Went to Mario Batali’s EATALY when in New York this past weekend. WOW is all I have to say! It is not food it is an experience. It is a supermarket as well as 6 restaurants. We went to the Pizza & Pasta restaurant. The menu is very basic but that is not at all a negative thing. The pasta is so delicious that even just some pepper, butter and cheese are more than enough. The supermarket has everything one would need to make great italian food…including a million different kind of mushrooms. I did not do any shopping though the fresh pasta looked to die for…sadly wouldn’t last travel I finished off my experience with a Chocolate Panna Cotta…which was just divine. EATALY is a must eat for everybody!

EATALY NY,
200 5th Avenue,
New York, NY 10010

Hope you tune in. Merci

Then little Pinkberry clones started opening up everywhere — Yogurtland, Berri Good, Kiwi Bear etc etc. I tried and tested them but Pinkberry reigned supreme. Soon I moved away from the land of abundant Pinkberry to Mumbai, where I had Naturals but a little something was missing. Then God heard my prayers….Froyo came to Mumbai!

First there was Coco Berry, which I came to know about from a Facebook ad (that Facebook knows me so well!). Now I can’t be a very good judge of it because it has honestly been a year since I had some. I remember the yogurt being quite good and there being a nice selection of toppings. Price wise it was a little steep (as was Pinkberry) – Small with 3 Toppings (Rs.89), Medium w/ 3 Toppings (Rs. 179), Large w/ 3 Toppings (279). PS. they have Alfonso yogurt as one of their flavor options — that definitely calls for another visit to Coco Berry!

A year went by and all of a sudden 2 more Froyo places opened up – once again in Bandra (I would have become bankrupt if it was in Andheri!). First we visited Fro Yo (yes it is called Fro Yo!). Its a tiny place off Waterfield  Road in Bandra (close to San Churro, China Gate, Red Box). It is not as hip and hot as Yogurtbay and Coco Berry (decor, art work etc) but it definitely gets the flavor right. Flavor wise there are 4 – Original (my favorite), Strawberry, Blueberry and for a limited time Green Apple (which was nasssty!!).

Size wise it has the same 3 strange sizes as Coco Berry. Small which is teensy tiny (Rs.85 for 3 toppings), Medium is twice as big as small (Rs.175 for 3 toppings) and Large is ginormous (Rs.275 for 3 toppings). They also let you mix flavors for an additional Rs.10. Overall I really really enjoyed Froyo (so much that I had 2 servings). The fruit toppings were not super fresh but it was also night time, the chocolate chips were nice but didn’t care for any other toppings. Can’t wait till Mango comes.

After Froyo, I decided to try out the 2nd new yogurt place – Yogurt Bay (Carter Road). Yogurt Bay is even tinier — therefore there is only room for you to go and order your Yogurt. Size wise it is the same — price wise they charge you for a cup of yogurt and the price of toppings is extra. Small is Rs.70, Medium is Rs.110, Large (I don’t remember) and there is a Mini size as well (price again I don’t remember). On that you can add toppings — Rs.10 for a Regular topping and Rs.20 for an Exotic topping. This works for people like me who only care for 1 topping sometimes. The yogurt (like Froyo) was on par with Pinkberry. I am not much of a flavor tester – I prefer to stick only to Original, but Yogurt Bay had Strawberry, Blueberry Cheesecake, French Vanilla and something else. P.s they also have some really cool toppings like cheesecake crust!

I ordered a Regular with mango and chocolate shavings. They were a little stingy with their serving size. In photos there yogurt is piled higher than the cup but sadly I didn’t get that much, which was a disappointment considered the whole reason I got Regular was because I wanted a LOT of froyo!

My boyfriend ordered a regular and got almost the same. Now, I’m not bitching I just wish I got more yogurt!! Anyways my 2nd issue with Yogurtbay was the lack of seating. They had put cushions on the stairs outside the store for people to sit and enjoy, but have they not heard of the Carter Road flies? There is no way to sit peacefully and enjoy your yogurt without being covered in flies and there is no way to take your yogur some where because in this Mumbai heat, it will be water by the time you reach anywhere. Look at the photo of my yogurt (right) — this is just after coming out of the store, it is pretty much liquid

That concludes my Bombay Frozen Yogurt Battle. Coco Berry is out of contention currently because I haven’t had it in ages. Fro Yo and Yogurt Bay are both at par. Fro Yo has place to sit and enjoy yogurt comfortably in AC, where as Yogurt Bay is a little priced better and has great cool flavors and toppings. I will definitely be visiting them BOTH again.

Yogurt Bay: 11 Gagangiri, Off Carter Rd, Bandra (W)

Fro Yo: Silver Pearl, Shop # 4, Off Waterfield Road, Opp China Gate, Bandra (W)

Coco Berry: 11, Gasper Enclave, CTS No. 861/C, Pali Naka, Bandra (W)

The place is very cute., has a colorful, fun vibe with an open kitchen. We were very excited for the Eggs Benedict (they offer it 3 ways – ham, salmon and asparagus). But sadly our experience was not as great as it was with Miro. Maybe it was early in the morning? The waiter even snickered and asked us if we wanted bhurji when we described how we wanted our eggs to order (mushrooms and tomatoes scrambled with the eggs).

Our food took FOREVER to come, I think a good 30 minutes were gone as we were twiddling our thumbs and starving. What finally came was a little underwhelming. The scrambled eggs were a decent portion and came with a good amount of sides but the Eggs Benedict was tiny. The minute it came we knew we had to order more. There was a tiny english muffin, with a little serving of (asparagus/ham) and a tiny poached egg on top with a small dollop of hollandaise sauce. Having had the uhmaazing Eggs Benedict at Indigo, these were a super disappointment. The egg was poached nicely and it was decently yummy but the portions were very meager.

We ordered more eggs and a breakfast sandwich, which once again took forever to come and thus we missed our Sunday morning movie. What came was no doubt delicious, but the waiting time plus the tiny portion sizes were a major turn off. I will definitely not be visiting Mesa Bistro for brunch again. I don’t have any problems with small portions as long as they are priced accordingly. We had a similar problem with Mesa earlier, I polished off a whole burger and was still starving afterwards.

It is a cute place with great flavors but just the service and sizes make you not want to return for anymore. Price wise it is expensive considering each person will order 2 things. Eggs Benedict (Rs.295), Eggs to Order (Rs. 210) and Sandwiches were also around Rs.200. For full menu go to Zomato.com.

Breakfast for 4 was about Rs.2000 (without drinks).

Mesa Bistro, F-73/74, Oberoi Complex, SAB TV Lane, Off Link Road, Andheri (W), Mumbai

So imagine my excitement when I heard that a CHURRO place has opened up in Bandra. Churros con chocolate, the traditional Spanish way are just heaven. I’ve had lots of bad Churros (read Xooro in Santa Monica, California) and I was hoping this would not be one.

Luckily there was nothing bad about San Churros. The minute you enter you feel the warmth and you smell the chocolate. It has two floors — the bottom floor is where you order and there is a small seating area there. They also have some iPads with loads of games for their customers to enjoy. You can also watch them make the churros live — which is very cool. One more thing – they also sell cups, fondue pots etc (very Starbucks like).

It is decorated gorgeously and has lots of room. The second floor has high ceilings, beautiful murals and loads of brown and Spanish tiles. I don’t recall if it has free Wifi, but if it does — it makes it a perfect meeting spot!

We went there right after a Spanish meal at Miro Lounge at the Svenska Hotel. The menu has lots of options — chocolatey, hot & cold. We ordered a hot chocolate, a milkshake, churros and a fondue platter. Sadly, didnt get to try the truffles.

Out of everything San Churro has to offer — the hot chocolate was simply to die for. It was perfect in richness. You can honestly drink the whole cup and still not be sick with chocolate. Yummy

The mint chocolate chip milkshake was also amazing. They are also very generous with their sizes, so you will not be disappointed in quantity at all.

The fondue was amazing and I very much appreciated the various dipping options: pretzels, strawberries, bananas, brownies, marshmallows and of course churros. Now I’m not complaining but a lot more strawberries and bananas would have been ideal, but again I’m not complaining.

The churros were perfect and just how I had had them in Spain. Even though Chocolateria San Churro is from Australia, they get it right to the T. The churros are served warm and soft and oh just so yum.

A MUST VISIT for all lovers of Chocolate and Spain. It doesn’t get better than this. Price wise — it is a little steep but all with cause. 4 of us had – 1 Hot Chocolate, 1 Milk Shake, 1 Plate of Churros & 1 Fondue Platter. It came out to Rs.1000, but we all left super duper satisfied!

Chocolateria San Churro: Waterfield Road, Opp. Red Box Cafe, Bandra West.

It is a cute little store up in Khar. It is brown and blue like the logo of the store. Unfortunately there is no place to sit and enjoy their cupcakes. There is a small bench outside but the area it is located in and how the store itself is setup, are clearly not meant for us to sit there and enjoy their cupcakes!

We tried out 3 flavors – Red Velvet, Hazelnut Swirl and 2 of the Original vanilla cupcakes. Sadly we were disappointed with all 3.

The Red Velvet & Hazelnut Swirl sounded amazing but 75% into the cake, you are a little cupcaked out (which is a VERY rare thing for me!). They are a little too rich and sweet. I also found the red velvet to also be a little dry, not the usual moist amazingness that one expects.

I very rarely trust all the different recipes that cupcake stores have, more often than not I’m disappointed, which is why I always try the plain cupcake. I had 2 of the vanilla cupcakes — 1 with pink frosting and 1 with blue. They were both adorable looking but the frosting once again is too rich and just too much. We ended up putting the frosting aside and having the cake.

Pricing wise sadly Butterfly is also a thumbs down. Tart (on hill road), has bigger and more delicious cupcakes for much cheaper. I didnt think the Red Velvet & Hazelnut were worth the Rs.80. The plain one (Rs.50) was okay but nothing worth coming back for.

Sadly this one is all style no substance!

Butterfly: Shop No. 4, 31 Bajaj Arcade, Union Park, Khar West, Mumbai, India

Decor & Ambience: First glance, it is a beautiful place. It is located inside the new Svenska Hotel in Andheri West. The hotel has 4 places to eat: Miro, Miro Lounge, Mesa Bistro and Mesa Deli. We had a reservation for Miro Lounge but due to the proximity and confusion… we first went to Miro and then Mesa Bistro and then finally to Miro Lounge, when we understood the whole geography of the place. So when you go be very clear where you are going!

The Drinks: Miro Lounge is primarily a bar and their drink menu is much much longer than the food menu. We had the Sangria Rossa, a Whiskey Sour, a warm Mixed Berry Melange and a Greenfields drink. All 4 were spectacular! My sangria was delicious and perfectly potent.I hate when they put in a lot of unnecessary liquers in Sangrias, I like my Sangria simple and made of Red wine and the Rossa was just that. The staff was also very nice to suggest the Mixed Berry Melange for my friend who was suffering from a cold, they changed the iced drink into a hot drink.

The Service:  I don’t know if it is because it is new or what but the staff was just delightful. They were very courteous and very considerate of our needs. Everybody cared very much that we had a nice evening and we did indeed. They also gave the ladies a red rose in celebration of Valentine’s Day.

The Tapas: The Tapas selection is not as extensive as I would have liked, especially the Vegetarian options. But out of the 6 things we ordered, 4 were mind blowing and 2 were so-so. We all ordered the Confit Tenderloin with blue cheese glaze (Rs. 350), Chickpea, Spinach and Chorizo stew (Rs. 350), King Prawns with Basil, Chilly and Garlic served on Toast (Rs. 375), Classic Patata Bravas with Aioli and spicy Tomato Sauce (Rs. 265), Goat Cheese Fritters with Tomatoes and Honey Caviar (Rs. 325) and we tried one of the Veg Pinchos — Smoked Paprika Spiked Sweet Potato and Roasted Pepper (Rs. 325). The Patatas Bravas were disappointing and the Sweet Potato dish was very ordinary and honestly not very good, but the rest of the food was seriously out of the world. We ate every bite.

The Bread Basket: They had a very nice bread baskey served with some delicious olive tapenade, pesto and aioli. The dips were so delicious and came in such big portions that we had to ask for an extra bread basket just to finish it.

The Dessert: Unfortunately no Spanish dessert so we ended up heading to another new Spanish influenced place — San Churro (more on that later!)

Overall: We had a great time at Miro. Its a lovely place to have a nice evening out, you can have a nice drink, some delicious tapas and great conversations. Will visit multiple times

The Price: Tapas and drinks for 4 cost about Rs. 3500. A little pricey but worth it once in a while

Miro Lounge
Svenska Design Hotels
F/73-74, Level 1, Oberoi Complex,
Off Link Road, Lokhandwala,
Andheri West, Mumbai

So here is what I’d like to see the Nominees & the Presenters wear this year:

NOMINEES:

Natalie Portman in Marchesa (Spring 2011 RTW)

Annette Benning in Naeem Khan (Spring 2011 RTW)

Nicole Kidman in Elie Saab (Spring 2011 Couture)

Michelle Williams in Monique Lhuillier (Fall 2010 RTW)

Jennifer Lawrence in Monique Lhuillier (Spring 2011 RTW)

Amy Adams in Zuhair Murad (Spring 2011 RTW)

Helena Bonham Carter in Giambattista Valli (Fall 2010 RTW)

Melissa Leo in J. Mendel (Fall 2010 RTW)

Hailee Steinfeld in Valentino (Fall 2010 Couture)

PRESENTERS:

Sandra Bullock in Giambattista Valli (Fall 2010 RTW)

Halle Berry in Reem Acra (Fall 2010 RTW)

HOST:

Anne Hathaway in Zac Posen (Resort 2011)

The Decor & Ambience: The place is undoubtedly beautiful. When I heard the name I thought it would be a cute kitschy type cafe but on the contrary the decor was very classic and elegant. Lots of dark wood, whites and the whole place was very dimly lit, thus adding to the whole ‘romantic’ atmosphere.

The Bread Basket: Yes, it was that amazing and therefore deserving of it’s own header. There have only been two places in Mumbai where they have given out bread before appetizers and dinner. One is Mia Cucina and the other is Fat Cat Cafe and can I just say — thank you! The bread basket is such a small yet crucial thing, especially when you are serving Italian or Italian inspired food. Fat Cat Cafe’s bread basket was phenomenal, the bread was all freshly baked and soft and there was so much variety: bread rolls, focacia, bread sticks etc and just when you think it can’t get any better it was served with warm butter and pesto — yum! I swear I could have had that basket itself as a meal…it was huge!

The Appetizers & Main Course: I am not much of an appetizer person, I usually just like to get to the main course but the appetizers and the salads sounded and were indeed delicious. I had the red wine mushrooms with arugula salad and gorgonzola mousse was to die for. The main course burgers and sandwiches were also quite tasty, they were not as memorable as the appetizers but very yum.

The Drinks: Even though they boasted quite a wine and drinks menu, we chose to go for non-alcoholic drinks. Can’t say much about the Diet Coke but their Ice Tea was simple and delectable.

The Service: The staff and the managers were very nice. Since it was a new place they were very concerned about our experience and made sure we were happy.

The Desserts: Sadly this was a miss. The dessert display was the first thing I noticed when I entered the restaurant. They had some great looking stuff — cheesecakes, tiramisu and a hazelnut creme brulee — jackpot! I looked forward to it throughout the meal but it failed expectations. They mentioned that the desserts were fresh but they didn’t quite taste like it. The cheesecake was hard and the creme brulee was quite disappointing.

Overall: The meal was indeed a good one but could have been a great one. Nevertheless we enjoyed it, not sure if its a repeater yet.

Price: A meal for Four — including 4 drinks, 2 appetizers, 4 main course and 2 desserts came to about Rs.3,400.

Fat Cat Cafe
Bharat Ark, Veera Desai Road,
Next to ICICI Bank
Mumbai, Maharashtra 400053

The Decor & Ambience: I felt like I teleported to the US, it looks exactly like the CPKs I have been to in LA & Boston. It has the same booths &  setups along with the open kitchen, where you can see the chefs hard at work.

The Appetizers: One of my CPK favorites is their Tortilla soup, so I decided to try it here. The soup was tasty but it was no tortilla soup, more like Tomato masala soup. No cheese, no mexican flavors & no tortilla chips. This was a let down, next time I’ll go for a salad or something.

The Service: Very good! Our server (sorry forgot her name) came over and promptly introduced herself. Despite them all being busy and running all over, the staff was friendly and accommodating to your needs.

The Drinks: Should just mention that I am not a drinker. I would much rather get a diet coke and call it a day rather than experimenting on cocktails & fruity drinks that I won’t like.

The Pizzas: They pizzas were delicious of course. Each pizza is meant for a single person, so don’t go in thinking it will be like a Dominos. It had pretty much most of the CPK favorites. I’m glad they did not decide to “indianize” their menu, which a lot of places make the mistake of. What is the point of a California Pizza Kitchen if I’m going to get a Paneer Tikka Pizza? CPK kept its original menu (most of it anyway) and thank god for that. This review is a little tardy so I can’t recall the exact name of the pizza we ordered (photo on right) but let’s call it the Wild Mushroom — with the 4-5 different kinds of mushrooms. Very delicious!

The Dessert: I had heard a lot of praises of the Red Velvet cake here so decided to give it a shot. Red Velvet is my favorite kind of cake and I have had some of the best there is (Doughboys in Los Angeles!), so the expectations were high and the cake did not disappoint. The cake was moist, not as fluffy as I would have wanted but very rich. They were very generous with the frosting on top (I would have shaved half off). The highlights were the milk chocolate shavings on the side and the yummmy vanilla bean sauce on the bottom. Mmmmhmm

The Pricing: The CPK in India is priced at a different level than the one in the US, then again I would say it is the same thing that TGIF, Ruby Tuesdays & Hard Rock Cafe have done here. There CPK is an almost budget eat, but here it is a splurge. Each pizza goes for about Rs.400-500 and the drinks and desserts are also up there.

Overall: It was a great experience. I would not be a frequent visitor but I would definitely go when I miss that California-style pizza. Value for money is debatable a little bit but you will not leave disappointed!