Month: June 2018

  • The Pizza Bakery

    Each time I think that it is impossible to have another grub spot on 12th Main, I see a new place launched with much pizzazz. This time, it was The Pizza Bakery, which is above Tata Cha and is spread across a couple of floors, one of which is a rooftop. Great thanks to Bangalore weather, but spoiled thanks to the loud horns on what has to be the busiest road in all of Bangalore. Also, right next door is some gym, so you need to be mentally prepared for any feelings of guilt you might have thanks to those strange people who work on their abs at 8 PM on a Saturday night while you are busy well, working on your abs.

    We had a reservation for a table in the alfresco section, and if you’re planning to go on a weekend, you really should book a table because the place was packed all the while we were there. Thanks to the soft colours, comfortable seating that includes high stools and some decor elements like that Bev D version of Mona Lisa, the place gives a casual chic vibe.

    We tried the St.Martin Belgian White on tap, and weren’t too impressed. It’s a bit darker than the standard wheat and I felt a metallic after taste. Should have stuck to Geist. Also tried a Watermelon & Mint juice that wasn’t bad.

    collage 1 (more…)

  • The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry

    Rachel Joyce

    The book that I read just prior to this one was “Who’s in charge? Free Will & the Science of the Brain”. The author of that book summed it all up in the end when he said that beyond the machinations of the body and the brain that science has, or has the potential to explain fully, there lies an abstraction that we call mind or consciousness. The recognition of that is what makes us human. When Harold Fry went out to post a letter and unwittingly begins an absolutely unplanned walk from one end of the country to another, I thought the coincidence was fantastic.

    With no preparation – maps, travel gear, phone, or even proper shoes – Harold decides to walk to save a life. The life of a friend he feels he has wronged. The book itself is not just the interesting details of Harold’s travels and how various people and circumstances shape it, or his character and how it evolved our time, or even the events of his life that have led to the why and how of this journey. It is also about his wife Maureen, her perspective of the events that transpired in her life and their impact on her relationship with Harold.  (more…)

  • The Pallet

    We had been hearing about the place since the beginning of the year, and were pretty excited about the sixth microbrewery in the vicinity. (yay!) Through Jan and Feb, when we saw ads, we would eagerly check if the menu on Zomato was updated. All we could see was Geist! Not to be discouraged, I would call up the place to check anyway. After a couple of “next month we’ll be opening the microbrewery” I gave up. But towards the end of March, I got a message one Saturday morning that the microbrewery was open and there was a 1 + 1 offer. I immediately began working on my sinuses which had been acting up from the day before, and convinced D to make the trip.

    Located opposite The Zuri, it’s a bit like the TARDIS. You get an idea of the hugeness of the place only once you’re inside! I wondered how they’d manage to fill the place until D pointed out that there’s probably a huge reverse migrant crowd from Prestige Shantiniketan that might like a microbrewery around. Plus, there’s ITPL next door.

    The Pallet has been built from the sacrifice of quite a few trees, to the extent that it’s almost like a carpentry workshop! Not to say that it isn’t aesthetic, but yes, “too much wood” can exist! (No, that’s not what he said!) The service levels were great int he beginning, though we were told that the German wheat would only be available later in the evening. Since we were a bit early, we could get our choice of seats, and we found a cosy corner to drink and watch the world.

    The beer starts at 500 ml (it’s a little difficult to understand the economics behind not having 330 ml) and we asked for a Hemlock and a Teak. The first is Belgian Wit – a bit pale, but packs a punch with some spicy notes. The second is Pilsner, and on a relative note, slightly sweeter than the other, but again, great zing.

    The Pallet Whitefield 1 (more…)

  • Who’s in charge?

    Michael S. Gazzaniga

    Our notion of the mind is a single “me” that consciously acts and reacts on/to stimuli. But a more accurate description would be several modules that work in tandem to define and dictate what we could call the mind/consciousness. A lot of this mind’s activities is dictated by factors that have been built into us by evolution and environment. I had just about been converted to biological determinism and started disbelieving the notion of free will! I think I’ll have to change my mind again!

    While the blurb might seem like a case for determinism, (and thus against ‘free will’) I thought the actual content of the book, especially towards the last third, swing more towards a “we don’t know yet”. The idea of it, though, starts earlier in the book – “Just as traffic emerges from cars, traffic does ultimately constrain cars, so doesn’t the mind constrain the brain that generated it?” (more…)