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Sunday 16 February 2014

The Pantry and a personal gripe.

Pomegranates are delicious and this season has been the best I remember.  On a visit to The Pantry off Kala Ghoda, in a little lane just to the side of Fab India I found the best pomegranate drink ever.  Pomegranate and sweet lime.


The Pantry is a lovely little place, all pastel colours and teashop retro chic decorated with prettily painted kitchen utensils and other ephemera.

Big windows and white tiled walls create a lot of light and the open kitchen and glass cases full of bakery goods make for a relaxing space.

Food is served on rather stylish teal boards and the menu offers a good range of pies, sandwiches, salads and soups.  Local produce is favoured and there's free wi-fi.

The coffee is good too, very good.

Now to my personal gripe.  The Pantry has signed up to the social media initiative Treetins which encourages strangers to share tables and build relationships.  They have the cute little flags on the table which are popping up in restaurants all over Mumbai. They also have a regularly changing menu and specials.

They also have free wi-fi and throughout the restaurant people were taking advantage of it.

Now I get that it's useful, it helps people keep in touch, it can pass a lonely lunch or snack as well as a newspaper can.  I wasn't alone I was with the man and a very close friend.  I ordered soup, it came first, that's fine,  as a starter it should.  I tried conversation, questions, comments, suggestions, I got only vague grunts in response.  I even offered to let them try my soup! Nothing!  The two of them sat pecking at their phones like demented pigeons.  Eventually, just before their mains arrived they happily turned their phones to me to show how they had updated their status and had conversations with people who were online to say they were at The Pantry.  I bloody KNEW that!  At least they had tagged me into their comments so I knew I hadn't eaten alone!

I should have got up and moved to another table that was waving it's little flag but all the people eating alone were also pecking away at their various pads and phones.

I've decided that I prefer places without wi-fi but I'll go back to The Pantry and beg my companions to stay off the bloody social media at least until the coffee comes.



7 comments:

Shepherd-Nama said...

I think just like there are "No Smoking Zones"... soon there will have to be "No Connectivity Zones" where nothing should get connected be it phone, tablets, etc.. so that people can get connected in the real world and have time for face-to-face chat :)

amasc aka Anne said...

That sounds radical. Also lovely.

Social media does help people connect and stay connected, I just don't like it to take precedence over face to face chat, especially with me.

Of course, I could just be particularly grumpy about this because it seems I am the only person I know who doesn't own a smart pocket device so I can't join the pecking party :)

magiceye said...

Beautiful captures and your irritation comes through very strongly in your prose as it should! Social media is indeed an addiction.

amasc aka Anne said...

I enjoy a little foray into the world of the curmudgeon. As a Scot I take a particular pleasure in having a good moan about things that only irritate me in a minor way. It's a national pastime like talking about the weather. I'm generally quite laid back about most things but when I'm in the mood I can complain with the best of them :)

Chuzai Living said...

Anne, what a great post! Thanks for sharing! I spotted a white vase that looks like a milk bucket. I love it!! So pretty. I didn't know about the Treetins! I will look out for the little flags when I go to restaurants here!

amasc aka Anne said...

Yes, they are milk pails, it's a very pretty place, I think you would enjoy it. The little flags are a great initiative too, I hope they prove to be a success.

rupam sarma said...

Beautiful post and photos.