****************************************
For more information/links, see http://goanet.netfirms.com
****************************************
IF YOU'RE looking for taste, and not ambience, here's where you could
seek. Caution -- some of these places are really rough, though tasty:
o AFLATOON 'HOTEL', near the masjid alongside Alankar
cinema in Mapusa. Be prepared to share tables with the
scruffiest of characters and dig into tasty mutton biryani
(Rs 40), beef biryani (Rs 20), soft parathas (Rs 5), seekh
kababs (Rs 10) and the rest...This is Muslim-style food.
o GOAN-STYLE fast-food joints (they run out of adapted
handcarts) at Santa Cruz (near the church) and
Miramar (adjoining Clube Gaspar Dias). Meat-based
sandwitches for Rs 10, tasty and easy-to-carry-away.
(Couldn't we learn to use less plastic though?)
Tasty. Real home-style food at down-to-earth prices.
No wonder one outlet at Miramar sells 800 bread a day!
You can also get similarly delicious Goan cooking
at the roadside in Agaciam (just before the bridge)
or sausages ('choris-pao') at the Agaciam market.
o AJANTA, near the Old Panjim Bus Stand, just before you
new bridge over the Pato creek. Typical Pernem-style
Goan food. Simple, tasty fish-curry-rice. Spicy too.
A favourite at our Herald workdays, when riceplates
were Rs 5 in the mid-eighties. We journos had this joke
about writing a book 'How To Get The Most For Rs 5 At
Ajanta'. Now, the standard meal costs Rs 20-25. The special
dishes (chicken, occasionally crab) are fiery hot and spicy.
o ALISHA, opposite the new Goa legislative assembly.
Both these above come from the cuisine of Hindu Goa
(there are some variants among this too, depending on
region, class and caste).
o SAROVAR. What can you get for Rs 20? Two parathas, butter-milk,
three curries, curd, rice, a sweetdish, pickle... Naturally
crowded in the afternoons. Even more naturally, the waiters
can be quite friendly; at this value-for-money it hardly hurts
to give a five rupee tip (fine by local standards) each time!
o GENERALLY, almost every Udupi or 'Kamat' restaurant in
the state. This cuisine finds its origin outside Goa's borders,
along the south Karnataka coast. But, what the heck, the food is
maintains its standards and taste, that even some among the
local Christian population (who's diet is or has been actually
non-vegetarian) have developed a taste for this.
Standard meals average Rs 20-30.
o THE LONE 'shack' (at the time of writing, 2003) on Siridao
beach. This fishing village is tucked away off the
Panjim-Margao highway, just before the Agaciam-Cortalim bridge.
Fish dishes, it's speciality naturally.
o 'HOTEL MANGALORE', by the roadside about a kilometre away
from Canacona's main tiny town, Chaudi. (Don't get misled
by the term 'hotel', this is a roadside eatery. It's close to
Char Rasta (literally, Four Roads, the point where they
meet) not to be confused with another restaurant of
the same name, that lies closer to the petrol pump.
The 2002-end prices were pegged at 'deluxe fish c. rice'
(the 'c' is for curry) at Rs 80, a semi-deluxe version
for half that price, and a 'local' equivalent
for one-fourth. Obviously chicken is its specialty.
o CHECK THE fish preparations of the restaurant that's under
the bridge at the Cortalim end. Traditional Catholic Goan
style, good value for money.
o CAFE PRAKASH, a tiny hole-in-the-wall in Panjim. Near the
Azad Maidan close to the ferry jetty. Nothing exceptional
here, except that some of us local journalists consider
it to be the "unofficial" press club of Goa each
evening (lots of gossip!) and you could dwadle over
a cup of tea (Rs 3) for three hours. No questions asked!
FOOTNOTE: This listing has obviously missed out on a number of other
worthy places which do deserve a listing. The bias favouring Bardez and
places around Panjim does show due to geographical reasons. Your
suggestions and tips for enhancing this listing are more than welcome.
Other candidates include the elderly man at the Parra market, selling Goan
fast food (boiled eggs, boiled peanuts, etc)...
--
Frederick Noronha : http://www.bytesforall.org : When we speak of free
Freelance Journalist : Goa India 403511 : software we refer to
Ph 0091.832.409490 : Cell 0 9822 122436 : freedom, not price.
_______________________________________________
Goanet mailing list
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.goanet.org/mailman/listinfo/goanet
