India, Sept. 3 -- So here's the situation. It is 2006. You have guests from abroad. (Perhaps they are business contacts.) You need to take them out for dinner. They say they would prefer Indian food because they are in India, after all.

Where do you take them?

If I had been placed in this situation in 2006, I would have taken them to Bukhara. I have yet to meet a foreign guest who hasn't loved Bukhara. The no-cutlery rule, the aprons, and the fairly basic seating make it seem different from a hotel restaurant, even though it's been located at ITC Maurya from the day it opened in 1978. And the food is consistently good; the dal and the kababs are sure-fire hits.

If I lived in Mumbai, I would have taken them to Trishna. It's very clearly...