California Pizza Kitchen

Well yeah, Its been awhile since I last posted. My apologies! Been a rough year this one. But yes,

Okay so, certain things haven't changed have they? My melodrama being one of it! Okay, for all those who missed me "a biggg hello from me" and all those who haven't missed me "pfft" <yes i'm sticking my tongue out>

Now, getting right down to business, the California Pizza Kitchen or CPK (as it's otherwise known as) that i went to is situated in Indiranagar, 100 ft road, Bangalore, quite close to KFC and even more closer to the KTM showroom.  

The place looks quite exquisite from the outside. A huge glass facade and extremely modern looking furniture. Yes, it screams out "I am expensive". But is it? Let's find out.

My friend and I walk inside, we're greeted by really friendly faces (+1 to the service already), and i decide that instead of the ground floor, it'll be great to get a view from the top! So, we go to the First floor and there's a huge couch and we make ourselves comfortable there. I was checking out the ambiance and boy was I impressed! I was particularly impressed with the cutlery, its these small things that make the customer realize he's in the right place. 

After a few moments of discussion we place our first order. A starter.

The Broccoli Soup : A cream-less veg soup garnished with home made garlic and herb croutons.

I'm a major fan of the Broccoli, it definitely must be considered an aphrodisiac. No really. Well, so this amazing vegetable cooked as a soup, it definitely is a Winner isn't it? Yes. The soup was green in color and well, it smelled delicious and the first sip of this soup transported me to another world. Let's call this world for now as "heaven". The soup was simply superb. It was so nice, that for the first few minutes<read half the bowl> I forgot that I had to go through my customary routine of adding salt and pepper to the soup. There was also a surprise element for me. What? Well, I hate croutons <a.k.a bread crumbs> but this, This was something else. The herbs in it definitely were magical. The soup did taste like it had cornflour in it, and it definitely added flavor to the soup. So, as of now, score is (+2).

I then realized, We'd to order the main course and I need to order something to drink with my main course. I ordered the,"Green Apple Flavored Lemonade"

A refreshingly amazing lemonade with very little ice <the operating word here being "very little"> This cooler was exactly that, a cooler. Loved the taste of it. And, what's amazing about it was that it wasn't diluted and due to which the flavor of the green apple was retained. I strongly advocate you to pick this up when you do go there. Score now (+3).

By this time, my stomach was just getting ready for the feast. For the main course I ordered the,
*Thai Curry Veg Pizza*

There is a really good reason as to why the name is enclosed between stars. Yes, i hope you guessed it right for your own sake! THIS PIZZA IS A STAR. The ingredients of this pizza are, grilled red & yellow pepper, spicy green chilies, Mozzarella cheese topped with fresh cilantro.

Hurry for the Thai Veg Curry pizza!

Trust me its not the photographer's skill that's making this pizza look this YUMMM. Feast your eyes on some more of these mouth watering snaps

It was a thin crust pizza and frankly I'm not a huge fan of the thin crust, but this time, I was as glad, as glad can be that I ordered for a thin crust. The time taken to deliver the pizza was like 20 Minutes. But, It was worth a lifetime's wait. First bite, and it was purely magical. Food definitely can make a person content and at that first bite, I can vouch even for my friend, we SURELY were the two of THE MOST content people in the world.

The curry on the pizza was just impeccable, the peppers kick in the moment you take your bite, it leaves you salivating for more. The green chilies, it was a superb add on. For those who are not too fond of spicy food, this one'll make you fall in love with it. Simply because, the chilies just gave the pizza a more dramatic flavor. The mozzarella cheese surely compliments the rest of the flavors and cilantro (coriander leaves) they just gave the pizza the necessary freshness. Once, you finish the pizza, it makes you wonder, if it is possible to make something so amazing! Well, the Score? I would give (+ 1 Million). This pizza is to die for.

Pricing? A meal for two, would set you back by about 800 Rupees. There is the VAT at around 14% and an additional service charge of 10%. 

Detailed Pricing : 

Broccoli Soup : Rs. 125

Thai Veg Curry Pizza : Rs. 345

Green Apple Lemonade : Rs. 130.

Draught beer and wine is available.For more snaps of the menu, pricing and general snaps, click here.

Now, I certainly don't think there is a need for the "lick-o-meter". But nevertheless, I will stick to the tradition,

: A resounding 5. It definitely is Truly LICKable

Notes :

1. Infinitelooper takes a long time to load.

2. Listening to songs over the headphones is so much more awesome.

3. Its 0038hrs at the time of posting this note. I'm sleepy.

4. I've a SURPRISE in my next blog.

5. I regret staying up this late. Will I wake up early tomorrow? Stay glued to my next post for the answer to this.

Catering Cameo

I never thought I would probably gatecrash someones wedding, but my good friend Ishan Bansal made sure that I've done that in my life. Now, before you all think I'm some criminal, let me clear the air and tell you that I am NOT. Ishan has started his own catering firm and he invited me to taste the food so that I can preview it here. So here goes my first and probably my only review for a catering firm.

To begin with, "It's all about presentation", and boy was it presented well or what. Well, I'm not claiming it could rival the French decorations, but it pleased the aesthetic senses. I couldn't wait long, as I was not only hungry(I starved myself for it), but the food looked yum and the smell of the flavors was also calling out to me.
I addressed it soon enough, and went straight to the Salad counter to take my plate. The arrangement was assorted, the vegetables looked fresh and there was the usual, spring onions, onions, cucumbers, the mixed salad and the fryums and surprisingly there was chilli powder and dried green chilli for the brave hearted. The mixed salad was extremely nice due to the presence of a surprise element in it. The Pineapple. Yes, the pineapple added a distinct flavor to the entire salad set up which is otherwise Balsamic. It was a clever use of the fruit and i would definitely try it out more often.

Then I moved on to the main course, the canopies were distinguished and well marked, so I'd no trouble whatsoever to know what I was eating. I started with a dish labelled "Chatpat Swad" this basically comprises of  mashed potato, cilantro(coriander), its coated with flour and shaped in the form of a ball(much like the aloo bonda), it was good appetizer and it tasted zingy.
Moving on, there was the unmistakable "Paneer Butter Masala". The flavors of masala in this was really coming out and it tasted as good as it smelt, to say the least it was delectable, very pleasing and hardly greasy. With it, I moved to the "Punjabi Tadka", and this was exquisite, the spice content was pleasant and it had the tadka going for it. Now moving on the Indian breads, the "Roti Ghar", they had mixed tandoori roti. A dish that particularly caught my eye was the Methi(fenugreek) poori. It had the trademark green color and looked quite inviting, there was also the naan and tandoor roti, together with the Curries it was quite lip smacking. Now, the thing that I found the best about the Rotis were that, it almost had no oil. It was not greasy at all and I love it that way. Health wise, I think they'll score extra points if I were to mark them. Moving on, I moved on to what was by the look of it, my favorite stall, "Hyderabadi Special" The Veg Pulao, it had the minty green look. I was dying to get my hands on it, but sadly, the build up expected by my taste buds didn't quite match, and I was a tad let down by the Pulao. Reason being, it wasn't spicy at all ( I was hoping to turn into a dragon after I was done with the pulao) but sadly, it went down with a whimper. But, Ishan told me, the reason for that was that, they had asked it to be mild and not that spicy. Fair enough. But deep down in me, I was like, but still...
I'd reached the Last stall by now, it was the "basmati bahaar", "South Indian ka swad". It had white rice, Sambar and Rasam.I'm not a great fan of the south indian food as I get to eat them everyday, but I'd to try this out, and I first started with the Sambar and boy was it good or what. It made me miss Vada. It was Authentic to the "c". Lovely taste, not too heavy. I then wanted to try out Rasam, I'm too choosy and picky and finicky about Rasam. Its like the toughest thing to get right. The flavors have to be true and it shouldn't be dilute. Guess what? It was Ambrosial. Yes, fit for the gods. Loved it. I've never had such good Rasam in a really long time. I was a happy man after I tasted it. It was quite lush with te spices, it really gave out the flavor and it was spicy and hot. With it, i rounded off my main course and headed straight to the dessert counter. I was greeted by a gulab jamun and vanilla ice cream. The combination is a tried and tested one. The gulab jamun was hot and dulcet. It wasn't too sweet, it was just perfect and when it was balled in with the ice cream the taste was quite unbeatable, you really can't go wrong with that.With that, I finished my scrumptious meal.

I wouldn't be rating it on the ambience, neither am I gonna subject it my trade mark Lick-o-meter. But, I would definitely endorse this caterer for the simple reason that this was soul food. It was true and simple, humble and hearty.
The price is on request and also dependent on the choice of cuisine and a tailor made menu.

So, if there is a marriage or a get-together or a party or any function planned and you are in search of a caterer, look no further, this is value for money and I give you my word. I vouch for the food. To contact the owner, here is the phone number, IB Catering Services- (prop.) Ishan Bansal - (0)8951355819
To view his Facebook page and Related photos you can click Here