|
|
August 24, 2006
A tale of two burgers
Three words: Jalapeno Chicken burger. If Roasters featured just that one item on the menu, it would do good business. The fact that there are many more delicious food options to choose from is the reason why business is booming.
Nestled comfortably among the many fine eateries on Zamzama avenue, the café is an off-shoot of Arizona Grill. Unlike the Grill where steaks reign supreme, the emphasis here is on burgers, salads and all day breakfast platters. The clientele is younger and the atmosphere informal, with a big screen TV and pop music providing additional entertainment. Groups of all sizes are welcome, but think twice if you have trouble negotiating a steep flight of stairs. Without any elevator to offer a lift up ––– at least for now ––– navigating the two-way traffic along the only entrance/exit route can be awkward.
Getting back to the burgers, the Jalapeno Chicken Bacon burger is undoubtedly the jewel in the crown ––– so to speak. And rest assured, the bacon on feature is derived from chicken meat. Next in the line of succession is the Jumbo Chilli Cheese burger which, consisting of a meat patty topped with beef chilli, makes for a hearty and satisfying meal. Meanwhile the BBQ chicken burger is ideally suited to those who want to enjoy the pleasure of devouring a burger but wish to, or need to, avoid red meat. Priced at around Rs350 each the very generously portioned burgers are served with thin-cut crispy French fries and salad.
Lest one should assume that burgers are the only item on offer, there are also the usual entrees featuring steak and blackened red snapper. On the other hand, on the not-so-usual list of menu items are a selection of all day breakfast platters which include stuffed crepes, sausages, French toast and Belgian waffles. With other intriguing and utterly scrumptious sounding options such as onion loaf, smoked trout served on dill pancakes with fresh crème and pesto chicken Caesar available, one cannot help but wonder who the driving force is behind the café.
As it turns out the owner is a chef and some of the more distinctive recipes are his own creations. Take for example Roasters Fried ice cream, which enticed even this avowed chocoholic to forgo the pleasure of devouring the dessert named Choco Lava. It is essentially a large orb of vanilla ice cream ––– soft on the outside and firm inside ––– which is served atop a cinnamon crisp and covered in crumbs of what tasted like more of the same crispy wafer. Dressed with a mint leaf and cherry on top, the dessert looked curiously like a quaint Christmas pudding.
Along with food and dessert, the eatery also offers a range of flavoured iced teas and gourmet coffee. Judging by the cappuccino (double shot of espresso requested), that trusty standby of all caffeine junkies, coffee alas is not their strong point. It’s no worse or no smaller in quantity than the coffee on offer at many other restaurants, but one has definitely tasted bigger and better at other places. Still, it is alleged that more or less 50 per cent of the clientele comes in exclusively to partake of the coffee. This was confirmed by some acquaintances, who did not share this scribe’s partisan view.
One would still attempt to argue that the emphasis on food over coffee is substantiated by the fact that there is nary a couch to be found on the premises. Recreational coffee drinking is typically associated with comfortable couches at hand to sprawl on and relax. Instead the tables and straight-back chairs imply that serious partaking of food is afoot.
Comfortable couches are arriving soon though, as well as an expanding sitting area to be designated as a cigar lounge. This will add to the somewhat private seating already afforded by the café’s upper level, which seats 65 people and can be reserved for private parties. The big screen television on this floor made it a popular venue for groups of eager soccer fans during the recent World Cup. Head-butting jokes aside, the owners are flirting with the idea of taking their success cross country by opening branches in Lahore and Islamabad. The cafe is open seven days a week, from noon to 1am (2am on Saturdays).
|
|
|
