Prakash Hotel, Dadar W, Mumbai

Prakash Hotel in Dadar just off Shivaji Park is home to landmark authentic Maharashtrian snacks and snack meal replacements. It meets all requirements of being a true-blue foodie joint; a 'chowhoundish mecca' if you will. And how is that so? For starters there is usually a wait at peak hours to get in. Spot a seat and grab it before its gone! Its drab no-frills interiors are the epitome of form and function; whirring ceiling fans on top and uniformed waiters whizzing about with Germanic efficiency. Then theres the attitude; and loads of it. Within a few seconds of you sliding into your coomunal bench seat, the waiter stops by giving you the once over; by now, ideally you are expected to have made up your mind and declared your order; the menu laminated to protect it from spillage is at hand but most regulars don't seem to ever take so much as a peek at it. The waiter rattles out the order to the open kitchen and within a few minutes, slam dunks the order down to your table. The 'Sabudana wadas' (spicy sago fritters) are top of the heap; a sole reason to make the trip. The crust of the 'wada' is fried to a perfect crunch; every single sago seed deep fried to perfection with intermittent groundnut and fried chili adding to the pleasure. And yet, somehow it doesn't seem over the top greasy. The accompanying chutney is a masterpiece in itself; quite different from any you've had; a nutty concoction of spice tempered ever so slightly by the abundant groundnut a la chunky mode. Make sure you order the extra chutney in advance. You are going to want it. 'Crack' open the crunchy shell of the wada and the uncover soft sago seeds glistening and studded with nuts all perfectly cooked and spiced. Combine the outer shell, the steaming insides and a bit of that chutney into a single bite; and you are in heaven.

Their 'Batata vadas' (or potato fritters) and 'Misal' (spicy curried lentils topped with a spicy trail mix, lime and chopped onion) are all good and recommended; the vadas come with the same superstar groundnut chutney that raises the mediocre to great though the vadas are capable enough to make it on their own. Their sabudana khichdi has got to be good; after all, its the base used for their signature dish! Also popular at meal times are their Masale Bhaat, Puri Bhaaji; a bit watered down but good nevertheless.

The misal is served in a tiny plate; crunchy farsan bits scattered on top of the soft spicy curried lentils topped with chopped onion and coriander. A small squeeze of the accompanying lemon, toss it all up once or twice using the larger plate offered and you are good to go! All of the above is typically washed down with their signature 'Piyush' a sweet yoghurt based drink(actually liquid shrikhand); possibly the only drink they have on offer besides water!

Prakash Hotel,

Gokhale Road,

Dadar W Mumbai 400 028

Ashok Vada Pav, Prabhadevi, Mumbai

Vadapav (or VP) is synonymous with Mumbai and to my mind, no one does it better than Ashok Vaidya in Prabhadevi. Ok, before someone flames me, I'll admit that each neighborhood features a good if not great 'VP' stall and every Mumbaikar has his or her preferred place. In Prabhadevi, we'd have to hand it to Askok a.k.a. Kirti Vada. Over the years, we've grown up eating his 'VP' and there have been times in our childhood when we've excused ourselves from home on the pretext of "helping mom with an errand or two" only to sneak in a couple of Vada Pavs at Ashok's stall outside Kirti college. I always considered that vadapav as top of the heap and more recently, hes picked up a few accolades sorta vindicating my stand. Its hard to miss the little stall just a few steps away from the entrance to Kirti college. Thats the only place teeming with throngs of people clamoring for their orders. And yell as you might, its rather difficult to get Ashok's attention. Well, calling him our version of the 'soup nazi' might be taking things a bit too far but hes quirky to say the least.

On a typical evening, his vadas are made fresh in small batches and that leads to customers screaming, threatening, pleading and cajoling for their orders to be fulfilled from the lot that just came out of the fryer. Meanwhile, Ashok is busy striking up small conversion with the P.Y.T. who've meanwhile gotten ahead of everyone else in the line. I've learnt that the best way to get his attention is to act extremely disinterested. His policy seems to be; the louder you scream, the less likely you are to get your hot VP! As soon as a fresh batch of vadas rolls out of the assembly line fryer, he and his able assistants jam the piping hot vadas into pavs on standby with their 'mouth' gaping wide open. In goes a liberal dash or two of his hot green and sweet tamarind chutneys followed by a sprinkling of the nuttier coarse garlic chutney powder. And just when you think it couldn't get any better, he adorns, make that STUFFS, the pav with super crispy bits of 'orphaned' vada coating formally known as "chura". One bite and you've experienced sweet street food bliss! Its a explosion of flavors; the soft and spicy vada innards barely tamed with the sweet chutney; while the green and garlic chutneys riding on top come kicking through.

The aforementioned crispy 'chura' offset by the soft pav do their best to control the spice explosion as your sweaty face breaks into contented smile. And there are infinite permutations and combinations; you don't want to go the whole hog with the vada? No problemo; you can order the "Chura Pav". Yes, just the best parts; nice crunchy pieces with your choice of chutneys encased within soft pillowy pavs. Find it all too spicy to handle? then get the 'Meetha Chura Pav'.

With success comes respons..... uh.. higher prices. But, surely, that can't be any deterrent?!