Wild Spice: Pandi Curry and More

Call a native of Coorg a “Coorgi” and you’re asking for trouble. “I’m Kodava”, you’ll be told haughtily, “or, if you must, a Coorg. There’s no such thing as a ‘Coorgi’.” Make the same mistake twice, and you’ll be excommunicated from the Kodava party schedule for life – and that, my friend, is a hard-drinking, [...]

Bon Appetit at bon South

I finally made it to bon South for lunch this afternoon. On entering, my first impression is that it’s small and intimate. I’m wrong about the “small” and right about the “intimate”. As you enter, a foyer separates two modest and tastefully designed dining areas. The one on the right contains the buffet island, so [...]

South Indies

Overcoming my customary disdain of vegetarian food, I agreed to meet Chef Venkatesh Bhat for lunch at South Indies, a restaurant that is his personal ode to South Indian vegetarian cuisine. I warn him over the phone that I don’t really care for veggies; he feigns distress, but promises (like a zillion worthies before him) [...]