#Blahvsfood goes to Black Sheep Bistro in Panjim (and a rant about food writers and overhyped restaurants)

February 02, 2020

#Blahvsfood goes to Black Sheep Bistro in Panjim (and a rant about food writers and overhyped restaurants)

I was planning to go eat at Horseshoe but due to a paucity of time I ended up eating at Black Sheep Bistro. It had fantastic drinks and one fabulous dish, a chorizo with jammy caramelised onions and chocolate served in poie. But on the whole I was forced to once again question the knowledge of our food writing community and the veracity of our food award ceremonies.

Chorizo Pao

This is not criticism of the restaurant. The meal was excellent. But was it really the 9th best restaurant in the country like Conde Nast Traveler claims? If so why?

To me, it was clean cooking with fresh produce. The flavours were good and comforting. But did anything surprise me besides the chorizo? Did I find anything memorable and worth traveling for? Did it fill me with wonder and surprise and delight? Did it push the envelope? The answer is no to all of the above, especially coming 24 hours after a spectacular meal Mahe.

Our food writing community always hypes Indian restaurants that do familiar, comforting takes on what is familiar. Indian takes on Japanese or Western food where the presence of local produce and flavours is enough for them to be thought of as great. But greatness goes beyond excellence. It requires courage and real creativity. When The Table did it, it was pathbreaking. But most others have neither the originality or the consistent perfection of The Table.

Pulled pork poutine with soggy fries and fried egg

We ask why our restaurants don’t place more highly in global awards. It’s not because of a lack of lobbying or pushing. It is because the food writing community in India elevates derivative food and fails to support courageous and original cooking enough. Whether Mahe or Masque or O Pedro or Together at 12th or Rooh or Kappa Chakka Kandhari there are many many restaurants and chefs who are making original food that changes the conversation around Indian food. This is by no means an exhaustive list. But the point remains the same. The food writing community in India needs to support the brave and the original. You’re supposed to be experts, not sheep!