While bustling North Goa gets most of the attention, quieter South Goa’s street food is its best-kept secret. Manan Dhuldhoya takes us to the parts of the state he goes to when he’s hungry.
Every Indian state has a vibrant street food culture, and Goa is no different. What sets the traditional street food apart in Goa though, is the sheer range of local non-vegetarian options that outnumber the vegetarian options.
Cutlet pão is a state staple – it is to Goa what vada pao is to Mumbai. With this guide, I want to go beyond the obvious, so treat this text as an introduction to the (relatively) unusual offerings of a few interesting gaados (carts) in Salcete.
Carey’s Food Truck, Majorda
Go to Carey’s with plenty of time and a generous appetite, because Remedios (who owns the blue food truck) is an unhurried man, and Constancio (the one frying the cutlets) won’t be rushed. But trust me, it is worth the wait. Especially if you decide to give the really good cutlet pão a miss, and opt for the two other items on the spartan menu.
The sausage bread is not made with the choris (Goa sausage) you might be familiar with, but with its meat, cut and cooked with the masalas. This makes it taste of déjà vu, but still new. For me, however, the piece de resistance here is the chicken bread. Shredded chicken, cooked in a masala made by Remedios’ wife that is part recheado, part molho, and all flavour.
Location: A little ahead of the Majorda panchayat building
Timings: Monday to Saturday, from 5pm
Price: Rs. 80 each for the sausage bread and chicken bread
Willy’s Food Truck, Benaulim
Gaados tend to be on or near main roads, which makes Willy’s a rarity. This is a food truck located bang on the beach. Fatima and Willy (after whom the truck is named) run the truck. Fatima cooks up an extensive menu of snacks and short eats, while Willy helps with customers and orders. I’d suggest skipping straight ahead to the beef dishes.
The beef croquettes are firm but have a delightfully smooth texture when you bite into them. The beef cheeseburger is a tender, juicy patty, grilled with a cheese slice, and lovingly tucked into a poee. My hero dish here, though, is the plump beef chop. A creamy potato casing that is home to perfectly spiced beef mince. I can’t think of too many other treats that are as good to wash down with deep breaths of the salty sea breeze.
Location: Vaddi beach parking lot, Benaulim
Timings: Saturday to Thursday, from 5:30pm.
Price: Rs. 30 per beef chop, Rs. 20 for a beef croquette, Rs. 90 for the beef burger with cheese
St. Sebastian Food Stall, Betalbatim
Hiding in plain sight, the vehicles parked around this stall are a giveaway of its quality. The menu here offers butter chicken (quelle surprise!) but what we’re really here for are two Goan street food staples.
Ros omelette is commonly found at gaados, but the chicken xacuti ros (curry) that is lovingly ladled over an omelette here is uncommonly light in texture, yet layered with flavour. While the cutlet pão is nice, what really elevates it is the sweet-and-tart chicken cafreal curry that is spooned in before serving. For me, this is why it is the only cutlet pão in Goa to make the cut.
#sorrynotsorry
Location: At the junction of the Betalbatim beach road and the main road
Timings: Monday to Saturday, from 5:30 pm
Price: Rs. 50 for the ros omelette, Rs. 70 for the cutlet pão
The Cart With No Name, Chichinim
This unnamed, unassuming cart is bang on the main square of the locality and, going by the number of people who come and talk to Ashrif, the founder’s son, is quite the local institution. What distinguishes this menu though, are the unusual mains. Along with the usual choris and sorpotel, they also serve a great beef tongue and a beef aadmas.
The former is sliced and served in a semi-dry gravy, while the latter, a dish usually made with pork, is made from small pieces of beef on the bone. The aadmas (a portmanteau of bone + meat in Konkani) is cooked in a thick, red gravy that is lively without being spicy and is best eaten with pão. Go. Now.
Location: Diagonally opposite the Our Lady of Hope Church
Timings: Monday to Saturday, from 5:30 pm
Price: Rs. 130 for the aadmas, Rs. 200 for the tongue
