People of Gurgaon, rejoice! There is finally a place you can go to that doesn't involve large crowds, bouncers and beer. Fine-dining restaurant Eurail recently opened on Golf Course Road, and is serving up some pretty fantastic fare. Doesn't hurt that it looks like an old European railway station waiting room/cafe. Modelled after the pan-European rail network that travelled through twenty countries of the continent, Eurail in Gurgaon aims at capturing the essence of the cuisine from these countries. Nothing gives me a red flag more than a 'fine-dining', European food serving establishment modelled after a railway network and based in Gurgaon, but we decided to try it anyway. Strength in numbers, as it were.
The decor looks very old school, with dark wood furniture and table lamps and starched white linen.
Quite lovely, really. Atmospheric.
The menu looked very elaborate but a lot of the dishes were unavailable. The wine list was extensive but again many bottles were unavailable. A good Rosé would have taken the meal to the next level but the available ones weren't to our liking, so we settled for beer and mojitos.
As soon as we sat down this delicious little mushroom + caramelized onion + garlic bread appetizer appeared in front of each of us.
After that, these two trays of bread with a spicy tomato relish arrived. The bread was soft and fresh, the relish not so much. I come from a carb-loving family, and this totally distracted us from our ordering process.
But order we did. These were the starters: mushroom caps stuffed with blue cheese and herbs with a Gorgonzola sauce, and vegetable flutes with a honey chilli relish. Both were well-flavoured and easy to devour!
And another starter - these pesto and goat cheese pizzetas were a hit.
For my main course I ordered the ravioli stuffed with spinach and ricotta in a tomato cream sauce.
As delicious as it looks here.
Apparently these hamburgers were just as good. So said two burger fiends at the table.
Spectacular thin-crust pizza with spinach and ricotta.
Another great pizza. What a meal! We were so stuffed.
But we couldn't stop. This warm citrus cake is like a lemon bomb. Divine.
I have this theory that very few people in Delhi know how to make a good brownie. Really very few. I'm always proved right. This had to be sent back, and I had to stop myself from saying 'told you so'.
To minimize the damage they sent over this complimentary hot fudge sundae.
The ice cream was homemade. We were appeased.
Maybe we've learnt to order food well now, because almost everything we ate here was good and the pizza and ravioli were exceptional. Or maybe Eurail is really bringing it! It's not your neighbourhood joint when it comes to pricing, and definitely falls into the fine dining category with the average meal working out to about Rs 1500-2000 a head. However, I would encourage you to give it a try because I was pleasantly surprised, and am already looking forward to my next visit. One of our party went back a few days later for dinner, and reported that it was even more charming by night. Book your dinner date/dates and head here pronto.
I had had a jar of peanut butter lying in my kitchen cupboard for a while. Each time I’d open the cupboard to reach in for a can of baked beans or some sugar I felt like it was staring at me pleading to be used somehow. Even though I was a big peanut butter sandwich fan as a child (a school lunch box staple), I kind of grew out of it. In India peanut butter isn’t uncommon in grocery stores but its usage remains quite limited, generally for sandwiches or toast. However, if you’ve ever visited the US or even watch any US television series, you can’t help but notice the myriad uses they have for it. Whether it’s pairing it with jam or preserves to make ‘peanut butter and jelly’ sandwiches (a concept that has since further inspired cupcakes, bars and cookies) or Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups – a very popular candy, peanut butter is an integral part of the American pop culture. They really seem to incorporate it into everything! Knowing this, it wasn’t a surprise when my husband, having spent many years in the US for his higher education, mentioned loving peanut butter. I was inspired to finally do something about that lonely jar screaming for attention. While I’m still working on finding the idea of coupling peanut butter and jam appetizing, I thought I’d take baby steps and start with a peanut butter version of one of my favourite cookies – chocolate chip! 
I have to admit it was a close competition between making lemon tarts and lemon cupcakes, but in the end the cupcakes prevailed (I got the family to vote). In order to do justice to these ‘fancy’ lemons (they were expensive!), I decided to go with lemon cupcakes that would be filled with tangy lemon curd but topped off with sweet buttercream frosting, with a twist. The reason I say 'with a twist' is because I wanted the buttercream flavouring to be different yet complimentary to the lemony deliciousness that lay below it. I decided to go with blueberry since it’s not only known to go brilliantly with lemon flavoured cakes, but also because I happened to have a jar of organic blueberry preserve lying in my fridge. Convenient!
