The Pune Side of the Pastures brought me from the land of Butter Chicken and Lassi to the land of Vada Pao and, well, Butter Chicken. My initial apprehensions of the things I’d get on my platter in this part of the country were far from accurate. I had come to a land where you’d get anything and everything to eat; literally. Pune has indeed been a foodie’s paradise. Well, if you’d be ready and willing to explore all that’s there to be. Home delivery is not very popular here ;) Allow me to introduce you to ‘Al Pune’.
The almost eight months I have been in Pune, have been an opportunity to explore and implore an array of foodstuffs available. I have been left disappointed at times but all in all, it’s been a worthwhile experience. But that is not the point of this blog; you’d get better and more accurate feedback of eating joints in Pune from elsewhere; this blog entry is to re-live all those moments spent here, with all those people who have made the Pune Side of the Pastures worth re-living. We are a hungry country and any occasion has a food link with it. Cheers to all ye folks!!
FORMAT: Name of joint (almost chronologically arranged); Location; with whom been there – why special
@PunePeople: ‘Ctrl+F’ your name (by which I call(ed) you by) and go through places and re-livable moments we have shared. I’d warn you in advance – it’s my version of the thing!
Sayaji; Wakad; The entire on-boarding gang – Sid, Munni, Gulabo, Mondu, Avya, Phooly, Jalebi, Vandy, Tej - Well, quite straightforwardly put, I had no freaking idea that you all folks would become such an integral part of Pune after-office life by just being made to spend those 5 days together. But for a starting-off place, the food here had definitely been something that got us to sit and talk together (begin talking, I mean). The last evening’s get-together and the full night chitchat at the roof of the hotel were actually where, I recall, we kicked off – and have been ever since!
The Coronet Hotel; Apte Road, Deccan; Bit of the on-boarding gang – Sid, Munni, Gulabo, Vandy, Phooly, Jalebi (and Bond Saab & Naveen) - Those two weeks were amazing for many reasons, firstly because we were on the streets of Pune with no idea of where / how to go and secondly, the food was free! I remember gorging on loads of butter chickens and chilly paneer, as some of us used to count what day of the week it was to indulge or not to ;). Sharing eating space was how we got to know each other’s preferences and that did go a long way. The Classical-est moment had to be Vandy’s reaction when she got the after dinner finger bowl with a feather of a piece of lime, and hers & Sid’d constant fighting. Leaving the Coronet somehow had the same gut wrenching feeling as leaving college did, that’s how much we got used to each other. Geesh! Those days.
Shreyas Hotel; Apte Road, Deccan; Sid, Vandy and Phooly & Jalebi – First let me laugh, laugh my heart out! Sid and Vandy, dudes, this was legendary. The way you guys reacted on being put in this hotel and the reaction you had when you saw how our Coronet was, was indeed rolling-on-the-floor-laughing material; but the mood then didn’t let me do so openly. Moving you and your belongings from Shreyas to Coronet to Royalty – Bwahaha material. Oh! And the food; let’s forget that for now ;).
Royalty Hotel; Bandharkar Road, Deccan; Sid, Vandy, Swarnali – Free food and a pleasant change from the constant butter chicken and chilly paneer at the Coronet, The Royalty had been and is a good place those taste buds. The comic scene of Sid & Vandy moving all over the place to get their belongings in place and “Swarnalini’s” warmth in feeding us was the take back.
Yana’s; FC Road; Sid, Munni, Vandy; Gulabo, Logan – Hahaha!! Sid lost his mobile before this meal and was pissed off and in no mood to come for dinner. As was Vandy. Initially it started off with me, Gulabo and Munni. Vandy reached belatedly; and Sid brought along Logan as a surprise entry. The meal was full of teaching Logan some classic Indian (almost) cuss-words; and of course a platter of awesome sizzling chicken. The sizzling brownie with vanilla ice cream was a killer. Then the point when Gulabo was cussed for I gave MadB the credit for having us to go to such an awesome place. All for the laughs ladies, it had been worth it!
Mirch Masala; Kothrud; Sid, Munni, Vandy, Phooly, Gulabo, Jalebi – This experience stands out to be the first time Phooly went beyond her inhibitions and had a chicken meal with us; Gulabo, Munni and le moi. It was a part of the plan to stay in touch and eat together even after leaving The Coronet. The other awesome bit of this experience was a little prior to this meal, when Sid and I ran for the first time on the Pune roads leaving Vandy with Munni (poles apart people- one who can’t keep shut and the other who prefers to be silent)
Shabri; FC Road & Shrikrishna Juice; Balgandharv, JM Road; Sid, Mukul, Vandy, Gulabo, Avya, Mondu, Priya, MadB & some other girl – This was the we got Mukul introduced to the rest of the ‘gang’ that was formed in the 2 weeks before he got to Pune. Can’t recall much about the food at Shabri, but the juice at Shrikrishna was indeed very filling, very filling. And Mukul’s persistence with long phone calls had him declared a test batter (and hence his nickname STD); with Gulabo was the T20 batter.
Shabri (Part 2); FC Road; Sid, Mukul and three-ladies,-whose-identity-I-have-sworn-to-keep-secret – Well, the least I say about this meal the better. As with the previous meal at Shabri, there was nothing much to write home about the food. Though there was more to this meal than the food, much more. I have Mukul to testify; the feeling of waiting on a road side bench in the middle of the night with one friend’s unknown whereabouts brings all sorts of messed up thoughts. But the laugh we had back home at 3 in the morning was hearty. Sabka Katega Na became infectious (and literal) from then.
Horn OK Please; FC Road; MadB, Gulabo, Jalebi, Phooly, Sid, Mukul, Munni, Vandy – The name is a definite reason why anyone would like to give this joint a try, and it is worth it. A major turn off was the fact that it’s a pure vegan restaurant, though the theme used in the menu card is unique. Nothing in particular to write back of the experience, this was part of our fortnightly plan to meet each other for a meal. Those were indeed the fun times, when anything and everything was part of a joke or of getting under the skin of each other!
Surya; Gulawani Maharaj Road, Erandwane; Sid, Vandy, Munni – By and large a forgettable experience, but still finds its place here for being a dingy place to have a non-vegetarian meal; where we ended up having a Veg Thali.
Sweekar; Nal Stop, Erandwane; Sid, Mukul, Munni, Sagar, Akash, Ishan, Birbal, Pappu, Gulabo, Phooly, Vandy, Jalebi, Deepu, Prateek, Sher, Harry (I think that’s it) – unarguably, absolutely unarguably, the place where I’ve had more meals with someone or solo, during my stay here in Pune. Being cheap in cost and decent in quality (not necessarily prioritized in this order) Sweekar has always been a favorite. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, awkward timed snacks, out of office meals; you name the meal, we’ve had it here. And there have been loads of scenes that we have all been a part of during the meals had here, any or all of which I’d rather not begin to mention.
Abhishek Veg; Gulawani Maharaj Road; Vandy, Sagar, Sid, Mukul, Munni, MadB, Gulabo, Phooly, Jalebi, Shipra, Ishan, Harry & ABU Team – Like Sweekar, I’ve happened to visit Abhishek Veg many times and most of them have a story attached to them. Most strikingly, this is where we got together for Vandy’s birthday treat and had the one and only picture clicked of all of us paltan here in Pune! Then the time we hopped over for lunch after a disaster of a Bodyguard. Sometime in December 2011, the first and only meal I had with my boss here in Pune was a delayed lunch after a customer meet. Then there was also our highly anti-climatic New Year’s Eve meal. The buildup to this night and the epilogue of the following morning is something you’ll (Sid, Mukul & Vandy) never let me forget ;). And more recently the after Lohri dinner meal, last order at Abhishek and the followed bike ride are worth re-living.
Chaitanya; FC Road; Machau, Pappu, Birbal, Ishan, Vandy, Sid, Mukul, Gulabo, Phooly, Jalebi, MadB (& maybe someone else I am forgetting) – my tryst with Chaitanya was quite late during my time in Pune, more like after Diwali 2011, but once addicted there has not been a place where you’d get better Parantha’s in Pune. I mean, even the dhaba’s at Moorthal & Karnal would fight to hold their title for the best Parantha’s. The Chaitaya experience stands out for being one where we (new flat-mates) have had endless bickering and leg pulling; and for being the cheapest and best place for the most filling meal in Pune. Other occasions to dine here had been with Vandy to give her the making-up treat meal, and dinner on Jalebi’s birthday.
Anand Veg; Nal Stop, Karve Road; Sid, Mukul, Munni, Prateek, Harry, Bhalachandran, Manu, Seema, Kanchan, Ankita – The first experience here was just after the Parvati trip with office folks we had sometime in September. And since then there has been no looking back (conditions apply). The wide variety of parantha’s offered here were an instant hit with Sid, Mukul & Munni; that’s before we experienced Chaitanya, FC Road. Being farther away from home than Sweekar, Anand Veg lost out on being the one place where we’d have dined the most at.
The-Restaurant-That-Was-There-Before-Dominoes; Nal Stop, Erandwane; Manushree, Kanchan, Seema, I-told-u-na, AD, Sher, Munni, PB, Ankita, Su, Rishita, Sagar, Sid, Mukul, Vandy – Nothing much to write back about the food. Though the dandiya session we had prior to the dinner meal, where we manufactured our own steps (correction, Sher did, we just joined in) and did the bhangra during garba was classical. The only other and last time we visited this place was on Sagar’s salary treat. ;)
Nirmal’s; Mhatre Bridge, Erandwane; Machau, Pappu, Birbal, Ishan, Paaji, Nitin, Prateek, Sher, Harry, PS – A welcome relief. Finally a decently priced and equally relishing eating joint right outside our house and office as well. This place could have overtaken Sweekar for being the most visited eatery but it opened quite late. The new self made nimbu soda with Ishan and the countless sensible talks of nonsense with office folks as well as the cholle bhature and chholle samosa are indeed re-livable. One fact was coined here that is pretty much applicable to all sweets joints: The quality of the samose they make depends how good they will serve the rest of the stuff, and yes, this place got top honors in Pune.
Abhishek Non Veg; Gulawani Maharaj Road, Erandwane; Birbal, Mukul, Munni, Sandy – not so re-relishable chicken; though the nearest place to get almost decent butter chicken was the only reason to visit this place. The last meal had here before going for Kahaani was a déjà vu feeling which got Birbal into some problem.
Kohlapur Non Veg; Gulawani Maharaj Road; Mukul, Munni – A forgettable experience! Ideally located joint, but not up to our mark. I have never gotten used to the type and quantity of servings served, as well as the concept of a NonVeg Thaali.
Sweet Affairs; Mhatre Bridge, Erandwane; Sid, Munni, Sagar, Voh – Yes, the name does send the wrong message. The first place we went out to eat after taking possession of our flat here in Pune. Forgettable sandwiches, though when the going used to get tough, this place had always been the place to visit for a quick urgent snack. But, the only reason we kept re-visitig this place was for the rum balls. Geesh! At 10 bucks a piece they were a cheap way of expressing kuch meetha ho jaye.
Pavitra & Tapri outside CSS; Gulawani Maharaj Road, Erandwane; Vandy – the morning we dropped Mukul at the airport, glum and in a reflective mood, the tapri outside CSS got us to thinking on what and for how long do we want to be doing whatever in Pune. The meal at Pavitra was a classic one with Vandy as she had been left behind as the other kids went for the excursion and I had to have her entertained.
DTC Tapri; Near Mangeshkar Hospital; Prateek, Sher, Harry, Paaji, Nitin, PS, Su – let’s not elaborate all about the tea-after-lunch outings we had, for they were just loaded with crazy and almost meaningless stuff. The lousy game of matching birthdates with the number plates of cars parked on the roads (Yes, it was THAT lame) was classic, and got many people like Chaitanya to avoid hanging out with us. And of course ‘The Future of India’ Force Traveller – Number plate: 2020. Epic
Aryan Veg; FC Road; Gulabo, MadB, Phooly, Jalebi, Vandy, Sid, Mukul - A treat by the girls in exchange of the unprecedented hospitality we guys showed during the treats we had at our place ;). Anyway, this was Sid’s farewell dinner and that’s what it’s going to stay as. Can’t recall much about the food, but laughing out loud on the good old lousy jokes were re-livable
Punjabi Rasoi ; Koregaon Park; Sid, Mukul, Munni, Gulabo, Jalebi, Phooly – the awesomest chicken we’ve had in Pune (that’s saying too much, but definitely one of the best). The ambience was truly Punjabi; not so much so, but because of the background score humming at the joint. It was raining outside and the delicious chicken meal, accompanied with the truckloads of nonsense talks we had mastered by then. This meal was I think just before the Diwali break; where we walked all the way from Central Mall to KP in the light drizzle with Ashwani – and as we did end up getting a nice drench as I got a nice piece of everyone’s mind for suggesting walking in the rain ;).
Naturals Ice Cream; Koregaon Park & Near Magarpatta; Vickey Paaji, Esha Bhabhi, Sid, Mukul, Munni, Gulabo, Jalebi, Phooly – Paaji & Bhabhi took me took the branch near Magarpatta and had the place introduced as Juhu’s special famous Naturals Ice Cream. Dunno if it is actually from Juhu (I know it is!) but the ice cream is sure damn special; Coconut something being my favorite. The Punjabi Rasoi meal was followed by dessert here.
The Burger Barn; Koregaon Park; Vickey Paaji, Esha Bhabhi, Munni, Gulabo, MadB – Dinner treat with Paaji and Bhabhi and got introduced to the WTF. Made a point to revisit this place; and managed to do so at a dinner treat with Munni and farewell treat by the girls. My wish to have my pic on the wall of fame still lives on. A must visit place.
11 East Street Café; East Street, Pune Camp; Vickey Paaji, Esha Bhabhi, Amrit, Vandy – Yes! This is an awesome place to visit, that serves awesome food. With Amrit in town, the Sambi’s hit off to the famous café for a dinner meal. Then the second time was for a farewell treat, this time from Vandy; in exchange of all the bike rides I had to give her. Hang on! Hang on! I paid for this meal, this wasn’t my farewell meal. Oye hero, treat pending from your end.
The Bounty; Koregaon Park; Vickey Paaji, Esha Bhabhi, Amrit – Phew! I finally got Paaji and Bhabhi to let me pay ;). This was a meal of nice sizzlers, pasta, drinks and ambience, possible only because Amrit got down here.
IndiJoe, Koregaon Park – Vickey Paaji, Esha Bhabhi – Farewell from Pune dinner treat.
Magarpatta Parantha; Magarpatta internal market; Vickey Paaji, Esha Bhabhi, Amrit – I cannot recall a time when I had been more desperate to gobble up any parantha and drop dead asleep. This was after the EPIC Sinhagad trek early morning sun rise catching trip. A crazy build up, at 1 in the night, hitting the roads at 3, beginning the trek at 4, witnessing sun rise at 6, Pakoda’s and afeem wali chai and sleep till 8, the rickety drive ride down and the drowsy drive back to Magarpatta at 10. This was indeed epic.
Sinhagad Tapri; Sinhagad fort; Gulabo, Sid, Mukul, Munni, Phooly, Vandy, Sher, Paaji, Nitin, Prateek, Parag, Chaitanya, Sachin Bhai – the first visit here was just at the fag end of the rainy season, in a rickety Tata Sumo. Laughing and leg pulling, witnessing the sunset among the hill is a sight that is ever so vividly captured in mind. The other visit down here was with the bwoizz from office. Early one Sunday morning we drive to the base and trek up the mountain. Amazing serene weather conditions at the top of the fort. Absolutely beautiful and fun filled morning. And of course there was the ropeway crossing experience to cherish.
Geesh! This is now getting too much to type in detail. I’ll just keep it in brief
Dominoes; Erandwane & Karve Putla – DBU ki fauj, Gulabo, Munni, Phooly, Jalebi, Machau, Ishan, Office ki janta – Being the unknown guest at Pappu’s birthday treat with Sid and Mukul. Munni’s farewell treat with the bandiyaan. The hangout for a meal when no mood to have roti daal paneer. And chilling for Sher’s birthday, Prateek’s engagement party and Paaji’s promo party ;).
KFC; JM Road; Munni, Sid – Nothing left to be said. The heavenly chicken burgers and chicken bucket!
McDonalds; Karishma Society, Karve Road & Aundh; Office ki janta, Gulabo, Phooly, Jalebi, Sid, Mukul, Ishan, Pappu, Deepu and some CA’s – Kanchan’s surprise birthday treat. The hangout for a meal when no mood to have roti daal paneer. Deepu’s Pune visit.
Hyderabad Spice; Karve Road; Home Treat – the day the guys decided to play host, and how! A spicy takeaway meal. The awesome part of playing host was the re-livable piece.
Konkan Express; Kothrud; Vandy, Tezz, Phooly, Jalebi, Gulabo – Reunion dinner meal with Tezz with the janta. Obviously Sid and Mukul missed out on this; but great fun catching up. Hey wait! What happened the night before this one??!! ROFLOL
Swargate Terminal Chai & Snacks Stall; Swargate Terminus; Machau – the nearest place to home to grab a quick cuppa tea and pakoda’s as Machau had his sutta
HRC; Koregaon Park; AD, I-told-you-na, Sher - Yes! This is the Hard Rock Café, Pune. Period. Finally got to know what is and why is the hype of the HRC chain. The ambiance, the clutter and clatter, food! And drinks. Wow! Ticked off the bucket list.
Some-Nice-Looking-Restaurant; near SGS Mall; Jamshedpur team, Vandy, Sher, Pappu, Birbal – Showing our team from Jamshedpur Pune! And how! The complexities of dining with 15 people in a decent restaurant. The plan, that didn’t materialize and then CO2…!!!
Anand Tiffin Hall; Nal Stop; Sid, Mukul – One time dinner meal, cheap food. No fun getting here again.
Kailash Bhel; Katraj; Harry, Sher, Sandy, Ishan, Birbal – The Awesome Drive Through The Katraj Tunnel. And the best bhel, pani puri & SPDP in Pune. Thanks Harry for getting us here!!
Manas Resort; Manas (near Pirangut); Paaji, Nitin, Sher, Vageesh, PS, PB, Rishita, Kavita, Prateek, Chaitanya, Harry – a truly surprise farewell treat. The go-karting was the cherry. Thanks folks. This was good!!
Latest additions as per memory recollection and the actual last few suppers in Pune.
Up & Above; Chandani Chowk; Mukul, Machau, Pappu, Ishan, Birbal, Harish, Sandy, Vandy, Monika, Fond - We came here one weekend before we dined, on a bike ride. Machau, Mukul and me decided to have my farewell dinner here, but as it so happened, the very next day Mukul got his shock relocation call and his farewell was planned, the next weekend. Getting all the folks together was a challenge. Food was good but the bonfire after dinner was the real saver.
Marz-O-Rin; MG Road; Madb, Gulabo, Vandy - MadB and Gulabo never let you down when you have to go to a good place to hangout. So too this time! After showing them the Gurudwara at Pune Camp, a nice quick dinner snack at Pune's famous shack was a cherry. Gonna miss having you guys around ;).
Asian MeLange; Kothrud; Phooly, Jalebi, Vandy, Vindy - Well, the farewell weekend just went on and on. This time with the remaining girls. Rooftop barbecue and butter paneer were killers, as always. Finally got to meet Vindy.
Kahwa; Karve Road; AD, I-told-u-na, Sher, Harry, Deepak Bhai - I am sure AD and Deepak Bhai would have better words to describe the food / ambiance / service here. The surprise of Sher and Harry popping up here was nice. A farewell coffee treat ;).
Kobes; Law College Road; Sir, Boss - The actual last supper in Pune this time. And looked forward to this like none other. A dinner with bosses is always something unique. Great sizzlers. A fitting farewell meal. :)
Phew....!! Not at all easy to write this!
Anyway, now said and done - and posted. Lets get moving!!
Cheers to All
PS: The epilouge of The Pune Side of the Pastures and the prelude of this one was Dum Ghutkuu. in retrospect, it does seem for all the better.
The almost eight months I have been in Pune, have been an opportunity to explore and implore an array of foodstuffs available. I have been left disappointed at times but all in all, it’s been a worthwhile experience. But that is not the point of this blog; you’d get better and more accurate feedback of eating joints in Pune from elsewhere; this blog entry is to re-live all those moments spent here, with all those people who have made the Pune Side of the Pastures worth re-living. We are a hungry country and any occasion has a food link with it. Cheers to all ye folks!!
FORMAT: Name of joint (almost chronologically arranged); Location; with whom been there – why special
@PunePeople: ‘Ctrl+F’ your name (by which I call(ed) you by) and go through places and re-livable moments we have shared. I’d warn you in advance – it’s my version of the thing!
Sayaji; Wakad; The entire on-boarding gang – Sid, Munni, Gulabo, Mondu, Avya, Phooly, Jalebi, Vandy, Tej - Well, quite straightforwardly put, I had no freaking idea that you all folks would become such an integral part of Pune after-office life by just being made to spend those 5 days together. But for a starting-off place, the food here had definitely been something that got us to sit and talk together (begin talking, I mean). The last evening’s get-together and the full night chitchat at the roof of the hotel were actually where, I recall, we kicked off – and have been ever since!
The Coronet Hotel; Apte Road, Deccan; Bit of the on-boarding gang – Sid, Munni, Gulabo, Vandy, Phooly, Jalebi (and Bond Saab & Naveen) - Those two weeks were amazing for many reasons, firstly because we were on the streets of Pune with no idea of where / how to go and secondly, the food was free! I remember gorging on loads of butter chickens and chilly paneer, as some of us used to count what day of the week it was to indulge or not to ;). Sharing eating space was how we got to know each other’s preferences and that did go a long way. The Classical-est moment had to be Vandy’s reaction when she got the after dinner finger bowl with a feather of a piece of lime, and hers & Sid’d constant fighting. Leaving the Coronet somehow had the same gut wrenching feeling as leaving college did, that’s how much we got used to each other. Geesh! Those days.
Shreyas Hotel; Apte Road, Deccan; Sid, Vandy and Phooly & Jalebi – First let me laugh, laugh my heart out! Sid and Vandy, dudes, this was legendary. The way you guys reacted on being put in this hotel and the reaction you had when you saw how our Coronet was, was indeed rolling-on-the-floor-laughing material; but the mood then didn’t let me do so openly. Moving you and your belongings from Shreyas to Coronet to Royalty – Bwahaha material. Oh! And the food; let’s forget that for now ;).
Royalty Hotel; Bandharkar Road, Deccan; Sid, Vandy, Swarnali – Free food and a pleasant change from the constant butter chicken and chilly paneer at the Coronet, The Royalty had been and is a good place those taste buds. The comic scene of Sid & Vandy moving all over the place to get their belongings in place and “Swarnalini’s” warmth in feeding us was the take back.
Yana’s; FC Road; Sid, Munni, Vandy; Gulabo, Logan – Hahaha!! Sid lost his mobile before this meal and was pissed off and in no mood to come for dinner. As was Vandy. Initially it started off with me, Gulabo and Munni. Vandy reached belatedly; and Sid brought along Logan as a surprise entry. The meal was full of teaching Logan some classic Indian (almost) cuss-words; and of course a platter of awesome sizzling chicken. The sizzling brownie with vanilla ice cream was a killer. Then the point when Gulabo was cussed for I gave MadB the credit for having us to go to such an awesome place. All for the laughs ladies, it had been worth it!
Mirch Masala; Kothrud; Sid, Munni, Vandy, Phooly, Gulabo, Jalebi – This experience stands out to be the first time Phooly went beyond her inhibitions and had a chicken meal with us; Gulabo, Munni and le moi. It was a part of the plan to stay in touch and eat together even after leaving The Coronet. The other awesome bit of this experience was a little prior to this meal, when Sid and I ran for the first time on the Pune roads leaving Vandy with Munni (poles apart people- one who can’t keep shut and the other who prefers to be silent)
Shabri; FC Road & Shrikrishna Juice; Balgandharv, JM Road; Sid, Mukul, Vandy, Gulabo, Avya, Mondu, Priya, MadB & some other girl – This was the we got Mukul introduced to the rest of the ‘gang’ that was formed in the 2 weeks before he got to Pune. Can’t recall much about the food at Shabri, but the juice at Shrikrishna was indeed very filling, very filling. And Mukul’s persistence with long phone calls had him declared a test batter (and hence his nickname STD); with Gulabo was the T20 batter.
Shabri (Part 2); FC Road; Sid, Mukul and three-ladies,-whose-identity-I-have-sworn-to-keep-secret – Well, the least I say about this meal the better. As with the previous meal at Shabri, there was nothing much to write home about the food. Though there was more to this meal than the food, much more. I have Mukul to testify; the feeling of waiting on a road side bench in the middle of the night with one friend’s unknown whereabouts brings all sorts of messed up thoughts. But the laugh we had back home at 3 in the morning was hearty. Sabka Katega Na became infectious (and literal) from then.
Horn OK Please; FC Road; MadB, Gulabo, Jalebi, Phooly, Sid, Mukul, Munni, Vandy – The name is a definite reason why anyone would like to give this joint a try, and it is worth it. A major turn off was the fact that it’s a pure vegan restaurant, though the theme used in the menu card is unique. Nothing in particular to write back of the experience, this was part of our fortnightly plan to meet each other for a meal. Those were indeed the fun times, when anything and everything was part of a joke or of getting under the skin of each other!
Surya; Gulawani Maharaj Road, Erandwane; Sid, Vandy, Munni – By and large a forgettable experience, but still finds its place here for being a dingy place to have a non-vegetarian meal; where we ended up having a Veg Thali.
Sweekar; Nal Stop, Erandwane; Sid, Mukul, Munni, Sagar, Akash, Ishan, Birbal, Pappu, Gulabo, Phooly, Vandy, Jalebi, Deepu, Prateek, Sher, Harry (I think that’s it) – unarguably, absolutely unarguably, the place where I’ve had more meals with someone or solo, during my stay here in Pune. Being cheap in cost and decent in quality (not necessarily prioritized in this order) Sweekar has always been a favorite. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, awkward timed snacks, out of office meals; you name the meal, we’ve had it here. And there have been loads of scenes that we have all been a part of during the meals had here, any or all of which I’d rather not begin to mention.
Abhishek Veg; Gulawani Maharaj Road; Vandy, Sagar, Sid, Mukul, Munni, MadB, Gulabo, Phooly, Jalebi, Shipra, Ishan, Harry & ABU Team – Like Sweekar, I’ve happened to visit Abhishek Veg many times and most of them have a story attached to them. Most strikingly, this is where we got together for Vandy’s birthday treat and had the one and only picture clicked of all of us paltan here in Pune! Then the time we hopped over for lunch after a disaster of a Bodyguard. Sometime in December 2011, the first and only meal I had with my boss here in Pune was a delayed lunch after a customer meet. Then there was also our highly anti-climatic New Year’s Eve meal. The buildup to this night and the epilogue of the following morning is something you’ll (Sid, Mukul & Vandy) never let me forget ;). And more recently the after Lohri dinner meal, last order at Abhishek and the followed bike ride are worth re-living.
Chaitanya; FC Road; Machau, Pappu, Birbal, Ishan, Vandy, Sid, Mukul, Gulabo, Phooly, Jalebi, MadB (& maybe someone else I am forgetting) – my tryst with Chaitanya was quite late during my time in Pune, more like after Diwali 2011, but once addicted there has not been a place where you’d get better Parantha’s in Pune. I mean, even the dhaba’s at Moorthal & Karnal would fight to hold their title for the best Parantha’s. The Chaitaya experience stands out for being one where we (new flat-mates) have had endless bickering and leg pulling; and for being the cheapest and best place for the most filling meal in Pune. Other occasions to dine here had been with Vandy to give her the making-up treat meal, and dinner on Jalebi’s birthday.
Anand Veg; Nal Stop, Karve Road; Sid, Mukul, Munni, Prateek, Harry, Bhalachandran, Manu, Seema, Kanchan, Ankita – The first experience here was just after the Parvati trip with office folks we had sometime in September. And since then there has been no looking back (conditions apply). The wide variety of parantha’s offered here were an instant hit with Sid, Mukul & Munni; that’s before we experienced Chaitanya, FC Road. Being farther away from home than Sweekar, Anand Veg lost out on being the one place where we’d have dined the most at.
The-Restaurant-That-Was-There-Before-Dominoes; Nal Stop, Erandwane; Manushree, Kanchan, Seema, I-told-u-na, AD, Sher, Munni, PB, Ankita, Su, Rishita, Sagar, Sid, Mukul, Vandy – Nothing much to write back about the food. Though the dandiya session we had prior to the dinner meal, where we manufactured our own steps (correction, Sher did, we just joined in) and did the bhangra during garba was classical. The only other and last time we visited this place was on Sagar’s salary treat. ;)
Nirmal’s; Mhatre Bridge, Erandwane; Machau, Pappu, Birbal, Ishan, Paaji, Nitin, Prateek, Sher, Harry, PS – A welcome relief. Finally a decently priced and equally relishing eating joint right outside our house and office as well. This place could have overtaken Sweekar for being the most visited eatery but it opened quite late. The new self made nimbu soda with Ishan and the countless sensible talks of nonsense with office folks as well as the cholle bhature and chholle samosa are indeed re-livable. One fact was coined here that is pretty much applicable to all sweets joints: The quality of the samose they make depends how good they will serve the rest of the stuff, and yes, this place got top honors in Pune.
Abhishek Non Veg; Gulawani Maharaj Road, Erandwane; Birbal, Mukul, Munni, Sandy – not so re-relishable chicken; though the nearest place to get almost decent butter chicken was the only reason to visit this place. The last meal had here before going for Kahaani was a déjà vu feeling which got Birbal into some problem.
Kohlapur Non Veg; Gulawani Maharaj Road; Mukul, Munni – A forgettable experience! Ideally located joint, but not up to our mark. I have never gotten used to the type and quantity of servings served, as well as the concept of a NonVeg Thaali.
Sweet Affairs; Mhatre Bridge, Erandwane; Sid, Munni, Sagar, Voh – Yes, the name does send the wrong message. The first place we went out to eat after taking possession of our flat here in Pune. Forgettable sandwiches, though when the going used to get tough, this place had always been the place to visit for a quick urgent snack. But, the only reason we kept re-visitig this place was for the rum balls. Geesh! At 10 bucks a piece they were a cheap way of expressing kuch meetha ho jaye.
Pavitra & Tapri outside CSS; Gulawani Maharaj Road, Erandwane; Vandy – the morning we dropped Mukul at the airport, glum and in a reflective mood, the tapri outside CSS got us to thinking on what and for how long do we want to be doing whatever in Pune. The meal at Pavitra was a classic one with Vandy as she had been left behind as the other kids went for the excursion and I had to have her entertained.
DTC Tapri; Near Mangeshkar Hospital; Prateek, Sher, Harry, Paaji, Nitin, PS, Su – let’s not elaborate all about the tea-after-lunch outings we had, for they were just loaded with crazy and almost meaningless stuff. The lousy game of matching birthdates with the number plates of cars parked on the roads (Yes, it was THAT lame) was classic, and got many people like Chaitanya to avoid hanging out with us. And of course ‘The Future of India’ Force Traveller – Number plate: 2020. Epic
Aryan Veg; FC Road; Gulabo, MadB, Phooly, Jalebi, Vandy, Sid, Mukul - A treat by the girls in exchange of the unprecedented hospitality we guys showed during the treats we had at our place ;). Anyway, this was Sid’s farewell dinner and that’s what it’s going to stay as. Can’t recall much about the food, but laughing out loud on the good old lousy jokes were re-livable
Punjabi Rasoi ; Koregaon Park; Sid, Mukul, Munni, Gulabo, Jalebi, Phooly – the awesomest chicken we’ve had in Pune (that’s saying too much, but definitely one of the best). The ambience was truly Punjabi; not so much so, but because of the background score humming at the joint. It was raining outside and the delicious chicken meal, accompanied with the truckloads of nonsense talks we had mastered by then. This meal was I think just before the Diwali break; where we walked all the way from Central Mall to KP in the light drizzle with Ashwani – and as we did end up getting a nice drench as I got a nice piece of everyone’s mind for suggesting walking in the rain ;).
Naturals Ice Cream; Koregaon Park & Near Magarpatta; Vickey Paaji, Esha Bhabhi, Sid, Mukul, Munni, Gulabo, Jalebi, Phooly – Paaji & Bhabhi took me took the branch near Magarpatta and had the place introduced as Juhu’s special famous Naturals Ice Cream. Dunno if it is actually from Juhu (I know it is!) but the ice cream is sure damn special; Coconut something being my favorite. The Punjabi Rasoi meal was followed by dessert here.
The Burger Barn; Koregaon Park; Vickey Paaji, Esha Bhabhi, Munni, Gulabo, MadB – Dinner treat with Paaji and Bhabhi and got introduced to the WTF. Made a point to revisit this place; and managed to do so at a dinner treat with Munni and farewell treat by the girls. My wish to have my pic on the wall of fame still lives on. A must visit place.
11 East Street Café; East Street, Pune Camp; Vickey Paaji, Esha Bhabhi, Amrit, Vandy – Yes! This is an awesome place to visit, that serves awesome food. With Amrit in town, the Sambi’s hit off to the famous café for a dinner meal. Then the second time was for a farewell treat, this time from Vandy; in exchange of all the bike rides I had to give her. Hang on! Hang on! I paid for this meal, this wasn’t my farewell meal. Oye hero, treat pending from your end.
The Bounty; Koregaon Park; Vickey Paaji, Esha Bhabhi, Amrit – Phew! I finally got Paaji and Bhabhi to let me pay ;). This was a meal of nice sizzlers, pasta, drinks and ambience, possible only because Amrit got down here.
IndiJoe, Koregaon Park – Vickey Paaji, Esha Bhabhi – Farewell from Pune dinner treat.
Magarpatta Parantha; Magarpatta internal market; Vickey Paaji, Esha Bhabhi, Amrit – I cannot recall a time when I had been more desperate to gobble up any parantha and drop dead asleep. This was after the EPIC Sinhagad trek early morning sun rise catching trip. A crazy build up, at 1 in the night, hitting the roads at 3, beginning the trek at 4, witnessing sun rise at 6, Pakoda’s and afeem wali chai and sleep till 8, the rickety drive ride down and the drowsy drive back to Magarpatta at 10. This was indeed epic.
Sinhagad Tapri; Sinhagad fort; Gulabo, Sid, Mukul, Munni, Phooly, Vandy, Sher, Paaji, Nitin, Prateek, Parag, Chaitanya, Sachin Bhai – the first visit here was just at the fag end of the rainy season, in a rickety Tata Sumo. Laughing and leg pulling, witnessing the sunset among the hill is a sight that is ever so vividly captured in mind. The other visit down here was with the bwoizz from office. Early one Sunday morning we drive to the base and trek up the mountain. Amazing serene weather conditions at the top of the fort. Absolutely beautiful and fun filled morning. And of course there was the ropeway crossing experience to cherish.
Geesh! This is now getting too much to type in detail. I’ll just keep it in brief
Dominoes; Erandwane & Karve Putla – DBU ki fauj, Gulabo, Munni, Phooly, Jalebi, Machau, Ishan, Office ki janta – Being the unknown guest at Pappu’s birthday treat with Sid and Mukul. Munni’s farewell treat with the bandiyaan. The hangout for a meal when no mood to have roti daal paneer. And chilling for Sher’s birthday, Prateek’s engagement party and Paaji’s promo party ;).
KFC; JM Road; Munni, Sid – Nothing left to be said. The heavenly chicken burgers and chicken bucket!
McDonalds; Karishma Society, Karve Road & Aundh; Office ki janta, Gulabo, Phooly, Jalebi, Sid, Mukul, Ishan, Pappu, Deepu and some CA’s – Kanchan’s surprise birthday treat. The hangout for a meal when no mood to have roti daal paneer. Deepu’s Pune visit.
Hyderabad Spice; Karve Road; Home Treat – the day the guys decided to play host, and how! A spicy takeaway meal. The awesome part of playing host was the re-livable piece.
Konkan Express; Kothrud; Vandy, Tezz, Phooly, Jalebi, Gulabo – Reunion dinner meal with Tezz with the janta. Obviously Sid and Mukul missed out on this; but great fun catching up. Hey wait! What happened the night before this one??!! ROFLOL
Swargate Terminal Chai & Snacks Stall; Swargate Terminus; Machau – the nearest place to home to grab a quick cuppa tea and pakoda’s as Machau had his sutta
HRC; Koregaon Park; AD, I-told-you-na, Sher - Yes! This is the Hard Rock Café, Pune. Period. Finally got to know what is and why is the hype of the HRC chain. The ambiance, the clutter and clatter, food! And drinks. Wow! Ticked off the bucket list.
Some-Nice-Looking-Restaurant; near SGS Mall; Jamshedpur team, Vandy, Sher, Pappu, Birbal – Showing our team from Jamshedpur Pune! And how! The complexities of dining with 15 people in a decent restaurant. The plan, that didn’t materialize and then CO2…!!!
Anand Tiffin Hall; Nal Stop; Sid, Mukul – One time dinner meal, cheap food. No fun getting here again.
Kailash Bhel; Katraj; Harry, Sher, Sandy, Ishan, Birbal – The Awesome Drive Through The Katraj Tunnel. And the best bhel, pani puri & SPDP in Pune. Thanks Harry for getting us here!!
Manas Resort; Manas (near Pirangut); Paaji, Nitin, Sher, Vageesh, PS, PB, Rishita, Kavita, Prateek, Chaitanya, Harry – a truly surprise farewell treat. The go-karting was the cherry. Thanks folks. This was good!!
Latest additions as per memory recollection and the actual last few suppers in Pune.
Up & Above; Chandani Chowk; Mukul, Machau, Pappu, Ishan, Birbal, Harish, Sandy, Vandy, Monika, Fond - We came here one weekend before we dined, on a bike ride. Machau, Mukul and me decided to have my farewell dinner here, but as it so happened, the very next day Mukul got his shock relocation call and his farewell was planned, the next weekend. Getting all the folks together was a challenge. Food was good but the bonfire after dinner was the real saver.
Marz-O-Rin; MG Road; Madb, Gulabo, Vandy - MadB and Gulabo never let you down when you have to go to a good place to hangout. So too this time! After showing them the Gurudwara at Pune Camp, a nice quick dinner snack at Pune's famous shack was a cherry. Gonna miss having you guys around ;).
Asian MeLange; Kothrud; Phooly, Jalebi, Vandy, Vindy - Well, the farewell weekend just went on and on. This time with the remaining girls. Rooftop barbecue and butter paneer were killers, as always. Finally got to meet Vindy.
Kahwa; Karve Road; AD, I-told-u-na, Sher, Harry, Deepak Bhai - I am sure AD and Deepak Bhai would have better words to describe the food / ambiance / service here. The surprise of Sher and Harry popping up here was nice. A farewell coffee treat ;).
Kobes; Law College Road; Sir, Boss - The actual last supper in Pune this time. And looked forward to this like none other. A dinner with bosses is always something unique. Great sizzlers. A fitting farewell meal. :)
Phew....!! Not at all easy to write this!
Anyway, now said and done - and posted. Lets get moving!!
Cheers to All
PS: The epilouge of The Pune Side of the Pastures and the prelude of this one was Dum Ghutkuu. in retrospect, it does seem for all the better.
This is all that Al Pune was all about
