For those of you who don't know, Nakamura's resident Marketing whiz kid a.k.a Rocket Singh a.k.a Abhinav "The Noob" Rajagopal had been bestowed a major responsibility, arranging the final Nakamura Gathering. This my friends was indeed a herculean task, the likes of myself and Akshay Rao have failed hopelessly in the past due to various reasons, all hope had seemed lost, Nakamura was dying a slow death. But then the miracle worker that is the BOOB, pulled off a major coup, in a desperate attempt to plug the heartstrings of the Chembur gang, he used the imminent departure of legendary league admin Gautam Swaminathan as a catalyst to arrange this meet. The plan was made, all parties agreed. Wednesday, 27th June 2012, history was about to be made. For the first time in almost a year everybody including Barry and Rushabh were about to meet for dinner. Fitting the occasion, the location of the meet had to be grand, something boob took sole responsibility off. Over the years, we have grown to love his eccentricities and yet one year of Business School and we still don't trust the boob over quality of food, and his presence of mind.
Seeing as this meeting was arranged as a goodbye to Nakamura Bombay and the fact that I was leaving soon, boob did promise me a special non veg treat for a buffet. Being the nice guy that I am, I gave the poor guy a chance. A chance that 3 other vegetarians did, based solely on his opinion we all ventured out into the unknown lands of Versova. Grillopolis was the venue for my latest Buffet meal, seeing as there were 5 very different people on the table, all five of them had different views about the place. Its only fair that I mention all 5 opinions about Grillopolis and it wouldn't take a dummy to figure out who is who.
1. I am a bitter bitter man who has a problem with everyone and everything. I think I am the best at everything I do, I am obviously better than anybody in any form of competition. I have a rather pussy appetite, I don't eat much but I do gulp down them Fresh Lime Sodas. Saying something sucks once is never enough, I have to make sure I say it over and over again till the message is etched into boob's mind. I hate the idea of having beetroot and carrots as starters, the brownies shouldn't be too crunchy, the cake is gay and why the hell don't they serve any roti? Grillopolis sucks cock, my rating would be 4 on 10.
2. I am a simple south indian boy who is good in maths. I have big dreams of becoming a fancy marketing VP someday. I hope some day my Nakamura group will respect me and not pawn me for everything I say or do. Deep down I knew the food wasn't that great but since I was the one who recommended it, I had to have 3 rounds of Paneer and 4 rounds of Carrot and Beetroot. As good as they were I didn't like the main course. I am probably the only man on the face of this earth who claims to have tried Non-Veg food and not develop a taste for it and switch back to Paneer and Aloo. But I scouted the place, so my rating would be 8 on 10. Yes I am super biased.
3. I have been working out since the 11th standard. Despite my Gujju roots I am not as bad as some of the other ghatkopar boys. I don't care much about food and ambiance, I have lived all my life in Chembur and any excess travelling doesn't please me. The main reason I hate Versova is cause 371 is a bus that has lousy frequency and I don't like waiting at Diamond garden. The mushroom and corn thingy's were nice, still all in all I thought this place was a waste of time and money. My rating would be 5 on 10.
4. I live to eat. I really really love food. I base a lot of my life decisions on food and the availability of food. No amount of food in a buffet is enough for me but today I was let down. Probably because the boob had such lofty expectations of Grillopolis. It was good but I won't come back here again. I really liked the Carrot and Beetroot despite popular opinion, I wish they had a better selection of main course for the Veg people, if I had my way I would ban all Non-vegetarians from my table so that all the veg food will be left for me. Expected a lot more from the desserts. Versova is a bitch to travel. This was a waste of time, but once in a while its good to spend so much money and indulge yourself. My rating has to be 6 on 10.
And now for the last person and possibly the only review that actually matters.
5. I love buffets in general. Specially as a hard core non vegetarian you get to do justice for the amount you pay. Loved the fact that I didn't have to share my food with anyone on the table, yet they all had to share their Mushroom dish and Veg kebab with me. The chicken was awesome specially with the hummus, lamb is always the best part about the buffet, prawns and shrimps were almost identical but brilliant nonetheless, the starters are the main reason to go visit this place. The waiters keep them coming, they are absolutely delicious and the fact that you always have a full plate whilst the grass eating noobs wait is just the cherry on your cake. Pleasantly surprised with the main course too, Spaghetti with Calimari which was really really good, a decentish biryani, good ol' fashioned BBQ chicken, lamb kofta again, and a shrimp in orange sauce which was better than expected. Very average desserts, only 3 items to choose from, but a good end to a rather pleasant meal. Not nearly the best buffet I've had, but I do not for one minute regret paying 850 bucks for this meal. The non veg starters and hummus are alone worth it. My rating a generous 7.5 on 10.
So boob lived up to his name, his Chembur friends were disappointed yet again by his amateur scouting, the brasht brahmin in me thoroughly enjoyed yet another meat extravaganza and finally the Nakamura gathering was done and dusted. Overall this place is a hassle to get to, and its not that great but if you are the type that likes trying new kinds of cuisine and most importantly you are NON VEGETARIAN, you should definitely visit Grillopolis. If you are Veg, you are better off ordering Paneer Butter Masala and Butter Roti from Shiv Sagar and saving about 650 bucks of your money, don't bother coming to places like this.
In keeping with the British rock theme, I have a few more of my favorite English bands to review, today its Def Leppard. I don't listen to much of hard rock or heavy metal, but Def Leppard I like. Ex-girlfriend's favorite band must make me hate these guys na? Well not really. Really like their music, big contribution in British rock over the 80's and 90's. Without a shadow of doubt the band reached the peak of its popularity because of albums Pyromania and Hysteria. Other albums are decent and worth the download, hell the entire discography is. What really intrigued me about Def Leppard was the fact that their lead drummer Rick Allen was a one handed drummer, you wouldn't have imagined that if you heard some of his solos. A touch of class indeed to play thru almost 11 albums with just one hand, quite a remarkable feat come to think of it. You can understand I am in sort of a hurry with Def Leppard, they have a lot of music, not something you can keep listening to all day, but some songs are indeed fantastic. My favorite songs have to include, "Two Steps Behind", "Photograph", "When Love & Hate Collide" (single, not in any of their studio albums), "Pour Some Sugar On Me", "Let's Get Rocked", "Have You Ever Needed Someone Soo Bad", "Rock of Ages" and "Love Bites". Very wacky names and proper hard rock songs, this band is no classic but definitely worth having on your iPod. They have a rather long and tiresome discography but I think you should go ahead and give them the benefit of the doubt. Here is their discography (in order of preference):
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Seeing as this meeting was arranged as a goodbye to Nakamura Bombay and the fact that I was leaving soon, boob did promise me a special non veg treat for a buffet. Being the nice guy that I am, I gave the poor guy a chance. A chance that 3 other vegetarians did, based solely on his opinion we all ventured out into the unknown lands of Versova. Grillopolis was the venue for my latest Buffet meal, seeing as there were 5 very different people on the table, all five of them had different views about the place. Its only fair that I mention all 5 opinions about Grillopolis and it wouldn't take a dummy to figure out who is who.
1. I am a bitter bitter man who has a problem with everyone and everything. I think I am the best at everything I do, I am obviously better than anybody in any form of competition. I have a rather pussy appetite, I don't eat much but I do gulp down them Fresh Lime Sodas. Saying something sucks once is never enough, I have to make sure I say it over and over again till the message is etched into boob's mind. I hate the idea of having beetroot and carrots as starters, the brownies shouldn't be too crunchy, the cake is gay and why the hell don't they serve any roti? Grillopolis sucks cock, my rating would be 4 on 10.
2. I am a simple south indian boy who is good in maths. I have big dreams of becoming a fancy marketing VP someday. I hope some day my Nakamura group will respect me and not pawn me for everything I say or do. Deep down I knew the food wasn't that great but since I was the one who recommended it, I had to have 3 rounds of Paneer and 4 rounds of Carrot and Beetroot. As good as they were I didn't like the main course. I am probably the only man on the face of this earth who claims to have tried Non-Veg food and not develop a taste for it and switch back to Paneer and Aloo. But I scouted the place, so my rating would be 8 on 10. Yes I am super biased.
3. I have been working out since the 11th standard. Despite my Gujju roots I am not as bad as some of the other ghatkopar boys. I don't care much about food and ambiance, I have lived all my life in Chembur and any excess travelling doesn't please me. The main reason I hate Versova is cause 371 is a bus that has lousy frequency and I don't like waiting at Diamond garden. The mushroom and corn thingy's were nice, still all in all I thought this place was a waste of time and money. My rating would be 5 on 10.
4. I live to eat. I really really love food. I base a lot of my life decisions on food and the availability of food. No amount of food in a buffet is enough for me but today I was let down. Probably because the boob had such lofty expectations of Grillopolis. It was good but I won't come back here again. I really liked the Carrot and Beetroot despite popular opinion, I wish they had a better selection of main course for the Veg people, if I had my way I would ban all Non-vegetarians from my table so that all the veg food will be left for me. Expected a lot more from the desserts. Versova is a bitch to travel. This was a waste of time, but once in a while its good to spend so much money and indulge yourself. My rating has to be 6 on 10.
And now for the last person and possibly the only review that actually matters.
5. I love buffets in general. Specially as a hard core non vegetarian you get to do justice for the amount you pay. Loved the fact that I didn't have to share my food with anyone on the table, yet they all had to share their Mushroom dish and Veg kebab with me. The chicken was awesome specially with the hummus, lamb is always the best part about the buffet, prawns and shrimps were almost identical but brilliant nonetheless, the starters are the main reason to go visit this place. The waiters keep them coming, they are absolutely delicious and the fact that you always have a full plate whilst the grass eating noobs wait is just the cherry on your cake. Pleasantly surprised with the main course too, Spaghetti with Calimari which was really really good, a decentish biryani, good ol' fashioned BBQ chicken, lamb kofta again, and a shrimp in orange sauce which was better than expected. Very average desserts, only 3 items to choose from, but a good end to a rather pleasant meal. Not nearly the best buffet I've had, but I do not for one minute regret paying 850 bucks for this meal. The non veg starters and hummus are alone worth it. My rating a generous 7.5 on 10.
So boob lived up to his name, his Chembur friends were disappointed yet again by his amateur scouting, the brasht brahmin in me thoroughly enjoyed yet another meat extravaganza and finally the Nakamura gathering was done and dusted. Overall this place is a hassle to get to, and its not that great but if you are the type that likes trying new kinds of cuisine and most importantly you are NON VEGETARIAN, you should definitely visit Grillopolis. If you are Veg, you are better off ordering Paneer Butter Masala and Butter Roti from Shiv Sagar and saving about 650 bucks of your money, don't bother coming to places like this.
In keeping with the British rock theme, I have a few more of my favorite English bands to review, today its Def Leppard. I don't listen to much of hard rock or heavy metal, but Def Leppard I like. Ex-girlfriend's favorite band must make me hate these guys na? Well not really. Really like their music, big contribution in British rock over the 80's and 90's. Without a shadow of doubt the band reached the peak of its popularity because of albums Pyromania and Hysteria. Other albums are decent and worth the download, hell the entire discography is. What really intrigued me about Def Leppard was the fact that their lead drummer Rick Allen was a one handed drummer, you wouldn't have imagined that if you heard some of his solos. A touch of class indeed to play thru almost 11 albums with just one hand, quite a remarkable feat come to think of it. You can understand I am in sort of a hurry with Def Leppard, they have a lot of music, not something you can keep listening to all day, but some songs are indeed fantastic. My favorite songs have to include, "Two Steps Behind", "Photograph", "When Love & Hate Collide" (single, not in any of their studio albums), "Pour Some Sugar On Me", "Let's Get Rocked", "Have You Ever Needed Someone Soo Bad", "Rock of Ages" and "Love Bites". Very wacky names and proper hard rock songs, this band is no classic but definitely worth having on your iPod. They have a rather long and tiresome discography but I think you should go ahead and give them the benefit of the doubt. Here is their discography (in order of preference):
- 1983 - Pyromania
- 1987 - Hysteria
- 1992 - Adrenalize
- 1993 - Retro Active
- 1981 - High 'n' Dry
- 1996 - Slang
- 2002 - X
- 2006 - Yeah!
- 1998 - Warchild
- 1985 - First Strike
- 1980 - On Through The Night
Special mention to the song "When Love & Hate Collide", its not their in any of their studio albums since it was a single released by band, one of my favorite Def Lepp songs along with Two Steps Behind. Some albums are a mixture of their greatest hits and acoustic and electric versions of the same songs, but they are all good nonetheless. A classic british rock band with an extraordinary drummer. Def Leppard will grow on you, do listen to them.
