Rede Drop Zone- Introducing Parotta-side dish as Mexican

If you want to get heartburn, this is the place to go.  The food is complete garbage.  The Chef and owner have never eaten Mexican food in their life.  First and foremost, there was no beans or cheese in any dish. 

I can list about 20 things that are wrong at this place.  But will restrict it to just a few.  Even the roadside dog will refuse consume this garbage.

I have lived for 20 years in California and visited Mexico multiple times. I also have Mexican friends and eaten at their homes.  So, I can consider myself as an expert.

The only thing right about this place is that they home-deliver and the driver carries a credit card machine.


What is wrong:
1. All dishes (be it Enchilada/burrito/etc) have the same filling- a mixture of long thin onions slices, crushed beans, carrots, bell peppers and lots of fire spices.  It was more like a side dish for Parotta! In authentic Mexican or even Oxacan food, first onions are cut into small pieces and not strips; jalapeno's are used for garnishing and not chili powder; and carrots are never used.  You need to beans for any and all filings.
2. The burrito showed up as a fried wonton with stuffing.  The only saving grace was that it was a corn chapatti.  My impression was they were trying a hard shell taco and failed miserably.
3. The food was so spicy that it was just not eatable.
4. The guacamole had no tomatoes and no onions.  Moreover it was not clear whether the dish even contained any avocados. The sour cream was really a hardened yogurt.
6. There was no cheese in any of the dishes.  So it cannot even be branded American Mexican.


All-in-all, my impression of Cascade restaurant chain is down the toilet.  They highlight the link to Cascade very prominently in all their literature.  I would definitely not go there ever again, even after my heartburn is over.


I talked to the Manager.  He said he that the Chef is from Taj and the manager has no clue what Mexican food is.  he was not even sure whether Burrito was Mexican or Italian!!

Basera- A BBQ Restaurant on ECR, Chennai (Madras), India

Basera Restaurant, Injambakkam, Nr. Prarthana Theater, ECR, Chennai(Madras), India
3* Restaurant/ Rs 408/$8 (Veg) and Rs 450/$9 (Non-Veg) /Open to lush garden

Happy and Satisfied Customer

Courteous staff, great BBQ and a fantastic dessert layout.  The lush garden is a very romantic setting, but available only for dinner!! During lunch, the A/C indoors serves a buffet.  The place is extremely clean (toilets too!!) and everyone is courteous. The Manager comes to your table to inquire after every course. We ate a buffet in the cool confines of the indoor restaurant. The diners are IT-types that come in large groups on bikes and sub-compact cars, families with kids, lovey-dovey couples like Vaishnavi and myself, and local elites in 7-series BMWs.  There were quite a few regulars but we were treated no differently from them.

Dessert Table

The first thing to say about the food is that the dessert was extremely good.  The fruit salad was fresh, cut evenly and tasted good. The caramel custard tasted was so delicious, that I am out of words to describe it.  Of course they had a payasam/kheer and ice cream.

BBQ: Left are the vegetarian and right are the meat

Lemon-mint drink and the 5 starters

The buffet appetizer had five veg. and five non-veg items.  Five were BBQ items including prawns, mutton, chicken, paneer, and a veggie kabobs. They BBQ on a nice chargoal grill in the middle of the table. Being October and in A/C, we did not feel uncomfortable.  It might be the case in peak summer.  The BBQ items were extremely tasty and were cut to the right size, seasoned very well.  The meats and the veggies felt fresh and firm with a little juice.  They actually made sure that the meats and veggies were placed separately. This was important because my wife is a strict vegetarian.  The other five were fried items- fish fry, veg wontons, gobi manchurian, tandoori chicken and aloo tikki.  The wonton was a little soggy but the rest were very well done.  The fish tikka was immersed in a little too much spices and grease. So, it was a little suspicious.

You could match the appetizers with a lemon-mint drink which was quite refreshing.  We actually requested for a refill three times. They had soda drinks but we did not bother. 

Moore mulaghai- delicious

Salad, Yogurt and pickles

The main course was a combination of North Indian dhals, channa and naans with South India rasam and curds.  The curds was hard and very tasty, with no added sugar.  The The best part meal was the moore mulaghai (chillies soaked in buttermilk,dried then fried), a South Indian accompaniment to rice + curds. The dhaal and the kadai vegetables were very tasty.

All in all, it made our marriage anniversary a extremely good one.  Then we were off to pick up our daughter from the grandparents house.

Crimson Chakra- A great meal combination in a Single Restaurant

4+* Restaurant, Average is Rs 500/$10 per person including dessert.  Each entree is about Rs 250/$5.

This place is all about service, ambiance and personalized treatment.  right from the time, I made a reservation the treatment was above par.  Among all the upscale restaurants in South Chennai, I have visited this is the best service.  They call me a few hours before the reservation time to remind me and also find out if we had special requests.  I told them that we want to be in the quiet part of the restaurant.  When we got there, they had reserved a table close to the entrance but was private from the other diners. My daughter felt it was below her dignity to sit in a high-chair. They first put cushions on the existing chair, and when that did not work, they gave her a high revolving chair.  They were really creative.  The diners were also very discreet at this place. Cream Center has better food but this place has quieter ambiance and a more relaxed eating environment.

The best part of their food are the salads that come with the main course, mud pie dessert, and the fresh-baked bread that we start off with.  Their menu of South Indian (Crimson Chakra) and Continental (Cornucopia) is very complementary.  The restaurant is called Crimson Chakra and the Cornucopia name is there just for nostalgia.  The food is anything but nostalgia.  Both these menus have a different chef.  Both menus are very authentic and the selection is wide.  The hardest part is to select the right item out of the menu.  The continental menu has exotic names that could be overwhelming to some, myself included.

Their Lasagna sauce seems like it was allowed to simmer for awhile and it brought out the spices in the sauce. They had a three layer with minimal amount of cheese.  The taste was authentic to our tested American taste buds.

When I want a quiet meal or to chat up with a old friend, I would always pick this one.  The reastaurant closed at 10 PM but they let us stay until almost midnight. They did not show any signs of wanting us to leave and did not try to dim the lights.  Also the entree price is much lower compared to all the restaurants of similar standard in Chennai.

Desserts in Chennai (Madras) India

Fruit Shop on Greams Road. (Sweet without a strong sugary flavor. Excellent. Average per person- Rs 35-75/ $0.8 to 1.6)

Standalone Desserts Entrees are really hard to find in Chennai.  Most of them are glorified ice cream shops with loud music and, even louder paint patterns. The few good one's are simple affairs, without any decor, and carry traditional south Indian treats like badushahs, jilabi, or Bengali Sweets, like srikandh and rasmalai.

One of the first dessert-only places that showed up in Chennai (Madras) India is the Fruit Shop on Greams Road.  Not only is the name extremely attractive and captures your imagination, so too is the decor.  After dinner at my parent's place and leaving my daughter with the grandparents, we sneaked over to the one in Besant Nagar. I have always passed by it but never ventured in.

This place is in an un-modified home built in the late 70's.  When you walk it, you get the feeling of warmth and openness.  The color are simple.  There are bold messages about the health benefits of fruits and nuts. The menu size is probably the only negative at this place. There are over a 100 items.  Many of them have exotic names that mean absolutely nothing.  For example, there is one called Jughead.  Most of them say exactly what they are, like banana milk shake.

I ordered the Chikku milk shake and my wife got the Falooda.  First off the bat.  The Falooda had a great collection of fruits.  They looked and tasted really fresh.  It is impossible to find mangoes in the city and they had an abundance in the drink.  The noodles were soft in the Falooda.  Towards the bottom, it got a little too sweet. On the Chikku side, you could taste the chikku in the milk shake.  There was no extra sugar added or any syrups.  So, the mouth felt really refreshed and fluffy.

All-in-all, it was a great hangout and a great feel-good dessert.  I would highly recommend a visit.  The place has a Website: http://www.fruitshopongreamsroad.in/.

Tuscana at Chamiers, A Italian restaurant on Chennai

4* Restaurant/ Average about Rs 500 per entree /Nice decor and Ambiance /2 Thumbs Up.

One of our favorite outings are visits to new restaurants.  Our goal is to never repeat a restaurant, unless we find one we like so much.  Then we end up going there every week.  Since we have traveled widely, we tend to realize which restaurant is authentic and true to their heritage.

Yesterday was Navaratri celebrations.  More on that in a separate Gollu subject.  Tired after a long day of working around the house and the job of entertaining guest, we decided to drop off the daughter downstairs.  Off we went to the new restaurant on Chamiers Road, across from Hotel Park Sheration in the Boat Club Area of Chennai (Madras) India.  It was past 9:30 when we got there but the staff was still wide awake.  The location is a old home that has been slightly remodeled. The interior seems to have been maintained, just painted with occasional paintings. This looks similar to Cornucopia/ Crimson Chakra.

The valet instantly opened the door for both of us.  They waited until we firmly got out of the car, before presenting the token.  I hate it when the valet is just rushing to get you out of the car.  Similarly on the return, he had the car nicely positioned for us to get in.

As we had no reservation, they took us to a quiet table.  Funny that it was the same table that my wife had the last time she was there.  This was my first visit.  They brought the menu and stayed away until we called them. 

Before the food, they brought the bread, sticks and toast.  It was all fresh.  They center tray was really tasty and colorful.  It has a hummus-like spread, chopped olives in a olive oil/vinegar sauce and tomato bits.

My wife ordered the gnocchi in marinara sauce while I order Kritiko Boureki, from their Middle-Easter Menu.  The gnocchi were soft and seemed fresh, as opposed to store-bought.  Now, I wonder where you could buy it in Chennai.  We still have our stock from the US.   Mine had a nice pastry covering for my potato and zucchini pie.  I could actually taste the zucchini.  But stunner was the salad.  The leaves were bright and strong.  The dressing ting to it that make the salad just roll in your mouth.  I did not want to sallow it at all.

I had a Fresh Lime soda with salt.  The drink was strong and felt good after a long days work.

The menu is huge and is split nicely between vegetarian and meat dishes. There quite a few desserts and there is a ice cream shop on the Ground Floor (They also sell high-quality beef). The only negative is that music is too loud and the noise from one table runs through too all the nearby tables.