Where Else are all we welcome?

"We outsource a very small portion of what we serve here; we want to have total control on the quality of our offerings,” says 25-year-old Daizy Rustomjee, about the food at Where Else, the cafe she opened with 27-year-old brother Ardesh and two other partners at a mall in June 2015 in the heart of Poona’s Viman Nagar, where several educational institutes are located.

Ardesh and Daizy Rustomjee

A view of the eatery

The nine-page menu specializing in American and Continental food offers eggs, salads, sandwiches and burgers, along with about 20 "mains.” "Prawns (breaded and fried "to perfection in a spicy tangy tomato sauce,” according to the menu) are very popular,” informs Daizy, as are the burgers, while speaking to Parsiana on December 27, 2015 when we were invited to lunch. We see the reason for the popularity of the burgers when a server brings a dish to an adjoining table. The size of the burger would be a godsend for a hungry student from any nearby college. Desserts are limited to five options and include Where Else Pudding, a confection with bananas, which invokes childhood memories for him, Ardesh says, speaking to Parsiana on the phone on January 19, 2016. Sandwiches and burgers range between Rs 165 and Rs 370 and mains between Rs 235 and Rs 485.
The cafe sees about 60 footfalls each weekday and is open from 9.30 a.m. to 11.30 p.m. On weekends when they serve Parsi food, in addition to the regular menu, the customer-count mounts to 100. The Parsi dishes on the menu are featured under "The Bawa Belly,” and include tamota par eedu (egg on a spicy tangy tomato base), kheema na pattice and aleti paleti (their take on it, as the dish includes only chicken liver and stir fried potatoes, and not all the organ meats that a true-blue Parsi would expect). As we dig into the sali boti, which she instructed the server to "make spicy” at our request, Daizy reminds us that the masalas for all their Parsi dishes "are hand pounded, the ingredients required being specified by family members, notably from paternal grandmother Hilla Rustomjee.” As we mop up the thick gravy with soft buttered pau, Daizy requests the server to bring in the second course of the innovatively plated dhansak – an island of rice, surrounded by the dal. The dal is smooth and velvety and the aroma of the rice causes heads to turn towards our table. "Parsi cuisine is a bit of a novelty in Poona,” chimes in Daizy, though you do have the well established Dorabjee’s and a few take-away places. During weekends, 60% of the customers are Parsis, she states.

Samples of the food available

"We took about a month to write down all the recipes on the menu, in great detail,” says Daizy, recounting that she would land up at the eatery by 6 a.m. in the early days, well before the place opened for breakfast. "It was crazy, but now we know we are well set,” she says. Ardesh confirms that this documentation served them well when a chef suddenly upped and quit.
A corner of the inside sitting area has a section where patrons can play board games or strum their guitars. Explaining that "we wanted to have an outdoor feel to the place too,” Daizy points to the high atrium of the mall that towers over the outdoor seating, screening the shoppers by tall green plants. The restaurant on the ground floor seats 60 patrons in the outdoor area and 40 inside the air-conditioned space. A wall of stacked green bottles that demarcates the dining area from the kitchen was sourced from a collection of Goan friend Joel Mahadik. Indicating a wooden lattice frame adjoining the cashier’s station, Daizy stresses that this was left behind by the owners of the Gujarati restaurant that occupied the space prior to their moving in. Pointing to a little cordoned off area which houses two male Persian cats, Bobo I and Bobo II, Daizy mentions that the eatery encourages patrons to bring in their pets when they come to dine. For the furry companions, the menu has seven items, ranging from chicken broth and rice to protein sticks. Daizy and Ardesh share their home in Poona with a pit bull terrier, Tyson, whose digitally enhanced picture hangs in the restaurant.
Ardesh "is the big boss, managing the 27 full time staff and the vendors,” while Daizy looks into the finances and food quality. Another partner, Sweta Jobanputra, looks into marketing, including the design of the website which is in the making. Amrita Srikumar, the fourth partner manages corporate tie ups. Jobanputra and Srikumar were colleagues of Ardesh when he was studying at Symbiosis in Poona. Jobanputra will work on an app for mobile phones a little later, "when our finances permit it,” says part-time finance manager Daizy.
It is difficult to find and retain good staff for the kitchen and for serving. "We have to treat them well,” says the young business woman, walking us through the kitchen. Introducing us to chef Lionel Sequeira who has been presiding over the kitchen for the last six months, we are informed that he "made the dhansak extra spicy as requested.” The kitchen is currently not equipped for baking, so breads have to be outsourced, says Ardesh.
The immediate priority for Where Else is to get a licence for serving liquor. "You know how it is,” says Daizy, rolling her large eyes, confirming they have been doing the rounds of the various authorities involved, since before the restaurant started. "But my brother handles all that,” she says.

Pet friendly: left Bobo I and Bobo II; right: Image of Tyson at the restaurant

Wooden lattice frame with logo

Daizy says she was "at a loose end after completing my management degree from Singapore Management University, and wanted to come back around the same time he was finalizing plans for the restaurant.” Moving back to India after working for a few months in the area of commodity trading, Daizy found herself in the midst of the detailing for the restaurant. Ardesh, who has worked in the Cafe Chockolade chain of dessert places, and is a graduate of the Bucconi school of management in Milan, Italy, confirms that he had his epiphany about joining in the restaurant business when he got upset at not getting value for money even in high end restaurants. "And anyway, being Parsis both of us love food,” he says.
The brother-sister duo schooled in Calcutta where father Rusi, a chartered accountant is in the construction business. Mother Kamal, a trained homeopath practices hypnotherapy in Delhi. Maternal grandparents Adi and Dina Contractor, who were hoteliers in Bulsar, "maybe inspired us both, unconsciously, towards this venture,” says Ardesh. "My Nana-Nani were present for the inauguration,” says Daizy. "Our father has provided us with a different level of inspiration,” is Ardesh’s view of Rusi’s parenting. "My mother is prolific,” he says. "I have to sit with her one day and understand what all she has done in her lifetime.”
Ardesh mentions that he has recently resumed wearing his sudreh and kusti. "I am not an atheist, and we should not be looking at ourselves as Zoroastrians alone.” We are creatures of the universe, he says, adding that Daizy shares his views.
The young restaurateurs plan to open more outlets in Poona soon and are on their way to making concrete plans as to whether they would go the ownership or the franchisee route. Imminent plans include the setting up of ‘Fatty Boombalatty’ a delivery service from 11.30 p.m. to 4 a.m., "when students of the surrounding college hostels are busy studying, or partying,” Daizy says, her eyes a-twinkle. They are waiting for the necessary municipal and mall-related approvals for this service to start. "There are places that are open at that hour, but may not serve healthy options. We will fill that need,” avers the young entrepreneur. The eatery has tie ups with two nearby corporates: iplace and Vodafone, where they have counters in their in-house cafeterias. Ardesh lets on that they are to open a new Goan restaurant in the tony Koregaon Park area in the near future. "We will have a maximum of only 25 to 30 covers and no more than six authentic dishes,” he confides. He lets on that the duo has also been toying of a foray into the clothing business. "We want to do a number of things,” says the restless gentleman.
Where Else Cafe, Shop 8, Ground floor, Lunkad Sky Max, Datta Mandir Chowk, Viman Nagar, Poona. Phone: 020 30162176