Vessel

Vessel: Seattle

Vessel is a small, contemporary bar in downtown Seattle. Its very chic, urbane and expensive. Aiming for the yuppies, Vessel presents a nice, relaxed atmosphere with well spaced tables, fancy chairs and stools and a whole glassy feel. When you go in .. you can feel the class. And you better .. with drinks going into double digits. Did I say its small?

The main room has a bar up front, a few tables, and the thing that got me .. a display window to sit in!!You can sit on the stools and look out of a show-case-like glass out onto the street. The people walking on the street are equally surprised to see live people sitting out in a show-case window (very interactive). Its fun. Upstairs is 2 separate rooms .. better for bigger groups .. but not too big of course.

The drinks are different .. they seem to experiment with a wide variety of mixes and fruit juice .. and produce and overall pleasing range. Vessel seems to put the right amount of alcohol in their drinks. I have found out that most bars nowadays water down their drinks a bit .. probably to sell more of them. Not Vessel.
Oh and they don't have food!! Apparently they used to have it but stopped. So only drinks now.

Overall I had a fun time there .. thanks to the drinks and interactive sit-out. Also probably that someone else was paying.

Food (drinks): **** Ambiance: **** Price: $$$$

Home Depot Cafe

Home Depot Cafe: Sunnyvale, CA

This is probably the closest you will get to a roadside shack in the valley. It doesn't even have a proper name .. just says 'Cafe' on the front. Located right outside the Home Depot on Kifer, its a small shack serving great sandwiches, coffee, smoothies etc. You pay cash, eat standing on the pavement and leave happy.

The girl behind the counter is always smiling, and serves up a mean fried-egg sandwich if there ever was one. Probably meant for the contractors visiting the Home Depot, I go to this place when I want a good fried egg, grilled cheese .. or simply even want to just get the feel of a roadside shack.

Must visit on nippy winter weekends.

Food: **** Ambiance: * Price: $
Last visited: late-2007

Oberweis Dairy

Oberweis Dairy - Chicago, IL

If you love ice-cream like I do (and you better if you are reading this) then the very mention of Oberweis creates a pang in your stomach and makes you drool. I have been to this place in the brilliant Chicago summers, in the chilly spring and in the dead of the life-sapping winter. I used to frequent their Arlington Heights (Dundee Rd) and Chicago (Milwaukee Ave) locations. This is definitely my number one choice for ice-cream. And yes, nostalgia does count. Plus Oberweis is family owned and seems to have retained that 'family-owned' feel about them.

The ice-cream at Oberweis is probably fresher and creamier than even Marble Slab or Cold Stone. The flavors, though not as many are definitely top notch. The sundaes, brownies, shakes, milk .. its all good. The chocolate-peanut butter ice-cream is good, so is the eggnog flavored one. Oh and the raspberry-chocolate and the Apple Strudel and .. well .. you get the picture.

The stores can be packed on weekends .. with whole families coming in to have ice-cream. Plus service can be a tad slow, making the wait for your order all the more excruciating. I also love their milk.. comes in quaint glass bottles .. tastes delicious.

I wish they had a store in California.

Food: *****

Hot Wok Village

Hot Wok Village - Schaumburg, IL

This is where Schaumburg kicks Bay Area ass. Despite having probably a hundredth of desi style restaurants, Schuamburg offers Indian-Chinese cuisine in the form of Hot Wok Village, which Silicon Valley sadly lacks.

Owned and operated by a chef who worked in Bombay before, the food is not an issue at this place. Authentic Indian-Chinese food means .. American Chopsuey, Veg Manchurian, Hakka Noodles, Hong Kong Chicken, Chilli Chicken etc. Yes, American Chopsuey is a dish in Indo-Chinese cuisine. It tickled me to death when I found out that the Chinese restaurants in America do not have any dish called 'American Chopsuey'.

The decor is ... weird .. never really liked it. Its as if there used to be a Hawaiian restaurant over here and then suddenly everyone decided to cook Indo-Chinese cuisine instead. The menu showers praise upon the owner slash chef and assures us that is we have any Indo-Chinese food emergencies hes da person to come to.

The food is good .. obviously not as good as you would get in India .. but still better than what you would hope to get anywhere else in the US. Theres plenty of choice in appetizers and main dishes, with vegetarians being able to make their own dish with a combination of veggies, and a selection of sauces. The spring rolls are good, though not entirely desi-style. And good news for desi szechwan sauce fans... this is the real stuff!

Food: *** Ambiance: *** Price: $$$
Last Visited: mid-2006

Bombay Brasserie a.k.a Kabab Factory

Bombay Brasserie a.k.a Kabab Factory - Dhole Patil Road, Pune

If you are a fan of kababs (and who isn't?) a visit to the Kabab Factory is a *must*. Kabab Factory is the outdoor portion of Bombay Brasserie where they serviced kabab buffets at nights. Unlimited Kababs, food and dessert Rs 360 per head.

Now for the actual review.

Bombay Brasserie is located in the City Point complex on Dhole Patil Road, Pune. They are generally considered an upscale sort of place and are known for their lunch buffets and the kabab buffets which they serve in the evenings. Lunch buffets are goodish, drinks are fairly priced and the overall experience is pleasant. Lunch is usually crowded as you will find large parties from the nearby IT companies thronging for their buffet and not leaving quickly enough.

Kabab Factory, as I have already explained above, is open in the evenings when they have seating outside. They serve around 10 types of kababs .. and the servers keep bringing them where you can taste and decide which ones you want to eat more of. Then order those. Repeat. Kabab Factory serves the best minced mutton kabab ever. Thats the seekh kabab I think .. its perfect. The right mix of spice, tang and texture in delicate minced mutton is just irresistible. Goes well with chilled KingFisher beer. The food is also quite good as are the desserts. I generally stuff myself so full of kababs that I can barely have the delicious daal and rice and can just manage a bowl of their kheer, gulabjamun or yummy rabdi.

Tip: Try not to overeat.


Food: **** Ambiance: *** Price: $$$
Last visited: mid-2007