Greetings all. Fred Noronha has persuaded me to resubscribe to this forum, and I'm happy to see some old-time correspondents still contributing here.
Anyway, I'm back after spending ten extremely hot days in Goa - coinciding with that BJP national conference. It was rather interesting to see giant cut-outs of the leadership of that party on the streets of Panjim, and to have the view from my car windows literally saffronized with party flags festooned every few yards. The highlight of every trip to Goa for us is, naturally, the food. It was mango season, and we made sure to eat as many as we could get our hands on. And there was plenty of fish available, especially my favorite little velhos which I consumed in vast quantity - entire schools of them disappeared into my appreciative gullet. The purpose of this post, however, is to tell you all about my #1 culinary discovery on this trip to Goa - the newish little restaurant in Caranzalem called 'O Cozinheiro'. It takes a little bit of finding, since it's off the main road and tucked into a corner of that accessible village, but do persevere. Here's the thing - Goan restaurants are plentiful but very few feature cooks who really take pains to interpret the local cuisine in a meticulous and attentive manner. I always eat at Florentine, for example, the now-legendary dive in Saligao, and the food there is consistently fine, but it isn't particularly carefully made. The same can be said of Martin's Corner in Betalbatim in the South of Goa. Good food, good ingredients, but perhaps lacking in a certain professional element that could take the food from simply good to eye-opening, to world-class. It is a small irony that Floyd Cardoz has taken New York somewhat by storm with his elegant and daring interpretations of Goan (at least Bombay Goan) dishes with an eye towards haute cuisine, but Goa has lacked a chef (or chefs, if we want to be greedy) with the confidence to do something similar at home. Now, I'm not comparing a celebrity, classically-trained, chef like Floyd Cardoz to Joe Martins of 'O Cozinheiro', and most likely young Martins would be appalled at the very idea. But let me put it this way - Cardoz himself would surely like Martins' food. O' Cozinheiro features a menu of straight up Goan standards, from chicken cafreal to all the various fish and crab and shellfish dishes, and a range of starters. Everything is reasonably priced, maybe 10% more than Florentine but still a fraction of what you'd pay at a hotel. But what distinguishes its food from that of any other restaurant I've been to in Goa is the minute care taken with each ingredient, Martins is clearly someone who loves his Goan culinary palette and takes immense pride in displaying in the best light possible. He carefully marinates and ages his meats, his fish is prepared with a light and expert touch. Let me give you this example of his attentiveness - not content with the (good) quality of bread commercially available, Martins makes his own by going through the arduous process of mixing his batter and proving it in climate-controlled conditions, and then making it fresh to serve hot to his delighted customers. It's the best bread in Goa, and that's saying something. Why am I taking the (entirely unsolicited) step of giving Martins such a public appreciation on the Internet? Because he should be supported, and because I am entirely confident that his food will win you over as it did me. In fact, my first meal there was so revelatory and singular that I made it a point to revisit a few days later to re-test. No disappointment whatsoever. It's a small restaurant, extremely neat and clean even though the decor can most charitably be described as 'homey'. But Martins is doing something quite special, and he deserves to have his efforts rewarded. Go there the next time you're in Goa, make it a point to have a meal at 'O Cozinheiro', I am sure that you will be entirely satisfied by the experience, and I dare say that you'll wind up as captivated as everyone I know has been. I happen to have the address handy - O Cozinheiro, Near Football Ground, Caranzalem, Ilhas. Telephone - 228234. Check it out. VM __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Games - play chess, backgammon, pool and more http://games.yahoo.com/ =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-W-E-B---S-I-T-E-=-=-= To Subscribe/Unsubscribe from GoaNet | http://www.goacom.com/goanet =================================================================== For (un)subscribing or for help, Contact: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Dont want so many e=mails? Join GoaNet-Digest instead ! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Help support non-commercial projects in Goa by advertizing!! * * * * Your ad here !!
