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                It was in this fabulous outdoor restaurant -- the best restaurant in the state, and one of the best in India -- that Chettinad cuisine first came out of the Chettiar family kitchen and into the commercial arena. At the entrance, a pair of Brahmin women skillfully prepare savory South Indian vegetable starters. Other women, dressed in beautiful saris, string together jasmine blooms, which female guests are invited to wear in their hair. Nearby is a stage for nightly classical dance and music programs, where the best seats are beneath fairy lights and the massive rain trees that give the place its name. After sipping a welcome drink -- a wide-brimmed copper goblet of vasantha neer, honey-sweetened tender coconut water, delicately flavored with mint leaves -- you can't go wrong with kozhi Chettinad, boneless chicken in an authentic Chettinad sauce, best had with appams (rice flour pancakes); or try the karaikudi kari (lamb chops). For the really adventurous, moolai melagu is tender lamb brain cooked in a peppery masala. Order rice flavored with tamarind as an accompaniment. End with the delicious coconut dessert, elaneer payasam. Weekend buffets are good value; savor six vegetarian and six nonvegetarian dishes and an assortment of eight desserts. Close