B Flat Bar !

Yesterday was a fun evening.

first there a was a little bit of a frantic hunt for a birthday gift. I tried to put myself into pri's beautiful flats (& sometimes big heels) and think of what i would like to give myself. I thought for a long time & looked at everything with a "is this a good enough gift?!!" eye but then i was too distracted....by the clothes at M&S, the new collection at Forever new and the lovely smells of Body shop. (No one else I know can make papaya smell so divine)

SIGH:) Shooopping!

well, finally we had the gifts in hand and made a mad dash to the party venue.....not without making a quick pit stop at KFC.

we chomped our hearts out & glugged bottles of water.It was a slow motion moment, i tell you.crispy fried chicken with melting cheese & warm bread. This heap of carbs is so sinfully delicious...its hard to look away.(I can almost hear my Gym instructor shrieking into my ear)

Bflat is on 100 ft road, HAL.

It has a nice lounge setting.A bar, running the length of the place, a small performance area which features upcoming artists & bands or doubles up as the screen area for the never ending cricket dramas in India. I have been there on more than one occasion but haven't really gone past 2 drinks or a kakori kabab at max.However, you'll need some solid daylight & some non alcoholic beverages to see the cracks in the wall and the missing doorknobs (if there are any).

so pri's birthday gathering was a good way to get to know it better.

Like any party scene, the drinks were pouring in......glasses being cleared & replaced in quick succession....food that disappeared fast enough & lots of hugs & voices in the air. we had everything from the innocent sounding mango bloom to the very spicy bloody Mary.

The starters were in good portions.The pork sweet & chewy.The beef spicy & the chicken favourful & light enough to have even some vegetarians dig into it.

The main course was forgettable.The chicken was very bland.very uni-dimensional in flavour & the rice didn't contribute much either.The Long island ice tea despite being pretty & potent didn't grab too many marks.

maybe a couple of drinks later.....it doesn't even matter......

Plans were made, accusations were thrown around,trips to the loo happened, glasses were clinked & forks were strewn around like soldiers in a battered battlefield, bye s were said & hugs exchanged.......what a lovely way of living it up right in the middle of the week!

ICE & SPICE

Events and other fun things to do in Bangalore are scarce.

There is always the option of going out to catch a bite or the winner option of a "house party" but much else is not a regular option for Bangalore.

So after dissecting all the online forums and Time-Out Bangalore in an attempt to land myself onto an interesting Friday "welcome the weekend" celebration, the only thing R & i did find was a play.

So we reached the venue only to realize it was a kid's event and most of the audience was a parent to one of the performers.we quickly found our way out & drove half way across the city.

All the while brainstorming and throwing our options in the air.

After juggling around a bit with the possibilities, we grudgingly settled on Ice &Spice.

The place is on St.marks road nestled between a Kebab place & A wine shop.Both the kebab place & the wine shop are so bursting with the florescent light of a million tube lights that the yellow lit ice & spice with a small as small can be cafe set up is charming.the black interiors and the Quiet graphics of the board is comforting.

The desserts are marvelous and we sampled some on R's birthday when we dug into a delish cake coated with an almost burnt brown shade of chocolate.

We stepped in only to savour some cool AC atmosphere but we didn't realize that the cacophony of the 15 yr olds out with their monthly pocket money were bringing down the roof with their decibel levels.I now know that saying "My ex" is mandatory every 4 sentences & that a certain Aman likes his women to dominate him"(or something like that! )

I ordered a pasta Arrabiata.It was tangy & creamy.Served in a wide white dish with 2 slices of garlic bread. I am very delighted when i see the waiters walk up to me with geneous portions and it certain makes me feels like i'm in a hospitable place....but the warm sticky summer feeling, the noise & the heavy pasta was just the mix of things to make me feel like running out of the place.

R ordered a chicken gravy with some rice.The gravy again was thick & creamy and very white.

High on fat..low on flavour!

However, the place is perfect for a quick bite and the portions are abundant & the staff friendly.

The prices very pleasing and the place is alright.If you can brave through the teeny-bopper crowd, you have yourself a nice time!

CAFE FRESCO'S

It was a day set aside to enlighten ourselves about art and us, enthusiastic art geeks decided to pay our respects to the only decent Art museum in Bangalore, National Gallery Of Modern Art.

The NGMA is now in what was previously known as the Manikyavelu Mansion. A palatial house restored to its former glory . ....huge trees line the drive way and green lawns play silent spectators to the people who come here.

Vast lawn space with a water body and a very modern treatment to convert it into a museum.The steel, chrome and concrete blend perfectly with the white and do not create any disturbing visual noises. The amalgamation is as artistic as the contents inside the space.

We spent a good 4 hours pouring over canvases and frames, squinting our eyes trying to understand the art and the artist. Standing awestruck in front of some and wandering listlessly in front of a few others.

But once we were done soaking up the paintings and sharing our 2 cents worth....we decided to calm our complaining stomachs with some much needed grub.It was way past 3 and we made a quick dash to CAFE FRESCO's at Hatworks boulevard.

The place is set in what looks like a colonial looking house but its hard to really see the space in totality and describe it when you are that hungry and the desserts on display didn't make it any better.

We ordered versions of sandwiches which was served with a sumptuous portion of fat fries.

I ordered a Greek style sandwich filled with greens and roast chicken.....and i tried (but failed miserably at) not eating the fries.

I love the two seaters in the place.Small and cozy with tables and seats like picnic/outdoor furniture made of wooden slats. Perfect for a date and dessert. The extended area has very forgettable furniture ... seems like it was added as an after thought but the food is good and the portions are one of the best in Bangalore which always makes the place a delight to visit.

The kitchen would look better covered or a little more busy.With the open kitchen looking empty, it's not really a crowd pleaser.....me thinks.

The desserts will require another post. and I promise that one IS coming.There's New York cheese cake, blue berry cheese cake and a bunch of really gorgeous looking chocolate puddings and some very "south of north america homely" type pies. definitely worth some blog space.

The GOOD FOOD picture directory

The choice was between Koshy’s and herbs and spices.

Immediately my memory darted to this time when had had lunch with a couple of friends. And then it was gourmet as I had gotten with something called walnut meringue. Well, Its still as fancy as it can get for me since I spend 6 out of 7 days in an industrial estate in bommasandra feeding my guts with spicy toast topped with oily onion something and supper straang kaapi or more often the sugary sweet milky Indian favourite- tea.

The memory of the taste teased me yet again into shamelessly jumping at the opportunity of going back to herbs and spices!

So come Sunday and I wore my Sunday best and waited by the road full of afternoon sun hoping that the knight in shining santro wouldn’t be too late.
P arrived and I hurriedly jumped into the car and a few quicks turns later we were at herbs and spices. No board, no announcing of arrival and there it was hidden away and yet crowded. Damn! yet another treasure trove discovered and looted before I had set foot!!!

A moment of panic and with the gentle aromas in the air and the sun filled central courtyard. All was forgiven .

I hate it when people talk to me when im studying my menu…cause I get very distracted and i feel im being diverted from the actual agenda…and thus I politly, whenever I can, ask my lunch mate to shut up and figure what they’d like to eat too!

P is predictale and so he picked what I almost expected him to…the beef stake!

I went for the fish with my new sea food fetish and I figured chicken makes for ordinary meat (don’t really talk me into foie gras and the likes…im going to be desi for long…..and I had to remind myself and stop P before he wolfed down his meal.so there was a temporaray interruption in the meal and the necessary documentation was done .
Thus the pictures of the half eaten fish and beef.

The fish was nice and packed .white and layered.shiny skin creased together at points giving in to the heat it had been grilled over. Thin, slimy skin tasting like mellow fire. Breaking softly layer by layer. And whenever I felt it was getting too bland for my palatte, I doused it with a (lemongrass??) sauce that accompanied it.
Contact P for more about his steak of well done beef and yummy green herbed potatoes!

Dessert was the difficult part…the meringue came in without much debate but then there is the usual chocolate fav…which I just had to have…and in this moment of massive confusion, I did what I should do…take both…yipppeeee…
Some choices in life are actually easy and I wish I cud do that with everything!!!

Also, lunch was paid for and I was dropped back. Almost felt like a date but only that it was with P and there were no flowers.