Had Coffee with Karan, Thomaskutty and Mariakutty?

Karan,Thomaskutty and Mariakutty were not there, but we did have coffee. The waiter over the counter served authentic south indian 'kaapi' vouching that its 'simbly funtastic'. But none of us thought so. The rugged vendor in a second class compartment in the train serves me better coffee. I just looked around and wondered, they've put up a wonderful outlet, superbly creative interiors and lot of space right in the middle of the town, but serve pathetic food. That's the Coffee Club at Kottayam for you. There is an alarming dearth of hang outs in kottayam. Well, the 'achayans' would prefer to roam around in their rubber estates, the 'kochammas' would vile away their time in their social circles, the local 'dudes' hang out whereever they can, but what happens to people like us, who come home once in a while and want to spend some quality time with friends in a decent outlet ? We do miss Anns. The perennial haunt of all of us, where we could sit for hours sipping water, chatting and even listen to the music we wanted. But even they closed half the shop last year. Now its more like a take away shop with hardly any space to sit.
Then came the Coffee Club. I loved the concept at the very onset, with a logo closely depicting that of Starbucks (it is a traditional south indian filter coffee glass) they have tried to provide a different coffee experience. The theme is 'local' and 'south indian', from the menu (filter coffee, all kinds of dosas, delicacies like bonda, appam,stew etc.) to the creatively designed interiors (the men's toilet door has the carricature of Rajanikanth, common malayalam usages are written on stained glasses). And the first thing that catches your attention is the huge space of the outlet with one side open to a fountain outside. It should have clicked in kottayam. But my head count tells me otherwise. The first time I went we were the only ones there, the second time just three tables were occupied. I hear the experiences of others have also not been different and their comments on the food also match mine with striking accuracy. Another enterprise in kottayam (a real enterprising one in that) failing to take off. Well, I hear that they have plans to start the same outlets in the metros and bigger cities. And I put my money on them, incase they improve the quality of food. Because, their concept is strong enough to be a runaway success. A quality alternative to the CCDs and Baristas. Hmm, my friends will murder me for that!