Medici

One of the many restaurants on 100 Feet Road, at Indiranagar, Medici is a wee inconspicuous. I read about it one Burrp and wanted to try it out because it said French cuisine and gave me the option of a back-up plan in the form of Italian (which I love) too. The directions on the website and on Google Maps were so bad that we went looking for it in a completely wrong location and ended up going elsewhere the first time. One day, on my way to work by auto, I saw a big board that said Maharaja Furniture. Medici was supposed to be on the same building, so I looked up and there it was, on the second floor. I called my husband immediately.

Last week, after an initial attempt at French cuisine at The French Quarter Bistro and loving it, we headed out to Medici. It wasn't as I had envisaged. It was neither French cuisine nor Italian. It was a blend of both! The menu has a little story of how a French princess fell in love with an Italian and moved to Medici after marriage. There, she introduced her French culinary skills into the Italian cuisine, creating a unique blend of both varieties. It is that flavour that the restaurant Medici tries to serve it's customers.

The restaurant is divided into 3 sections, separated by a wall with square open windows like this one. This picture is my view of the inside of the restaurant (the biggest section) from the narrow section that we had chosen. We wanted a seat next to the real window, where we could see the road on the other side.

The ambience is pleasant and the music stays in the background. The table was set with a candle in a translucent candle-holder on a narrow strip of B&W table-cloth that stretched across the table.

Since it was French, I decided to try wine again, the Big Banyan Red. No regrets. The husband settled for beer. 

From the Appetisers menu, I ordered the Poulet et de Bacon Quiche - A traditional French quiche with chicken and bacon. It is the yummiest quiche I have ever tried!

The husband decided to try the French Onion Soup (veg) - A traditional French soup topped with parmesan and gruyere croute. It is nothing like the regular soups I am used to and took me a couple of sips to get used to the flavour but I liked it. A bit watery but the onions blend in well with the soup. The bread with parmesan adds to the taste.

Then, we hit the main course. I would have loved to try the beef but now that it has been banned in Bangalore, I had to settle for Grilled Pork Cops (well-done). Pork chop marinated with anchovy and basil, served with brown jus and garlic mash. The portions were large enough and I was grateful for not having to share with the husband. 

Off late the husband has begun to try sea-food on occasions. He ordered the Prawn Risotto. Italian aroborio rice gently cooked with prawn, finished with cream and parmesan. Like me, he was happy not to share. I had to make do with one prawn and one spoon of rice off his plate, which he held against me for the rest of the meal! The portion looks small but it was sufficient.

We had decided to try a couple of items on the Dessert menu but my pork was too filling for me to attempt anything else. So, we decided to share The Chocolate Fondant. It was a terrible decision because we ended up quarrelling like kids, dragging the plate from side to side, trying to gobble as much as we each could. Warm, soft-centered chocolate pudding. It had a thin crust and as we sliced it off with our spoons, thick warm chocolate flowed out. It was the best way to end our dinner and I complained for a long time later that the portion was not enough. 

It turned out to be more expensive than the other restaurants we have been to in the past but the food is so great I don't think the bill will stop me from going back there again. Mmm... just thinking of the chocolate fondant makes my mouth water again!

We would normally bring a doggie bag for Lucky from our dinners. Today, we did not. Maybe we forgot. Maybe we thought it would be too expensive. Not sure. She smelled pork on my hands as soon as I got home. She sniffed my bags and when she found nothing, she marched into the library and dragged one of the wrappers that my bike came in and brought it to the room where I was changing. And she did this!

Moral of the story: Always bring home a doggie bag or be prepared to face the wrath of a four-legged, 10 year old baby!