Hello 2017!
It's been a really long time since I did a blog post, been totally restricted to doing short reviews on Instagram. Also, I had been cutting down on dining out after a quick increase of my waistline. So now back to this review. I happened to dine at The Miner Diner for brunch yesterday and ended up having a fantastic experience.



Food:
We (Wife and I) chose to have the Gold Miner Diner Combo which is priced at Rs 495/- person. This combo allows you to have the following







We had the Cream of Chicken Soup to start with, followed by Wasabi Salad and BBQ Salad. Must say they were all simply superb. May not be original in its right, but tasted good. Both salads were loaded with romaine lettuce, olives, cherry tomatoes, zucchini & cucumber. The BBQ salad had a mix of BBQ sauce and Mayo. While the Wasabi Salad tasted more like Kimchi.

Before our starters could arrive our shakes reached the table. Berry & Cookie shake and Kit-Kat shake. Both were just divine. I personally loved the Berry & cookie better as it was a little thinner  and so it just went well with the heavy course of food which was served


Next, we had the Chicken Cigars and Wasabi Paneer. Crispy Cigars were served with thousand island sauce which was fantastic. The wasabi paneer - grilled paneer topped with cheese and mayo along with a small sliver of olive was mindblowing. The mayo balanced out the spiciness of the wasabi making it a subtle heat.



By the end of the starters, we were so stuffed that neither of us could have the mains. I just decided to have a small bite of them and parcel the rest. Corden Blu waffle sandwich and Italian Twist waffle pizza. The waffle was perfect. It had a nice crispy texture with a soft interior. This made biting into the waffle an absolute bliss. The Pizza, on the other hand, was a little less crispy when compared to the sandwich as it might have absorbed the cheese's moisture. Nevertheless tasty.

We decided to pack the desserts as well as we had reached saturation point.

Ambiance:
Set in a car park of a house, with rustic interiors which make it feel like something else.

Service:
Fast, efficient and attentive.

Price:
Here comes the best part. This entire meal cost us Rs 1124/- for two people which is all inclusive is fantastic value for money.

Food - 8/10
Ambiance - 8/10
Service - 8/10
Price - 9.5/10

Disclaimer: I paid for the meal.

The Miner Diner is located in Anderson road next to Doner Kebab.

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*A review about a place holds good only for 6 months as there can be a change in quality and quantity of the food, the service, and the staff, due to reasons best known only to them. So kindly consider these factors while visiting the places.

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Looks like Burgers have become the HoT!! commodity in Chennai. Every new joint which pops up wants to fill this lacunae. Thanks to this thought,  we have loads of Burger Joints. One of the latest entrant to the scene is Double Roti. After establishing a strong base in Guragon, they have moved to the best city in India, Yes!! Namma Singara Chennai!!!

Food:
I had a small meet-up with a bunch of foodies after days work, my first outing in months. I must thank Fazil (Mr. Food in Chennai) for waiting patiently till the time I was available to try this joint. Since I am a burger lover. Even known in some food circles as Shadir " The Burger" Bughari, this joint which people have been raving about was on my must have list.


Our order for the evening was a Single Patty Illegal Burger / Barely Legal Burger, then a double patty of the same, a 4th of July Burger and finally the drinks which were Oreo O Oreo Shake, Killer Chocolate Shake and two other shakes whose names, I am unable to recollect. In between all this there was Beef Chilli Fries

Firstly let me get the Fries part done. I have been waiting to see if someone does this concept of topping a meat onto fries in India. Thank heavens it has finally happened. I must say they have got it right. Beef is based on steak sauce with kidney beans and small amount of chilli flakes. People who love HEAT, please you will be like, what, where and stuffs. The BEST fries I have had in a long while. I was simply mind blown. The beef gravy was similar in taste to Turkey Roast ( New Year ) special at Hotel Blue Diamond.


Now coming to the drinks. It was humongous. Freakishly Large jars!! I bet you I did not expect em to be served in  such a big jar for that price. Taste - Devine! Very much up the alley of Sandys and Mocha. I only happened to taste the chocolate shakes, but WoW! will be a understatement.


Finally coming to Burgers. I ll start by dissecting the burger into parts. Buns - Perfect, held together, until the last bite. Soft at the same time fresh. Cheese, Mayo and the Meat - Tick, tick, tick. Right proportions, quantity and color. Now comes the time to test. Firstly the Illegal Burger / Barely Legal Burger. One bite instant FOODGASAM! you are transported to new realm. Best Beef burger. This tops my list as the best burger in town. The 4th of July Burger on the other hand a lamb burger, was similar to the ones I have had at Gallopin Gooseberries many decades ago. I did notice some kidney beans in the burger as well. Maybe its Double Roti's way of serving veggies to pure blooded CARNIVORES!



While having these burgers I could only think of one thing over and over again. The episode in " How I met your Mother" where Marshall hunts for the best burger in New York. I feel I had the similar happiness in the end.

To sum up - Best Burger Joint in the city. One cannot call himself a BURGER lover if he misses this joint.

Ambiance:
It is a small 30 seater restaurant, with loud music, very much like pub minus the alcohol. The major minus is that the place lacks parking space and you have to park on the road. Also now that this place has a huge fan following, getting a seat is really difficult.

Service:
Is fast and courteous. They make sure you do not leave the restaurant hungry.

Price:
This meal for the four of us was Rs 1850/- which I felt was quite reasonable in this day and age, also we were like really stuffed when we left.

Food - 8.5/10
Ambiance - 8/10
Service - 8/10
Price - 8/10

Disclaimer - I paid for the meal

Double Roti is located in Cenotaph Road, Teynampet .

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*A review about a place holds good only for 6 months as there can be a change in quality and quantity of the food, the service and the staff, due to reasons best known only to them. So kindly consider these factors while visiting the places.

Food:
This was the second and final stop for the evening. After the first restaurant we went to that night, not being able to hit the mark, we walked in a bit hungry to Tovo and also in the mood experiment. We decided to start the meal with Rice Crepes with Chilli Garlic. I think they need to highlight the term CHILLI! It was unbelievably spicy.


We then decided to split a Smooth and Soft Chicken with Original Buttery infusion sauce, Hyderabadi Spice as regional topping and finally top notch seasonal topping. Also a Gourmet Buns chicken with Tangy Cheese and Herbs infusion sauce, Mogul Laces as regional topping and high seasonal topping. Smooth and soft chicken was too good. But I could barely feel the heat in the dish after the rice crepes aka chilli dosa. Nevertheless the chicken was too good.


Finally enter the Gourmet Bun that is, Burger!!!!!! - Best burger in town - Hands down! To put things to perspective, I have a sufficient mouth opening to take a bite out of Bili bunter burger at Gallopin Gooseberries. This burger with 2 hands working I could hardly make one bite. This burger is so big it will give other burgers a complex. I think that enough description about the burgers size. Taste was on a whole different level. Perfect Buns, Cheese, Egg and finally the winner the fantastic lip smacking chicken. I would sure love to see a burger which would challenge this burger. For now I am head over heels with this burger.


After the sensational burger we had a Butterscotch with Praline shake just to have small dessert kind of finish to the meal.

Ambiance:
Again this was classy. Black ceiling mated to contemporary furniture, where less is more.

Service:
Top - Notch.... By the way I loved the chap who served us - Karthi. He was really cool in explaining how Tovo works for us 1st timers.

Price:
The price of the meal was Rs 880/- Superb pricing for a fantastic meal.

Food - 8.5/10
Ambiance - 9/10
Service - 9/10
Price - 8/10

Tovo infusion is located in R.K. Salai opposite to Hotel Savera.

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Food:
I have always imagined and wished a coffee shop brings in dishes which one would see in an English sitcoms. I don't mean the regular Sandwiches and Pastas, but different items. This is the first cafe I have come across in Chennai, to serve Churro. Just like the ones Joey had in Friends! The churro was served with a drizzle of caramel sauce and chocolate sauce on the side. I would most definitely return just for these.





They serve a variety of shakes and their Lindt Chocolate shakes are to die for. I had the Cafe Latte. A true latte lover in me wanted to sample em! The brew was perfecto! They serve up some delicious sandwiches as well, if your in the mood for a quick bite. If you were to order one, I would truly recommend the brown bread sandwich over the regular ones.




They have a big block of a chocolate cake which resembles the tiny cake at Sandy's and a tasty Waffle. A small talk with owner gives me an idea of what is in store for the future. I had a small idea which I passed it along to the owner who seemed to be on the same page as me. A savoury waffle such as Waffle burger! :P Yes that would be different.

Ambiance:
Cozy and neat ambiance!

Price:
The price points here is very reasonable. Infact seeing the price of Lindt Chocolate shake I was shocked that I had paid a similar amount at another cafe in 2008. It should cost around Rs 300/- for two.

Munch Cafe is located inside the DLF building diagonally opposite to Apollo First Med, Kilpauk.

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I ordered a Banger Sanger and a Cafe Latte while my friend who had accompanied me ordered a Grilled Chook Sammie and Hot Chocolate. The Banger Sanger and Grilled Chook Sammie were the first to arrive. One bite into our sandwiches was just enough to redeem the place of all our hasty presumptions which we had in our mind. I did not sample my friends sandwich but he assured me it was rocking. My Banger Sanger was simply devine, it was like A R Rahmans melody in my mouth. It reminded me of the sandwich at La Boulangerie. The Latte was a regular affair nothing special  and I would rate it on the same scale as CCD.


Food - 8/10
Ambiance - 5/10
Service- 7/10
Price - 9/10

The Koala Joe's Cafe is located in the road between Nilgiris and Indian Oil Bunk on Radhakrishnan Salai, right next to Illusions Pub.