Strange as it may sound but
Urban Nomads
in the
Chiranjeev
Towers at Nehru Place is a place to experience the
confluence of ideas put in place by three friends,
one a restaurateur another a designer and the third
a marketer. An outlet, which sells food as well
as clothes. It is perhaps India's first real fashion
restaurant. It is a dream project for Gaurav Soral,
Ajay Saini and Ronit Aneja with the USP of the shop-while-you-eat!
Urban Nomads promises to end the drought of a decent
eating out destination around Nehru Place, for its
office goers and those planning to eat out with their
families.
The double height ceiling has been utilized to add
a mezzanine section, which also doubles up as a trial
and fitting area for the clothes, besides a tailor
there who is always around to take your measurements.
The ambience is a soothing mix of rustic and sophisticated
- like the polished woodwork framing rough - cut stone,
flagged floors but delicate porcelain tableware.
Saini with his experience of Turquoise cottage,
which had an accent of seafood in a land locked
butter chicken country now experiments with a menu
peculiar to Rajasthan, Gujarat and the frontier
areas. The vegetarian menu boasts of well researched
names like hare chane ka kebab made from fresh Bengal
gram, flavored with exotic herbs and spices, to
Paneer Tikka Saufian.
For
those with a taste for the non-vegetarian there
is the Surmai ka Tikka made from marinated, grilled
cubes of Surmai to the Khana badoshi Raan made from
the whole leg of a roasted lamb (the most popular
evening dish at a nomads camp) while Murg ka soola
- a hearty Rajasthani chicken delicacy served here
evokes images of sand dunes, roaring campfires,
and soothing folk music.
Some items however demand more than just attention,
like their Kareli ka rogonjosh (a popular preparation
from the valley of Kashmir where only lamb shins
are used), Punjabi Kharore (the stew called paya
rarely found in Delhi outside the walled city),
not to mention Gist Surmahi, said to be a signature
dish of the nomads. Thankfully, the touch is light
on the spice (except for the dragonfire Lal Mans
from the Rajasthan desert region) and easy here
on the oil and on one's pocket.
Aneja's outfits here are tastefully designed. He
has not indulged in too much embroidery for the
custom made formals of wedding, both hep and well
made. A post- NIFT, who has honed his skills at
Appearances for years before joining hands with
Saini and Soral, seems to have a penchant for clean
cuts and muted colors for men's wear. Though for
women he is more daring with his palette and his
collection of handbags is any woman's dream.
Barring
a few, most of dishes are below Rs 200 and Aneja
charges an unbelievable Rs 3600 for a custom made
jacket and almost the same amount for a whole evening
ensemble for women.
The opening ad for the outlet quite summed up the
sentiment for those wanting to know all about it.
"We sell clothes that are as scrumptious as
our superlative nomadic food. Don't worry if you
loose control over our kareli ka Rogan Josh or our
juicy, succulent Lal Mans, because, our clothes
also come in XL sizes…"
For, as Amritsar-bred Rohit rightly put it, Delhi
is "A city of migrants from small towns who
are nomads at heart but somewhere deep within them
they yearn for the laid back lifestyle that they
left behind."
Address:
Urban Nomads, Chiranjiv Towers
43, Nehru Place, New Delhi-19
Tel: 6420982/ 83.
Archana Dev
9:33:24 PM 
