Lunch at Crust

Crust is a deli situated in a quiet lane in RA Puram opposite the police station. I had read reviews about it and two months ago we did go there as we were in the neighbourhood and a friend had suggested we try it out. Oh, we liked the food and last week, I went there again with a couple of close friends.

We met Joe who runs the show, a plain talking man who knows his onions. And his meat. I've read articles he's written for a Chennai newspaper and Goan food is definitely his forte. A Manglorean, we had an interesting lunch peppered with anecdotes of a trip he had made recently to Bangalore to get supplies. In between, he left us to talk to a German couple in, what else, but fluent German. Hmm...a polyglot as well.

The dining area is a cute space and in a little alcove, the desserts sit in their display counters. Tiramisu, chocolate mud pie, pannacotta, cheesecake, key lime pie, brownies...

Finally seated, we ordered freshly squeezed orange juice.

How fresh can a glass of orange juice be?

And then for the main course:

Pork belly with hash browns and a fresh salad

The pork was well cooked in a tasty Oriental sauce. The salad with balsamic vinegar was a perfect foil and the acid cut beautifully through the richness of the sauce. This one scored full marks.

Bangalore beef tenderloin with steamed vegetables and salad

The tenderloin was a little chewy but again, the sauce more than made up for it. A wonderful combination with the steamed vegetables and olive oil infused bread.

German meatloaf with a mushroom sauce, herb rice and salad

Our favourite was the German meatloaf. Sourced from Bangalore, the loaf and the mushroom sauce served with it was delicious and the herb rice, the perfect accompaniment.

Goan sausage with supersoft sannas

We were being greedy but couldn't help ordering Goan sausage with sannas. No way to describe it but yummy. We even got a lesson on what goes into the sausages.

And you've got to love Crust's desserts. We ordered:

Baked cheesecake

Baked yoghurt 

Vegan chocolate mud pie. The base was crumbly but the topping was spot on. 

All the three desserts were fabulous, not too sweet and the portions generous.

The place is unpretentious, as is Joe. What you see is what you get. The menu is quite extensive and includes international fare. In all, great food made with fresh ingredients. The service is fairly quick though you might have a little trouble in catching the waiter's eye if the place is busy.

Crust sells sandwiches, pasta and cheese. Also an interesting range of meats and cold cuts at Christmas. And Christmas cake. They also cater for parties but will not deliver. And they will be coming out with a tapas menu very soon. We bought a few slices of the German meatloaf and will be going back for more.

Definitely.