Thursday, June 30, 2005

I live on caffine!

Here I go on coffee again! I mean to write about coffee in Madikeri. Before that, a few words about Madikeri. My hometown happens to be a quintessential hill town where everybody knows everyone else, where people love nothing more than poking their noses in the most private matters of your life, where life is just...still, most of the time. But Madikeri is also a pictureque, misty, beautiful place where life tends to be beautiful too, if you are younger than 15 or older than 50.
Note to me: Must dedicate a whole post to Madikeri.
Aah.. where was I? Right, coffee. Kodagu is famous for its coffee plantations and it is the main cash crop in the district. Ironically, the majority of people here drink tea, something that does not appeal much to my palatial senses unless it is authentic lemon tea the way the Tibetans make it. Coffee is rare, probably why it is so bad in most restuarants. I have been to almost every resturant in town (there is a new one, dont have much hopes from it though) and believe me, no chef makes good coffee. The ones you get at the only 3star hotel in town, Hotel Coorg International, smells of smoke and not in a good way. It largely applies to their entire cuisine.
The small hotels can be passed off. Hotel East End is what I call a classy place. It is a renovated Victorian house, has old wooden furniture and doesnt offer much by way of ambience. The waiters are not the polished young men with a smile pasted on their faces like the ones you see in cities these days. They are all old and slow. The owner of the place is a stickler for cleanliness and perfection. The cutlery, though old and chipped off, is squeaky clean. And the coffee...ahhh! THE BEST in town! They make it just the way I want it, strong and frothy. East End is specially famous for its masala dosas, though they are no longer as good as they use to be.
Madikeri is becoming a hot tourist spot because of the remnants of the threat of tsunami in the traditional tourist havens. This conclusion from a few armchair analysts I happen to know. Whatever. But Madikeri seriously lacks a good, clean resturant, something someone from somewhere should remedy soon!
More on food to come.....

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