The
Piano Man Jazz Club has actually grown on the capital and has been quite the
talk of the town, making most other clubs appear very mundane. So when I got an
invite to check out the team’s food endeavour, ‘Dirty Apron’, I just had to go
check it out! Dirty Apron’s creative interiors, chic and friendly atmosphere, strike
the right balance between camaraderie and intimacy. You could opt to melt into
a chair and soak in the atmosphere, hang out at the terrace with your favourite
cocktail, or then settle down to a languid meal with soft music playing in the
background.
Coming
to the food, to start with I was happy that the menu wasn’t too big as you
would see in most establishments, thus making it easier to decide. My daughter
and I are big oriental fans so immediately opted for the Vietnamese Chicken Pho
to start with. When done right (unfortunately not in this case) chicken pho in
a place like Delhi can sometime outsell the epitome of pho’s the beef pho. This
is why I fail to understand why restaurants don’t make an effort to
serve this humble dish the way it is meant to be! The pho broth is the soul of
the dish and the chef here had got that really wrong. You can be pardoned for
serving underdone or chewy banh pho (the pho noodle). You can be excused for
not having the right meat or toppings. But jumble up the pho broth
and your pho is ruined. Anyways next came in the Jerk chicken and the Shish Taouk….both
average and not even near authenticity. Flawlessly made jerk chicken can be
addictive: It’s misty and moist, sweet-smelling and spicy. The extensive
marination and cooking time leaves it nice and tender and the hot chilli sauce classically
aided on the side cuts through the lushness of the meat.
 |
| Appearances can be deceptive ( Chicken Laksa Risotto) |
Now
we were hoping that our mains better be good, so came in the chicken Laksa
Risotto. I am the person, who doesn’t really like sweet in my savoury, but of
course there are some beautiful dishes that demand a hint of sweetness and I do
enjoy those. The Risotto was absolutely disappointing and had too much
happening …nothing was right…texture...nor the flavour or the taste! By now I
was eagerly waiting for my Crunchy mushroom pappardelle with broccoli and panko
crumbs to arrive (I was drooling thinking of the one I had tried at Jamie’s
restaurant in Vasant Kunj that I had tried), alas…. they had killed it….too
saucy …just did not work for me! The Lamb Moussaka which the chef sent was slightly
better and palatable (though again could be much better). Among the desserts Lemon
grass and Kafir lime scented crème brulee was not so bad and a pleasant sweet
ending but again the Orange and chilli chocolate mousse just ruined it for me!
That
said Dirty Apron and Arjun Sagar Gupta are earnest and passionate about the
food and surely can try and work towards it! I am more than eager to give it
time to soar to its full prospective as being from the trade I know there can
be a lot of teething issues...but the point to be noted is that the competition is tough !
FAST FACTS
B6-7/22, 2nd Floor,
Opposite Deer Park, SafdarjungEnclave Market,
Safdarjung, New Delhi.
Tel: 011
4131 5181
ON
THE POSITIVE
India’s
first Jazz Bar on the ground level ‘The Piano Man’ is a must go to. The stage
is well-appointed to congregate a diversity of performers, the bar is well planned
and the star of the show is the chandelier that suspends over the stage. Erected
using 58 trumpets, theorised by Arjun himself and designed by Amith Chhabra; it
lends an additional dash of allure to the space.
