The Project café

“Good food is the foundation of genuine happiness”. – Auguste Escoffir

Food is an integral part of our system and community.… In fact, it is as essential as water for survival. Food, Water and air…

We eat to live… and there are many who live to eat… The second statement characterizes the not so rare species who are also known as Foodies.  

And I belong to the second species!! Obviously, I do not miss any chance to eat food, be it good or bad… whatever the occasion, I do not need a second invitation to eat…

What better a reason than as a part of a project in my son’s school!!! oh I love such schools!!

We had a choice of restaurants/cafes to select from… and to keep everyone happy (read wifey…😊) we selected to visit The Project café.

Ahmedabad, the city, has numerable restaurants / cafes’ which keep on screaming from the rooftop, to be in the limelight… or to prove their existence.  Here is one café that is quintessential but roars…

The Project Café…

We visited TPC on this Sunday and it was a very satisfying experience which I am going to share…

Also known as The Yellow house, it is located on one of the busiest roads of Ahmedabad.  The bungalow in the midst of a residential precinct, is an art gallery which serves food also.

I was anxious about driving down because of the parking issues but my anxiety was short lived as we were hekped by the obliging and helpful staff to find a suitable parking.

{Ratings 5/5}. Restaurant Parking is a big issue in this city.

As we were escorted to our table, I had to sign off the register with the details. Very unusual for a café…

Whilst passing through the open passage I could sniff my usual… no, it is not alcohol (come on we live in Gujarat) … it was bread… An open bakery decked with the oven to bake their own breads… and more… Hmm…divine..

And we ascended to the area where food is served. The interiors is in semblance with my home in Udaipur, especially the switch boards. Felt very nostalgic and could not keep myself away from clicking them… You don’t get these now… 

 After being comfortably seated on the round table we started to explore the menu which promptly reached us.

It seemed that this blissful menu was envisioned for my better half… she indulges continental food…  The unusual writings which were engraved on it was of the breakfast menu… you  see pancakes, oatmeal or a French toast quite rarely here… Accompanied by Salads and Eggs as you like… it was a start to an interesting read…

The most fascinating was the nomenclature, Small Plates and Large plates…  and there were the usual’s Hand Tossed Pizzas, Soups & Burgers… Drinks and Desserts… we spent a good 15 minutes scanning them.

Finally, we ordered…

A double fried egg accompanied with crispy hash brown and grilled tomatoes for the growing boy.

Broccoli and Almond soup along with Cheese cigars topped with tomato salsa as starters for us.

It took some while for the soup to be served, but as the saying goes, all good things take time. So, after 15 minutes of in the making, it was served hot… and it was worth the wait…

It’s a common flavour served in almost all gourmet café/ fine dine restaurants, but this was special. The texture was brilliant and the almond shards amongst the velvety Broccoli were really biting in the teeth.

{Ratings 4.5/5}

The cigars were cheesy (literally), the cheese melted in the mouth with every bite….  There were enough pieces for all four of us to eat… Half of our stomach was filled with cheeeseee…

{Rating 4/5}

In the meantime, our young man was having his hands over the double fried egg served with loaves of bread and the accompaniments. They served baked beans instead of grilled tomatoes and upon realizing their mistake immediately rectified it. {Ratings 4/5}

Now it was time for the main course… we were spoilt for choices but eventually decided to order Mexican Burrito bowl with Tofu and Veggies. When asked about the portion size, the manager guaranteed that it will suffice all 3 of us…. But he was mistaken…

Going by the looks, I had planned to gobble it up myself… But sanity prevailed and I was served this large plate in a quarter plate by my very own personal sous-chef… I had no one to complain ☹. {Ratings 4.5/5}

 In the meantime, the grilled tomatoes made its appearance and after savoring it, we have planned to bring home a BBQ griller…

My father-in-law who was having difficulty in chewing requested an order of plain bread and butter (an out of the menu item) along with cold coffee. The manager agreed to this promptly and served it in magical time… Kudos for this service… The server also brought extra butter when requested.

{Rating 5/5}.

While all this was happening, I was busy polishing off  the small plated main course. 😊. I could hear burps from the lady sitting next to me but was not complaining.  Habitually I am the one who burrrrrps… It was a welcome change… as I had a last laugh by letting her know the etiquettes…   😊

We spent about 1.5 hrs and then with heavy heart… stomach… retreated.

{Rating 4/5}

The café project at the school, led us to the project café and we definitely enjoyed our stay with our tummies having a blast. (No pun intended 😊).

A must visit for those who have an inclination for  art and gourmet food alike…

Located in Ambawadi area, they start serving breakfast from 10 am, to lunch and dinner till 11 pm.  I still feel breakfast should start an hour early…  A tad expensive but a diamond is always costly…

So, plan a visit there, soon…

Till then, Happy eating…