A link to the Foodie Fort Walk episode and preview of what’s in store
Fort with its mix of history, great architecture, diversity of food and wonderfully warm people is a part of Mumbai that has held me in it’s spell for years.
Fort is where I have conducted the highest number of Finely Chopped Walks. I did one group walk there and then a number of bespoke ones for foreign visitors. Most recently I shot with Kunal Vijayakar for the The Foodie and the episode aired this weekend on Times Now.
Here are the links to the episode:
With the Independence Day weekend coming up I thought that it would be a good idea to do a group Finely Chopped Fort Walk again. The long weekend is a good time to go on a mini vacation. For those who decided to stay back thwarted by the high prices of travel at this time or baulked at the thought of going to crowded holiday spots, staying home and being a tourist in one’s own city is not a bad idea at all.
(Pics from earlier Finely Chopped Fort Walks)
Fort, the hub of modern India’s commercial growth, is a good place to explore in this Independence Day week. Trace the history of India’s freedom struggle here at the store that Bal Gangadhar Tilak set up more than a hundred years back to propagate the Swadeshi Movement. Check the foundation stone of the building that Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose had laid here in the pre-independence years. Check out the Irani, South Indian, UPite and Punjabi cafes and restaurants that were set up here as people moved in from all over India to work in Fort in the exciting years after independence. Try out the street food that fuels the busy bees of Fort even today. Nestled in the middle of this all try out some pure and simple Gomantak food from the West coast that is home to so many of us. Walk around at a relaxed place. Take in the unique architecture. The riot of colour interspersed between stone buildings which have many stories around. Feel the positivity and sense of hospitality in the warm smiles surrounding you. Eat till you can eat no more. Then eat a bit more.
If this sounds like a plan then come over to the Fort Finely Chopped Walk. Chances are that you will be as enchanted by Fort as I am.
The Fort Finely Chopped Walk
We start our walk at 11.00 with an intro to Fort and the significance of the areas around us. Fort is a fairly large business district so we will concentrate on one particular area. The region around The Bombay Store which is packed with history and great food. An area which I explored for four months when I worked there. Every day, at lunch time, I would head down with my camera and go wondering down the lanes of Fort discovering a new place to eat in. Many of these ‘new’ discoveries are places which are decades old and are packed with regulars. Yet, they are rarely spoken about and are new to many of us.
During our three hour walk we will cross points of history, check out some interesting building facades. We will walk past a number of restaurants and cafe. Of course we can’t eat at all of them as it’s difficult to pack in 4 months of eating into one morning. I will point out some of the key restaurants here and what I like to order there.
“Won’t we eat at all?” you ask?
Of course we will! It’s a food walk after all. We will eat a lot. Walk a little in between. T
he plan is to retrace the path that we walked during the Foodie Show. Food tastings are planned at Yazdani for a peek into the sepia tinted world of Irani Cafes. Moti Halwai for some of the greatest lassis this side of Bollywood Punjabi song and dance numbers. A never ending buffet of street food carts at Khao Gulley where you can be prepared to be surprised by the freshness of the food which can surprise the most jaded of palates. Some great Western Coast Gomantak seafood dishes at Pradeep Bhojanalay. A taste of the exotic world of Parsi dishes outside of wedding laganu bhonus at Ideal Corner and then end it all with some piping hot jalebis from far off Benaras. And, as always, there would be an element of flexibility in the route.
Sounds like quite mouthful? Well here are the details and do join in if this is up your street
Specs:
Date: 17th August 2013, Saturday
Timing: 11 am to 2 pm
Start Point: Fort, DN Road
Things to get: Camera, phone, hand sanitizer, a big appetite.
Planned food stops: 4 to 5
Inclusions: Stops at some of my favourite restaurants and cafes. Mix of cuisines and communities for that’s what Mumbai is all about…local Mumbai food, Irani, Parsi, Punjabi, Udipi, UPite. The tastings will from a menu that will be selected basis our past walks. We will space out the food to make sure that you don’t miss out on any dish. Bottled water included. Not soft drinks. Eating will be at the participant’s risk. No responsibilities on the food. The ‘walk’ will cover essentially 3,4 lanes around Bombay Stores.
Cost: Rs 2000 per head (all inclusive)
Write in at k.finelychopped@gmail.com or tweet me at @finelychopped or write to me at the Finely Chopped Facebook page. Given limited seats please don’t change your minds.
So catch you at Fort.