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BangaloreMirror

I FRIDAY, JANUARY 10, 2014

15

With brew, sky would be the limit!

MANU PRASAD KAUSHIK J N

Manu Prasad bmfeedback@gmail.com

sually when theres talk of something brewing in south Bangalore, the reference is to coffee, and when names such as Giltasura or Kamacitra are brought up, youd be pardoned for thinking that its about some new play at Ranga Shankara. That probably explains the open jaws, quickly followed by excitement, when I mentioned that a microbrewery had opened in JP Nagar. Spread across two floors for now, it goes by the name of Brewsky, and though they ran out of brew samples by the time we visited and that was a real pity, because they really sounded interesting on paper there was no shortage of sky. On one side, the bar stools lining the wall on the lower floor offer a wonderful view of South Bangalores skyline one of the best Ive seen. On the other side one can view the brewery itself, glowing blue at night, with graphics of the brew characters. The upper floor is alfresco and would be perfect for a brunch. Another floor is planned below soon, with space for live performances we got a preview and the Viking helmet lampshades and chandeliers made of beer bottles all pointed to a hangout with character. Watch out for a few interesting elements of a biker theme too! They plan to serve the fullfledged beer menu in about a month, for now youll have to make do with a standard alcohol menu.

C 1 M S J N 2 P -5 Multi-cuisine Rajaram Gupta, Narayan M, Rolf Marren Xavier Yes Limited menu, beer should start flowing in a month For about `1,800, you could share a cocktail, a non-veg starter, a non-veg main course and a dessert (inclusive of taxes and service charge) Yes No

Cuisine Owner(s) Chef Alcohol Wine list Price range

Appetisers: The menu is fairly standard

pub grub with a few unique dishes. Since the house brews were not available, we decided to begin with a couple of drinks from the limited bar menu. The Green Apple Martini had just the right amount of alcohol and fruity flavour to be a refreshing drink. The Curry Caipiroska added a desi flavour to the standard cocktail using curry leaves, and was quite good. The Puree of mushroom with poached chicken soup was mildly spicy, flavourful, and they were generous with the chicken. The Chicken stuffed with pickled chillies actually turned out to be a description in reverse it was a chilli baj-

ji with a chicken stuffing but this was our favourite dish anyway! The Paneer Tiranga Rubiyat Soola had fresh cottage cheese but the flavours were really mild. The prawn dish wasnt available so we decided to try the Crispy Zatar Calamari, which was a tad greasy but had well-cooked succulent squid and a dip that complemented it very well. The Five Spices Roasted Pork Ribs was a replacement for a lamb dish, but found favour thanks to its well cooked meat and spicy flavours.

Burger, which had two mildly spicy patties. Not the best weve had, but reasonably good. The Brewsky fish n chips was our favourite main course dish with excellent battered fish, though the fries could have been better. The Stuffed Breast of Chicken was also very good excellent sauce and a mushroom filling. Three options, and the Dual Souffl wasnt available, but a Honey Walnut Tart took its place. The Chocolate Cigars with a chocolate sauce was the best of the lot, closely followed by the Madras Kaapi mousse, which fully lived up to its name in flavour and texture, and also featured a creamy, fruity dip. The Honey Walnut Tart was also not bad, though not in the same league as the other two.

Parking Wheelchair access Service

Afters:

Prompt, efficient, friendly Music and Remains in the Sound level background, could faintly detect jazz Ambience Dcor with character, functional seating, fantastic view Hours 12.30 11 pm Home delivery No Reservations Yes, the place tends to get very full very fast!

BM VERDICT

Entre: Pizzas, burgers, pasta and a few assorted steaks make up the main course menu. The Asian Chicken Pizza arrived first, and we wondered what was Asian about the chicken other than its location. But if one ignored that, the thin crust pizza was quite good. The Vodka Cream pasta sounded a very interesting combination on paper, but it was too bitter! The chicken they served with it was not bad though. We then tried the One Way ticket Chicken

In all: Brewsky has a unique proposition to offer, especially given its location. Superb ambiance, a view that one can go on and on about, good music, and food that will not disappoint,

From top: Chicken Stuffed Chilli, 5 Spices Roast Pork, Brewsky Fish n Chips, Chocolate Cigars

Brewsky has everything going for it, though it doesnt come cheap. The brew will obviously be a major factor, and if that works out fine, South Bangalore will have every reason to grin and beer!

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BM SAVEUR: LAVONNE ACADEMY OF BAKING SCIENCE AND PASTRY ART

This academy-cum-bakery shines the spotlight on globally-popular desserts such as macaroons and fruit tarts

resh macaroons served with a pot of coffee, and coffee butter cream with chocolate ganache this isnt from the menu of a posh, Western-suburban restaurant but your neighbourhood patisserie. Lavonne Academy of Baking Science and Pastry Art does more than whip up a delectable set of pastries and cakes, it also teaches you how to make these sweet eats. Lavonne was started by executive chef Vinesh Johny a little over a year ago. A hotel management student from Bangalore, Johny lived in Kuala Lumpur for a while and also worked with Starwood Hospitality. While in KL, he and his friends Evan and Lijo thought about starting a customised bakery, which would make lesser-known confectioneries in Bangalore. We were intrigued by the way the hospitality sector was evolving a lot had to do with the fact that people were

travelling more, and knew more about cakes and desserts such as clairs and ganaches, says the 25-year-old. Lavonne aims to introduce the average Bangalorean to raspberry tiramisu, black forest cheesecake and chestnut opera, among other desserts. Lavonne also specialises in customised cakes for baby showers, weddings, each of which takes about two days to prepare. Their signature dishes include Moist Dark Chocolate Cake, Black Forest Cheesecake, Chocolate Ganache and a Classic Opera a combination of almond sponge, coffee butter cream and chocolate ganache. Apart from these, Johny also recommends the macaroons there are six fruity flavours to choose from like lemon, raspeberry and chocolate caramel and French desserts like crme brulee and fruit flan.

From left: Black Forest Cheesecake, Lemon Tart and Croissants are some of the popular eats offered at Lavonne in mind, Lavonne engages with people eaFuture plans include shifting focus to a Some of the ingredients are imported ger to learn such dishes and conducts onefrom outside, such as berries and fruit fillnew menu which will feature dishes with a day weekend programmes from 10 am to 4 ings from Belgium, France and Italy. Johny lot of fruity flavours, and already has some pm. Apart from that, serious bakers can do believes that while chocolate-based proddesserts in mind for Valentines Day such as a five-month diploma with the six in-house ucts will always remain popular, the average Red Velvet Eclairs, Strawberry Tiramisu and chefs and will get a certificate from City & consumer is more than happy to try out White Passion Fruit Bomb. Sindhuja Balaji Guilds, London. something like macaroons as well. With this