Agra poisoning scam - safe restaurants?

BabyBlue · Jan 5th, 2007, 12:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by edwardseco

Blaming the messenger, a mark of wisdom. You can only beat your wife if she disaggrees with you, nobody else's. Anyway travellers' paranoia is hilarious if an up to date vetted list of places to eat must be relied upon. Better to stay at home..

Well aren't you a delight?!

Quote:

Originally Posted by palerider

Sorry to inject some sanity, but you can always ask a local person. They all have a place in mind that they can't afford or won't pay for, that they know a tourist can eat at. They really do. I was in town one day and asked the guy next to me on the bus about a good veg place to eat. I got a discussion for fiftenn minutes or so from ten men, but they all agreed on about three places, one guy even took me there, on his way to home.

Thanks - this thread is a little ld & Agra has been & gone now but needless to say I survived!

the opoponax · Apr 1st, 2007, 01:16

i have the Rough Guide, and yeah, they do make the situation sound dire.

they actually don't even have an Agra restaurant listings section. they even say in the boxed text on the subject (which takes up a whole page) that the only restaurant they're willing to recommend is this one place in one of the listed hotels. and then they stressed that one should be vigilant of that, too.

i'm generally unparanoid and on the up and up about this stuff, and even i was concerned.

besides which, i've also heard (on this very site, i think) that one shouldn't accept shared food on trains for fear of druggings.

quell · Jan 28th, 2008, 23:24

Try the new series of "A-1" Plazas, by Reliance Energy:

I detested the 300Rs dish-restaurants that our scamming week-long-driver kept taking us to. True, we NEVER got sick at those places (filled with non-indians) in North India (Agra/Jaipur/Delhi). But, it IS market-pricing, as there were long lines (of non-Indians) waiting to get in for a place to sit. [So an alternative is to just eat Crackers+Jam, Bananas, and Parle-G biscuits.]

OR, better yet, if you're going to pay the 300rs+ anyway, go to a 4/5-Star Hotel and eat their scrumptious, safe, all-you-can-eat Buffet (dinner) with a Huge variety of dishes . My kids were 1/2 price (and most actually just charged for 1 kid). We ended up doing dinners at the up-scale Hotels in the evenings after our driver ditched us each night after dark.

We loved our driver in the South (Tamil Nadu/Kerala), and he took us to what would be "truck stops" in the States. [Edited to say we LIKE the various Truck Stops we've gone to in the U.S. :-)] Decent food, good service, convenience store attached. They are "A-1" Plazas, run by Reliance Gas Stations. Our Repeated menu selections were "White Rice, Aloo Jeera (dry potatoes), and Nan" at each location, though the menu-options had plenty more to choose from. Never got sick from that week either!

(The only time we got sick was in Dubai and in Bangalore, go figure).

[I don't know if they have A-1-Plazas in the North.]

shashank.aggarwal · Jan 28th, 2008, 23:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by quell

I don't know if they have A-1-Plazas in the North.

Yea..I have seen quite a few of those..however have never tried one...

btw...they are no truck stops by any means...they look pretty up market as per Indian standards..and that is one of the reason I have never tried them...

noting can replace the charm of a Charpai laden Dhaba..where you can laze around for as long as you want..

edwardseco · Jan 29th, 2008, 00:46

I dumped the Rough Guide last trip and have better now..

Jephy_R · Jan 29th, 2008, 03:10

I have to say, the Rough Guide is one of the most inaccurate and poorly written guides I've ever come across. After a week of eating awfully and getting ripped off for accomodation, I chucked my rough guide away and stuck to the advice of locals and other travellers with the odd read of lonely planet.

I think that guide books can be a dangerous thing, people often become reliant on them and their trips revolve around what the books say - in my opinion, this really takes the fun and adventure out of these special moments in life.

A bit of common sense and a smile gets you a long way

BabyBlue - this is not meant as an attack on you or your usage of rough guide, I just felt like offering my opinion on guide books in general.

AbbyB · Jan 29th, 2008, 03:27

We found that in general, you can eat anywhere that Lonely Planet recommends, since those places are trying hard to maintain their listed status. Frommer's and Fodor's are probably even more reliable.

Apr 1st, 2007, 01:16	#32
the opoponax Maha Guru Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Brooklyn, via New Orleans Posts: 1,054	reviving another dead horse but... i have the Rough Guide, and yeah, they do make the situation sound dire. they actually don't even have an Agra restaurant listings section. they even say in the boxed text on the subject (which takes up a whole page) that the only restaurant they're willing to recommend is this one place in one of the listed hotels. and then they stressed that one should be vigilant of that, too. i'm generally unparanoid and on the up and up about this stuff, and even i was concerned. besides which, i've also heard (on this very site, i think) that one shouldn't accept shared food on trains for fear of druggings.

Jan 28th, 2008, 23:24	#33
quell Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: USA Posts: 13	A-1 Plaza rest-stop restaurants are actually Great Try the new series of "A-1" Plazas, by Reliance Energy: I detested the 300Rs dish-restaurants that our scamming week-long-driver kept taking us to. True, we NEVER got sick at those places (filled with non-indians) in North India (Agra/Jaipur/Delhi). But, it IS market-pricing, as there were long lines (of non-Indians) waiting to get in for a place to sit. [So an alternative is to just eat Crackers+Jam, Bananas, and Parle-G biscuits.] OR, better yet, if you're going to pay the 300rs+ anyway, go to a 4/5-Star Hotel and eat their scrumptious, safe, all-you-can-eat Buffet (dinner) with a Huge variety of dishes . My kids were 1/2 price (and most actually just charged for 1 kid). We ended up doing dinners at the up-scale Hotels in the evenings after our driver ditched us each night after dark. We loved our driver in the South (Tamil Nadu/Kerala), and he took us to what would be "truck stops" in the States. [Edited to say we LIKE the various Truck Stops we've gone to in the U.S. :-)] Decent food, good service, convenience store attached. They are "A-1" Plazas, run by Reliance Gas Stations. Our Repeated menu selections were "White Rice, Aloo Jeera (dry potatoes), and Nan" at each location, though the menu-options had plenty more to choose from. Never got sick from that week either! (The only time we got sick was in Dubai and in Bangalore, go figure). [I don't know if they have A-1-Plazas in the North.] Last edited by quell : Jan 29th, 2008 at 22:48. Reason: (edited info)

Jan 29th, 2008, 03:27	#37
AbbyB Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Maryland Posts: 2	Safe food in Agra We found that in general, you can eat anywhere that Lonely Planet recommends, since those places are trying hard to maintain their listed status. Frommer's and Fodor's are probably even more reliable.

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Jan 29th, 2008, 00:46	#35
edwardseco Maha Guru Member Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Land that shakes and bakes. Posts: 3,777	I dumped the Rough Guide last trip and have better now..

Jan 29th, 2008, 03:10	#36
Jephy_R Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Ipswich, UK Posts: 16	I have to say, the Rough Guide is one of the most inaccurate and poorly written guides I've ever come across. After a week of eating awfully and getting ripped off for accomodation, I chucked my rough guide away and stuck to the advice of locals and other travellers with the odd read of lonely planet. I think that guide books can be a dangerous thing, people often become reliant on them and their trips revolve around what the books say - in my opinion, this really takes the fun and adventure out of these special moments in life. A bit of common sense and a smile gets you a long way BabyBlue - this is not meant as an attack on you or your usage of rough guide, I just felt like offering my opinion on guide books in general.

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