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| Photo Cred: Off the Radar |
Ola Blue Jays,
This past Saturday me and my partner Indra headed to Off the Radar, a travel cafe that offers a 90% vegan menu + the option to veganise most of their other vegetarian dishes. Off The Radar is the third vegan haunt that is haunting (pardon the lame pun) on koramangala 80-feet road. Carrots, Paradigm Shift, and now Off the Radar. So it's official folks, 80-feet road Koramangala is the Vegan Belt of Bangalore.
They are kind of opposite Nasi and Mee, tucked away inside the Wolfpack wildlife and nature store. To start with, we ordered their vegan peanut butter and banana shake and it was hardcore delicious. Then we had the vegan Alfredo pasta made with almond milk. I asked them to make it spicy. We were both blown away with how fantastic it was. Spicy, creamy, al-dente pasta, just the good stuff, man! Indra also had a hearty vegetarian grilled sandwich. We split a cucumber and corn salad that was fresh, zesty, with a green chili kick.
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| That's the almond milk pasta. This was so.freaking.good. ( Photo Cred: Off the Radar ) |
All in all a very satisfying lunch that was very easy on the pocket to boot. We will be going back. The reason I am writing about this is because there is more to the story. The owners Komal and Nithin are kind of living the dream. Travel is at the heart of their existence ( and you will def pick up on that energy with the aesthetics of this place). They want to open up the space to a community of passionate people. They already had one successful documentary screening (where they squeezed in 30 + people into their small cafe). Cooking classes, photography, and other creative workshops and documentary screenings are just some of the other stuff they want to use the cafe space for too.
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| yay books (Photo Cred: Off the Radar ) |
So, I asked Komal and Nithin 3 questions. Let's get to it!
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| That's Nithin and Komal (Photo Cred: Off the Radar ) |
Me: So what's the story with you two? Travellers, photographers, environmentalists? How does your real life passions translate to your cafe
Komal and Nithin: We are best friends, foodies, travellers and nature conservers. In addition to this, Nithin is a wildlife photographer and brings in values and principles that are environment friendly. I am an art admirer, kathak dancer and love to create beautiful spaces. We constantly seek adventure in life and meet interesting people which lead us to start the cafe.
We truly believe in exploring different terrains and location around the globe. This is due to our love and passion to admire the beauty of nature and to preserve it in its pristine form. The cafe is a space for like minded folks to hang out, communicate and spread the message to the community about responsible travel. We want to give out lots of information about travel destinations and also act as a catalyst to raise awareness about nature conservation.
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| Photo Cred: Off the Radar |
Me: Tell me the most dangerous situation you've gotten into while travelling?
Komal and Nithin: In 2012, we went on a road trip to the Western Ghats (Dandeli - Karwar - Gokarna) in peak rainy season. The visibility was zero at certain times which was pretty scary as there were lorries and trucks coming from the opposite direction. When we finally reached Gokarna, we decided to halt there and go for a quick trek to the one tree hill on Om beach (as the weather seemed okay with less chance of rain). Once there, we were tempted to sit on a huge rock which was slant. Just as we did that, it started to pour and a really huge wave came on us. The intensity was so much that it made us slip on the rock. That’s when we knew that we shouldn’t be there and started to head back. It had turned dark and our torch batteries died. We were soon lost in the darkness and had to be watchful of our steps as we could fall into crevices in the rocks. After a trek that seemed like an eternity, we spotted a tiny light and headed towards that. We then found the trail and reached the guest house, dripping head to toe.
Me: What are your favorite things on the menu?
Komal and Nithin: We love everything! It’s difficult to pick our favourite as every item on the menu has been personally chosen by our chefs and us. Before we decided the items on the menu, we were sure of one thing… to offer food that we would love to eat at a cafe.
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| Yoga Bars (Photo Cred: Off the Radar) |
Me: Where do you see Off The Radar 5 years from now?
Komal and Nithin: We would be the ‘go to’ place for any traveller or outdoor loving community where travel related activities will be organised regularly. A place buzzing with people who have interesting stories and ideas to share about travel, adventure and life that will inspire many others.
So, Bangalore, sound like your kind of people/place? The owners are always happy to chat, or leave you alone to read a book, or have a lazy meal with friends. It's the kind of place that automatically hugs the mood you want to be in.
Yay for more vegan options in Bangalore!
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