BARBECUE NATION
About Barbecue:-
A barbeque basically means a meal cooked outside the house on a rack over an open fire or on a special appliance. The Barbeque set up consists of a metal container with hot coal with a net or grilled top on which meat, fish or other food can be skewered and served. The food gets a slow heat and is cooked well without losing its texture and flavors. In fact, the flavors are well enhanced with a slight brush of some butter or other oil and flavorings.
About Barbeque Nation:-
Barbeque Nation is an Indian chain of restaurants with the tag "Come grill with us". This is an Indian restaurant chain owned by Indore-based Sayaji Hotels Limited. One of the most successful food chains in India, Barbeque Nation pioneered the concept of live grill embedded in the dining tables to give their customers the benefit of making the BBQ of their choice with their choice of flavors. This brought the concept of "Do it yourself" in India and is one of the few restaurants which started this service at an affordable rate offering a wide range of delicacies to its clients. It also has a very unique concept of "The Flag system" in which the customers are given an unlimited serving of starters on the grill till they do not put the flag down. Hence the customers can eat to their heart's content and pay as much as they pay for 1 meal.
The look and feel of all outlets is rustic and casual with wood and open-brick wall surface. The sizzle of the grills livens up the whole atmosphere and gives diners a comfortable and cozy experience. The place requires a reservation before dining and also includes special services for occasions like birthdays, anniversaries , farewells and welcome parties.
The standard meal rates are 750 for Non-Veg and 700 for Veg on regular days (Monday to Saturday) and Rs 800 for Non Veg and 750 for veg on Sundays including the service tax.
Starters:-
Our meal started with the waiter giving us a brief idea of the concept of Barbeque Nation and their services. We then got the list of appetisers and drinks that we would be getting for our day's meal. Since we went on a saturday we chose the non-veg meal which was at Rs 750 per plate.
We ordered 1 glass of fresh lime soda (salty) and a glass of sweet aam panna and a blue mocktail(I do not remember the name for it).
Fresh Lime Soda: Although I ordered the fresh lime lime soda in salty, I really liked the fact that the soda did not just have lime juice and soda but also had a mild flavor of jaljeera in it. The taste and flavors were perfectly balanced in the simple drink and the drink could not have been better with anything else added to it.
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| Fresh Lime Soda |
Aam Panna:The aam panna was a little too sweet and I wasn't very impressed with the taste. It missed the tanginess and raw flavors of mango and it was prominent that there were no original flavors used in it. In fact it had a generous amount of sugar, artificial pulp and lots of food colors. The drink appeared really attractive and would have tasted better if it had a little bit of tangyness to it.
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| Aam panna |
I haven't tasted the blue mocktail, so can't give any opinion on that.
Starters(On the Grill):-
We started with Paneer BBQ followed by Mushrooms on the grill, crispy fried corn, kajun potato, veg cutlet, BBQ Corn, BBQ pineapple, BBQ watermelon,apples and papaya and BBQ pepper and potato for the veg course and grilled chicken, grilled green fish, grilled BBQ prawns, fried masala chicken leg piece and meat balls.
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| On the grill Menu. |
Like I mentioned before, all the dishes are grilled on low heat and have all their flavors intact. The tables also have extra servings of BBQ grill oils and some dips to go with the dishes on the grill.
I am not a very big fan of Paneer or cottage cheese so I did not divert my attention to that part of the grill. I started my appetizers with my favorite mushrooms and they were just one step ahead of perfect.
The mushrooms were cut into two halves and were brushed with mild Indian spices with a juicy and mouth filling feeling. They were semi cooked before they were put on the barbeque and tasted as if they were just out of the oven with a sprinkle of cinnamon and chilies in them.
Next, we were served with the crispy fried corns. These were corns of delight put on our plates. They were so good that my friend even said that she could keep eating only those for the whole lunch and wouldn't get tired. The corns were sweet, crispy and mildly spicy. They were deep fried and had a slight dry texture. These were very crispy and golden fried with a coating of cornflour mixed with red chilly powder and coriander and deep fried with finely chopped onions. These are good enough to give an anytime competition to the golden fried prawns served in any restaurant in Bhubaneswar.
The next dish was the BBQ pineapples. These were big chunks of juicy pineapples sprinkled with cinnamon and chaat powder and smeared on the grill. Very tasty and soothing. A change of taste for my taste buds and a very innovative style of cooking. The chef also got us some barbequed watermelons, apples and papayas which tasted good but not as good as the pineapples. These fruits were also cut in a similar fashion and had the same garnishing of spices as the pineapple barbeque.
The cajun potatoes were no less of a delight. These were soft juicy and starchy pieces of smashed potatoes transformed into something close to a cutlet rolled over a paste of cashew cream and mayo and dusted with a slight ginger powder. these were extremely soft and melted in the mouth giving you a very creamy, mild and royal taste. Never thought something this delicate yet royal can be made from a simple potato.
Coming to the non-veg starters, these were no less than the veg ones. We started with the chicken on the grill. The chicken tasted like the normal kebab without much of ado. Next was the fish and this was again a delight. It was soft, juicy and literally melted in the mouth. The fish had a marination of some green spices which I am not sure of the ingredients but the taste was really mild and juicy with a very soft hint of chilly. The prawns were the normal medium sized spicy barbecue prawns. They had juiciness intact along with a mild crispy texture to them. The prawns did not have much of a blend of spices. They were the stars in the grill with their red sprinkles and smokey essence.
Coming to the non-veg starters, these were no less than the veg ones. We started with the chicken on the grill. The chicken tasted like the normal kebab without much of ado. Next was the fish and this was again a delight. It was soft, juicy and literally melted in the mouth. The fish had a marination of some green spices which I am not sure of the ingredients but the taste was really mild and juicy with a very soft hint of chilly. The prawns were the normal medium sized spicy barbecue prawns. They had juiciness intact along with a mild crispy texture to them. The prawns did not have much of a blend of spices. They were the stars in the grill with their red sprinkles and smokey essence.
Main Course:-
After having a massive amount of starters and putting our food flag down, we finally proceeded towards the main course. The main coarse did not have much to serve but the lesser the better.
The main meal started with the tomato soup and the cream of chicken soup followed by:-
- Mutton Biriyani
- Egg Fried Rice
- Dal Makhani
- Plain Dal
- Chicken Malai
- Sorisso Fish/Mustard Fish
- Pasta Salad
- Normal Salad(Cucumber,tomatoes,carrots and onions)
- Raita
- Veg kofta
- Veg hyderabadi
- Veg Fried Rice
- Plain Rice
- They also Tandoor Roti or Plain/Butter Naan on special request.
After a heavy series of starters, my appetite for main coarse was almost gone. So. I got some of the dishes without trying to fill my taste buds with all of them.
I started with the Mutton Biryani. This was a very finely prepared dish with the prominent essence of ghee dominating all other flavors. The dish had small pieces of muttons, the pieces mostly with bones. The mutton was well cooked and was soft and flavorsome. The rice used was the Basmati Rice for Biriyani with the prominent flavors of safron and cardamom in it. A definite taste booster for Biryani lovers.
The egg fried rice had very finely scrambled eggs and there's not much to speak about this. This tasted like the usual homemade fried rice with not much oil or heavy flavors in it keeping the lightness of the veggies intact and taste simple yet satisfying. I only wish they kept a bit more of eggs in the dish as I had to look for the scrambled bits in my plate to get the taste of eggs.
Next, I tried the veg kofta and this was an amazing dish. A very well blended gravy of cashew, spices and few indian herbs with vegetable balls made from potato,cabbage,carrot and cauliflower. The dish was on the lighter end though most of the kofta dishes are rich and loaded with butter or cream. The koftas were firm yet soft from inside and could be taken one in a bite depending upon your eating style. Overall, this was the best dish in the whole menu of main dishes.
I also tried the veg Raita from the salad section and this was also a big buster. This was a thick mixture of creamy curd with finely chopped cucumber, tomatoes and onions with some corriander and green chillies in it. Not very sour nor sweet, but just the perfect kind of texture a yogurt is expected to have in a fine dining meal.
Desserts
For desserts, we had:-
- Hot mini jamuns
- cream tart
- blueberry cheese cake
- hot chocolate brownie
- mango icecream and vanilla ice cream (with chocolate, mango,strawberry and white chocolate toppings)
The desserts were not over the top. And after such a heavy meal, any sane person could not afford to have a platter of such rich and creamy desserts so we skipped few of these although you will find all of them on my plate.
The cream tart tasted similar to vanilla cream wafer, with a fiber filled digestive biscuit at as base. Not very impressed with it.
Even the blueberry cheesecake had the flavors of blueberry missing. It just had a firm cream cheese base with a pink pulp which did not give a very significant flavor.
The hot choco brownie was good. It was soft in the center and crispy on the edge. The chocolate had a bitterness yet mild sweetness to it, which was a perfect flavor for a brownie.
Before getting the bill, the chef and the manager also offered us a kitchen tour to show us their ways of cooking and preparations in the kitchen with the level of sanity and care they maintain.
The below pictures are a few clicks from the kitchen.
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| Barbecue Nation Kitchen views |
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| Barbecue Nation Kitchen views |
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| Barbecue Nation Kitchen views |
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| Barbecue Nation Kitchen views |
service-5
food-4
taste-4
publicity-4
The Barbecue Nations chain of restaurants is one of the most renowned and affordable places for foodies and grilled food lovers. Enjoy your meal the way you want to have it. Customize your dishes, talk to the chef, give your opinions and fall in love with the services. Pamper yourself with a day full of food that satisfies your taste buds.
We also got a small complimentary gift from the house which was a great feeling and a memorable experience.
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| Our complimentary Gift |
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