Pass The Ketchup: The Table

Bombay has changed in so many ways from the city that I grew up in. It has a new name, new buildings, new cars, and yes, new restaurants. Yet so much of what I love about Bombay is what has stayed the same - family, friends and yes, the restaurants. Nothing will ever match the pav bhaji from your neighbourhood "Sagar", the pankhi at Swati or the excellent Indian at Copper Chimney. It is this food I look forward to eating each time I am heading home and always wonder why anyone would bother with anything else while in the city. Bombay, however, is on the ascendancy as one of the great metropolises of the world and, as such, aspires to the kind of haute cuisine that has made New York and Paris such popular dining destinations. It has seen a number of international chefs open up restaurants within its confines over the past few years, from Kittichai to Morimoto and most recently, Alex Sanchez at The Table.

The Other Side Of The Bridge: Saul

I'll admit it - I'm a Manhattan snob. Any invitation I received to go out to an outer borough was usually followed by a response that went - "I don't go to (insert your favourite outer borough here)!" Outside of going to the airport, there just never seemed to be a good enough reason to leave the confines of the "main" island. That particular view of mine, however, has been changing and especially when it comes to Brooklyn. No disrespect to Queens, the Bronx or Staten Island, but some recent experiences in Williamsburg (an amazing little speak easy and a pub crawl among them) have made me much more receptive to the idea that some trips out to Brooklyn might be worth it after all. Recently, JW threw out the idea of trying out some of the restaurants there and after some debate, we decided on Saul for one of our regular group dinners.