Friday, December 21, 2018

Licensed to Grill

By Nikhil Raghavan


Is there an urgency to fill your stomach, quench your thirst and satiate your desire for a sweet round-off to your meal? An express-delivered meal? A Grill that Thrills? Candy floss and Goli Soda to give that authentic street-food experience? All this and more are now served in the recently opened 80-seater first floor restaurant – Axpress BBQ, touted as India’s first Barbecue QSR. Yes, a Quick Service Restaurant, bang on Rajiv Gandhi Road (OMR) in Karapakkam, Chennai, very close to TCS.

A brainchild of the concept-driver and man-on-the-spot at Axpress BBQ, Debabrata Misra, the restaurant is a combination place for dining in, take-away and online orders through Swiggy and Zomato – a kind of first for hot-grilled barbecue dishes.

With an extensive menu of a variety of combinations in non-vegetarian and vegetarian dishes comprising of seafood, mutton and chicken besides a whole range of delectable veggies, Axpress BBQ practices eco-friendliness through a host of measures.

To start with, all dishes are served in eco-friendly, biodegradable cutlery and crockery. Even take-away dishes are packed in non-plastic and non-toxic materials like corrugated cardboard cartons. “While this is an eco-friendly measure, we also save on water which we would have otherwise used for washing the dishes,” says Debabrata.
A unique feature of the food served is that the portions are planned in a way to try and avoid left-overs. Accordingly, the dishes are also priced reasonably. “And, a portion can be shared by two persons and only if necessary, you need to order for another portion. If there are any left-overs, we encourage the diners to pack and take them away, dispelling the doubt that our kitchen may recycle any untouched items,” reveals Debabrata.
“We do love our patrons to dine in with their family members, to experience our hospitality and care. To ensure this, some items like our desserts – hot-fried jilebis, candy-floss encircled cone ice-cream are only served in-restaurant,” says Debabrata. Accompanying the food with an orange or lime-flavoured Goli Soda enhances the food experience.

The mainstay of Axpress BBQ is, of course, the range of barbecued and grilled dishes. Categorised under headings: BBQ Straights, Top Up Choices, Mix Grills BBQ Wonders, Kids Specials, Axpress BBQ Kebab Rolls, Sateys, Axpress Combos, Axpress Corporates, Axpress Specials, Axpress Desserts and a 4 pm to 6 pm Menu, the restaurant offers a mix-and-match, add-and-combine feature to every dish. Unlike traditional barbecue restaurants where the grill is placed on the dining table of the guest and he is allowed to eat right off the fire, at Axpress BBQ, the orders are prepared and cooked in a see-through kitchen. “We even encourage our guests to come into our kitchen to view the cooking process,” says Debabrata.

Carrying forward the eco-friendly nature of the restaurant, when diners celebrate a birthday or anniversary or any special occasion, the person is gifted with a small box containing two sachets of vegetable and flower seeds, with instructions on how to tend and nurture it in your own private garden or balcony.


Sunday, September 23, 2018

It’s a personal thing


By Nikhil Raghavan

Gifts come in all forms and varieties, including the easiest to choose – a bouquet of flowers. You can never go wrong with that, whatever the occasion. But, many a times, we think we know an acquaintance well enough to present him with a book or a music album, since you know that he loves to read and listen to music. You couldn’t be more wrong!

Many a times, for birthdays or anniversaries, friends have given me music CDs or books. At least 5% of my shelf space for music and books consist of unread/unheard material which are not my cup of tea. I know they were given with good intentions so, it will remain there for the rest of my life. Music and books are probably the only two things that have strong and personalized preferences and as long as people realise that, the world will be a better place to live in. I, for one, have never gifted music or book to anyone, for I do not know what his or her personal preferences are.

I would buy a magazine off the rack or grab a newspaper off the stand, for that casual ‘time-pass’ periods of waiting at airports or travel on the tube. And, just as casually, fling it into the nearest dustbin. Or, I would turn on the FM on my mobile and listen to ‘canned music’ to keep away the outdoor ruckus while commuting. Both these actions do not warrant intense or dedicated attention.
But, when I buy a particular music album or a novel, it is because I need it to satisfy an urge. No one can sense what my urge is at a particular ‘moment’ and try to gift me one.

Over the years, my choice of music / artistes and books / authors have continuously evolved, changed, swung back and forth, but, genre-wise, mostly remained stable – thrillers and adventure fiction and rock music. I may have indulged in the occasional periods of jazz & blues, country & western or heavy metal, but I will always drift back to pure rock music. For me, the kind of music I listen to purely depends on the mood of the day or the state of mind.

But, when it comes to reading, I like the adventure of Wilbur Smith, the thrills of Robert Ludlum or the lyrical landscape of Jeffery Archer. In younger days I have had my fill of classics and Shakespeare but not anymore. For me, reading a book is like watching an entertaining film. It has to occupy my mind during the length of the read and then forget about it, rather than dwell on the characters and plots and ‘would-it-have-been-so?’ situations. Maybe I will never read the same title again, because, somehow, the story will always be fresh in your mind, even after a decade.
Similarly, listening to an album is cerebral to the extent that I try to understand the lyrical story or the musical arrangement or the guitar riff, forgotten till the next track comes along. But, I will revisit the album or songs several times only to enjoy the compositions more and more, and even discover nuances that will keep surfacing.

Now, let’s assume a situation where you have to give a good friend and neighbor a gift for his birthday. You know he loves music and reading but not the same stuff of your choice. So, take him to the nearest book/music store and ask him to pick his choice…but, be prepared that he might have multiple choices and will dent your debit card a bit. Never mind, he is your BFF and at least your gift will not go to waste. Never mind that the surprise element was lost, the recipient got what he loved, after all. Would everyone think of doing something similar?

Similarly, music being so personal, there are times when you can get lost in the lyrics of Simon & Garfunkel, Bob Dylan, John Denver or immerse yourself in the guitar pyrotechnics of Slash or Jimi Hendrix or the flights of fantasy of Eric Clapton’s blues. Now, how would your neighbor know whether he should give you a Clapton or Wilbur Smith. Would he know if you already have it? How would he know that that particular Clapton album is really not up to your standard of liking?

Remember, music and books are a personal thing!