"The history of this nonagenarian pice hotel is closely associated with India’s struggle for freedom. In addition to serving homey, budget meals to students and workers, in the pre-independence era the eatery doubled as a hideout for revolutionaries. The menu is studded with pescatarian favorites like fish roe fritters — unctuous paves of katla cooked in chile-red gravy — and jumbo prawns simmered in coconut milk, though the array of vegetarian dishes also challenges the notion that Bengali cuisine depends entirely on fish and meat. The pui chorchori — malabar spinach cooked with assorted vegetables and fried fish head — has been the best-selling item for nine decades now." - Priyadarshini Chatterjee