Great bites in Goa

Review of Goan dining

If you are feeling adventurous and looking for a get away the thenn Goa is a great vacation destination. Originally a Portuguese colony, Goa is known for its gorgeous beaches, delicious cuisine, and most of all for its New Years revelry.Here are a couple places to check out if you get a chance to make it here.


Zebop Beach Shack

If you are in South Goa, I recommend checking about Zebops. There are several great beach shacks, but this one is highly regarded by locals and tourists alike. Overlooking the beach this is an excellent place to get some amazingly flavorful Goan dishes; whether its in the afternoon to enjoy t he cool breeze or in the evening to watch the sunset over the ocean. You can't really go wrong with an order here but some of my favorite dishes on my two different visits included the goan red snapper, which brings a new meaning to fresh as it was brought to us raw before it was cooked. It was then de-boned and dipped into various masalas which soaked into the meat of the fish and provided some nice zing. The different types chicken tikka were all delicious. You could be bold and go for the chicken tikka stuffed with crab and shrimp or go with the basic chick tikka with a squirt of lemon. Finally the fried calamari was another big winner on the table.

The food is high quality and cooking area is clean for Indian standards. This is a great destination with very reasonably priced dishes and a wait staff that is extremely friendly and will go out of their way to make sure you enjoy your meal.

Zebops Beach Shack
South Goa ask a local or hotel concierge for the exact location

I-95

In North Goa, we were recommend a few restaurants for finer dining Reverie and I-95.

Starters

We first had some soup. I ordered a hearty rustic chicken soup as my stomach had taken a bit of beating from all the spicy dishes we had in previous days. The soup was excellent and sent me into a phase of nostalgia, thinking back to my mothers home cooking. For starter dishes we had the MarylandCrab Cakes, pan-fried with a hint of peppers and cilantro, set on an Asian slaw accompanied by a wasabi aioli. An excellent composition, that was so moist and flavorful the pieces of crab just melted in your mouth. Our other dishes included, the Baked goat cheese marinated roast beetroot walnut dressing along with Beef Carpaccio, lean tenderloin, rubbed in a herb marinade, which was thinly sliced and served with garlic crostinis. Placing the goat cheese along with the beef carpaccio on the crustini, created an amazing composition that invigorated my tastebuds with the multitude of flavors that were in each bite.

Entrees

For my entree I had a mushroom linguine pasta which was on par with most standard Italian restaurants. Another one of my friends had Bacon wrapped Blue Cheese Stuffed Beef Tornadoes accompanied with whipped potatoes & oven roasted tomatoes. This was a uniquely flavored dish as the bacon juices had seeped into the beef, making the meat taste more like bacon than beef. The disappointment of the night were the lamb chomps that were served well done. All the juices has been sucked dry leaving the meat flavorless. Overall, I must say this was a refreshing dining experience. I did not expect this quality of food and presentation in Goa, let alone India. However, this restaurant exceeded all my expectations and I highly recommend visiting it for
yourself.
Castello Vermelho
Behind the Art chamber
1/115 A Gauravado, Calangute 403516
Telephone: +91 832 2275213
Site: www.i95goa.com/