On a food trail

Small , dingy, legendary tiffin centres, nearly obscured by the brilliance of the golden sun, the swish set of multiplex eateries, reflecting young ‘n’ yuppie Chennai, by-lanes of culinary memories , clinking stainless steel tumblers of kaapi and perfectly-posh mugs of coffee.
It takes a really passionate foodie to trudge through such a tempestuous gastronomic adventure and yet keep their wits about themselves till the very end.Chennai’s best-known food critic Geeta Doctor (GD), as we found out, is as witty as she is exacting about the food she eats, and we accompany her as she dons the judge’s hat as part of the Chennai Times Idli Vadai Kaapi contest.
“Has Chennai lost the art of idli-making ?” rues GD as she hops from one eatery to the next, cutting through several plates of what she calls flat and characterless idlis. This, until she hits upon The One. With delight evident in her eyes and relief that the city hasn’t quite lost its mojo, she says poetically, “A good idli should be as soft as a baby’s bottom, as light as air, as delicate to the touch as a feather.”
And while the vadais come our way too, in a sometimes-smooth , sometimes-lumpy pattern of rings and holes, we ask the connoisseur what her best dish is. “I don’t cook,” she smiles sheepishly, “Even my mother didn’t know to cook. But my son does have a culinary talent. In fact, my children used to joke that they were forced to learn to cook because their mother was so hopeless in the kitchen!”
It is in this easy fashion that our conversation flows. And the coffee too. Standing in front of steaming vats of milk, sipping on a coffee that holds all the potential to wake the dead, GD pronounces , “A good coffee must not be too milky and not too sweet either; the aroma and taste of the freshly-roasted coffee beans must be evident, without being overbearing. And I can’t think of too many other places where you can get the ‘perfect’ cuppa in a budget of 10!”