Surrounded by special eateries

It takes a special mix of warmth, affordability, flavour and location to become a popular college hangout. St Joseph’s College of Commerce located smack bang in the middle of Brigade Road is surrounded by eateries of every description. Having said that, there are certain special hangouts that are quintessentially SJCC in nature — perfect for a quick, tasty bite; to hang with buddies; or watch the world go by. Some of them have been a part of the SJCC life for decades, changing their menus and upgrading their interiors, while some have disappeared and new ones have made the list. Metrolife takes a peek.

Says Avinash Rego, “Kantis is an old SJCC tradition and the adjoining pavement is a great place to hangout. Their spicy potato stuffed samosas with sweet milky tea from yesteryears is still popular along with chaat, channa batura, sandwiches washed down with hot or cold badam milk and if one can believe it, Chinese! The management tolerantly ignores the bunches of students, who hang around endlessly sipping tea like they have done for decades.”

He adds, “When budgets are low, Brigade Taj on Markham Road is a good place for a parota and bowl of chicken flavoured curry for Rs 12. Not for the faint-hearted though and we can never persuade the girls to eat there!”

Jemma Saldanha, another students exclaims, “We love the S K bakery on adjacent Markham Road, which is run by two brothers whom we call Cheta 1 and Cheta 2. They dish up cold coffees, chicken rolls, sweet and salt lime juice, freshly baked patties, buns and large cups of tea along with plenty of good humoured chit chat. Most of us are on a first name basis with them and its a great place on a student budget. For the more adventurous, Khazana, a real dive near Johnson Market dishes up delicious biriyani. But one has to bravely ignore the sooty entrance, the grimy tables and concentrate on the flavour of the food.”

According to Shifa Chinoy, “Every SJCCite worth his salt knows Nayaks, a tiny shop opposite the college selling juice and packaged snacks like biscuits and gum. It is a great hangout spot with a very congenial proprietor. Sangam and Ramprasad are good options when one is in the mood for some vegetarian fare like puris or vadas. Impys from yesteryears is still good for kebabs but newer kebab joints like Paramount, which also serve shavarmas and great milkshakes have stolen the edge.”

Roselyn Fernandes, the alumni president remembers, “Kantis has always been a part of SJCC and we still go back for samosas and chai. We had Popats on Church Street, run by the bespectacled old papa Popat who would dish up dubious looking hot dogs and burgers and cheerfully deliver messages as cell phones didn’t exist then. Sapna and Shanbagh used to be ideal for vegetarian food.”

She adds, “The whole college went on strike when Sapna raised its prices a notch and made such a nuisance that the management reverted to the old prices with a discount thrown in for SJCCites. Impys was known for its kebabs and biriyani at a very satisying fare, while Rice Bowl (for Chinese) and Only Place ( for steaks) were the places to go to whenever we were feeling rich, which was rare.”