Caught up with webloggers I knew and maitre d' of the Indian Bloggers' List. On her blog, she referred to me as "the talented Mr. Nandi" - whether she meant it as a compliment or as a comparison to the murderer and impostor from the movie, I don't know. We met at Barista's Bandra - the very venue of vice. Yes, I know I'm truly cursed. But is it my fault if these monopolistic coffee makers set up shop at the most easy-to-locate places? Anyway, here's the catch: we met at Barista's - i.e., we only used it as a trivial landmark to coordinate things. In other words, they lost a potential customer. Yes! Retribution at last!
Having successfully avoided our favourite cafe, we walked to Just Around The Corner. JATC is one of the innovative MARS restaurants, and I really liked the decor. The cool colors and soothing design makes for a very good ambience. The food is a little pricey, but it's good food. It's got a "pick up your own plate and take what you want" concept; which I had seen once in a Sushi house on TV. It's a little weird, but I guess that's what's in nowadays. The place is full of "hip and happenning" people - including a certain individual with an orange goatee.
I met Anita for about 17 seconds the last time I was in Mumbai, but today it was like talking to someone you've known since long. I guess it's a gift some people have.
It was Anita's birthday on the 5th, so I wished her a belated Happy Birthday and happily accepted her offer of a birthday treat. (read: I forced her to pay the bill). A note to anyone who's ordering a sandwich: the sandwich at JATC is a 7 inches' side square, so unless you're a capable eater like me, I suggest you go for the salad or something. JATC serves good Cafe Coffee Day coffee (yay! retribution again!), but you need to remind the waiter twice after paying because he's a little forgetful and generally forgets to make the cofee sometimes.
Anita's off to Bangalore tomorrow to meet with the ISRO team for a top secret nuclear space exploration mission; so if you're in Bangalore, be sure to contact her and take a birthday treat!