Pune eateries and their 1 to 4 hibernation culture

First of all, I'm sorry to you all, and to myself the most, for not writing this weekly for the last two Tuesdays. A lot has happened, and I got busy with some stuff. Never mind. But here I am, back again with a story.

So, it was last Monday. My friend and I decided to go and try something new at an old place. Both of us, being true Misal-Paav lovers, said, "Let's give it a break and go to Prabh Vishranti Gruha (Shanivar Peth, Pune)." We both had to travel from different parts of the city. Before leaving around 12:30 noon, I just checked its location, and to my surprise, it was CLOSED. Monday was their weekly off. It wasn't just Prabha but Bedekar as well, which was closed. Bedekar Tea House, serving one of the best Misals since the 1950s, is our go-to place for brunch on Sundays.

Now, we know that these places, especially from the Old Peth (old Pune) area, have their own way of doing business. Normally, eateries have unique weekly offs for each employee, so the restaurants can serve the whole week without fail.

Cut to Tuesday morning. We got ready around the same time as Monday, and for safety, we checked again if it was open or closed. But yet again, we were left shocked. Google said that Prabha Vishranti Gruha serves only between 8:30 AM and 12 PM, and then they close the shop for 4 1/2 hours, reopening at 4:30 PM to serve until only 7:30 PM. Left hungry and baffled, we decided to go anyway and check if, by some miracle, it was open. That was our blind faith. Anyway, we went there, and yes, it was closed. As we had reached there at 1 PM, we had a total of 3 1/2 hours to wait for it to open. We did consider skipping this plan and going to our regular place, Bedekar, but as they say in Hindi, we are pretty ??? (headstrong).

We came to a conclusion: let's go to Vidya Upahar Gruha, the oldest eatery to serve Misal in Pune. It was just 1.5 km away from Prabha, and as we had plenty of time, we started walking. But here’s the catch: Vidya was also closed and was to open at 3 PM. So, we didn’t mind. You see how this afternoon nap thing works in Pune. On our route, we bought some books from ABC (for those who don’t know what ABC is, please Google it). We took darshan of Bappa at Dagduseth. Even after waiting in the long queue, we still had an hour to spend. While roaming, we discovered a lot of places and realized this city is far older than we thought, carrying history on these old pillars of Sagwan wood, standing tall and proud.

Finally, at 3 PM, it was time for Vidya, and we had great Misal. The main specialty of it was the Green Sample. The Sample is what we call a sprouts curry made with red chili spices. Usually, the Sample is made in red curry and chili, but this was made in green, leaving your taste buds with spiciness and more spiciness, yet without hurting your throat.

Having said that, it is a one-time try. The old place was so old that it made me think it could fall on us at any moment. They really need to renovate it. After that, we headed back to Prabha and waited for another 30 minutes. At 4:30 PM, the place opened. I have to appreciate this one thing: these places are really punctual about their timings.

What can I say about Prabha? They just serve two items: BATATA WADA and SABUDANA WADA. That’s it. The additional option was a substitute for Batata Wada, like serving it with Sample.

They don’t even serve any chutney. But honestly, they don’t need to, because the taste is so good, you’ll never feel it’s bland. The whole magic lies in lemon; it adds savoriness that makes you appreciate its original flavor. The same goes for Sabudana Wada: simply red, easy to chew, and, surprisingly, made without any mix of potato. Those who are Maharashtrian will know that potato is an integral part of making Sabudana Wada.

So, that was it. The mad ride of 5 hours came to an end with a satisfactory burp and a lesson: never plan to visit these places during hours of our convenience. Otherwise, you’ll be left hungry, and it will be your loss, not theirs.

Till then, keep your tummy and plate full. See you next Tuesday!