AlHamd-o-Lillah, Two amazing reviews within Eight Days DAWN this Morning (20-10-13) EATING OUT Page 23 IN past columns we have mentioned in glowing terms the excellence of the grilled cuisine of Baking Virsa on Railway Road. Yes the prime minister and his family have frequented that haunt for years, and for good reason, even though it is frightfully expensive. Today I wish to introduce you to another excellent barbeque eatery which matches it, but in a different sort of way. A colleague had mentioned that I try `Grill and Bake` in L-Block of Model Town Extension, so with my wife we reached the place at eight in the evening two days before the meat deluge of Eidul Azha. It was not difficult to find, for we turned onto Faisal Town Road from the univer s i t y side crossingand took the very first turning to the left, and after a threeminute drive we were there. The owner is a London-educated film-maker. To be honest his wife was the inspiration to open `Lahore`s very best barbeque`, and full marks where it is really deserved. Unlike other reviews, this one must start with how they marinate their lamb chops and other meats. With olive oil, light spices and a few other inputs, they are left at 4C for a length of time and, as do top eateries all over the world, then brought to the wood coal-fired grill. The minces are all handpicked and completely free from all fats. It goes without saying that for the best results you need the best inputs, using the best way to grill. I do not need to give a lecture of methods, but this is a place where excellence is the starting point. Just to clarify the picture, this is a huge grilling shop, and you have to sit in the lawn opposite the shop. In the hot summer, they have unique spray-fans that throw cool air. In winter it is bliss. So the solutions have been thought through pretty well. We started with a recommended `keema naan`, an exquisite thin presentation. We shared it and it was an excellent starter. I must confess I have had a lot of `keema naans` in my life, but this was a unique, topped with `tils` and tasty as taste goes. That set the juices flowing. Then came a `ten-inch kebab`, and from the meats I preferred beef. It was excellent with another `tilwalla naan` to go withit, plus yogurt and a spicy chillie and green `dhaniya` chutney. Oh,mywife,nomean cook herself, was all praise. I waited for the after-taste, and it was clear. It was genuine fatfree meat and barbequed to utter perfection on a slow coal fire. Then came the third course. A `malai chicken boti` with a different `naan`. Huge pieces counter the high prices, especially when you calculate the normal `tikka` prices. Good thinking. The marination was near perfection and the end result was succulent pieces of chicken. I enjoyed each piece. This was followed by a plate of lamb chops. Gosh, this was so well marinated and grilled to utter perfection. I must behonest in my assessment. These were the best gril-led lamb chops I have ever had. Each presentation seemed to better the last, with `kastoori boti` just melting in the mouth. For sweets they had one item only, and that was a `meetha naan` with `gur`. Gosh, my wife went into raptures remembering her youth in the old Walled City. Just the perfect end to an excellent discovery in the ever expanding world of Lahore`s culinary scene. Now let me mark this strictly on merit on the Michelin Scale of one to nine. For food taste this gets a well-deserved eight out of nine, for food quality another eight, for presentation seven will do, ambience gets six, the service gets six, the prices get six (have no illusions, this is an expensive place), the menu variety gets seven for there are limits to what can be barbequed. The quality of the crockery gets six for it is very acceptable. Finally the size of the clients they can handle gets five, for they are specialists and manage just ten tables at a time. So you might have to wait a wee bit. This gives `Grill and Bake` an `Average Eating-Out` score of 6.7 out of nine. Highly recommended! EID ICE CREAM: This year I managed to buy a few litres of the excellent Pakpure ice cream that is now available in a few outlets. I got them for the Askari Ten shop. The milk genius Sheikh Saleem first converts milk to a condensed state in his modern plant, and then brings it back to the excellent ice cream form in which he specializes. Great stuff. AMSHE [TOP] epaper.dawn/DetailNews.php?StoryText=20_10_2013_180_004 AND NEWS ON SUNDAY P38, last Sunday (13-10-2013): Just desi enough Authentic Lahori barbeque with the merest hint of post-modernisation By Fareeha Rafique Grill and bake. Sounds simple? It is. This is just good food, no fuss, no frills. The best of ingredients put together, not masked by oodles of masala or ladles of oil. That’s what you get at Grill N Bake. Even though it’s been on the map for some months, perhaps not many have heard of this tiny dhaba located in the Model Town Extension area; it’s been a secret well-kept. The patronage has grown slowly and surely. Just the way they want it. Husband and wife duo Afrin Hussain and Saffana who own and manage the place testify that the grapevine has been the go-to way for them. “It was a conscious decision not to advertise. We believe there is no better advertising than word-of-mouth,” says Hussain. (Sure enough, I myself also initially heard of the joint from a friend, who went there with friends.) Dhaba it may be classified as, but this one’s got its act together. Things are pretty organised here. They do prefer you pre-order on the phone, which is a good thing as I discovered. The first time I did so, I was pleasantly surprised to receive a call while still en route to inform me that the order was ready, enquire how much longer it would take us in getting there. This is all in the patron’s favour, since the system ensures your order is timed well — fresh off the skewer is how a good barbeque tastes even better. Plus, since there aren’t any dine-in premises, it makes sense that your time is valued. You can opt to either eat in the car, or on the few tables scattered around, al fresco. Or of course you can pick n go. The chap who attends to phone orders informs you as you order which naan/paratha is basted with desi ghee, which one with olive oil. And yes, the naans and parathas that accompany are also not mere accompaniments; they are dealt with the same loving attention that makes an ordinary meal rise above. A whiff is enough to confirm the ghee is indeed, desi enough. It is certainly refreshing to be served up as promised and not been taken for a culinary ride, so to say. Attention to detail is evident enough in the taste of the food. No surprise then, that Saffana is not only the head chef, the recipes have been developed by her too. She prepares the marinades herself, and the dough for the wholewheat naans is made by either her or Hussain. One can safely say that all items on the menu do not taste the same — if the Malai Chicken Boti has a touch of black pepper (and not much else, to its credit), the Tandoori Chicken Paratha delivers a slight punch of tangy mint and red chilli flakes. The Lamb Chops taste, simply, like chops. Enough said. “The idea is to give people the true taste and flavour of meat,” as Hussain accedes. The menu can be found to be lacking in variety perhaps, but the food itself cannot be said to be wanting in any way. This is authentic Lahori barbeque with the merest hint of post-modernisation. Wholewheat naans, for example, cannot be faulted for being unhealthy, nor does a seekh kabab or boti float atop an oil slick. The ones at Grill n Bake most certainly do not – they are the diet-conscious olive oil or canola oil grilled cousins of the desi Lahori-style ones. Saffana agrees, “desi ghee and olive oil are extensively used and we also use canola oil in some of the dishes.” Mind you, if it is a good karahi you are hankering after, there are no curries on the menu yet. That, however, remains to be remedied, among other small hitches such as the fact that desserts are limited, and salads non-existent as yet. There is, however, the Special Meetha Naan about which, the less said the better. You just have to have it to know what this cherry on the pie is all about. jang.pk/thenews/oct2013-weekly/nos-13-10-2013/she.htm#3
Posted on: Sun, 20 Oct 2013 10:29:26 +0000
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