It’s easy to impress me. I don’t need a fancy party to be happy. Just good friends, good food, and good laughs. I’m happy. I’m satisfied. I’m content.
And I was fortunate enough as the BTeam extended an invite for a food and wine tasting session at one of the finest Restaurants situated at a prime location in Pune.
The Bridge – Tarawade Clarks Inn!
With a history spanning over three centuries of glorious tradition, this is the story of an Indian business house that, till date, embodies the unique ethos of its birthplace, Varanasi. Today, the Group is a leading player in hospitality, consisting of companies such as Great Value Hotels and the Clarks Group of Hotels.
The Group is a major force in North India, and is highly regarded for its professional outlook and commitment to integrity. This chain of luxury hotels includes:-
• Clarks Varanasi
• Clarks Shiraz (Agra)
• Clarks Amer (Jaipur)
• Clarks Avadh (Lucknow)
• Clarks Khajuraho
A franchisee of the group is Tarawade Clarks Inn owned by Mr. Avinash Tarawade. And The Bridge is the restaurant where The BTeam hosted it’s first blogger’s table in association with Rhythm Winery and Foodie app.
The evening kick started with a wine tasting session. Over the course of human history, wine has received its fair share of laudatory quotes, praise, almost even worship. It’s arguably the most beloved beverage in the world. Although as you’ll read other reviews by fellow blogger buddies wine rises steeply above a mere “beverage” in the minds and hearts of these wine lovers…
Being a teetotaler I didn’t try the exquisite fruit wines served there but was curious enough to learn the wine etiquette and hence I threw myself in the lot and did learn stuff from Mr Akalpreet from Rhythm Winery.
Here’s an insight to what Mr. Alakpreet shared,
1) Hold your glass by the stem or the base.
2) Smell your wine. Sniff it, taste it, and think about it.
(Forget everything, even your Girlfriend)
3) Knowing your Wine. Fruit wine is young if it is dark.
4) Faint when matured.
After explaining us all the technicalities, He advised the people present there to drink wine and not study it. Basically to enjoy it!
Phase 2: food tasting!
Bridge in houses an array of Signature Indian dishes.
We were served some of the most tantalizing gourmet dishes which had all of us going gaga about it.
To start with, we were served Fish tikka, Mutton Seekh kebabs, Paneer Tikka (2 Variants) Paneer Tikka (Red marinade) Paneer Hariyali Tikka.
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| Fish Tikka |
Fish Tikka – Indian Salmon grilled to perfection with the right amount of marinades. Wasn’t overcooked and had a proper coating and hence gets mentioned first here. Liked it and would also recommend it.
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| Mutton Seekh Kebab |
Mutton Seekh Kebabs – Tradition has it that the dish was invented by medieval soldiers who used their swords to grill meat over open-field fires. Thinking about the same, I tried these which were overly spiced and not as tender. The Mutton Kebabs served at The Bridge weren’t quite like the ones I am used to, (the authentic ones) yet were palatable.
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| Paneer Tikka |
Paneer Tikka (Red Marinade) – Soft paneer cubes with lots of spice and a dash of lemon. Just the routine. Could have been better with more seasoning.
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| Paneer Hariyali Tikka |
Paneer Hariyali Tikka – Paneer Cubes Marinated in a creamy paste of Mint, Yogurt & Indian spices grilled on tandoor. A decent theory which is to infuse the subtle green marinade in the soft chunks of paneer was used and made it one of the best starters served at The Bridge.
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| Sides |
Sides of Green (Coriander Chutney) and Yogurt – Personally speaking I loved the sides. The accompaniments were just perfect and went really well with the food served.
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| Awadhi Mutton Biryani |
Awadhi Biryani – Veg and Non veg.
Different in cooking style from the regular biryani, Awadhi biryani uses cooked meat. The taste also differs as this biryani is moist and delicately flavored than regular biryani. As all Indian dishes, the long list of ingredients may make it look tedious. And my opinions differ to that of my fellow blogger buddies. The Awadhi biryani served at The Bridge was strictly Okay and not something that people can’t quit talking about. I have tried the Awadhi biryani umpteen in lucknow and this was nowhere close to the authentic biryani. The meat wasn’t tender and juicy which happens to be the highlight of Awadhi Biryani because it is supposed to be very subtle in it’s added flavors.
My verdict – Average.
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| Veg Biryani |
On the other hand I found the Veg biryani better than the mutton.This had subtle flavors and gave us an edge. Delicious indeed!
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| Jumbo Gulab Jamun with Vanilla Ice cream |
I’m not a vegetarian! I’m a dessertarian!
We were then served a jumbo gulab jamun paired with another jumbo scoop of vanilla ice cream. The owner, Mr.Avinash Tarawade, swears by the sinful delight of this wondrous gulab jamun jumbo ~ and I stand by him! The combination works wonders on your soul. #HighlyRecommended.
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| Stalwarts of F&B Industry |
