When Vishnu Vijaya-kumar, along with a friend, did the interiors for a house to convert it into a commercial space, little did he realise that he would later use the space to start his own café. Walk into the prettily done up Junkyard Alley in Anna Nagar and it doesn’t take too much guessing to figure what inspired the name. Recycled tyres and logs of wood suspended from the ceiling make for fun touches of décor, while a giant painted yellow bus jumps off the wall. “The wood we have used is actually from a badam tree within the same compound,” the 23-year old shares as he gives us the tour.
Vishnu, it turns out, is in fact an engineering graduate whose eye for aesthetic is completely his own, having not pursued a single class in interior design. “I always wanted to start something on my own,” says the young entepreneur. So when he heard that the space he was designing was available, he adds, “I told them I would take it!” Now a month-old, the café boasts a live kitchen and a concise Continental menu.“We wanted to keep it simple,” he says, a we sip on a tall glass of refreshing cranberry juice with mint and lime. They call it a Cranberry Kiss.
Wings of fire
Right after, we are introduced to starters with some traditional upstate spicy American chicken wings served with hot wings sauce and garlic aioli. This is followed by the Pesto Cheese Chicken with a rich cheese filling, that is the best of all. From the looks of the menu curated by Bengaluru-based chef R Kirubakaran and sous P Siva, it’s evident that the appetisers are this café’s selling point. Think button mushrooms, tenderloin quesadilas and platters of juicy chicken skewers. Wash it down with a Dream Shake, of chocolate ice cream and nougat blended in with Kit Kat chunks and you’re golden.
The Burg factor
Moving on to the specialties, we gear up to sample one of the options off the Junkyard Special Burgs section. A medium-sized burger with pieces of tandoori chicken arrives on our table, serving up a strong flavour of onions and egg mayo. The dish that has our vote however, is the Junkyard Alley Pesto Treat. The pasta with pesto sauce topped with succulent pieces of grilled fish is definitely our recommendation if you want a full meal.
Average price for two is `600.