The Beauty of Unostentatious and Hardly Existent Hangouts

I don’t go to discos, pubs and high end coffee shops. Maybe I should go to Mocha. But the way to Khader Nawaz Khan Road threatens to be so traffic clogged that I can’t imagine riding to the place after a long day. I fight the evening traffic for half-an-hour and go relax at Mocha or Casa Piccola? No way. That’s only enough to relieve driving-induced tiredness.

The main reason why I avoid discos and pubs is that I feel I don’t need the kind of relaxation where you boogey away the evening, or down vodka. With respect to me, that is excessive indulgence.

However, I hang out sometimes in the places near my office in Abiramapuram. I go to these places for a snack in the evening or coffee after work. Most often, I head to Carnival. It’s a small place but offers a range of junk food favourites and cakes. Their pav bhaji, chocolate cake and choco mousse are to die for. Thankfully, I have eaten them only twice or thrice, in consideration of my weight.

Coffee World is also a great place, where you can just sink back into a soft couch and fight the temptation to put your legs up. There’s also a friendly waiter, which helps a lot. But I have been there only thrice or so. Again, to avoid the fattening beverages. Besides, it’s hard to talk with the ice numbing your tongue (funny, but true, isn’t it?).

Eliot’s beach is a great place (of course) especially at night. A potential hangout spot for me, because I haven’t hung out often there with my friends. (Yes.) I also love to hang out near my colleagues’ cabins, chatting with colleague-friends while I am free. (Well, it qualifies as a hangout, at least in my office.)

But the best hangout is in a tiny restaurant called Eatalica, in RA Puram.

The food isn’t great. From what I had, I liked only Dolly Parton and Monica Bellucci (the chocolate milkshake and salad respectively – the way their menu is written probably surpasses the food). But they have an incredibly soft leather sofa set, for one table in a corner, sometimes booked, but usually reserved for anyone who walks in. The cosy corner lets you chill out, sit like a queen and watch those who walk in (condescendingly, if you wish to). And of course, the temptation to put up your legs on the table is there.

Now, why do I need a disco with low lighting when I can have a ball with my friends in these places, chat away without noise in the background, and not think of a wearisome journey home?