Traversing (Personally Unknown) Territories

Moot got over? Coming for that seven-cheesy pizza (large, with that 1+1 offer).

Mid-semester happening? Need to cheer up, shall we have fries and cold coffee? And hey, repeat that order.

Mid-semester got over? Let's get that scrumptious veg lasange, mon ami. Need a break.

Mid-semester results came in today? Good? Damn, let's celebrate. Not that good? Come on, time to cheer up! All with some mouth watering mysore masal dosas.

Weekend? Let's just get out of the campus. 

Weekday? Long day, can we at least have something nice to eat?

Birthday? Hey, wait up, you got to take us to the most expensive place that we'll choose and your dad, of course, will pay the bill. 

In college, every little thing is an excuse to go out and eat (my semester budgets stand testament to that). College gave me an opportunity to explore food like I have never done until my schooldays, and fair enough because that is primarily what college days are for- eating. Dessert to me until schooldays was vanilla ice cream, and falooda. But after I got to college, things were in for a fancier outlook. They wanted cheesecakes, caramel puddings, and freak-shakes. I learnt what a waffle, a sizzler, and a momo is after I got to college, and I was genuinely surprised that people were surprised about me not knowing. Why would I, haha? We used to eat gulab jamun with ice-cream after a meal, usually.

Finding friends who also didn't know much was the greatest fun. It was great going to restaurants where I didn't understand what the dishes in the menu card were. Google really is your best friend. Okay google, what the hell is a gnocchi?

Five years of college- that seemed way too long when I was wrapping up class 12. That's like the time I took to go from class V to X. Crazy. But time ran. I am in my third year of law school, and I can't believe three years of college is already over. COVID-19 has further pushed us to cut back on the time left. Also missing aloo cheese parathas with an extremely generous amount of butter smeared on it from my college night mess . Every day is an excuse for it, we didn't even need to look for an occasion! 

Let's stay in, stay safe, and pray we get over with this terrible spell. I hope I get to go back to college soon, and I also hope I get to have as much fun in the rest of the two years! 

The Agony And The Ecstasy

The Agony and the Ecstasy (novel) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Title: The Agony And The Ecstasy

Author: Irving stone

Main Characters: Michelangelo Buonarotti, Ghirlandaio, Grannasi, Bertoldo, Contessina, Lodovico, Lorenzo, Piero, Lionardo, Duccio, Jacopo, Soderini and Tomao

Michelangelo Buonarotti was one  of the greatest sculptors ever known. He first received training from Ghirlandaio. Ghirlandaio trained Michelangelo in art and painting. After a few years of training in Ghirlandaio’s workshop, Michelangelo realized that he wanted to be a sculptor and not a painter. But Lodovico Buonarotti, Michelangelo’s father, was ashamed of Michelangelo for taking interest in sculpting and painting. The Buonarotti family were proud moneylenders, and felt it below their dignity to be in other professions, especially sculpting.

Sculpting was considered a lowly job. But Michelangelo’s world revolved around sculpting. Michelangelo convinced his father, took leave from Ghirlandaio, and joined the sculpting school of Bertoldo- the only alive master of the art of sculpting. He trained under Bertoldo for a very long time, and soon became a part of the Medici family. Before Bertoldo died, he chose Michelangelo as his heir- the next master of sculpting.

Michelangelo started working under Il Magnifico Lorenzo de’ Medici. He completed his first marble structure- the Madonna and the child. Lorenzo, deeply impressed by Michelangelo’s talent, presented him a lot of money, gifts and prizes. Il Magnifico also invited Michelangelo to stay with the Medici.

Michelangelo went to his father and handed over all the prize money. Crazy old Lodovico, mad about money, sent off Michelangelo to work on his next sculpture and earn more money. Michelangelo stayed with the Medici and earned many more prizes from Il Magnifico, all of which he sent to his family.  

All was well, until the day when Lorenzo died a sudden death. There was total chaos in the palace of the late Il Magnifico. Soon, Piero, Lorenzo’s son, was declared the next Il Magnifico.

Michelangelo and Piero had never been on good terms, and to seek revenge Piero chucked Michelangelo out of the palace, into the streets. Michelangelo was denied even a place in an obscure corner, to sit and sculpt by himself. Michelangelo was too dignified to go and beg Piero for a place to work.

After many months of misery, he found a place to set up his workshop and bought marble. But he couldn’t start sculpting. Michelangelo wanted to study anatomy of human body so that he could bring life into his sculptures.

He cut open dead bodies and studied them carefully. After that, Michelangelo was the master!

He created many wonders for the world. He was the architect of the dome of St. Peter’s. He was the creator of David. He was the painter of the Sistine Chapel’s ceiling. He created the tomb of Pope Julius II. He created the Dawn and the Dusk in the Medici Chapel in Florence. He created many other sculptures in Florence and Vatican City. Finally, Michelangelo created his final works in his studio- Porta Pia and Santa Maria delgi Angeli in Rome.

Michelangelo breathed his final in St. Peter’s church. But he had already made his final wish to his faithful apprentice, Tomao- he wanted to be buried in Florence, his home.

Dario's In Chennai

Our tennis master let us go early, a couple of weeks ago, and while we were coming back in the car we guessed that it might be because of Chennai Open. My father asked my mom if she remembered going to one of the Chennai Open matches once. My mother told that she remembered and she also said that she remembered the lousy pizza he bought for her there. At that point of the conversation, I jutted in saying that pastas and pizzas are very good if you eat at the right place. Then my brother reminded us of the day my mom made Sunfeast pasta and we had hated it. My mom stated that she dislikes pasta. My father said that he would take us to an Italian restaurant one day and show us the real taste of pasta and pizza. My mom suggested that it could be today as she hadn't prepared any dinner.

On reaching home, my father checked Zomato. We could spot a few vegetarian Italian restaurants. And that is how we landed up in Dario's. We got stuck in the traffic so we booked a table. After reaching there, I went in with my brother to have a look at the kitchen. I met the master chef. The kitchen was clean. They had gas burners and electric stoves. They showed us the ovens which generate so much heat. Have you ever wondered how they make pizzas in restaurants? I saw how they make and here is the video:

Of all the tings I ate, liked 'Chocolate Brownie With hot Chocolate Sauce and Ice Cream' the best.

My father overdressed and he explained thus:

"Such restaurants will have too much of AC and I don't want to sit there feeling cold and uncomfortable."

But Dario's disappointed him. The AC was very bad.

The service was good. We all had a good dinner. It was a really nice experience. We all got to know how pastas and pizzas taste- our main objective of going there. Thanks Dario's for introducing us to the Italian cuisine.

Summary 

Name: Dario's
Address: Dario's, Poes Garden, Chennai
Ambience: The AC was bad
Food taste: The food is very good...
Service: The service is very nice.
Cleanliness: The whole place is very clean. The kitchen is maintained neat.
Parking: It's valet parking.
Cost: Worth the whole experience.