BOUNDING ALONG THE ECR

A CHENNAI WRITER TURNS HER NEXT ROAD ADVENTURE INTO A QUEST FOR THE BEST OF WORLD CUISINE AROUND THE CITY-ON A 45-KILOMETRE STRETCH OF THE EAST COAST ROAD.

- SARITHA RAO RAYACHOTI

With our plans for international travel foiled for the third year running, the word 'bound', for me, has become particularly irksome. It's no longer only about embarking on a journey, cueing wings and open sails. With countries being out of bounds because of unrest, calamity, prohibitive costs, visa woes and flight delays, I am tied to my own geography for a while, with a bad case of decision fatigue for good measure.

My ideal vacation is one where an elf-like being would go through my mental bucket list, pick a destination, book tickets and accommodation at prices I wouldn't baulk at, sail my passport through the visa formalities, queue up for me at immigration in the airport, and pick my in-flight entertainment, all while ensuring that the senior citizens in my family are taken care of, and the plants at home are regularly watered. Since wishful thinking can only take me so far, I've gradually accepted that I need to find reasonably good substitutes to travel, such as dining experiences in and around my own city.

While we have the best of world cuisine in Chennai, there are cafés, restaurants, and resto-bars situated on the East Coast Road (ECR), in the 45-km stretch between Chennai's Thiruvanmiyur neighbourhood and Mamallapuram that have always been around, but until now, I had eschewed visiting them in my eagerness to reach Mamallapuram or Puducherry. My only criterion now is the immersiveness of the dining experience and whether it gets me in the headspace of a vacation-in less than an hour from home.

We reach Bayroot and their bar, Origin (Ori'gin', get it?), sooner than it takes to reach the railway station or the airport-in 40 minutes. Set amidst the coconut tree-fringed lawns of Green Meadows Resort in Palavakkam, the rest. ant has canopy tents in the garden and an air-conditioned indoor space. Also, there are no sea views here to distract you from their thoughtfully plated fare.