Chili's Grill & Bar

Chili's Grill & Bar, Powai

This place shall forever hold a special place in my heart. Though I am not going to divulge the reason for this let's just say I have fallen in love with this place. Now a days, I don't seem to get what I want but you will not find me complaining because what I do get instead is infinitely more beautiful, making me one very happy girl. 

I have never been to Chili's before. Well, I have but the one in Bahrain and I am quite proud to say for a change that I don't have to say "but the one in Bahrain does it better" like most international restaurant chains. Even though I have made Mumbai my home and I refuse to go back to my home land, up till now, I keep talking about the food non-stop. But this place retains that charm. I don't know what my companion for the evening would have said but who cares, as long as you are happy!

I was too busy enjoying the evening to even bother with taking a few pictures of the place, so apologies for that. But this is almost like any standard American Diner with a few customizations here and there.

You know another weird thing that has happened to me in the recent past is that I don't feel as hungry as I used to. I have always defined my appetite as a deep well, because I am eating through out the day, but now? I eat a little and I feel like I have eaten so much. And that doesn't make me happy even a wee bit. My relationship with food is the most important one to me. Though, I think that wouldn't make my near and dear ones to be too happy, to put food above them.  So even here, my intake was limited to sharing a Burger meal and an appetizer with my friend and mock-tails on the side. The main item that I had my eyes locked on? I was too full to even try. It was my what the bloody hell moment! Though that makes sure that I will be paying visit again. Especially since, I had fallen in love with the Burger. When my friend had actually placed the order for it, I had made faces, like seriously avocado? That doesn't sound so interesting or appetizing and he had promised me that it ain't so and that that is probably their favorite kind of sauce there is. More faces. AVOCADO??!! Though I guess I had to eat my words because I kept stealing it from him and almost finished half of it. Probably, why I wasn't so hungry after that. One of the best meat I have had and somebody please just get me one now!! Oh, the burger's name? The Guacamole Burger. For dessert we had their special Molten Chocolate Cake which is probably available in all the countries they are present in. Warm gooey chocolate cake topped with cold ice cream, drizzled with chocolate sauce and when you cut open this mountain of chocolate, more warm chocolate sauce. It gives me warm fuzzy feelings just remembering it.

I am in dire need of some charity in the form of a burger and if you happen to feel charitable, then I wouldn't mind your generosity. You could always try it out for yourself as well, if that's what works for you. You will walk out happy.

WHAT WE HAD - Texas Cheese Fries (Yumness)

                           Guacamole Tenderloin Burger (I WANT ONE NOW!)

                           Molten Chocolate Cake (Warm Fuzzy Feelings)

                             

Note - We also had two mock-tails which I don't remember the name of but to be honest, all mock -tails feel more or less the same to me now.

DAMAGES  - Rs 2500/- Approx

WHERE - Chili's West & South India., 13, Ventura Building, Hiranandani Business Park, Central Avenue Road, Powai, Mumbai

Sammy Sosa, Mumbai

SAMMY SOSA, Andheri

Some places are just so darn worth it! Another strike from the bucket list, and one that had been pre-planned for three months. If this didn't work out, or got canceled or something else came up, I would have been furious. I know that there are quite a few places in my bucket list. But we had already zeroed in on the date as a friend was flying from Delhi and this was planned for then.

I realize I enjoy food the most when there is some one who devours food equally, and more so if they are non-vegetarians. I have been meeting a lot of vegetarians lately and my close circle consists of them a bit too much to my liking (I love you guys but you know what I mean :P). When you hang out with a vegetarian crowd, 70-80% of the food on the table will be vegetarian whether you like/admit to it or not. It's a recent realization. Whereas, when you hang out with fellow non-vegetarian crowd, you will not find any trace of any greens or anything except for probably french fries. Come to think of it, it is we non vegetarians that end up compromising (Haan, theek hai kha lenge, hum toh sab kha sakte hain. How many times has this dialogue been repeated by a chicken lover??!!) This day, it was about two hard core non-vegetarians and one picky non-vegetarian a.k.a. my sis, meeting and sharing our joint loved for food so everything on the table was non-veg barring the drinks. What a feeling indeed. :D

This place is pretty small, a fine example of crammed spaces that is evident of this city, though it doesn't look so from the pictures put up on the internet. In terms of ambiance I would say it's a 3/5. I wasn't all that impressed with the interiors as such. They have attempted to use every possible space and it just ends up looking a bit too crammed up for my liking. However, I would give them full marks for hospitality. I say hospitality and not service, this was truly one of those rare places where I felt a star guest, if you are familiar with the concept of "Atithi Devo Bhava". They took into consideration every request made by us which is absolutely fantastic including our desire to be seated in a particular place (No, we are not one of those people who bring the place down if our whims and fancies are not met with :P). We would just be more comfortable with a little breathing space between us which they easily made available telling us that just give us about 15 minutes. So Kudos! Highly impressive. Also the manager/owner (I have no idea if he owned the place or not, but from the looks of it he probably did) addresses each person coming and takes the trouble to ensure they are actually comfortable, which is another reason why i would give them full marks.

It's all about the food, so let's get talking about it. For beginners we had initially pre-planned on ordering the Nachos - names in the menu as Sammy's Tostatada which is a magnanimous portion of nachos which has everything nachos have plus chicken ham and then baked with cheese. Yes, we know. That's exactly how we felt. But the guy attending to us actually told us that he would not recommend it, not because it isn't great but because the portion is on the higher side and the 3 of us will not be able to finish it. We looked at each other, and went is it really that huge that between the 3 of us we will not be able to finish it and so we went for the downsized version of it called the Texas Nachos which is the same thing only less in portion. It was as good as promised. Only thing? We were left wanting for more and realized they under estimate our appetite. We could have definitely had more but that can only be judged better if we have the mammoth portion. For drinks I went for my regular peach iced tea (I have stopped experimenting in this department, unless and until something different catches hold of my attention). My sister went for the Strawberry Margarita and it was Ah-Mazing infused with actual strawberries and the friend went for the Mojito with mint and lime which was refreshing. For the mains we each ordered ourr own favorite, mine was the Boatman's dream - a mexican dish made with prawns (My absolute favorite. I really wasn't expecting a huge portion for 430 bucks to be frank - like 10 king sized prawns with a huge serving of rice - heavy would be the word to describe, the buttons of your shirt might just pop out after eating this. I however am not complaining. I loved every bit of it. Hot, spicy, zesty are some of the adjectives I can think of while describing this particular dish. I havn't felt this satisfied after having my food in quite some time. My sister went for the Grandma's Lasagna which in her own words " is the best lasagna she has had in Mumbai till date". The balance of the sauce, the cheese, the chicken, the pasta sheets is just perfect creating a medley of flavors that words fail to describe. I don't often order a lasagna, as I always find it to be full of just chicken and cheese and I prefer a little balance, but I will say that I almost wish I had ordered this. The friend in question, order for herself Santa Fe Chicken, another mexican delight. If you are a chickenatarian - consider this your wish granted. I have to given a special mention to the potato wedges served as a side to this sizzling dish, out-of-this world. I believe the world is divided into two kinds of people - the ones that like potato wedges and the others who prefer french fries. Not that you can't like both. But you will always like one a little more. Me? I am a potato wedges person and this place has the best potato wedges I have tried till date. 

Their menu is extensive and I actually wish to head back soon, to try their other offering because this place truly deserves high rank for the quality and taste of food that they bring out. You need need need to pay visit here. AH-MAZING is what it is. There is not one thing, that I could say lacked something anything in flavor. They will go to the extent of understanding how you like your food prepared.

WHAT WE HAD - Texas Style Nachos ( Redefining Yum)

                           Grandma's Lasagna ( Redefining Yum)

                           Santa fe Chicken ( Redefining Yum)

                           Boatman's Dream (Redefining Yum)

                           Strawberry Margarita (Yumness!)

                           Peach Iced Tea (Refreshing)

                           Mint and Lime Mojito (Refreshing)

DAMAGES - Rs 2700/- , approx. incl. of taxes ( Rs 550 as Taxes, taken as a pinch of salt but the only thing that got me thinking - I am paying 20-25% as taxes, and that is more than just a pinch of salt) 

WHERE -  SAMMY SOSA RESTAURANT., Shop 18, Meera CHS, Near Mega Mall, Oshiwara Link Road, Oshiwara, Andheri (W), MUMBAI