Sri Shankarnarayana Refreshments

10, 12th Cross,
JP Nagar 2nd Phase ,
Bangalore.
Phone : 080 42456060

Food: 3/5
Ambience: 1.5/5
Self service
Meal for 2: Rs 50-75

We heard of this very well-kept-secret of a brekkie joint only recently, though it has been around for the past 18 years or so. Methinks its one of the perils of a small establishment which does not rely on accolades of idli/dosa-kaapi contests, content with only word of mouth publicity.
So we hunted down this place on a hungry Sunday. Yes, actually hunted it down - it's in an obscure street in the belly of JP Nagar - and to avoid going round in circles like we did, here is a 3 step plan:
1] Go to Rangashankara
2] Ask for directions to Ambarish's house (you don't know Ambarish? the red-eyed-'rebal'-star?)


3] Once you are done trying to peek into his compound, ask any passerby for SN Refreshments (or bhattru's votlu - as known in those parts) and there you are!


Ramachandra Bhat and staff

And what did we find here? One of the best idli-vada combos this side of town, swimming in a puddle of lipsmacking, spicy coconut chutney. Crispy, perfectly done vada and sambar. Hot masala dosas straight off the griddle, giving out sibilant sizzles. Pongal, khara bath and all other tiffan items too. Strong coffee to down it all with. And if you can manage to stuff yourself some more, don't leave without giving the kesaribath a try. One spoonful of saffron sweetness is enough to make you weep with joy...ok maybe I'm getting a bit dramatic here....but you get the drift, dontcha?


Fluffy idlis with the best vadas in town


Nutty coffee



The pièce de résistance

And if you are left licking your lips throughout the day, did I mention that bhattru's place is open in the evenings too? ( 7am to 1pm and 3.30pm to 7.30pm on weekdays, 7am to 1am on Sundays) Mast majaa maadi!
P.S - You still don't know who Ambarish is? Seriously??

Did you know................
........................that the bath (or bhaat or baath) in "kesaribath" means "steamed rice" in Marathi? Though popular versions of this dessert use rava or semolina, the rice preparation is similar to "sakkare pongal" minus the dal.
.......................that the good old vada has a hole in the middle for even cooking? Since the batter is thick, the hole allows the vada to be cooked from the inside as well.

Brahmin's Coffee Bar

Shankarapuram, Bangalore.

Food : 3/5
Ambience : 1/5
Meal for 2 : Rs 50


See the crowd?

This tiny, unassuming eatout had recently been voted as one of the best idli - coffee joints in Bangalore which invoked our curiosity to check out the place ourselves. But as luck would have it, we would always end up here when it was closed - on Sundays and after 7pm on other days. They are also closed between 11 am to 3pm on all days.
It opens at 6-30 am and by the time we reached the place, around 8 am on a Saturday morning, it was packed, with people spilling over to the road and many families even having their tiffin-giffin in the confines of their cars.


Tiffin thintheera?

The coffee bar serves only 3 items - idli, vada and kesari baath - and of course, coffee and tea. Since this is a 'self-service only' joint, you have to first buy the tokens for your items at the counter near the entrance. Then starts the herculean task of squeezing your way through the crowd milling around. When you finally reach the serving counter, catch your breath, get your snacks on a tray and turn back, you realize that you are now faced with the near impossible task of making your way out of the place without spilling tea or dropping a steaming idli on someone around or worse, yourself!
Once outside, there is an old man standing right near the entrance, pouring chutney for everyone on their plates (a prize for making it out of the place in one piece, perhaps? ;)). Now that the hardships are done with :), its time to happily gorge on the simple but superb food. The idlis are quite fluffy and soft, the vada - crisp and not over done. I'm not a huge fan of kesari bath and Balaji found it was fine but a tad too sweet - too much of pineapple, we guess. There is an unlimited supply of chutney, thanks to the thaatha who happily pours it for all who ask.
Nothing better than a steaming cuppa to end an enjoyable breakfast. The coffee and tea -served in Kerala tea house kind of glasses - are quite good and upto the mark.
This place is definitely worth a try for true blue fans of idli-vada-kaapi. We do not have the exact address or phone number of the place but to get there, take the Bull Temple road from the Gandhi Bazaar side. There is a HOPCOMS and then a Neeladri office on the left. Take the right turn in front of this, go a little ahead and to your right, when you see a place teeming with people, some sipping piping hot coffee and some downing steaming idlis - you'll know you are at the right place!

Did you know.......
.......................that the idli finds mention in the Kannada writings of Shivakotiacharya in 920 AD, and it seems to have started as a dish made only of fermented black lentil? One description circa 1025 A.D. says the lentils were first soaked in buttermilk, and after grinding, seasoned with black pepper, coriander, cumin and asafoetida. The Kannada king and scholar Someshwara III, reigning in the area now called Karnataka, included an idli recipe in his encyclopedia, the Manasollasa, written in Sanskrit ca. 1130 A.D.

Cafe De Lekkerbek

80ft road, Koramangala, Bangalore.
Phone : 57686767
email: lekkerbek@rediffmail.com
blog: http://belgiancafe.blogspot.com/



Note: Just after writing this post, the name of this eatery was changed to Cafe Terra



Belgian Cafe on the first floor


Food : 2.75/5
Service : 2/5
Ambience : 2.5/5
Meal for 2: Rs 250 for breakfast

A lazy Sunday morning in December, swathed in wollens, half awake from deep slumber we set out to a Belgian cafe in Koramangala. This suburb is teeming with a profusion of restaurants of all shapes, sizes and cuisines but most of them, according to our experience,turn out to be run of the mill with just a fancy name to attract crowds. However we were pleased to discover that Cafe De Lekkerbek lived up to its reputation and it was well worth dragging ourselves out of bed on a cold morning!!

The cafe is tucked away on 80ft road, Koramangala in the same building as Bandbox. A small cosy looking place with a huge shelf full of Tintin comics (which other Belgian can you think of?)

along with Calvin & Hobbes and Archie comics on one wall,this restaurant looks like the ideal place to sit with a book and coffee for hours.






Gourmet, epicure or glutton - what are you?

Spongy delicious muffins, perfect waffles with maple syrup along with hot tea on a wintry morning.... thats exactly what I had in the Belgian breakfast. The waffles were lovely - crisp on the outside, not too soggy, sprinkled with powdered sugar and served with maple syrup. My hunt for the perfect waffle in Bangalore is over!!!




Belgian Breakfast


Balaji had a filling English breakfast which was toast, a chicken cutlet, eggs (made to order - scrambled in this case) and chicken sausages with coffee. The sausages seemed to have a mild hint of masala in it which tasted so good that he ordered an extra plate of them coz I was polishing off his share with glee! The scrambled eggs were peppered, light and fluffy. The cutlet was crunchy and tasted more Indian than English but who cares coz it tasted good:)






English Breakfast

I think it's something in the air over there, what with the delicious smells of cooking wafting out of the kitchen area, I was tempted into ordering a spanish omlette despite my groaning tummy. The crunchy layers of spinach, baby corn and many more veggies makes for a scrumptious and filling meal in itself. We wolfed it down like we were starved for ages!

The menu also lists food from across the continent for lunch and dinner. Their minestrone soup, banana cakes and various salads are quite popular. This is a place that definitley requires a second visit!!