CHENNAI : Think of food walks in our city and the immediate options would be Sowcarpet Mint Street and Mylapore. But this time, a few foodies led by curator Sridhar Venkataraman decided to explore the food joints on the streets of Anna Nagar. The idea was to focus on the places that have stood the test of time and gained loyal patrons across generations.
“Anna Nagar is about 50 years old. The population here is cosmopolitan and migratory. Unlike Mylapore or Sowcarpet, that are flooded with eateries, this area has slightly lesser long-standing shops. People in those localities patronise these shops. The same business model does not work here. This area has had several joints that have shut down in a year. There are several chain restaurants in the locality,” said Sridhar.
Adding on, Thirupurasundari Sevvel, a historian and foodie, said, “As a part of our urban planning project, we mapped 70 tea stalls in Anna Nagar. Not many exist post the metro station construction. Each shop has a code that matches with the area it’s in. Since there are several colleges and schools in the locality, the food scene is happening.”
We started off our trail from Anna Nagar Tower Park accompanied by the flavours of boiled groundnuts sold on a pushcart. As we walk towards Shanti Colony, which is dotted with several restaurants on both the sides of the road, we pick a few eateries that have earned a name in the market.
Ranga Vilas Sweets and Snacks
Our first stop was at one of the oldest eatery in the locality. Known for its South Indian traditional snacks, Ranga Vilas was started 32 years back by Padmanabhan. The management is currently handled by the owner’s daughter. “We have only four thavala vadais left,” shouted out a mami who has been working in the shop for 25 years. Most hands went up in response. While munching the crispy portion offered to us, we look at the board with a huge list of items available — sweets, savouries, appalam, vathal, pickles, powders and mixes. Mixture and thattai are hot-sellers here.
“Our patrons continue to drop in and we have third generation customers visiting through word-of-mouth. Festivals are a busy time for us and we manage with six staff members. If someone is absent then his speciality will not be available for the day. People take bulk orders before going abroad,” said the manager.
Prima’s bakery
Ask anybody in the locality where to find the best banana and plum cake, they’d recommend Primas bakery. Nothing can match up to the aroma of freshly baked buns and muffins. The bakery was started in 1989 by Loganathan. There are seven outlets in the city, with the first outlet in Anna Nagar. With a pocket-friendly menu, the bakery sells birthday cakes, puffs, pizzas, and cookies. The baked products come from their central kitchen in Iyanambakkam.
Kamarkattu
A small sweet shop caught our attention. The signage read, ‘Kamarkattu — Karupatti sweets and millets savouries’. The shop is a unit of Namakkal’s Sellappa Sweets that was originally started in 1986. Started six months back, Kamarkattu offers karupatti sweets, herbal oils, and honey. Their karupatti ghee Mysore Pak and Kamarkattu are popular. “People are moving towards healthy options. The ingredients we use are great substitutes for sugar,” said K Muralidharan, who runs the eatery along with his partner.
Must try in Anna Nagar
● Little samosas — The Samosa Factory
● Chaat (dahi items) — Shankar Chaat Bhandar
● Fast food — Karthik tiffin centre
● Filter coffee, vada and kozhukattai — Srivari sweets
● Mini meals — Akshayam
● The newly opened Kora Food Street has a variety of stalls — Kulfi Treat, The Bagel Pot, Fries Station, Peshawar Tandoori, The Cheese Cafe, Tosamania and more.