Sink your teeth into their succulent steaks, and veggies,
urges Mita Banerjee
Spices and red chillies are just not up your street? Your
jaded tastebuds cannot tolerate another spoonful of thick
greasy gravy? Visit the Mad House Grill at Koregaon Park
and pamper your palate.
Unusual name? Well, that’s what happens
when three young funky friends join hands in a new venture.
Massod Taheri, Mehdi Nahvi and Farsheed Mullan spent so
many hours talking about it and planning it out that their
friends thought the venture would never take off and dubbed
it a ‘mad house’. The name stuck.
It has a quasi-rustic charm. Lots of wood
– right from the stairs, railings, chairs and the
wooden plank tables. Even the walls have a wood finish and
colouring, ranging from beige to russet; the look of the
menu card too carries on the theme. Masood, after having
trawled the Internet for grills in the USA, realised that
wood and grills somehow went hand in hand. Mehdi, a graphic
artist, suggested the modern paintings set in little niches
on the wall. As for the delectable menu, Farsheed, a trained
chef from Mumbai had his say in that sphere. The net result
– an appetising combination of taste and atmosphere.
This is the place to go to for a nice juicy
steak. They have a wide range. Check out the Steak Diane,
which is steak sautéed with shallots, thyme, mustard
and mushrooms swirled in brandy. Or maybe the Korean Steak
or Swiss Steak Mozzarella, which as its name suggests is
drenched in cheese. There is also plenty of chicken and
lamb. You might find the Jujeh Kebab too bland – it’s
an Iranian dish with chicken kebabs served on a bed of white
rice with baked tomatoes on the side. Mash the tomatoes
into the rice to release its flavours. Pepper Chicken, Chicken
Paprikash, Chello Kebab, Lamb Chop are some other options.
But for sheer drama you must order the Mughlai Raan, which
is a whole leg of lamb marinated in herbs and spices with
grilled potatoes and rice.
Vegetarians, there’s a plenty of exciting
stuff for you too – Garlic Potatoes and Cheese, Corn
Sheek Kebab, Paneer and Mushroom Kebab, and Charcoal Grilled
Tofu and Mushrooms are just a few of them.
Fruits certainly find f(l)avour with Farsheed for he has
included a whole range of fruity marinades – there’s
Orange Glazed Steak served in an orange sauce; or Apple
Sauce Chicken.
You could start with soups and salads before
you tackle the main course – Cilantro and Lime, Mushroom
Puree, a Clear Chicken Soup or a thick one with herbs and
corn.
Even with their generous servings, the food
is not heavy. Reason – hardly any oil, only the little
olive oil used for basting. And even if you do feel rather
full, don’t leave without a sweet ending. The Sinful
Chocolate and Chocolate Mousse for chocoholics, or the Drunken
Apple stewed in red wine and topped with vanilla ice cream.
You’ll be back again; the huge crowd
of repeat customers is proof. And if you get tired of the
menu, you can always ask the enthusiastic Farsheed to concoct
something new, just for you.
Mad House Grill is open for
Lunch 11.00 to 4.00 and
Dinner 7.00 to 11.30.
Pingale’s Corner, Near Cosmos Bank, Lane
no. 6, North Main Road, Koregaon Park, Pune – 1.
Phone: 26124779. |
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His
store, Osmose, on Salunke Vihar Road, stocks woodwork,
brass, jewellery, beaded artefacts, jute macramé
and a host of other home décor knick-knacks. Tucked
away in a little corner is his collection of bottles –
peach, deep rose, light and dark blue, dark green, amber…
transparent bottles, opaque ones, faceted bottles that
catch the light, bottles with elaborate cut-glass stoppers…antique
as well as contemporary. “Every bottle has so much
potential,” says Parekh, holding up a simple and
beautiful piece. “People have always been attracted
to glass. Bottle-cutting was a big craze even 20 years
ago,” he says. Mainly beer bottles were cut in those
days; they were used either as drinking glasses or made
into a fairly limited range of decorative pieces –
table-top glass ‘palaces’, perhaps lamps.
It was a laborious process then, as tools were difficult
to obtain. Today a lot of hobby tools are available for
the enthusiast. Parekh has special grinding and cutting
tools. Some of them are diamond-tipped cutters, which
though expensive, give him the precision he requires.
