Lots and lots of coconuts.
A sugar cane juice machine - It's not new but it works.
So good we ate there twice.
Sophia on the Souza Lobo deck at sunset.
The busy streets of Calangute.
Tandoori kingfish, pork vindaloo, spinach stuff and rice.... dig in!
Where the locals dine - thanks to Sergio we ate there too.
Half eaten fish vindaloo, chicken cafreal and rice served on a nice table courtesy of Kingfisher beer.
A happy waiter at the Florentine.
I run into my nephew Elijah wherever I go!
The food in India differs greatly by region. Parts of the country are purely vegetarian, some regions prefer really spicy stuff and still others like sweeter foods. Beef is out most places and so is pork in the Muslim sections. Goa, with the Portuguese influence coupled with its seaside location has a very wide mix of foods and tastes. During our stay we sampled some fantastic seafood, meats, breads and sauces.
We ate a few meals at the hotel and I have already mentioned the fresh breakfast dosas but our best meals were out. The first night we asked our friend at the hotel Beniqua for a good restaurant suggestion and she directed us to a place called Souza Lobos on Calangute Beach (http://goasia.about.com/od/india/a/calangute_goa.htm). We negotiated a cab fare of 250 Rupees round trip and headed out. We were there during the first week of the off season so many places were closed and the towns were rather quiet. Calangute was very crowded and bustling. Shops were open and the streets were packed. As we made our way towards the restaurant (which was on the beach) we noticed that hundreds of families, mostly local, were on the beach enjoying the sunset and the cool breezes. It was a carnival atmosphere with kids running around. Light up toys being tossed into the air and people wading in the ocean.
The restaurant is in an old building with a large (non air con) room open towards the seaside, then a terrace with tables and down a few more steps were tables right on the sand of the beach.
The prices were cheap by US standards and the menu was extensive. We had to opt out of cocktails due to issues with water and ice in India (not that it mattered as I did get a little something swimming around in my stomach upon returning home) so I went for the Kingfisher beer, since we flew from Mumbai on their airline too, http://www.kingfisherworld.com/ and Sophia for the Chianti. We ordered Pomfret ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomfret)Tandoori, Pork Vindaloo (http://www.theepicentre.com/Recipes/ivindalo.html), Chicken Xacuti and some garlic and cheese nan. The Pomfret and Pork were out of this world. The tandoori was light and tasty and the vindaloo was really spicy and flavourful. The Xacuti (a coconut based curry) was ok but nothing special. the nan was the best we've ever had. It was so fresh, hot and tasty that we could have eaten it all night.
The next day as we toured the area with our driver and new friend Sergio we had lunch at an old well known place called O' Coqueiro. (http://in.rediff.com/getahead/2005/dec/28food.htm)Part of this roadside restaurant's fame stems from the fact that in 1986 a well known French serial killer who had escaped from prison in Thailand was captured there while eating lunch. The food was decent but not as good as some of the other meals we had during our stay.
On Wednesday Sergio took us to lunch at a place he liked called Florentine. this was a superb place - small, local, outdoor, hot but very busy at lunchtime. they are famous for their Chicken Cafreal. Here is the blurb from the Lonely Planet Guide:
Florentine near Anjona (Goa)
Their Chicken Cafreal is exported to Bombay during wedding season. Its that famous. Don't go expecting a fancy restaurant. Its a kitchen with some tables attached. Just have the Chicken Cafreal & the Goa bread. Hearty soul food.
We had the chicken (http://recipegal.com/indian/Chicken-Cafreal.htm) and bread and both were really super. We also had fried Bombay Ducks which despite its name, a lizardfish. It is native to the waters between Mumbai (formerly Bombay) and Kutch in the Arabian Sea. I strongly advise anyone to try the cafreal recipe and see how it turns out.
We ate a few meals at the hotel and I have already mentioned the fresh breakfast dosas but our best meals were out. The first night we asked our friend at the hotel Beniqua for a good restaurant suggestion and she directed us to a place called Souza Lobos on Calangute Beach (http://goasia.about.com/od/india/a/calangute_goa.htm). We negotiated a cab fare of 250 Rupees round trip and headed out. We were there during the first week of the off season so many places were closed and the towns were rather quiet. Calangute was very crowded and bustling. Shops were open and the streets were packed. As we made our way towards the restaurant (which was on the beach) we noticed that hundreds of families, mostly local, were on the beach enjoying the sunset and the cool breezes. It was a carnival atmosphere with kids running around. Light up toys being tossed into the air and people wading in the ocean.
The restaurant is in an old building with a large (non air con) room open towards the seaside, then a terrace with tables and down a few more steps were tables right on the sand of the beach.
The prices were cheap by US standards and the menu was extensive. We had to opt out of cocktails due to issues with water and ice in India (not that it mattered as I did get a little something swimming around in my stomach upon returning home) so I went for the Kingfisher beer, since we flew from Mumbai on their airline too, http://www.kingfisherworld.com/ and Sophia for the Chianti. We ordered Pomfret ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomfret)Tandoori, Pork Vindaloo (http://www.theepicentre.com/Recipes/ivindalo.html), Chicken Xacuti and some garlic and cheese nan. The Pomfret and Pork were out of this world. The tandoori was light and tasty and the vindaloo was really spicy and flavourful. The Xacuti (a coconut based curry) was ok but nothing special. the nan was the best we've ever had. It was so fresh, hot and tasty that we could have eaten it all night.
The next day as we toured the area with our driver and new friend Sergio we had lunch at an old well known place called O' Coqueiro. (http://in.rediff.com/getahead/2005/dec/28food.htm)Part of this roadside restaurant's fame stems from the fact that in 1986 a well known French serial killer who had escaped from prison in Thailand was captured there while eating lunch. The food was decent but not as good as some of the other meals we had during our stay.
On Wednesday Sergio took us to lunch at a place he liked called Florentine. this was a superb place - small, local, outdoor, hot but very busy at lunchtime. they are famous for their Chicken Cafreal. Here is the blurb from the Lonely Planet Guide:
Florentine near Anjona (Goa)
Their Chicken Cafreal is exported to Bombay during wedding season. Its that famous. Don't go expecting a fancy restaurant. Its a kitchen with some tables attached. Just have the Chicken Cafreal & the Goa bread. Hearty soul food.
We had the chicken (http://recipegal.com/indian/Chicken-Cafreal.htm) and bread and both were really super. We also had fried Bombay Ducks which despite its name, a lizardfish. It is native to the waters between Mumbai (formerly Bombay) and Kutch in the Arabian Sea. I strongly advise anyone to try the cafreal recipe and see how it turns out.
That night we went back to Souza Lobos for more. We were craving the garlic cheese nan and tried the Kingfish tandoori as well as an amazingly good spinach dish. I tried the Cobra beer ( http://www.cobrabeer.com/) this time and it was cold and refreshing.
My mouth waters thinking about that good food. We bought a Goan cookbook on Panaji and hope to get Myrna to cook up a few delights for us soon.
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