I think most people are aware of the poor reputation of English food. It's really not THAT bad. Where would we be without cheddar cheese and fish and chips? Granted, England's neighbors to the north, my ancestors, the Scottish, make a much better plate of Fish and Chips. However, England has good cuisine. Much of it is a result of their extensive colonial reach, which allowed them to import flavors from abroad for the past few centuries. But, the English have always done an excellent job cooking game meat, and now thanks to their relative prosperity, they have a pretty good restaurant scene. One of England's most important colonies was India, of course. Indian spices improved English cooking tenfold. And thanks to that marriage between Indian and English cooking, humanity has been introduced to the splendid, world-renowned dish Chicken Tikka Masala. However, for my first Indian meal in about two months (Italy doesn't have Indian food, trust me, I've checked) I was not ordering Chicken Tikka Masala. Indians have emigrated to England in large numbers and my brother and I wanted to try something as exotic as possible without having to pay the air fare, and endure the eons-long flight to India. Chutney Mary certainly delivered on our wish.
I'll start with the smell of the restaurant. By god, I hadn't smelled Indian spices in a couple months so my tolerance was certainly low, but I was getting intoxicated off the scents from the moment I entered the restaurant. Not a single drink was in me yet, I promise. Allow me to preface this, but in case it wasn't already evident from my previous posts, I am in a deep love relationship with offal meat. We are committed to each other, but marriage was never an option, because all too often I devour my tasty love before I'm able to to propose. Allow me to digress before I get too graphic, but the most intriguingly delicious dish we enjoyed at Chutney Mary was the fried lamb's brain stuffed with herbs served with a chili pepper chutney. The combination of the funky brain meat, the potent herbs, and the sweet but feisty chili chutney was enchanting. It briefly obscured the senses, then brought you back to reality. After the dish was gone, I was left with a lingering but fleeting sense of pleasure, like it was the best one night stand I've ever had. I find myself dreaming of that dish often, and I hope that one day I might get the chance to see it again.
The curries were out of this world as well. My brother and I were eating with a vegetarian, and although we were eating the only type of cuisine that is at all serviceable to him, we found ourselves stealing from his curry bowls often. Lentils cooked in butter curry for over 48 hours, incredible saag paneer, a fried potato curry. Gosh, its like the cooks at Chutney Mary were trying to ensure that every vegetarian eating at the restaurant with meat eaters had their plate completely looted. I ordered an incredible lamb curry for my entree, so well cooked that the meat fell right off the bone and you could then suck the marrow right out of it. Pure satisfaction.
I also must complement the Indian bottle of wine we ordered. That's right, Indian wine. Vijay Amitraj Reserve from Bangalore. Made with Shiraz, Sauvignon, and a surprising hint of Viognier. It had aromatic notes that paired perfectly with spicy Indian food, and a bold mouth feel with a smooth, sweet, tangy aftertaste.