13th Floor

Last week was really busy. My team at the office had a major release and we decided to celebrate the event by going out to dinner. After the usual round of negotiations where we try and reach a consensus on where to go, it was decided to try out this place called the "13th Floor". This is where the evening started going downhill....
It's located appropriately on the 13th Floor of the Barton Centre on MG Road in Bangalore. I got the first hint of things to come when the doorman told us that there was a cover charge of 250 bucks. "Okay..... maybe it's worth it", is what we thought. We went in and I saw for the first time what a lounge bar looks like. "Spacious", "ventilated", "comfortable" are definitely not words that can be associated with this place. We were seated around a 2'*2' table (6 people, you can imagine the squeeze) on the most stupid stools imaginable.
The guzzlers were shocked when they learnt that a pitcher of beer might set them back upwards of 500 bucks. I was shocked when I learnt that 4 legs of chicken would set me back 200 bucks. A portiion of thai red prawn curry (didn't taste that good by the way) came for 300 bucks..... you get the picture.
To be fair, the only positive about the place is the view. From the balcony, one can most of MG road and the cricket stadium. I'm sure it will make a magnificent sight when there is a day and night match being played at the stadium.
All in all, a very disappointing evening, that is, until we decided to stop off at a legendary Bangalorean institution - Lakeview icecream parlour. Located right next to GK Vales on MG road, this place has been one my favourite haunts since I was a kid. I ordered my usual, the Sizzling Brownie, an ingenious combination of the classic steak sizzler (steak is replaced by a large choco brownie) and the hot chocolate fudge. 100 bucks and well worth it.