Recently, there was a Marchesi di Barolo dinner in the city, but I won’t tell you anything about it because I wasn’t part of the swish set privy to it. I was, however, lucky enough to find myself (along with mah’ lovely lady, of course) sharing a table with Oscar Balcon, the man behind India’s not just finest Italian eatery, but the all-round winner of a restaurant in every aspect across the length and breadth of the country. Yes, even to me, as I read that last bit, it sounds like hyperbole. But frankly, five-star hotels could take a page out of Balcon’s logbook and stand to gain immensely from it. He takes painstaking measures while putting together his restaurants and then in their daily running. Here are a few things I observed over a leisurely meal that spanned a good few hours and left the world short of a few pork chops, some lamb chops, a lot of pasta and cheese, and truffles enough to buy out a small island, all washed down with a prized bottle of an aged Brunello. We quickly sealed this with some panna cotta and Grappa because there is no half-hearted way to hedonism. Meanwhile, here are some observations, things that make Artusi such a roaring soaring success; things that I would much desire to see emulated by others in the industry:
*Simplicity: Keep things easy to understand, from the menu to the service. If one feels confused or vexed by all the ceremonial rigmarole around the dining experience, then it’s an impediment to the enjoyment. In other words, anticipate what I, as a guest, may need rather than shove your brand’s interpretation of service and luxury.
*Skill over sass: I am done with restaurants flaunting faux façades to look like colonial townhouses. I frankly don’t care how high your ceiling is or how fancy your bar equipment is. If I can’t gauge the excellence of the skill and labour behind the scenes simply by taking a bite or a sip of what has been served to me, then it’s all futile.
*Tasteful luxury: There is a way to execute luxury. If done by a person with solipsistic tendencies, it reeks of crassness fuelled by new (investor) money. The trouble is that many an entrepreneur in the space mistakes ‘expensive’ for ‘luxurious’. Being rich enough to dish out luxury is like having a third hand—maybe helpful, but not necessary. Between the carefully-appointed paintings hanging on the walls and the eccentric fireplace (which can only be used for two months in a year!), Artusi balances it just right.
*Relevant yet distinct: Under pressure of exorbitant rents and high miscellaneous costs, it can be tempting to take the popular (easier) route and discard whatever concept was intended during launch and instead adapt it to serve up simply what the client wants. That’s how we have places, which serve overcooked, overspiced squishy pasta and yet have people lining up outside. Instead, a good educated restaurateur has the burden of educating his/her clientele and should stick to the concept. Eventually, once the crowd understands it, they will come around. But changing course midway—adding other cuisines, diluting the authenticity, succumbing to clients’ whims—leaves both owner and diner stranded, with no charted course to pursue. Such puritanism may never get me success, but I can live with that. Artusi, for one, doesn’t let the lure of short-term profit sway it from its brand philosophy. And that’s what keeps it head and shoulders above the competition.
Personal investment: By this, I don’t just mean money, I mean time and knowledge. I had better wine service at Artusi than at many places around the country with a dedicated ‘sommelier’. Balcon takes personal interest in teaching all that he knows to his team and it shows in the way they operate. Few people, if any at all, can match the level of commitment that I have seen between owner and team at this outlet. If I had started with hyperbole, I think I have only gone further up the reverence scale since. Maybe it was all that black truffle and Brunello, or perhaps it was the conversation with Balcon over the course of the evening that provided the mental umami to this heady soirée. Either way, if I am ever on a jury, Artusi will always have my vote.
The writer is a sommelier
