Pao-Wow!

Meal for two:

nthony Bourdain is the rock-star of chefs. And he’s tasted everything from Japanese fugu to Namibian wart-hog rectum. After a trip to India he was asked what the best thing he’d eaten here was. Surprise, surprise, it wasn’t the dinner he’d had with the Maharana of Udaipur; it was the humble vada pao, he said.

Hmmm, we obviously need to take the vada pao more seriously. The first question is, where do you get the best one? It was supposedly invented at Dadar station in the ’70s, but today the best joints, for obvious reasons, seem to be outside colleges. A quick survey among foodie friends suggests it’s a shootout between Kirti College Vada Pao Centre and Dhiraj, opposite Mithibhai College—with the latter winning in a photofinish (competition from Anand Vada Pao next door obviously keeps them on their toes.) Their pao is uniquely slathered with fresh kothmir chatni, Amul butter and masala powder, and topped with a hot, crisp batata-vada. The resultant masala explosion re-echoes deliciously in your mouth for a long, long time. Keep your eyes open: you can sometimes spot celeb chefs and restaurateurs sneaking a bite here.