When it comes to Chennai, good food and hospitability go hand in hand. From unstinting portions of meals served at weddings till the diner says enough, to the mess tradition where people were served sumptuous tiffin and meals for a meager amount, food reflected generosity and affection. In a time when the Covid19 Pandemic has ushed us to stay indoors and largely complelled us to eat at home we sure do miss the iconic resturants. Sambar Vada from Ratna Cafe, Chicken 65 from Bhuhari, ahaa those were the days. While right now stepping out much and exploring food options like before is not an option let us take this Madras Day to take a look at the quintessential Madras eat outs.

Pattukottai Kamatchi Mess

Pattukottai Kamatchi mess is an authentic taste of Tamil cuisine. Which started early in 2001 with a menu that serves truely authentic madras cuisine. The ambience may not be fit for the queen but the food here is finger licking good. It soon became a popular go to place for many Chennaites. The rich aroma, authenticity and quality of the food made instantaneous success among the localities and we were serving the people of Pattukottai till now successfully.

Best of Biryani

Buhari Hotel was started back in 1951 and is still known for its rendition of the much beloved Biryani – the credit of the dish becoming famous among the locals of Madras goes to Buhari Hotel. Biryani served in Buhari is distinctly different from the Ambur or the Hyderabadi styles considering the taste was tweaked to suit the Madras palate. Also, unlike how the Biryanis used to be served on banana leaves at Muslim weddings, Buhari used to serve it in the conventional restaurant format. One of the signature practices at Buhari is how they placed a boiled egg atop a mutton or chicken biryani back in the day and the custom is still followed. In the 80’s, anybody who would visit Madras on a holiday or for work would be asked ‘did you have the Biryani from Buhari?’. Chicken 65, the ever famous bar snack and side dish is supposed to have been invented at Buhari by its founder A.M.Buhari, a pioneer in the South Indian food industry.

Hotel Crescent

The décor is down to earth, with basic furnishings and no frills and whistles. But the food, oh yes the food, is to die for. No wonder people flock there. You can also find luxe cars parked outside waiting for their takeaways. Their oh-so-tasty wheat parathas with an accompaniment of Kerala chicken curry, mutton fry, prawn fry or their egg podimas. The egg podimas is fried in coconut oil with a generous sprinkling of mustard seed and fried curry leaves. Heavenly! The Kerala chicken curry is mildly spiced, laced with creamy coconut milk and a generous helping of juicy chicken pieces. Crescent also has a wide variety of biriyanis. The usual favourites are the Malabar mutton biriyani and the prawn biriyani. While the latter is a spicy offering, the former is made with zeeraga sambal rice and is delicately flavoured. The nei choru (ghee rice) is also worth a try. If you like Arabian food, then their grilled chicken, complete with crispy chicken skin, served with a creamy mayo is a delicious treat.