The city - sliced, diced and served with a dash of sauce
Pic/Nimesh Dave
Paani mein puri
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Unfazed by recurring waves, a vendor whips up bhel by the edge of the sea at Gorai Beach
Bombay bonhomie for Katriar
For restaurateur Anurag Katriar, the journey in the Maximum City has come a full circle. When he first came to the city from Delhi in February 1998, Katriar joined as the F&B manager of the Bombay Gymkhana in Fort. Twenty-four years later, the founder of Indigo Hospitality Pvt Ltd is back at the gymkhana again, this time with a brand new cafe that has found space at the club.
The Indigo Cafe at Bombay Gymkhana opened doors this weekend, Katriar shared with this diarist. “This is the first time I see a club trying to upgrade its food and beverage scene. Normally, clubs have their standard menus and don’t want to change it much. I happened to be at the club for a meeting once and ended up suggesting a lot of ideas to them; that’s when they asked me to implement them,” he recounted.
The cafe is open to the gymkhana members and their guests
The 48-seater cafe is located inside the gymkhana premises. “The cafe will serve food that’s completely different from what the club serves. There are pizzas, burgers, paninis, quesadillas, a different breakfast menu, and more,” the restaurateur explained, adding that this has been a “mix of nostalgia and business” for him. What a homecoming.
Go nuts in BKC
Over the years, The Nutcracker has become a much-loved name among cafe-hoppers with its simple, earthy charm and hearty food. This diarist has learnt that the restaurant is now setting up shop at the city’s new hospitality magnet — Jio World Drive in BKC. Not too far from its Bandra West cousin, the BKC outlet is designed as a restaurant and bar, shared founder Annie Bafna. Apart from its signature all-day breakfast offerings, the outlet will host their first deli, so one can pick up a range of spreads, sauces, relishes, spice mixes, breads, crackers, cookies, desserts and more that they use in their kitchens. “We’ve deliberately kept the kitchen space a bit larger here because we’re in a corporate area. We hope to curate lunchbox concepts and healthy breakfasts for the corporate crowd. Apart from this, there’ll be boozy brunches and alcohol-infused desserts, too,” Bafna revealed.
The big book day
Nikki Bedi. PIC COURTESY/TWITTER
This diarist received a nugget of literary news that might just be what bibliophiles in the city need to ease into the weekend. The 2022 International Booker Prize winner ceremony will be live-streamed this Friday, and viewers can watch it on Facebook @TheBookerPrizes. The ceremony will be compèred by British television and radio presenter Nikki Bedi, ex-wife of Kabir Bedi. The judges’ panel this year comprises names such as Frank Wynne, Petina Gappah, Viv Groskop, Merve Emre and Jeremy Tiang. Bedi, who has shared her excitement for the upcoming event on social media, will also usher 13 authors and translators, along with actors who will perform readings from nominated books.
Going phygital for the kids
Since the world shuttered for almost two years, Kolkata-based theatre group The Red Curtain adapted to the phygital life — a happy blend of physical and digital. Come October, the group is set to host a global Children’s Theatre Festival & Awards, and have put out an open call for entries from theatremakers, along with curators and potential jury members. The festival will take on a phygital avatar, founder member Sumit Lai Roy told this diarist. “It will help raise funds for an orphanage in Nepal — the Himalayan Children’s Charities,” Roy shared. Interested folk can learn more about the festival and theatre for children at their upcoming The@tre Heals Adda on June 5. “We have been doing good theatre for good causes for a long time, but we want to create and support more content that is family-friendly. Moreover, children of today are the second generation of digital natives, so many haven’t even seen a physical play. We want them to experience a physical play and a digital play,” Roy explained.