Why Depaul's Cold Coffee is the most Overrated Food of Delhi, and the Role of Nostalgia in Popularizing Food Vlogging
Why are food vlogs one of the most popular genres of content on the internet? Why do so many of us, despite eating at least two meals a day, choose to spend our free time reading and watching strange internet people relish delicacies from the other side of the screen? The first answer that many may come up with, is that we genuinely enjoy trying different food places and Twitter, Instagram and YouTube may be some of the best places to organically discover the latest developments on any city’s emerging foodscapes (on that note, do follow my Twitter (@/spicydabeli) for food threads and more). That is not the only reason why people choose to indulge in digital representations of the culinary arts. Food, by virtue of being one of life’s many necessities, ends up being a collection of items that, over the course of a lifetime, we spend a lot of time with. Every person has memories attached to a set of food items that is unique to them as an individual. To me, a warm bowl of hot chocolate evokes memories of a young Kathan on a snowy winter day in New Jersey, this one specific stall of chicken momo in my old neighbourhood of Khirki, Delhi reminds me of my time in the city, and a bowl of homecooked Penne all’Arrabbiata with a generous mix of basil is my go-to comfort food. The other function of food content on the internet, therefore, is to allow the viewer to cling on to these memories of a bygone era, cherishing memories from their childhood or college days by watching random Instagrammers try out a spot for the first time, praising it for its delicious offerings and affordable pricepoint, unknown of how much the spot in question means to their viewers, who seek for a glimpse of a time they miss, knowing in the back of their heart that they will never be able to return to the golden days, which are long past them.
The issue with nostalgic representations of, anything, is that it paints a false picture of entities for the rest of the world to see. For when you re-visit a spot with rose-tinted glasses, you do not experience it as it is, you often tend to experience it as it was. The capacity of nostalgia clouding our judgement, both in new things we experience which we sub-consciously perceive to be sub-par, and in old things that we often have a heightened memory of, is also one of the reasons why people are so tribalistic about things that are immensely personal to them - such as food. To a third person, the endless bickering about whether Mumbai’s food versus Delhi food, or Bangalore’s Dose versus Chennai’s Dosa, seems pointless and almost comical, as the truths about both places are not as extreme as people’s memories tend to make it out to be.
It is fairly harmless for people to have rose-tinted memories of the past. It isn’t worth policing the way people perceive space and time, and if someone wants to stay delusional about how Delhi chaat is the best thing to have been invented since the wheel, then that is harmless at the least and slightly annoying at maximum. What I find rather questionable is when influencers and self-styled travel vloggers paint a dishonest picture for their audience at large, purposefully leaning in to reaffirming popular opinions about a particular food place instead of offering their own individual opinions or takes on the matter. This is one of the many reasons why I dislike Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts. It is less about individual vloggers organically discovering places to eat, and offering their take on whether popular spots are actually worth the trek or not, and more about people jumping on the newest hype train and regurgitating the pre-formed consensus about a particular shop or dish, as that is the most sure-shot and low-effort way to get shares and likes.
Depaul’s in Janpath is not your conventional snack corner. It was started in 1952 as a cosmetic store, but grew in popularity after 1969, when it began selling cold coffee, which it is still known for. A few years later, it started offering snacks with its coffee, and throughout the 70’s it established itself as one of the more popular coffee places in Delhi, a title that was earned by the lack of other coffee shops in the vicinity and its location in the heart of the city, leading it to become popular amongst students from the nearby Delhi University.
Almost any mention of Depaul’s online features vloggers and bloggers alike raving about its “iconic”, “balanced” coffee with “tasty” snacks at an “affordable” price-point. This is not unexpected for a shop of this popularity, but as far as I have noticed, other shops with a similar level of popularity at least have some level of negative publicity. There are enough people on the internet screaming about Karim’s overrated fare and listing better momo places than Dolma Aunty’s. In contrast, there seems to be very little negative publicity of Depaul’s online, which I find quite ironic because it was easily the most overrated piece of food that I have had in my stay in Delhi. The cold coffee is neither cold, nor coffee, and the term “Lukewarm Powdered Water” would be a more accurate descriptor of what Depaul’s serve in their iconic bottles, flavourless and watery, and to describe their snacks as “average” would be a compliment. The momo have a weirdly thick, chewy exterior and do not contain much filling inside, and their much popular cheeseballs do have a decently crispy coating on the outside but that’s where the positives end, the filling is similarly disappointing. I had low expectations when I went in to eat Depaul’s, and it still managed to disappoint me. Well done.
It is not wrong for food influencers to pander to nostalgic sentiments. There is great value in acknowledging and documenting the food places that have shaped our cities’ histories. That does not mean you paint a dishonest picture of their food for views and shares. You can appeal to nostalgic sentiments while acknowledging the sharp decline in quality of one’s offerings. Else, it is dishonest and ends up creating tourist traps that people flock to. This is one of the major reasons why I avoid watching most popular Instagrammers and always skip through the first five search results on Google when it comes to blogs. I honestly could not not recommend you to do the same.
Today, Depaul’s in Janpath stays alive in the popular imagination of Delhi thanks to middle-aged Delhiwallahs having been college students during its heyday in the 20th century. It is also an underwhelming little plastic bottle of nothingness that the city desperately clings on to, as a reminder of its past.
Recommendations:
Skip this spot.
Cold Coffee (2/10), Momo (2/10), Cheese Balls (4/10)
Location:
22, Janpath Bhawan, Janpath Rd, New Delhi, Delhi 110001
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