For the love of chutney
After a breakfast trip to Brahmins' Coffee Bar, just why people have been flocking there for 46 years
The most important man at the Brahmins' Coffee Bar (also called Brahmins' Cafe) is much like its nameplate — old, faded, and in the same spot since 1965. He is the "extra chutney" man. No smile, no frown. He sits at the entrance of this tiny, one room cafe, and stoically doles out chutney to those eager for a second helping. On most days, this number runs into hundreds. "Extra chutney," that's all he mutters when asked for his name. "He's permanent," says Lakshmana Gowda, a regular here for 46 years.
Gowda is the president of Kannada Katte, a literary organisation housed just across the road. With a proprietary tone, he goes on tell us the story of the cafe after the owner leaned out from behind the counter to shoo away our photographer. "The owner is tired of journalists. They are very busy, and every reporter wants to write about us," Lakshmana Gowda explained.
The other significant permanent fixture at Brahmins' Coffee Bar is its menu — idli, vada, kara bath, kesari bath, and coffee/tea/badam milk.
It's been the same since Nageshwar Adiga opened the cafe in 1965. A Brahmin, he decided to capitalise on his community's filter-coffee-making fame by calling his cafe Brahmins' Coffee Bar. People from all castes were always welcome here though.
Everything on the tiny, fixed menu deserves praise. The idli is soft and fluffy; vada is crispy; kara bath and kesari bath have the perfect amount of ghee, not one bit gooey; and coffee, delicious. Chutney, however, wins the vote for best item. The idli-vada comes swimming in it and the 'extra chutney' man is ready to serve you unlimited ladlefuls. The watery consistency would make you wonder how it tastes so good. That is a secret only Saraswati, Nageshwar Adiga's wife, knows. She is 88 years old, but still supervises the kitchen. Her two sons, Shankaranarayana and Radhakrishna run the cafe now, and she makes sure that the food served tastes just as it did decades ago.
The Adiga family now has a chain of Adigas restaurants, but Brahmins' Cafe remains their flagship. The food here is priced reasonably. A plate of two idlis costs Rs16. "It used to be 10 paise for an idli in the seventies." On most days, the queue of people waiting to stand-and-eat here extends till the end of the road, says Gowda.
So, does he know our chutney man, glued to the chair from 6am to noon, and 3pm to 7pm everyday? His name? "Uh, no," Gowda says, rather puzzled at the question
.
After a breakfast trip to Brahmins' Coffee Bar, just why people have been flocking there for 46 years
The most important man at the Brahmins' Coffee Bar (also called Brahmins' Cafe) is much like its nameplate — old, faded, and in the same spot since 1965. He is the "extra chutney" man. No smile, no frown. He sits at the entrance of this tiny, one room cafe, and stoically doles out chutney to those eager for a second helping. On most days, this number runs into hundreds. "Extra chutney," that's all he mutters when asked for his name. "He's permanent," says Lakshmana Gowda, a regular here for 46 years.
Gowda is the president of Kannada Katte, a literary organisation housed just across the road. With a proprietary tone, he goes on tell us the story of the cafe after the owner leaned out from behind the counter to shoo away our photographer. "The owner is tired of journalists. They are very busy, and every reporter wants to write about us," Lakshmana Gowda explained.
The other significant permanent fixture at Brahmins' Coffee Bar is its menu — idli, vada, kara bath, kesari bath, and coffee/tea/badam milk.
It's been the same since Nageshwar Adiga opened the cafe in 1965. A Brahmin, he decided to capitalise on his community's filter-coffee-making fame by calling his cafe Brahmins' Coffee Bar. People from all castes were always welcome here though.
 |
The Adiga family now has a chain of Adigas restaurants, but Brahmins' Cafe remains their flagship. The food here is priced reasonably. A plate of two idlis costs Rs16. "It used to be 10 paise for an idli in the seventies." On most days, the queue of people waiting to stand-and-eat here extends till the end of the road, says Gowda.
So, does he know our chutney man, glued to the chair from 6am to noon, and 3pm to 7pm everyday? His name? "Uh, no," Gowda says, rather puzzled at the question
 | |
 |
No comments:
Post a Comment