Eating Out

The sizzle was audible. Though whether it came from the ‘sizzling’,oven-fresh controversy baking Daman actress Raveena Tandon a crimson brown orfrom the ‘fresh-off-the-charcoal’ designer creations of world-renowned Taj Hotelartiste Hemant Oberoi, one can’t be sure. Nothing was going to take the glory awayfrom Raveena. She’d just won the national award for best actress and all the hooplaaround it had merely bent a few more arclights on her. She’d also just spent a good15-20 minutes chatting with Bill Clinton at a fund-raiser. And she was ready to party!

So while the world waited to wish Ravs, she was poring over the menu at the renovatedand relocated Zodiac Grill. "Champagne, of course!" And the very best of VeuveChicquot Ponsardin was popped. "I’m trimming and slimming with somegymming," gushed the ‘looker’, two Baccarat glasses of the bubbly down."It means I eat less and make sure others celebrate by eating some more." Now,now, Ravs, we connoisseurs only nibble at la gourmet; not make a buffet of it,na? So a nibble came next. The Zodiac Grill Three Act Gooseliver: gooseliver paté, temne and fresh gooseliver with berries chutney. Oh-so-yum! And Raveena was already into Round Two. And ‘two’ was apt, given that next up was the exotic Too-Matoes.Toooo much it was. Of course (ahem) I got the Chef’s star creation, the very exotic Camembert Dariole called the ‘Signature Dish of the Z-Grill’.

But women, tut tut. Just to match my ‘cheesiness’, she indulgently orderedanother dish only so ‘the table looks good and full’. Prawns Mille Fille—theduet of prawns and crabmeat topped with horseradish and coffee balsamic—would havehad Poseidon himself applaud.

When it came to getting her ‘just desserts’ though, the actress with theN-Award (read: Nuke) wasn’t so forthcoming. The Kahlua Mousse (yourfavourite chocolate and coffee mousse in a crisp almond Nille) was ‘dissected’like a lab mouse, then scorned. The Burnt Cookies Ice-Cream Bomb was ‘defused’.And the Blueberry Crumble with Sabayon got the rebuff and crumbled under the great‘disdain-blues-look’. Wow! So many calories dispelled at one go. Honestly, Ididn’t know grilling a National Award winner would be so yum. I’ll be watchingnext year’s event with my bib on already. (Keep the gherkins on the side please!)