I MUST MUST Eat @ BBQ Nation, Kalyani Nagar!

What a wonderful day! After another pathetic journey to Mumbai the previous night(man I need to find a better way to get home than the 6 1/2 hours long one I take now), this morning I woke up to the soft and tender hands of my nephew probing my cheeks and nose. There is no better sleep than that one. Really.

I finally got time to sit down in peace, think, remember and jot down the words I have been wanting to write since Thursday.

NOT JUST ME, WE SHOULD ALL EAT @ BBQ NATION!

Oh my god, here we go. So, I went to BBQ Nation as part of an outing with my mentor at ZS. At ZS, each employee at ZS has a mentor who guides him/her through his life at ZS, work..*goes inaudible*...long story short: free - lunch - hog - budget - high.

We had to go someplace nice, kind of pricey but let us have a good time. And my word were we right about BBQ Nation! It has everything a guy thinks of before going to a buffet worth Rs. 486.

Ambience? Super!
Starters? Way too many!
Veg starters too?! Yes yes!
Loud? Very!
Salad? Make your own boy!

A lot of people have already been to BBQ Nation before. Not me. This was my first visit and I am raring to go back again. Now, as a blogger about restaurants, I should point out things that make BBQ Nation unique even if you already know.

Right in the center of your table is a cavity in which the waiter first puts an iron container open at the top with holes on two sides. Next, he drops in a dozen odd burning charcoal pieces and covers it up with a grill. And voila! You have your personal live barbeque counter with unlimited starters. Out of 44 veg and 44 non veg starters, I believe they offer 14 each day and vary it throughout the week. 8 are vegetarian (ahan! 8 veg starters that's right!) and 6 non-veg, including the super famous Prawn preparations on skewers for you to turn, rub with random sauces and enjoy. Keep asking for more!
Advice 1: Don't ask for the gilafi nan. They'll make you wait for it and it tastes pathetic.
Advice 2: BBQ Nation generally gives you a free mocktail, including beer. *stop grinning, read on...*

40 minutes later, after it suddenly dawned upon you that you're so full that you wont be able to enjoy the rest of the courses, you get up and walk over to the salad and soup bar. Choose your soup, make your own royal salad, try the pasta or the noodles. Then, you go back to your seat, take a deep breath, look up to the heavens for strength and resilience and dig in. 10 minutes later, you almost give up. Then you remember its a buffet, its free and you won't come here often. You must make most of it. You tell the prompt waiter (oh did I mention the service? Impeccable.) to clear your plate, he smiles and understands you're in for another round.

You turn your head a full 180 degrees and realise you shouldn't have hogged on that mushroom tikka so much. So, you become picky. You reject half the stuff and still end up with 4 curries, 2 daals, pulav and burnt garlic noodles.

Damn I am hungry.

Am I sounding like a blogger hired by them? I should be! The place is darn good! Desserts mein kya bolun? Mast tha! [desserts - in- what - I - say? amazing it was]

Now, when I rack my brain to find something I can criticize BBQ for, I seem to remember asking for a finger bowl at the end. He brought one that wasn't hot. BUT! He realised it was cold and replaced it with a hot one in 30 seconds. See? Now that's why I love the place!

I wasn't allowed to click photos inside, so this is all I have:

Aargh, the pics are so n00bish. But I make my point no? Go go to BBQ if you haven't. Go again if you have already!