Completing this picture of revelry will be the food stalls. For Madhurima Mukhopadhyay, mass communication student at Jadavpur University, the food stalls are as important as the pandals. By natural corollary, merely pandal-hopping would not be enough without the food stops. “If you know where to have what, it would almost be an incentive to walk till the next pandal. To me, it’s the food that often decides the pandal,” she says.

So the lure of the famed College Square pandal increases manifold for foodies looking to feast on the famed phuckas available there. “Pandal-hoppers who visit College Square make it a point to try out the phuchkas there. The phuchka-wallahs there draw in a sizeable crowd,” states Mohammad Alim, a book stall owner at College Street.

A visit to the College Square pandal, however, is not complete without washing the food down with dab sherbet at the famous sherbet shop Paramount, located behind the pandal complex. “Because of the overwhelming number of people who visit out shop we are forced to remain open till midnight during Durga Pujo. At times, we even have to beg our customers to leave,” says Mrinal Majumdar of Paramount.

The food stalls, it seems, are best placed to match the pandal-hoppers’ itinerary. The two kilometre distance that separates College Square with the other big crowd puller, Santosh Mitra Square, is lined by a string of popular biryani stalls. “Pandal-hoppers who walk down from College Square to Santosh Mitra Square generally stop at these stalls for a meal. The chicken biryani that we serve here is light, yet filling,” says stall owner Gopal Biswas, who claims to cater to about 500 hungry pandal-hoppers on each of the Pujo days.

The Santosh Mitra Square Pandal itself is a veritable foodie’s haven. The sprawling park houses everything from the ubiquitous roll and mughlai paratha stalls to Chinese food stalls. But the piece de resistance is the humble ghughni. “The ghughni sellers here have a tough time meeting with the demand. The personalised touch that makes this ghughni so delectable is the garnishing. Generous helpings of chopped chillies, coriander and coconut is the master-stroke,” states Pradeep Ghosh, president of the Santosh Mitra Square pujo committee.

The organisers of the hugely popular Md Ali Park Pujo speak glowingly of the special chaat stalls that are set up in the complex. “The singara chaat and the dahi chat are crowd-pullers. Not a single seat will be found empty in front of the stalls,” says Arvind Gupta of the Md. Ali Park Pujo organising committee. “Pujo is boom time for us,” beams Khokhon Chaatwaala.

For the visitors to the Hatibagan Sarbojanin pandal, a meal at the Godai Kochuri shop is a must. The freshly fried Raj kachuris and hing kachuris blend fantastically well with the cholar dal.

At the upmarket Maddox Square pujo pandal, youngsters who are finicky about their diet can pick and choose from dieters’ sandwich at the Café Coffee Day stall or indulge in sundaes from the Baskin Robbins stall. “ The best thing about the Maddox Square pujo is the range of items on offer. There are pizza stalls as well as mughlai parantha stalls. The choice is mind boggling,” says 20-year old Chitralekha Chatterjee, a regular at this pandal.

The meal can come to a traditional end with a Banarasi pan from the stalls at the Bagbazar Sarbojanin pandal complex. Covered with exquisite silver foils, flavoured with fragrant chaman bahar and served icy cold, these pans are just one of the many ways to round off your gastronomical journey.

A bigger spread
Meanwhile new restaurants — recently launched, or opening during the festive season — promise hearty meals for those who have opted out from the pandal fare

Soi 19 on Ballygunge Circular Road: Naveen Pai, who has established many restaurants including the upmarket Blue Potato with Shaun Kenworthy and the popular coffee joint Coffee Pai Cafe, is all ready to unveil his first Thai restaurant, Soi 19. Catering to the mid-level segment, Soi 19, which opens today, will serve “affordable yet authentic food.” This 36-seater restaurant will have minimal décor and is determined to serve the best of Thai food to Kolkata, says Pai.

KK’s Fusion on Mirza Ghalib Street: Pradeep Rozario, who brought the concept of fusion food to Kolkata with Kurry Klub, will bring KK’s Fusion to the Park Street area. With an exclusive menu and “contemporary” décor, KK’s is all set to open its doors to the public this festive season. “The idea is to recreate the KK fusion success story,” claims Rozario.

Bhojohari Manna at Sector V: The pice hotel concept that made Bhojhori Manna a success continues at their latest Salt Lake premise. “We offer good food at affordable prices. That’s our USP,” says Siddhartha Shankar Bose, proprietor. The décor, like always, will be free of frills. “We don’t want to intimidate our customers,” reasons Bose.