A new kitchen and bar in Khar has a couple of misses, but their tenderloin steak more than makes up for it
Tenderloin Minute Steak. PICS/DATTA KUMBHAR
There is something about an expertly made tenderloin steak that — in today's increasingly veganism-leaning day and age — it might well be viewed as a guilty pleasure. You cut the slab of meat with the proper knife to reveal its pink flesh. Then you put a forkful in your mouth, maybe with a bit of scooped-up mashed potato slathered in gravy, letting the juices engulf your palate. And when the flavours start to mingle, you possibly close your eyes to shut out the rest of the world, so that no other external stimuli can burden your taste buds, which are swimming in seventh heaven. "Guilty" or not, it's a gustative pleasure that we, for one, have no qualms partaking in. And, we have the good fortune to do just that over a weekend at Bougenvilla, a new eatery in Khar, for which we doff our cap to the chef.
The al fresco area of Bougenvilla
Our dinner starts with cocktails, however, with the fig mojito (Rs 345) and spicy sangria (Rs 345). Now, judge us if you will, but outside of beer, our drink of choice is the humble rum-paani, and never mind if the water isn't chilled. So we are in for a pleasant surprise when we find that it's the base for the mojito, with the rest of the ingredients taking the concept of Old Monk-and-water to a different level. Mint leaves add a hint of freshness. The tiny bits of fig settle like sediment at the bottom, waiting to be picked out for a crunchy effect. And a small stalk of sugarcane drifts along the side of the glass, tempting you to chew on it for a burst of sweetness. All these elements get along together in the cocktail like a gang of school friends catching up after ages, and the next time we have our quota of rum-paani, we would be happy to invite them into our drink.
But, it's not that our meal is without its misses. The spicy sangria, sadly, turns out to be a mistake, despite our waiter telling us that it comes from the owner's family recipe. The star anise in it is too strong. The portion of apple would have been better off sliced, instead of being diced into bits, making us feel somewhat shortchanged. And after inadvertently biting into one of the little pieces of orange peel floating about, all we are left with is a bitter aftertaste.
Figo Mojito
Similarly, the mushroom pate pizza (Rs 445), our other main dish, fails to tickle our pickle, because it suffers from a case of overkill. Firstly, its crust is so fat that you can probably play Frisbee with it. And the layer of cheese on it is so thick that even Jerry, the famously hungry mouse, would likely say, "No thanks, that's too much," if only the mute cartoon character could speak. The toppings, on top of that, could fill up a long, exotic grocery list, complete with asparagus, sundried tomatoes, zucchini and kalamata olives. All in all, "less is more" is clearly not the operative phrase when it comes to this overtly loaded dish.
But then the tenderloin minute steak (Rs 525) arrives, and we forget all our grievances. It, in fact, is a strong contender for our choice of last meal. Sure, the animal husbandry industry does have its flaws (don't mistake us as champions of factory farming). But as long as there is no substitute that replicates the exact juicy goodness of a great cut of meat, we'll stick to the real deal, thank you very much. And not even the world's most effective vegan advocate can ever change our mind about this.
TIME 12 pm to 1.30 am AT 5th Road, Jewel Palace, Ram Krishna Nagar, Khar West. CALL 30151110
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