Exam season survival food at Benne & Brew
Heavy lunches end study sessions. Here's what to eat in exam week, what to drink, and when to stop drinking it.
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Stories from the counter
Notes on the food we cook, the coffee we brew and what’s happening at the cafe in Viman Nagar.
Pune monsoon and filter kaapi: a defence of hot drinks in wet weather
The rain arrives, everyone orders something cold, and nobody enjoys it. A short case for hot coffee in wet weather.
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Where to sit with a laptop in Viman Nagar (and where not to)
Some cafes are offices with espresso. We're not one of them, and this piece explains exactly where we do and don't work for a…
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Two hours to kill before a flight at Pune airport
You're early, the terminal is grim, and Viman Nagar is right there. A plan for two spare hours that doesn't involve airport sandwiches.
Read the storyThe tenth coffee is free. Here’s how the card works.
Nine stamps, one per coffee, the tenth is ours. No app, no points, no email address. Just a card in your wallet slowly getting…
Read the story“Bend a bit. The dosa is worth it.” — the wall nobody photographs correctly
It wraps around a beam and over an arch, so every photo of it is slightly wrong. That's sort of the joke.
Read the story“Keep your circles small and your kaapi strong” — where that line came from
It's the most photographed wall in the cafe, and the line means what it says: small tables, strong coffee, no performance.
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Breakfast between classes: a Symbiosis Viman Nagar 25-minute plan
Twenty-five minutes, a class to get back to, and a genuine need for coffee. What to order, in what order, so none of it…
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Someone’s visiting Pune for the first time. Where do you take them?
The friend lands Friday night and you have two days. A short plan, honestly held, from people who mostly stay in Viman Nagar.
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Why Benne & Brew’s filter kaapi softy tastes of coffee and not sugar
Most coffee soft serve is sugar wearing a coffee costume. Ours has chicory in it, and chicory refuses to be polite about sweetness.
Read the storyFilter kaapi vs cappuccino vs cold brew: what you’re actually drinking
Three drinks, three methods, three completely different results. A plain comparison, from people who make one of them all day.
Read the storyWhy Benne & Brew’s dosa is thicker than the one you’re picturing
If you expected a paper-thin roll the length of your forearm, this isn't that. Here's what a Bengaluru benne dosa does differently, and why.
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Vada vs medu vada vs vada sambar: three things people mix up
One is a category, one is a dish, one is that dish after a swim. Six hundred words to settle an argument nobody was…
Read the storyPodi, gunpowder, milagai podi: what’s actually in that little pile
Everyone orders it. Almost nobody can tell you what's in it. Roasted lentils, chilli, sesame — and a name that oversells the heat.
Read the storyIs idli actually healthy, or does it just feel healthy?
Steamed, fermented, no oil. All true. Then comes the ghee, the second helping of sambar and the coffee. Here's the honest version.
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Vegetarian breakfast in Viman Nagar: what pure veg really means
A vegetarian section on a menu is not the same as a pure vegetarian kitchen. What the difference means in practice, and how to…
Read the storyFilter Kaapi Softy: what happens when soft serve is made from decoction
Most coffee ice cream tastes of sugar with a coffee idea behind it. Made from real filter decoction, it tastes of the cup you'd…
Read the storySouth Indian food near Pune airport: what to eat before a flight
Airport food is expensive and dull, and Viman Nagar is next door. Which South Indian dishes are quickest, which travel best, and what to…
Read the storyA pocket-friendly South Indian cafe near Symbiosis, Viman Nagar
A short menu, a filter coffee that costs less than a cappuccino, and a loyalty card that makes the tenth cup free. How to…
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South Indian breakfast in Viman Nagar: a plain guide to idli, dosa, vada and kaapi
Six breakfast dishes, what each one actually is, and how to order them — from a pure vegetarian tiffin kitchen on Symbiosis Law School…
Read the storyHow to pick a South Indian restaurant in Viman Nagar (and what to order)
Ratings tell you a place is popular. They don't tell you whether the dosa is any good. Here's what to judge instead, and what…
Read the storyBenne dosa, and the butter that makes it
Why our dosa is thicker, softer and finished with white butter — and why the filter kaapi beside it takes twenty slow minutes.
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