is quite exhaustive, i ordered Paneer butter masala, Kadai vegetable, 2 Phulkas, 1 Rumali roti, 1 Butter Naan and a Garlic Naan.

The gravy portions are quite on the high side and taste wise the paneer butter masala was less spicy but tasted good. The paneer tasted fresh and size of the cubes were just right, coming to the kadai vegetable it was medium spicy. Even kadai vegetable had paneer in it, i am not sure whether paneer is an ingredient of kadai vegetable, however they were smaller in size compared to the other gravy.

Panner Butter Masala                                             Kadai Vegetable

Roti's were nice and soft, one has to ensure that you have them as soon as possible else they tend to get a bit chewy. 

 Butter Naan, Garlic Naan                     Phulka                      Rumali Roti

All the above cost me 566 rs i don't exactly remember the cost of the gravies. They were roughly about 

169 rs each and the naan around 30-40 rs.

Overall, the food was good and would rate this place in terms of pricing in the mid range. Way better than the Kabul restaurant situated just a 2-3 buildings away.

New Tandoori Tadka is situated on Radhakrishnan Salai  between Kabul and Reliance trends.

Food  7.5/10

Ambience NA

Service NA

Price 7/10

Would I Recommend?  Yes

The Pasta Bar Veneto

Me, my cousin and a friend decided to go out for dinner. We decided to go for an Italian dinner, our regular pick would be Little Italy. This time we decided to try something new and Past Bar Veneto was shortlisted. Personally, I have been wanting to check this place out for quite sometime now too.

Called them up for reservation and they said it would not be required. Was surprised, but again being a Pongal day and city deserted thought it would be empty. There are two restaurants in Chennai, one on Alsamall, Egmore and the other at Burkit Road, T.Nagar. We were heading to the T Nagar restaurant and getting there is not that easy since its situated on a one-way road and one has to navigate through by-lanes to reach the destination.

The restaurant shares space with a boutique, and restaurant is located at the rear of the property. I guess it has a good capacity of about 50-60 people; upon entering one would find an open bar style setup. I just wished it was a well stocked bar, well my wishes are endless that never actually get materialized. Too much of boring info moving on...

The place definitely was not empty and we got  seated promptly, the table we were shown was not cleaned properly and the table next us were into an argument with the waiter. That was not a good sign for a first time visit to the restaurant, we were provided the menu, which looked quite exhaustive, but in reality its not actually. It just looks exhaustive, we had to wait quite sometime for the waiter to take the order. When they did come to take the order, we informed him about the sticky table and was told that he would take care of it once we ordered.

We ordered 2 starters, Sesame chicken and Cheesy Jalapenos, when we  placed an order for a soup to be shared, he refused stating that they don't offer soups to be shared. I have eaten at a fair share of restaurants and this was the first time i have come across such a policy by a restaurant that doesn't let you place "one by two" order of soup. We skipped it and waited for the starters to arrive and the table cleaned while we chose the main course.

The table was cleaned by another person who felt as though we were pointing stuff out and did i mention the person who waited was putting a grumpy face.

By this time i was pretty sure that the dinner was going to end on a sour note, more often than not my intuitions are right and this time it was wrong.

Then the starters came and we didn't have to wait too long, first the cheesy jalapenos served with tomato ketchup. The menu describes it as Jalapenos stuffed with Cheese, fried. Fried check, Cheese check, Jalapenos check but is it stuffed jalapenos with cheese nope. It was more like cheese bites with some chopped jalapenos in it. But it tasted good. Next was the sesame chicken, its breaded chicken strips fried and coated with sesame seeds served with thousand island dressing. It tasted good too.

For the main course we ordered, Primavera Al panna with Spaghetti, Chicken Bolognese, Diavolo Pizza and Pesto Con Spinaci Pizza. First, the Diavolo pizza, a 9 inch thin crusted pizza, it was delicious and was filled with flavors of the different ingredients. Our pizza was little burnt at one end but no complaints it was very good.

Diavolo Pizza

Next was the Primavera Al Panna, spaghetti on cream white sauce with veggies served with a garlic bread. It tasted well however lacked the creaminess and could have used a bit more of sauce for soaking the garlic bread. 

Primavera Al Panna

Similarly, the Chicken Bolognese was served with a garlic bread and it too lacked the sauce element plus the chicken element was missing. Chicken mince was way too fine than you find in a bolognese sauce that one doesn't even find chicken. Both the pastas even though the tasted quite nice left us wanting for more.

Chicken Bolognese

Pesto con spinaci was no different from the diavolo, was well cooked and tasted as good as the freshly baked smell.

Pesto Con Spinaci

We did not order any desserts, the total bill came to 1,062. The starters were 125 and 135 Rs, the pastas were 175 and 195 rs and the Pizzas were 165 each. Service charge and taxes extra.

To sum it up, easy on your pocket and tasty italian food. Pizzas are a step ahead of their pasta colleagues in the menu list. Portions of main course are good per person and  starter portions could be increased. In my opinion, its a nice and cheaper alternative for Italian food in city compared to the Tuscana and Little Italy.

The Pasta Bar Veneto is located on Burkit road, refer http://www.thepastabarveneto.com for more details

Food  7/10
Ambience 7/10
Service 6.5/10
Price 8/10


Would I Recommend?  Yes, definitely

Suggestions: Please inform the waiting staff to put a smiling face and keep the table surfaces clean. Cheesy jalapenos could actually be made like described in the menu and provide a better dipping sauce than just ketchup. Wee bit more sauce to soak the garlic bread  and don't change anything about the pizza.

Kabul - Too far from taste, just like the distance between Chennai and Kabul

Friday night returning from work, I suggested going out for dinner. However, Wifey was in no mood so decided to do a takeaway from Kabul. Kabul has moved to the new location from TTK road, to Radha Krishnan Salai, its right by the Royapettah –Mylapore flyover near the signal.

We ordered a Keema Biryani, Naan, Masala Paratha, Butter Chicken Masala and Dal Makhani.

Sorry totally forgot to click the pictures, was too hungry to focus on clicking photos.

Naan and Masala paratha were good both in terms of texture and taste. Just make sure its hot while you eat.

Butter chicken masala was nicely prepared not spicy at all with strips of shredded chicken bit on the oily side, no complaints though was a good accompaniment for the breads we had ordered.  Portion was good enough to serve three people.

Dal makhani, well any good restaurant wouldn’t get it wrong and Kabul didn’t screw it up.

Coming to the last dish of the day Gosht Dum Biryani aka Keema biryani or should i call it red rice with shredded mutton sheek kebab. This is where i feel a picture would be worth a thousand words. Don’t ever and never order the biryani, reason i say is not because it didn’t taste nice... its just not biryani. More like a greasy mutton sheek fried rice with lot of red color.  They definetly have got this one wrong and with a hefty tag of 300 bucks, total and utter disappointment.

Total bill came to 920 Rs, Biryani 300, Butter chkn masala 245, Dal 165, Naan 40 and Paratha 45.

Kabul is located on Dr.Radhakrishan Salai at the  Junction before Pizza Hut

Food 6/10 (mainly because of the pretentious biryani else 7.5/10)

Ambience NA

Service NA

Price 5/10

Would I Recommend?   Not really. if you're tired of other Punjabi restaurants then maybe,  not recommended for Biryani. I can think of numerous biryani outlets that can offer much better and cheaper alternatives.

Hotel Town Bus

I have passed through this hotel many number of times; and everytime with one thought should try this one and i did this time. Me and my mom where coming back home from Vadapalani, when i suggested we have dinner over there.

Earlier my dad had mentioned that the tiffin items on this hotel is good.  What’s most striking about this place apart from its name. They have a cut out of town bus plastered above the entrance. 

Entrance - Picked this pic from internet

Name itself “Town Bus” is a term that you would hear once your out of Chennai, very common name across Tamil Nadu and a term people can easily relate to.

This is not a fine dine restaurant and its a Hotel in its true sense, as one would expect a hotel to be.

Ambience is just how would you expect, its got clean tables and a typical small hotel decor.  We ordered a Parotta  (Malabar parotta) and Masala Dosa. You get served pretty and quick.   

Parotta

Parotta was  like in other places two small ones served with Vegetable Kuruma, Channa sort of gravy and Onion raitha.  Parotta was soft, fluffy and nicely cooked and so were the accompaniments, just right and tasty.

Masala Dosa

Masala dosa was served with Sambar, Tomato Chutney, Coriander Chutney and  Coconut Chutney, it was again good to taste. Would definitely suggest those who go there to try their chutney. 

Finally we ordered  a Coffee, which was a let down too milky and less of decoction.

I personally have a quirkiness that if i go to any of the hotels of this type that serves tiffin items need to wash it down with coffee and for a non-veg hotel like Safari (typically any mallu muslim hotel)  wash it down with tea.

The bill was 72 rs, and totally worth it. They also have North Indian, Chinese style dishes and Chat. I would prefer to stick to South Indian dishes at similar hotels.

Hotel Town Bus is located on Arcot Road on the right from Vadapalani towards Kodambakkam.  You cannot miss the huge bus above the entrance.

Food  8/10

Ambience 4/10

Service 8/10

Price 9/10

Would I Recommend?   Yes, don’t expect fine dine.

Dine @ Escape Cinemas, Chennai

My First of the many posts to come, i sincerely hope to add more to the list.

It had been quite some time since we (me and moi wife) visited Express Avenue (EA) a stone’s throw away from our home.  So, we decided to go there on a Friday evening and catch dinner at one of the many outlets over there.

First we went in for Cafe Pascucci, we were turned off by the strong odour of paint or varnish and decided to head up for the food court. That’s when my wife suggested we check out the restaurant in Escape Cinemas. 

Dine - A view from our table

I had no clue about the food they serve nor their prices, so was relieved to see the Menu card at the entrance of the restaurant. Not much of an entrance actually, its what you end up, if you miss your screen entrances. Was  greeted by nicely dressed waiter who seated us, i was expecting it to be quite noisy, it wasn’t and there was just another family seated in the restaurant.  However, at the time of show intervals, it gets a bit busy so try to get seated away from the crowd unless you plan on a putting show on for the audience. I am probably being too dramatic but guess you get the drift of it. 

One more thing worth mentioning is the fish tank called “SWIM” filled with Corals and the brightly coloured coral fishes in it, which is good but it has its sets of visitors mainly kids running around your table unattended.

Menu card is a comprehensive mix of Indian and Continental food, however, they do not have a variety of soups. It’s the Soup of the Day – a vegetarian and a Non-vegetarian. It was Tomato soup that day, and funnily enough the waiter asked us if we wanted a Chicken Tomato Soup or a Vegetarian.  This is probably the first time i have come across Chicken tomato soup at a restaurant, unless i have overlooked the menu at the hotels i have been. We went for the Veg Tomato Soup, which was one of the best tomato soups i have had in Chennai. It was creamy thick tomato soup probably with grounded lentils in it. It tasted yumm.

Tomato Soup -Veg

We had no intentions for starters, they did have a good  list of starters both veg and non veg that were reasonably priced.  Going by the smell of those that were ordered by others should have been tasty.

For the main course my wife ordered the Garden  Veg Burger and i went for the Chateaubriand Tenderloin with Horseradish Sauce.  It was good to hear from the waiter asking  “ How would you like your beef  Rare, medium or well done?”   i went the medium way.

Burger was served with fries , built with a veg pattie which is quite thin and decked with lettuce, tomato, cucumber , caramelized onions and cheese. The burger bun was also quite good, the only complain being the base of the bun was shredding into pieces even before you are halfway through with the burger. Then again, i am yet to come across a burger bun that hold well till you finish it in Chennai.

Garden Veg Burger

Chateaubriand that i ordered was perfectly done, with little bit of pinkishness as you cut through the pieces.  Three medallions of beef were served on an oddly shaped mash potato with horseradish sauce, i found the sauce nice and would have preferred a more liberal dose of it. I like more of sauce or gravy in my dishes, it was sided with a grilled baby corn, broccoli and shredded mix of vegetables. Though the portion looked small, it was quite filling and i thoroughly enjoyed it. Full points for the chef on this.

Chateaubriand with Horseradish

We did not have dessert  though they did have quite a  tempting line up on their menu, we wanted to  try it at the food court for other options  Gola , Cotton candy etc.

Totally it rang up to 475 Rs, with Soup for  75, Garden Burger for 125 and the lovely Chateaubriand for 275. No Taxes or service charges added to the bill.

Dine is located within Escape Cinemas at EA, as you enter Escape walk towards your left all the way to the end. Dine, Escape Cinemas -EA

Food  8/10

Ambience 7/10

Service 8/10

Price 8/10

Would I Recommend?   Absolutely yes, highly recommended.