Yesterday, as i was trying to be a good father and husband and staying home for the evening i get a rather disturbing call. It was from a fellow foodie who dangled a rather tantalizing carrot in front of me, well actually keeping in mind my choice of food i should say bone and not carrot. A visit to Andhra Bhawan was in the offing. Now this is one place that has been on my to-do list for a longish time but someone have never gotten the momentum to go and eat there. I have heard only good things about this place so i was in a dilemma, to go or not to go, that was the question. So i risked marital discord and decided to get this place off my to-do list. After the visit its back on my to-do list.
This is a canteen, for people from the state of Andhra Pradesh, in the south of India. Not a restaurant by any standard, its a dining hall, to put it mildly. Finding it was another issue altogether, even the veteran who took us there had trouble finding it and once we did we had to park a little way off and hike to the place. Anticipation was at a high with everyone and of the 4 of us, 3 were virgins to the place.
Ordering the food was amazingly simple, though unorthodox. We were required to pay at the counter first and then once seated were to hand over the coupon to the waiter who would bring the food. There is no menu. There is a basic vegetarian Thali (preset meal with various items on a plate) with unlimited refills. But we weren't there for this Thali, the non veg items were like an add on. The names couldn't be simpler, Mutton Fry, Chicken Fry, Chicken Curry, Fish Curry, thats about it. This i imagine is comfort food for the people from Andhra, simple and tasty (the food not the people). Oh and i forgot to add, SPICY. This food is certainly not for the faint-stomach, you need to know what you are getting into before you get in there. Anyway, we ordered 4 Thalis and ALL the add-ons, yes we found it hard like a parent choosing which child they love more. No sooner did we sit and hand over the coupon that the food was before us. I think this is the advantage of having a pre-set menu, all the food is ready. The food was very very good and all of us were eating and only stopping to comment on how good the food really was. We were all eating mainly rice, eating with our hands is not unusual when we are eating Indian breads but i think eating rice with our hands adds to the level of comfort and gives us a deep satisfaction. The pricing of items at this place also couldn't be simpler, everything item is priced at Rs. 60, the Thali, the add-ons. The sodas were Rs. 15 each and since we ordered 4, they came to an even 60 too.
At the end all of us were extremely happy and content with our meal and the promises of returning were going around. One issue that seemed to be on our minds is that usually very good spicy food rears its ugly head during the morning ablutions, sometimes it doesn't even wait that long. However i can happily report that this food caused no such discomfort, and everything was good to the end :).
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