Mumbai Food: New takeaway joint in Khar is open till 4 in morning

Bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich. Pics/Rane Ashish

It's reaching the end of lunch hours at Out Of The Blue when we arrive there to pick up grub from a new takeaway opened within the Khar eatery. The delivery-only service, called Deli By The Blue, is manifested in the form of a couple of counters helmed by a woman, who informs us that despite sharing the same kitchen, the two enterprises are treated separately. "Even the menus are totally different," she says, before taking our order and offering us a seat.

This order is kept deliberately simple, because a deli is typically characterised by uncomplicated food. It consists of a bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich, slice of Margherita pizza, smoked chicken and chipotle quiche, pain au chocolat and cold coffee.

Pain au chocolat

The whole lot is placed in a brown paper bag that's still warm when we open it about 20 minutes later. And what strikes us immediately is the giant size of the quiche, which can constitute a meal in itself. Even the pizza slice is massive, reminiscent of the type you get at similar joints in the West.

But do they taste good? Or has this eatery messed up its basics? Turns out it hasn't, for a bite of the pizza (Rs 109) reveals a surprising addition of blue cheese, which adds a pleasant pungency. There are no tomatoes in it, though, like you normally have in this classic Neapolitan dish. But even though it's not a strictly traditional version, we aren't complaining.

Margherita pizza

The quiche (Rs 130) has also been baked to perfection, and is meaty and cheesy in equal parts. This isn't one of those gone-in-60-seconds pieces you often get at bakeries in the city. Instead, every bite has a wholesome feel to it, and we reluctantly put it down before it's half done in order to keep space for the sandwich.

Now, the key to a great BLT is fresh ingredients. The bacon might have been cooked just right, but you're still liable to muff it up if your lettuce or tomatoes seem like they have seen better days. The quality of the mayonnaise you add is also of paramount importance, and no compromises have been made in the BLT (Rs 160) we stuff our mouth with. Again, the size of the sandwich is big enough for it alone to be a meal. In fact, the overall portions of the dishes are such that they can fill the hungriest of bellies.

Smoked chicken and chipotle quiche

That doesn't hold true for the pain au chocolat (Rs 65), though. It's a bite-sized replica of the French baked goodie. But what it lacks in size, it makes up for with taste, because even though you realise that it's been a while since the dessert came out of the oven, the balance of the puff and chocolate makes you wolf it down without hesitation.

So, Deli By The Blue pulls off at least the simplest items on its menu with ease. It also offers packed stuff like pesto arugula mustard and black rice muesli, which you might as well give a try given how honest the food here is. Then there are certain vegan options in the form of sauces and dips (the cold coffee - which, by the way, was refreshingly no-frills - has a vegan option too). So dial the number listed below if you're in the Khar-Bandra area and in the mood for healthy food even at an unhealthy hour, considering this takeaway is open till four in the morning.

Time 9 am to 4 am
At Le Sutra Hotel, 14 Union Park, off Carter Road, Khar West.
Call 33951532

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