Food and Games

The perks of living in a thriving metropolitan city for a foodie like me are that there’s a new restaurant around the corner everyday. So of course, come every weekend, I’m out and about scouting for new places to eat at –and boy, do I find many. Each one better than the other, this city offers up some of the best culinary treats.

And while I would never really stop my relentless journey for food, every now and then, I take a pause. By pause I mean I then tend to visit one particular restaurant a few times before I move on to another –mind you, I only pause if it’s really worth it, so restaurants better get your A-game on!

That’s the story of my discovery of Smoke House Deli.

The target area was set: Vasant Kunj. Background checks had been conducted: bless Zomato and Google. The contenders were looking proud and poised: every restaurant in vasant kunj. Now all that remained was a little game of inky pink ponky…

And that’s how I walked into Smoke House Deli one fine Friday evening. With the quirky décor, I’d actually secretly been wishing the game of pinky pinky would really land me there. So there I was, wishes fulfilled, curious and excited. I carefully surveyed the lively crowd (a Friday night, so you can only imagine), and shamelessly peeped at all the food on their table –my way of telling what’s best (I’m all for judging a book by its cover, looks matter to a certain degree, especially when it comes to food!).

So I placed my food order, and sipped on my freshly squeezed juice… and I knew in that moment, even if the food didn’t turn out to be amazing, I’d definitely be back for the drinks! But as soon as the food arrived, I was completely sold. This was going to be the restaurant in vasant kunj where I’d take a good long pause!

From Buffalos to Gourmet –The Tale of HVK

When I was just a little girl, there was no ‘HKV’, it was just plain old Hauz Khas Village –just another little assortment of zigzagging roads and cramped buildings, with buffalos and the likes strolling about… You get the idea. I doubt you could have found a single restaurant in hauz khas back then. The only reason I knew the place existed was because I would go to ‘Deer Park’ to play!

The only attractions for me were the deer, wide open gardens and dense trees that proved to be excellent for a game of hide-and-seek across kilometres of sprawling lands. And of course, there’s the (infamous) Hauz Khas Fort. To be fair, the situation there hasn’t changed much at all over the years –there were and will always be snug couples hidden away; so I’ve developed quite the tolerance to ignore all that!

But gone are the days of climbing up Hauz Khas Fort and feeding deer, now it’s all about going out to eat or club or hang out at ‘HKV’ every few days. Of course, that was but natural considering the fact that I’ve grown up now –and it seems ‘HKV’ has grown up with me as well.

So all zigzagging roads have now been fashionably done up, and the cramped buildings are now home to the best eateries of the city. While a decade ago you couldn’t find even a single decent restaurant in hauz khas village, now you will be spoilt for choice! Whether you’re looking for Italian or North Indian food, or just some good ol’ Burgers in Delhi, you’re bound to find everything you could dream of at Hauz Khas Village.

Well, times they are a-changing, aren’t they? So let’s not wallow in the past, keep up with the times and go out to HKV and grab some of the best Burgers in Delhi and live in the moment!