Wood Fired Pizza at Crooky Cook, Khar, Mumbai

There is something about the thin wood fired pizza's that make them Divine - Hand stretched and tossed, widest choice of toppings, sauces and obviously the cheese - thanks to the spreading food and gourmet culture that triggered the new variety of cheese, Ever before Gouda, cheddar & Parmesan filled the new supermarket shelves - it was only processed cheese & mozzarella that was referred to as cheese.

 

Crooky cook is a brand set up by Vijay Gujjar (who also introduced wood-fired pizza  in Ahmedabad  ) and a young restarter Saumil Mehta.

The brand has set it's first outlet in a quiet lane in Khar with a simple brick-lined theme prominently looking at the large Wood Fired Oven and huge workplace to customise your pizza are highlights of the simple neat and brick-lined indoor outdoor space.

There is lot on the menu, you can start with Soup, Salad, Toasties or Pasta - but these should be restricted to side orders & make sure to save your appetite for the pizza !!

It's is a pure veg pizzeria and you can have fun to customize and play around with flavors. Co-Founder - Vijay will make sure to tickle your taste buds with his unique combination.

PS -The chef Special got a change every week. 

Moonshine Cafe & Bar, Mumbai - Review

First things first - the crazy roof light will make you definitely click a Selfie or a Picture of it does really set the place apart from the rest. Before we delve into Food Review, let's talk about the ambience of this lounge cum Bar. With a young lounge ambience, this place has the luxury of space, spread over two floors  - a palatable lounge at level 1 with amazing roof lights with warm tones and a color pop at Bar, making it the highlight of the space. The rooftop has a cozy feel.  Moreover, the music enchanted the mood further.

 

 We have mingled with Old Delhi Style Botti Kebab, Butter Chicken Tarts, Pepper & cheese spring rolls and Tempura fish & chips !!The starters were the finest I had in a long time. They were not at all filling, yet very light on palate. Enjoy your Drink with Butter Chicken Tarts - an unusual preparation of Tarts filled with Simple butter chicken. Tempura fish & Chips can be avoided - due to its batter - it was drenched in Oil.

Drinks that set our mood - Badman Extracted and Moonshine Sour - they were all refreshing with light amount of Alcohol to make you enough high yet enjoy the flavors.

For the main course, meat lovers can feast on Delhi's legendary - Changezi Chicken. Indian breads will let you down as it becomes chewy towards the end of the meal. Also, the onions served as salad lacked attention - it had the roots (check Picture for ref).

As it is more of a drinking and a party place - dessert section includes only 2 choices - Mawa Cheese Cake and chocolate brownie. We had our hand over the Mawa Cake !!

PS - Waiting staff needs to be aware about what they are serving or what ingredients is there in the dish or drink. The staff needs to calm down on their tone.

A Classic of Cuffee Parade -Flamboyante by Amrish Arora

Flamboyante has a classy & ambiance with the luxury of space, that too in an area like Cuffe Parade - making it a hautest venue for meals, meeting joint or a café .

 

 It's a cozy sprawl with classic off whites walls, high arched ceiling - Buffet Serving/live food counter on one corner and a huge bar on another end gives this place an easy comfort vibe.

The extensive menu runs to fresh salads, soups, oriental & Indian fare to pizzas & pastas, and the great value lunch buffets, available throughout the week, shouldn't be missed. Celebrate Sundays with a spirited brunch spread: kebabs, pizzas, dim sum, chaat & more!

While there are several craft beers are on tap, it was the cocktails that we were keen to try. They have a few good options in whiskey and Gin but coming to cocktails - there's a limited choice.

Margarita, Gin Smash and Whiskey sour were refreshing but again - whiskey Sour had that peculiar smell of Egg - which made me return the drink.  Long Island icetea was impressive enough to get us rolling.

The great value lunch buffets, available throughout the week, shouldn't be missed. Celebrate Sundays with a spirited brunch spread: kebabs, pizzas, dim sum, chaat & more!

A La Carte - The extensive menu runs from oriental fare -  starters, Dimsums, Baos, sushi, and fusion Asian nachos to tread salad and soup. The other part of the menu had classic Indian Fare - running down to favorite Pizza, Pastas & luscious desserts.

Coming to the food, we started our meal with ordering Crusty Mustard chicken, Butter Milk Crispy chicken Bao and Burmese Khao suey from the Oriental section. While Crusty Mustard chicken can be avoided - the crispy chicken Bao and the iconic khowsuey are something you will want to savor till the end (ironically Bao’s arrived at the end). The wholesome Khowsuey Bowl comes with an option of Veg/Prawn/ Chicken and wholesome array of condiments was the best I have tasted.

Next on a list was a specially created tikka platter for us - with Lucknowi Dahi Kebab, Bhuttey Methi k seekh, Kashmiri Chicken Tikka, Murg Bazaari kebab ,Galuti kebabs and Kakori kebabs. It was a huge hit but lamb might let you down.

With scrumptious food options, we opted to order a  Half an Half BBQ Chicken Pizza /Pepperoni Pizza [With added Truffle Oil] and Pink Sauce pasta.

Pasta didn't impress us and had a very sour aftertaste which was highlighted to the waiting staff.

A good dessert is obviously a good end to the meal and that's obviously happened with their legendary Chocolate Mudpie and Mikado Cake Slice.

PS - With this, excited to try Amrish Arora's newly launched Hammer &Song !!