Above & Beyond

2030 hours, Feb 22, Wednesday, Andheri Shere Punjab

The Prelude:

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Above & Beyond, launched just four days ago, is a Café cum Breakfast place veering towards European cuisine, and also doubles up as a Sheesha Joint in the evening. It is situated in the strategic location of Shere Punjab, Mahakali Caves Road where there is a veritable dearth of such eateries. Coming from the stable of Andamental owners, this is an eggeterian joint minus the hard core stuff, yet it boasts of some serious innovative delicacies.

 

The Personality:

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We were hosted by the late twenties couple Yash and Khushboo Thakkar, the owner directors of the place. Sans any Hospitality background – the former has been into chemical industry, the latter has earned her Masters in International Business – both have taken pains to add a personal touch to every aspect of the joint, and seem to have come through with flying colours.

The Picture:

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This is an 1100 square feet location spread across two levels. The lower one is a bright place, - canary yellow seems to be the theme – and sports an Open kitchen with bustling staff. You climb the narrow stairs to reach a more casual space, with multi-hued low level sofas sprawled around. The long French windows overlooking the brightly lit bustling road outside, the quaint bulbs and other wire mesh adorned on the walls, the artistic hookahs displayed at one end – all reek of a general air of insouciance. Like you simply want to give in to laziness and keep away your time piece for some time. Lucky Ali crooned in a remixed “Ae mere dil to gayeja” in the background. You get the drift.

 

The Platter:

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SUN DRIED TOMATO POLENTA SQUARE (3 / 5):

So what exactly was this? A base of cornflour, milk and cheese, serving as a bed for pan seared mash of vegetables, and with a blob of mozzarella thrown in for good measure. A fried basil crowning it for added effect. While the ratatouille - which was distinctly uni dimensional without the spice quotient - was passable, it was the grainy, seemingly out of place base which did the undoing. Apologies, not for me.

WOK TOSSED GREENS (4.5 / 5):

A big yes. Healthy greens – kale, broccoli, zucchini – wok tossed in a chilli ginger tempering. The tossing had been done all right, the veggies came out neither raw nor over cooked, and retained their original goodness. The tempering , though mild, was equally great, and the overall combination worked well for me. A kind of prepayment via atonement currency for the sins to come.

WATER CHESTNUT, ARTICHOKE PIZZA (3.5 / 5):

A rectangular pizza cut into square pieces. Thin crust, but not wafer thin as to render it biscuit like, more chewy than crunchy. Slathered with a generous dose of mozzarella. The topping though was of the unusual water chestnut, artichoke and cherry tomatoes. And the hotness quotient again woefully missing. Distinctly incongruent with your general perception of a pizza. Not in an off putting kind of way, more for the experimental types though. A Mississippi meets Milan meets Mahakali kind of affair.

SOYA KEEMA TIKKI BURGER (5 / 5):

A gigantic deep fried golden brown soya keema tikki layered within an equally large bun. Groovy food, a trail blazer of sorts. The bun was fresh, the slathering of the coriander mayo perfectly complementary and the tikki was thick with the juicy mince. Every bite was a delight to bite into, and this was easily the best dish of the day. The accompanying fries served as a nice sidekick to the main affair, and the other companion – the greens - were given a distinct cold shoulder.

MUSHROOM SANDWICH (4 / 5):

Creamy mushroom bits and caramelized onion stuffed inside a hot dog bun. A burst of flavours, it was at the same time sweet and salted, and cheese-y and meaty. The bread was soft too, and the overall fare turned out to be cutesy.

The Pitcher:

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PASSION KIWI SMOOTHIE, STRAWBERRY ROSE SMOOTHIE (4.5 / 5):

And smoothies they were, rightly sweet, nicely thick and appropriately flavoured.

 

The Pleasure:

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SMOOTH AND SILK CHOCOLATE CAKE (5 / 5):

The best for the last. Luscious layers of thick silky chocolate-y cream on a soft sponge. Again, not overly sweet as to cause fatigue. At the same time, dense enough to satiate with mere one piece. The presentation was equally appealing, and the wife was left happy with the last bite, grinning like a Cheshire cat.

The Postlude:

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Four days. Just four days. So some teething troubles are absolutely expected and pardonable. Those apart, there seems to be a lot of intelligence going behind this place. The location is impeccable for beginners. The service is always with a smile (A particular mention of the humble and knowledgeable Restaurant Manager Depak, who seemed like a whirlwind, appearing and trouble shooting at more than one place at the same time). The food is experimental and hence individualistic. The open Kitchen is again a big draw. The use of olive oil in food and the owning of own breads / cakes baking facility is another plus. Again being a Sheesha joint pulls in its own clientele. A liquor licence too is in the offing. In short, except for the BIG setback of not being able to serve non veg items, there seems to be a literal pulling out of all the stops. Early times, but this place seems to be having all the ingredients of becoming a raging potboiler.

The Prescription:

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1) Increase the spread of items on the menu card to twice the present number at a minimum.

2) Increase the spice quotient in food.

3) Cold desserts?

4) A little tom tomming in the market.

The Parameters:

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The Food Quotient : Food Quality 4.5 / 5, Food Choices 3.5 / 5, Food Portion 4 / 5, Food Presentation 4 / 5

The Other Determinants: Location 4 / 5, Cleanliness 4.5 / 5, Warmth 5 / 5

The Hygiene Factors : Ambience 4.5 / 5, Space quotient 4 / 5, Delivery time 3.5 / 5

The Conclusives : Food Price 4 / 5, The Overall Experience 4 / 5, Will I Visit again 5 / 5

The Ps:

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