Mad about Middle Eastern food?

Try Nomad. It may not be that bad...an idea

Who doesn’t love eating out? I love it, though I could perhaps not do it on a daily basis. Being a journalist, writing a few paragraphs  by way of a restaurant review is hardly an issue. But not being a journalist on the gourmet beat, what I invariably do is place the order, and attack the food like it were last meal! For not only has one built up an appetite before going to X place for a meal or a snack, but also got there really hungry!

Can I be faulted for forgetting to click pictures of the entrance or the décor or the food as it is presented, or the menu card etc? More so since it is not part of a paid assignment, in which case there will be a photographer doing his job, while the reporter checked out the rest.

And so it was that when  friend Sati and I went to  Cafe Nomad, a Chandigarh  restaurant that exclusively served Middle Eastern/Mediterranean food.

I had been there a few years ago, enjoyed the food, the décor and the live band. The band was not visible, and we were told that  they had discontinued it almost a couple of years ago. Just as well, considering there were times when very few people heard or cheered  them , particularly on weekdays.

Sandwich of the day

What attracted my attention was the huge, wood fired  stone- oven built the way you see in travel and food shows covering the Mediterranean.


That was there, but I could not see the fire, nor the embers. Given the falling temperatures, it would made the place very warm and cosy, particularly because it is not huge space.  The menu  seemed more or less the same.

We chose a dish from the Mezze section—guided by our earlier experience that it was sufficient to serve as a meal. But since we were very hungry, we also ordered their sandwich of the day. And cappuccino it was to wash it all with. Small size pita bread came with all orders in the Mezze (platter/snack) section.

As I said earlier, I do not recall the name of the mezze item. Suffice it to say, it was an extremely greasy but far less girth than a regular samosa. Made of a reasonably thin sheet of maida—not the phylo sheets used in Europe/Middle Eas--, it was filled with a bit of mozzarella—good for our health considering it was indeed very little—and folded like a samosa and deep friend. The excess oil could have been papered out. They were served with a small helping of muhammura, that had no trace of pomogrenate, something I figured instantly last time. The pickled as well as sauted vegetables to go with it, was …well..But hungry we lapped it up!

The other dish was the sandwich of the day. Despite the menu stating that everyting is cooked /grilled/baked in the wood fired oven, I missed the scent of wood!

The stuffing—mushrooms and pickled jalepenos and the cappuccino -- great taste and grater presentation--however made up for that.

I do have some pictures that I clicked using my very ordinary cell phone, with available light.

Never having eaten Middle Eastern food in the Middle East, I can’t  speak about the authenticity. And ingredients etc are anyway   always adapted to suit the local palate, the global Indian notwithstanding. I have had Lebanese etc in Pahar Ganj eateries, and at times backpacking Middle Easterners have shared their recipe/taught the Nepali cooks, or even make them. This was decidedly better than the ME fare at, say  the famed Amar Bakery there !

On a Sunday when the whole town was out shopping, the place should have been packed, in fact bursting out of its seams. But  a couple of people trooped in  a little after us, and a family of two plus three came a bit later. It is an extremely popular place in the city mind you !

Would I recommend this? Yes, I would.

 Coordinates below:

(Photo grab from the Menu of Backpackers, the more popular  sister concern )