Eat-out recommendations for Chennai ...

Some of my friends from abroad (Indian origin) landed recently in Chennai and asked me for eat-out recommendations. I promptly turned to my most "reliable" source - the office mailing list. Here's the list that I compiled out of the responses.

Personally, my favorite (for quality and standardization purposes) has been the Hotel Saravana Bhavan chain. It's just that they are getting very very costly by normal standards.

I've also liked Cascade on Khader Nawaz Khan Road. Good food. One thing to watch out is that the normal quantity of most items is enough to serve 3-4 people !

Ok, here goes the list ... (I wish this was on a Wiki so management would be easy)

Category based on Indian IT per capita standards :)

Very Expensive / First Class:
* MainLand China - Sterling Road, Nungambakkam (chinese food)
* Benjarong - close to Adyar Park Sheraton, TTK Road (malaysian food)
* Cornucopia - Opp to Dhaba Express near Nandanam signal (meditteranean & gourmet salads)
* Citrus - Hotel Savera (signature restraunt)
* The Crown at Residency Towers
* GRT Grand Days
* Residency
* Annalakshmi - Mount Road
* Southern Spice - Taj Coromandel
* The Park
* Le Meridien
* Radha Park Inn (100 ft road)
* Chola/Park Sheraton


Expensive / Business:
* Cascade - Nungambakkam, Khader Nawaz Khan Road (chinese food)
* Bellaciao - Italian cuisine
* Green Park
* Don Pepe - Cathedral Road (mexican food)
* Copper Chimney - Cathedral Road
* China Town - Cathedral Road
* Subway, Pizza Hut, ... chain - Spencer Plaza & elsewhere
* Hotel Saravan Bhavan chain


Moderate / Economy:
* Eden - Besant Nagar (for vegetarians)
* Little Italy - Nungambakkam, opp Pizza Hut
* Eatalica : RA puram & Sterling Road (good burgers & sandwiches)
* Sanjeevanam - Hygenic stuff from Cholayils - Sterling road, Adyar, Mogappair (veg & bland food)
* Kumarakom - Kerala food
* Matsya - Egmore (Mangalorean food)
* Coconut Lagoon - Kerala again, but you also get beer served here. Do not go to this place if you cant take spicy hot (as in absolutely HOT) food.
* Kabul - Afghani place
* Murugan Idly Shop - North Usman Road
* New Yorker - opposite to The Park (near Gemini Flyover)
* Rangis - close to New Yorker (Chinese)
* Dhaba express / Sachin Ka Dhaba - Anna Nagar, Adyar, Nungambakkam, Kodambakkam, near Nandanam signal
* Frankies at Greams Road near Fruit Shop
* Gangotri - opp Stella Mary's college, Cathedral Road (excellent chats)
* Sangeetha Chain
* Vasantha Bhavan Chain
* Venkateswara boli stall - West Mambalam
* Ratna Cafe - T.Nagar
* Woodlands in Narada gana sabha (good in evening time)
* Drive-in woodlands - Cathedral Road (not for food, but for a normal hangout over a cuppa coffee/tea, couple abundant car parking space in heart of city)


Discount tickets: :)
* Vaishno Dhaba - Sowcarpet
* Gujrati Bhavan - near Bank of Maharastra, opp High Court
* Bombay Mess - Sowcarpet
* Karpagambal mess in Mylapore - opp Bharathiya Vidya Bhawan
* Rajasthani Dhaba - near Blue Star, Anna Nagar


Coffeeshops:
* Mocha - Nungamabakkam
* Barista chain
* Cafe Coffe Day chain


Ice-creams
* Move and pick - Nungambakkam
* Fresco - Nungambakkam


Others (haven't been able to classify these) :
* Heaven n earth - Mount road (Chinese food)
* Hotel Ganges (next to Hotel Park)
* Malabar - on ECR (east coast road)
* Amethyst - near Gemini flyover (coffeeshop, not the kind you'd goto with your parents)
* Sweet Chariot - ispahani centre (near Gemini flyover)


For other recommendations:
* Chennai Food Guide (orkut community)-
http://www.orkut.com/Community.aspx?cmm=163622
* Check out Good Food Line in the supplement of 'The Hindu' - every
week some articles appear on food -- recipes, suppliers, eateries etc.

Sri Krishna Sweets : Vadapalani : Packs free flies/insects with eatables !

I've stopped purchasing anything from Sri Krishna Sweets (Vadapalani) except for the "Bengali" Sweets. I purchase them 'cos they appear _not_ to be contaminated with flies/insects due to the cold storage container that they are stored in. My repeated requests to the cashier/billing person to install full covers on the rest of the sweets/savories
sections have fallen on deaf ears.

FWIW, Adyar Ananda Bhavan (Vadapalani) has savories in cleanly closed containers. Their "Benagli" sweets are also in a cold container. Also, their other sweets are also placed in closed displays.

The next time, you visit Sri Krishna Sweets, take a few moments to talk to the cashier/billing person. Tell them that you are concerned about this apparent lack of concern that they have. And, more importantly, don't buy non-"Bengali" sweets from them. The irony is that their pricing is one of the highest !

Please take a stance to make a change for the better.