Westin Gurgaon: The Italian job

The all Italian spread which has as many vegetarian dishes as it has a non-vegan spread is a must try. So is the espresso martini, simply out of the world. Meenakshi Rao tells you more.

There are dreary February days when even mimosas just won’t do the trick. It takes nothing short of an Espresso martini with three coffee beans sprinkled on top and three power-packed liquids (vodka, kahlua and really strong espresso, anyone?) swirling at the bottom to lift your weepy day. Jeeves, here’s your next pick-me-up, go find it at the Prego, Westin-Gurgaon.

The three beans are for wealth, health and prosperity (and you thought the Italians had no superstitions!) Wealth and prosperity quite apart, the Prego pulls no punches in setting you up for a healthy and flavourful brunch away from the globals in other places.

 Very few restaurants in Delhi NCR do a speciality brunch which makes the meal at Prego just that extra bit special. The menu is standardised, though the expresso-bean-chewing Italian chef David Concas, makes his mark: “We are bound by a menu that is similar across Prego restaurants in the Westin chain. This helps us maintain the quality and also give that vital consistency to the quality of food and experience that guests expect. But I insist on certain things: Like the live Parma ham station and the mascarpone dessert.” 

Perhaps to make sure that the rigidity does not disappoint guests and to cater to diverse palates, the menu is long and varied.

 We start with the breads: the Pane Fatto in Casa Assortito. Everything in this assorted home-made  bread section is tempting —  focaccia, olive, fried onion bread,  ciabatta, pesto rolls, grissini or even the more mundane but satisfying pizza and puff cheese stick. We proceed carefully, and pick up the bruschettas: Bruchetta con aglio e pomodoro confit (brushetta with garlic, tomato confits and basil) and Bruschetta con zucchini, caprino e aglio confit (bruschetta with grilled zucchini, goatcheese and garlic) and the more unusual  Bruschetta con composta di fichi, noci e chorizo (bruschetta with chorizo, walnut and figs).

Baggio (all waiters have Italian names to add to the fun and ambience) urges us to try the live stations: The Parma ham on display and the self-service salad station. The vegetarian selection is surprisingly large. The Panini ripieni di verdure e mozzarella – darling little mini calzones stuffed with vegetable and warm oozing mozzarella; the very typical Insalata caprese — tomato & mozzarella salad and the assorted grilled vegetable salad adorn the ghaas phoos counter well.

Chef Concas says: “I am surprised by the ease with which we’ve kept our vegetarian guests happy. If they aren’t daunted by an all-Italian brunch menu then we have to rise to the occasion, right? We do fresh pizzas and entree that we can make on request.”

So it is that you can choose a Lasagnette vegetariane — vegetarian lasagna or a Fusilli besciamella e verdure — fusilli with white sauce and vegetables or one of the myriad pizzas that are passed around the tables as they pop out of the oven.

The non-vegetarians are not left wanting though. If the vegetable-calzone melts in the mouth, the Panini di agnello e verdure–fagottini with lamb confit and vegetables is also a little piece of heaven.

And for the main course we choose the Cosciotto di maiale arrosto — whole roasted pork leg. Slow roasted overnight and cooked under the gentle heat the pork melts in the mouth and is a popular entree. “Initially Indians startled me with their predilection to pork. But we do try hard to cater to personal tastes,” says the chef whose favourites in India otherwise is Toninos.

The attention to detail does not just stop at the appetizers and entree. If given prior notice, Prego will do its best to work with allergies or food preferences. “I have, for instance, had a guest who requested a gluten-free meal and we worked with her to whip up some original items in a gluten free environment,” the chef says.

Ask Concas how he landed so away from home and he shrugs his shoulder in characteristic Italian way: “I come from Turin, where traditionally the major chunk of employment has come from Fiat. With the recent downturn in the European economy, people are  looking outwards and at other industries for employment. Since Italian food is popular abroad as well, restaurant chefs are beginning to travel to other countries and find their place in good hotels and eateries,” he tells you.

He thinks that Indian and Italian tastes match in many ways. “The biryani could easily be for Italy what pasta is to India,” he says with a chuckle.An Italian friend once said that there is plenty Indians and Italians have in common: Food and family, for instance. Maybe that’s why the Sunday brunch at Prego feels so right. Here’s to great food with family on a Sunday.

Source: Sunday Pioneer, 24 February, 2013