Mexican Mazaa

All you Gurgaon residents who had to drive 30 km to sample nachos and enchiladas, now have cause to rejoice. Rodeo, the Connaught Place r...

All you Gurgaon residents who had to drive 30 km to sample nachos and enchiladas, now have cause to rejoice. Rodeo, the Connaught Place restaurant sporting gun-totting cowboys in Stetsons, is coming to Sector 14. 8220;We8217;re opening to the public on Sunday and I am hoping for a great response,8221; says Sayeed Sherwani, Managing Director, Star Hotels Limited.

Sherwani, who trained for a short while with the Taj Group after doing hotel management, has been in the business for over 18 years. He soon branched off on his own and has guest houses in Nainital, Allahabad and Delhi. 8220;As a kid, I was crazy over Westerns and always dreamt of a movie-set bar,8221; he says about his pet project. When the city8217;s stringent rules forced him to turn it into a restaurant, Tex-Mex cuisine was the obvious solution. 8220;I hadn8217;t even heard of it till I began my research,8221; he admits. The biggest boons were consultant chefs Sergio Snyder and Roberto Treves from Mexico, who continue to make annual visits.

8220;We were the first to make dining a fun experience,8221; asserts Sherwani, saying Rodeo has none of the stiff formality of five-star hotels. The serenading singers, karaoke nights, and an all-new Guzzler8217;s Club8217; keep their guests guessing. 8220;Monotony makes restaurateurs complacent,8221; points out Sherwani, determined not to fall into that trap. 8220;We hold a festival twice a year, introduce new dishes and change the decor.8221; Sherwani says he8217;s had his share of uncomfortable moments. He remembers one particularly rude guest who calmed down only after their Mexican chef was produced.

8220;It8217;s such a typically Indian attitude,8221; he protests, 8220;Put down your fellow Indian and accept a firang8217;s word as law.8221; But most clients keep coming back for more, which made him think of branching out. 8220;Why is it that only American food chains exist? Why don8217;t we have a chain of kathi kebab outlets all over the US?8221; he asks. As a start, he opened a Rodeo in Kathmandu last November, at an exclusive Santushti-like8217; complex. 8220;There wasn8217;t a single Tex-Mex restaurant there, though it is a major tourist destination,8221; he points out proudly.

At Gurgaon too, he is expecting an equally good response, with many of his clients driving up all the way to Connaught Place from this satellite town. And with many MNCs having set up shop at Gurgaon, corporate clients won8217;t be far away. But Sherwani is not planning to rest on these laurels. He8217;s already working on setting up a branch in South Delhi and another in Mumbai. 8220;I hope to one day have 20-30 strong Rodeo chain all over the world,8221; he says, with a triumphant smile.