Absolute Barbeque -- Restuarant Review

After a long time, we were doing a team lunch and the venue chosen was Absolute Barbeque. Its quite popular and everyone knows about it , apparently, but I was clueless. I thought it would be similar to Barbeque Nation in concept and so was a willing recipient of the treat.

First, the location, it is near the Park Hotel near Innovative Multiplex, Marathahalli. Its on the 3rd

Absolute Barbeque

Floor. We were having our treat on Friday and so the place was packed. It took me a while to find our group (Yes, I was late). They had already started on the starters by the time I joined.

Image Courtesy: www.timescity.com 

When I joined I was asked if I was vegetarian or Non-vegetarian and when I said I was vegetarian, I was served a pineapple slice. The taste was a bit strong for me but I was unable to place it. A colleague mentioned that it was cinnamon. The pineapple, shorn of its external coverings, looked like 'Shawarma' - a non-vegetarian dish. (It took me the entire lunch to figure out the name of the non-vegetarian dish!) The other starters were the staples: Mushroom, Paneer, Corn etc. Then, I noticed water melon, some mixed vegetables including the big chilli (used for chilli bajjis). Apart from this, I was served crispy masala corn that I enjoyed quite a bit and a potato vada which was quite spicy. 

There was an option to choose an item and watch it being grilled - they called it the Wish Grill or Exotic grill. I was not in a mood to experiment - also, broccoli was one of the options and so I gave that a pass. I think the Non-Vegetarians had some very different options for the Exotic Grill - Rabbit, Quail, or Emu. I remembered to make a note to inform the Arien. 

The main course was a number of gravies, steamed rice, and a veg Dum Biriyani on the vegetarian side. I noticed that the staples were there in the non-vegetarian side. I had rotis and decided to get started on the desserts. The dessert section had a number of goodies: Phirni, Gulab Jamoon, Apple pudding, chocolate pastry, Italian pudding or mousse, and of course the Wish Ice-cream - the flavors chosen were bent, and beaten into submission and served as three scoops by the server. I did not try that either. I opted for the Gulab Jamoon, the chocolate pastry, and the Italian thingie.  

Whenever we have team lunches, we usually split up into two groups - the veg and the non veg groups. So, I do not have much of an idea on the non-veg starters.

Now, to the real question: How does this restaurant compare with BBN? Well, obviously they are quite similar but this place has certain exotic options for non-vegetarians. BBN has the Kulfi and they have the Wish Ice-cream. BBN has a decent number of different vegetarian starters and so has ABS2 though I liked the BBN's options better. Price-wise BBN is priced slightly less than ABS2, at least the one at Banaswadi. Ambience was good.

Rating: ***1/2
   

Barbeque Nation - Restuarant review

This was not a milestone anniversary - its not even the anniversary after Kuku was born - its just another anniversary that comes every year. I cannot even remember what we did last year, we probably visited my MIL and showed kuku off.

This year, we had lunch at BBN. This is not the first time I am visiting BBN but it has been so long since I last visited that I had forgotten all 'bout it. The Arien had had this restaurant on his Christmas wishlist but it did not happen. So, we somehow made this happen for our Anniversary. Apart from the OhmyGod! food, the visit gave me a post - Hurrah! Another first - my first restaurant review for this year.

Some things to note if you have not been there before: BBN is not a place for vegetarians who do not prefer restaurants where both veg and non-veg is cooked and served. Its also not a place if you do not like barbeques or grilled starters. Its also not a place for a person on a diet.

If the above points do not apply to you (I put off my diet for the meal), its decent fare. The service was good. The vegetarian starters consisted of: Paneer, Bhindi, Stuffed Litchi (very different), Soya (Nice), Mushroom (So-so), and Potato Wedges. Paneer, Bhindi, and Potato are staples and they were as ok as can be. There was a seafood festival going on and so the Arien enjoyed his starters - Squid, Prawns, Fish.. I was quite busy with Kuku to pay attention. The Arien ordered French Fries for Kuku which came unsalted but Kuku managed to have 2 (amazing).

By the time, I had tasted a bit of each of the starters, I was feeling kinda stuffed. And, then the Arien asked me to get some of the main course while he held Kuku. My memory had gone with the last of the starters, I think :P I opted to have a bit of the Kashmiri Pulav (Kuku seems to like Basmati rice a lot) and Schezwan noodles. I did not want to have any rotis. Kuku was stuffed too.. he refused to take any more. They had a decent dessert section as well - but we dropped it to try the Kulfi. I wanted to know what the fuss about the Kulfi was. I chose the mango Kulfi with mango crush - overdid the mango bit but it was ok. The Arien chose the kesar pista Kulfi which was chopped into slices and had nuts, roohafza et al. I was feeling quite stuffed after the meal and it was ob. I had kissed my diet goodbye not for this meal but for an entire week :(

The Arien really enjoyed the food, Kuku was better than usual, and just when we were ready to leave, some of the serving staff decided to dance for Remo Fernandez's goan songs. The songs are infectious but the dancing was totally so-so. Kuku was zapped at the music and stared at the dance unblinkingly. And then we were off for the visit. When we returned home it was 8. All three of us were tired out of our senses but it would be 12 before I slept. Kuku took a while to get sleeping and so I could not fall asleep earlier. Inspite of that, it was way better than last year.

Breakfast at Chutneys -- Restaurant Review

This photo of St. Mary's Church is courtesy of TripAdvisor. 

Sunday morning had us (self, Arien and MIL) rushing to the famous St Mary's Basilica at Secunderabad. We were not too sure of the route but the Arien used google maps to the best possible advantage and though we left our home at 8:25 am, we were at the church at 9 am. After staying for the English mass which began at 9:30 am, the next most important item on everyone's mind was "BREAKFAST" (yes - in capital letters).

As we were driving back home, the Arien chanced upon Chutney's and we stopped right away. It was close to 11:15 when we walked in and asked to be escorted to a table for four. (Restaurants usually never have a table for three) Anyway, we were asked to go to the first floor- which we did. We ended up occupying a table for 8, because none of the other tables were empty.

The Arien was full of enthu. Lots of folks at his office had spoken of this place and he was waiting to try it. As soon as MIL had taken her medicines, we asked for the menu. Both the Arien and self wanted to eat Pongal but it was after 11 and so we were asked to choose something else. Both of us chose
Guntur Idly and ordered Steamed Dosa for MIL. I was not sure it would be sufficient and asked the Arien to order for an Upma as well. First, the famous chutneys arrived. There were 4 different types: Thengai (Coconut), Pottukadalai (RoastedGram),Varekadalai (Groundnut), and another chutney which I cannot recall. It looked yumm... and then the dishes arrived. Sambhar was served from glass dispensers into small Kinnams after which they left us to eat in peace.

The Guntur Idly was not as spicy as expected because it was coated with ghee. But, it was yummy all the same. To me, it was like eating idly, molagapodi and ghee. The Arien loved it. He was busy trying out the various chutneys. The Steamed dosa did not have a drop of oil and my MIL did not like it all that much. She likes a generous dose of oil in her dosa. She is not a beeg fan of chutneys either and so I don't think she liked it all that much. The upma was full of ghee as well. I liked the Sambhar though it was sweet. It tasted vaguely like north Karnataka sambhar which usually has sugar or jaggery. I wanted something spicy to finish it up but apart from some paneer dish (which we did not try) and Guntur Idly (which we tried and did not classify as spicy) - none of the items were actually spicy. Isn't that quite surprising to hear considering I was at Hyderabad known to be famous for its spicy food? Egzactly my thoughts! Anyway, the Arien and MIL finished up their late breakfast with a cup  of coffee (by two) which they were unable to finish. Coffee was good but the quantity was much more than expected.

The food reminded me vaguely of the food served at Adyar Ananda Bhavan. A2B also includes a lot of ghee and zero spice in all their dishes. Of course, A2B does not have the ambience or shtyle that Chutney's has.

Would I ask someone to try it? Yes, I will. It is a nice place and for people who are wary of eating spicy food or prefer to eat only at a vegetarian place - this is a great option. It is a bit on the pricey side. We paid more than 300/- for the dishes that we ordered. It was a nice experience.