The East Village of Bengaluru's Soho precinct is aglow with soul food and an unmistakable Manhattan vibe, inspired by managing partner, chef and owner extraordinaire Manu Chandru and his gourmet encyclopaedia. And one thing's for certain: Chef Chandra doesn't do run-of-the-mill. He creates trends that emerge from the depths of his food wisdom, paying a sincere ode to the ingredients. The dish that comes out of this stands out, imbued with flavour and individuality.
After a year of Toasting and Tonicing the ooreans, comes this "work in progress menu" at the Toast and Tonic, East Village Style. And we go back to where it all began, to Between the Buns... (sic), where Manu started his tryst with restaurant mavericking and czarring… aka Monkey Bar and its bouncy burgers! It was only apt, therefore, that Chef Chandra brought back the bun that has seen itself in avatars across his restaurants - be it the local bhaiya's bun maska, the gourmet swirl of the Monkeying man about town or the bun pav of that whimsical Parsi Bawa at Sodabottleopenerwala. This tete a tete with gourmet buns at Toast and Tonic helps us revive our burger fetish (even those who claim not to have one).
The ten-day burger festival that kicks off on November 2 promises Jughead-worthy offerings with eclectic ingredients, which you can try with a drink of gin infused with elderflower!
But first, we packed in our favourite dish in all of potholed Bengaluru - the Udon Housecured Chorizo and Clams with smoked bandel and black forest ham. We also ordered a new addition - Vietnamese pho, with stocky, singular flavours, and succulent juicy beef. We also tried a new Indian gin being made and launched by Manu's friend Anand Virmani of NAO Spirits in Goa - Greater Than (Juniper infused)!
We started the meal with the famed Khasi burger, courtesy Chef Chirag's forays in to the smokey North East. It comes with black sesame paste, pork cooked in mustard oil and ginger served in a bouncy portly bun made in-house, a side of mustard slaw with Chinese cabbage and crisp shavings of potato… simple, delicious and flavourful with bamboo shoot goodness, though it might be an acquired taste for some. We liked the smokiness that Chef Chirag has worked on, but it could have been less fatty and more pulled, perhaps.
The next dish quickly became a favourite. Sweet potato cubes dunked in hot oil made for a spectacular experience. The soft shell crab burger - Crisp soft shell crab that bursts into a cruncy medley of favours in your mouth, with rich avocado crema, the lightest of lemon aioli and sofrito. We added some in-house while grain mustard. We loved the delicious simplicity of its flavours, ensconced in a herbed bun with just the right tangy kick.
We love the idea of a burger trail, packed in with the trademark Toast and Tonic exuberance - but what lies behind the idea? "There is a deeper connect with this space (the address was where Monkey Bar had been launched earlier) and since burgers are huge, and the whole conversation has been raging amongst foodies. That's why we thought a festival and new burgers on the menu would be just right and in keeping with the sentiment of what Toast and Tonic. We have a fairly good selection for the festival: The khasi pork, I can eat every day! The soft shell crab too," explains Chef Chandra after much prompting.
We spotted some interesting vegetarian options - the vegan and shrooms are quite good we were told. The herbed buns are a delight, with the unique flavours complementing the bite and sealing the deal as far as we were concerned. We had the standard beef burger packed with fried crisp bacon, which is our favourite, despite the fact that we forgot to request a medium-rare patty. It was juicy, with a slim patty that we liked, although the meat eater on our table wanted bigger, and broccoli fondue very interesting. The bacon was crunchy, although a few bits were too chewy. The lettuce could have had been crunchier too, but our bite had all the notes we wanted, perfectly spaced out.
The chicken burger we spotted comes in Poha crusted fillets, we liked the local spin. "I had visited the North East and was inspired by the meat there and since the burger concept is evergreen, I didn't want to go the usual route but give my own twist," explains Chirag Makwana, the chef who's cutting board has been busy as the new menu is a work in progress.
You can choose sweet potato fries, wedges, tapioca chips and shoestring fries. The ingredients are made in-house or sourced locally so Manu's foodie wisdom stands tall. A new pasta had us drooling. Orechiette, with andaluscian sausages - perfect for a winter's day out.
There are three new desserts, a coconut, passion fruit, and a kulfi with vanilla bean and rice crispies in a delectable vanilla cream and glaze of sugar taco. Very innovative - and cold!
14/1, Wood Street,
Ashok Nagar, Richmond Town, Bangalore 25
Call 080-41116879
Online reservations: http://www.toastandtonic.com/
Value for money: Burgers are priced between Rs 340 to Rs 495.
An average meal for two including drinks Rs 2,000
Must-haves: Vegetarians can try the Tofu Burger, Shrooms that comes packed with mush ado of pulled Oysters Mushrooms, Button Mushrooms, Mushroom Chips, Tomato Chilli Spread, Brie, Go Vegan. The Khasi, Soft Shell Crab and Standard… all burgers simplistically wholesome in flavour. Do try the Udon, Choriz and Clams and the Pho.
