Tempted By the Apple

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In one of the final pieces he wrote for the New York Times before he died last October, celebrated reporter and U.S.-based gourmet R.W. Apple Jr. listed 10 restaurants worth boarding a plane to visit. When my editors at TIME recently asked for ideas for stories on food and the way it influences societies around the world, I ambitiously suggested I visit Apple's favorites. Such a device would allow me to write about our obsession with finding great food in obscure places, I explained, while celebrating the life of one of the best writers on food of recent years—a global connoisseur, whose legendary appetite for everything from Chicago hot dogs to Vietnamese noodles was matched only by his extraordinary expense accounts. Alas, journalists' budgets are a bit tighter these days. For some reason, perhaps related to the fact that Apple's eateries were scattered across South America, Australia, Asia and Europe, my suggestion was politely declined.

On a recent trip to Mumbai (formerly Bombay), though, I had the great fortune of eating at Trishna, tel: (91-22) 2270 3213, the one restaurant in India that had made Apple's list. It's located in one of the side streets in Kala Ghoda, a vibrant sliver of private art galleries, museums and restaurants in the city's Fort district. Don't be put off by the street-level façade, which was wooden until recently but is now, because of decay, being concreted over.

Inside, the pleasantly tacky decor has hardly changed in years. Trishna will be crammed with a mixture of local businessmen, Bollywood celebrities and tourists. You sit in small wooden booths that add to the sense of crowding, while waiters bring you live crabs to show the various sizes available. Dressed with butter and garlic sauce, the crab is divine and deservedly the speciality of the house. You can have it in the shell or out, depending on how much mess you want to make. I had it without and it came as an oily pile of joy on the plate.

I also ate prawn koliwada—battered fried shrimps that offer a slight crunch on the first bite and then a satisfying series of chewy small taste explosions in your mouth—and a chili garlic squid that used Chinese flavorings and was slightly sweet before the spice kicked in. All this good fare is cheap, too. The starters begin at about $4 and most mains are between $10 and $20. I wonder if there's enough left in the expense account for my editors to send me to the next restaurant on Apple's list?