GOA — Tito's was born as a man's desire to give people memories. In this case, named after the man himself, Tito's restaurant and lounge, became a phenomenon. The man put his heart into the business and attended all his guests, who came from all over the world to find sanctity at the beaches of Goa. Located at Baga beach, the most popular name in the city, Tito's is now run by his sons as a family business. “My dad started it. He passed away in 1985,” son David D'Souza told Saudi Gazette. Born and brought up in Goa, D'Souza spoke about his life and his inherited dream. “I dropped out of college. I hated it. But now if you think about it, you do need an education,” he said. The process of building on a name left by his beloved father took some time. He said expansion was achieved slowly. He said he was the front man and people liked coming to Tito's. While he looked into the design aspects his brother took care of the finances. “I used to serve at tables and everyone knew me. It was a personal touch with the customers — you knew what they drank, what they had. Then slowly there were more tables and more chairs. “Then people said why don't you use play some music? So we went with the flow. We had loads of nice people here then, even English holidaymakers who got me lots of nice music. So I would DJ. Now I employ DJ's.” In this case he may have dropped out of college but found his calling in Tito's, so not all's for naught. Till date, D'Souza's only concern is to provide a good time to his customers. But like time, he said he has seen a huge change in people over the years. “Before there were nicer people but less money. But now everybody's got money,” he said. Much like his mother, David's outlook and strong belief in the essence of humanity have played a vital role in Tito's life. Not a part of the rat race, David and his brother are still far ahead of the competition with other successful entities on the beaches of Goa such as Red Square, Café Del Mar, Kamaki, Cape Town café, Mambos and more. Irrespective of the change, he pursues Tito's: “I do this because this is all I know.” Set by the beautiful Baga beach, against the warm waves, Tito's radiates life and exudes a mystic vibe. Its open doors welcome every cast, creed, individual and any dynasty. Not only does it possess the ability to charm, it is in fact a personal favorite of everyone who knows Goa. Tito's is not run like a business; it's run like a family. Tito's is a story of compassion — what one man started and his family completed. With that being said, you can't help but agree with him when he says, “I would never want to live anywhere else in the world.” D'Souza revealed his latest venture, Tito's White House. “It is a line of 10 villas made out of steel and wood, up in the jungle. It has a yoga sanctuary and three schools below — one each for teaching karate, kickboxing and T'ai chi with a restaurant. In Goa, you must know how it is. We have a saying, ‘Be Susegaad,' which means take it as it comes. And you know what? It's got its own charm and this is why I would never live anywhere else.” Goan, Italian, North Indian, Continental and Chinese make up a few facets of the entire Tito's menu. You can indulge in variety of masala papads, soups and salads, appetizers like onion and paneer pakodas, calamari fritti, fish cutlets and bruschetta in a few minutes. Lets begin with the basics. Try their tandoori chicken, a north Indian delicacy cooked in a clay oven; prawn tikka, which is marinated in yogurt and Indian spices; malai kebab, apieces of boneless chicken tenders marinated in fresh cream cashew nut paste and mild Indian spices; and veg seekh kebab among others. When looking for continental or Italian food, you can be sure to find the pasta or pizza of your choice. Arrabiata, bolognese and carbonara are readily available. A few favorites are the classic margherita, Tito's tandoori special, calzone, B.M.T, spicy chicken, and sea food pizza. If you love seafood, then there is no better place or ambience than Titos. Indulge in your favorites Lobster Thermidor, crabs, Sea Bass Fillet, Kingfish in Garlic Butter, Prawn in Garlic Butter, grilled fish in rosemary and potato sautéed in herbs. Go for the beef/chicken steak with your choice of mushroom cream, sauce, BBQ sauce or black pepper. You can try the mushroom stroganoff with a base of cream mushrooms served with steamed rice and boiled vegetables. A few Goan favorites are veg caldin, local vegetables cooked in mild coconut gravy, and fish/prawn curry rice, a staple Goan dish cooked in coconut gravy and served with steamed rice and fried fish. The Indian cuisine favorites are aloo gobi, a famous Punjabi dish made of potato and cauliflower and cooked in Indian spices. Kadai paneer/fresh cottage cheese, aloo mutter, aloo geera dry, and all time favorite dal makhani, which is made of black lentils and beans and cooked with Indian herbs and cream. The non-veg stars are murga maska maar ke (butter chicken), julienne of tandoori chicken simmered in tomato and butter gravy. Their fish/prawn/chicken jalfrezie is a wonderful treat albeit spicy, along with chicken kholapuri. To complete the experience get Chicken Biryani, another North Indian delicacy of chicken cooked with rice. If you are in the mood for something different, try the chinese egg-fried rice with chicken, chilly noodles with chicken and prawn manchurian, among others. Try different kinds of roti (Indian breads) like naans with cheese, garlic, butter and lachha paratha. Desserts are imperative. Try their chocolate pie, chocolate Eclair, banana cake, chocolate crunchy, black forest, banoffee pie, apple pie, chocolate mousse and ice-creams.
