Masala-less-Dosa

Tuesday evenings are known for a local Indian restaurants Masala dosa specials for $1.99. Known by the name of a commonly used hot Indian chilli, the restaurant flaunts its “All-India” menu with local delicacies from all parts of India – whether it is a Mughlai dish, the idli-sambar, Hyderabadi biryani or the “Indian Chinese” food – all packed into a ledger sized menu that has a newbie to Indian food totally clueless. But nobody seems to be looking at the menu tonight. By 6:00 pm the place starts to pack up with Indians from all parts of India commonly united by the Masala-dosa. Everyone seems to know what it is – even the newbies. You really need to come early for this special, for the very first dosa you order probably has the ‘most’ masala (potato based vegetable filling) visible outside the dosa. You asked for it and you got it – now you stuff it! This is ridiculous – a masala dosa is supposed to be already made with filling in it – for those who know what it is. But we are not so lucky here. At least the sambar (stew like dish) and two chutneys that come with it supplement the lack of ‘masala’. By the time you start to eat your dosa it is cold. But the taste is not so bad – the best we can get in this town. You better be ready to order your second one the next time you see the server – for it might be the last time you see him/her. They get so busy that they don’t really care if you want any more dosas. They feel like they have done their duty after serving the first dosa. Now if you ask for one more, then they get stingy on the masala. Gosh it almost seems like the server eats half of it by the time it reaches your table – or it is probably being saved for the rest of the crowd. After your second one, you realize that it is not only you but everyone else around you is getting plates of the ‘new and improved’ almost masala-less-dosa! They say “you snooze, you loose” – for whatever reason this restaurant has carved out their own adaptation of this phrase on their walls on this auspicious Masala-less-Dosa day! Just be sure to get there early!

Upsize my belly please!

Monday, March 19, 2007
After a really long day at work the 7:30pm road home seems like a blurry dream and the thought of eating “left-overs” doesn’t really sound appealing. Thank goodness for fast-food. Only a hop, skip and jump away from all major exits on the interstate is my friend – the fast-food restaurant. This one I go to is my all-time favorite because it promotes eating chicken (as opposed to beef) and cows like that – well they don’t really eat chicken – remember cows are vegetarians – but they would like ‘us’ people to eat them. Upon walking in I am amazed at the reception I get – it is quite comparable to that of a dine-in establishment – “Welcome Sir, will you be dining in tonight?” “Yes I will be” came a weak answer from me. I couldn’t believe it – I am welcomed at a fast-food restaurant by a woman who looks too well-dressed to be a cashier. It turns out that she was a Marketing Manager in disguise. I quickly place my order – “eeemm… I’ll have the number 1 please” (Chicken sandwich, waffle potato fries and a drink). I could not believe what came out of her mouth next – “Would you like to up-size that Sir” and I replied “No thank you – I need to downsize myself first before I do that”. “Yeah I could loose 30 lbs .. well maybe 20”. She was pleasantly surprised at my answer and was speechless for a second. Anyway, the moral of the story is you got to move more and eat less in order to loose – she tells me – as if I don’t already know that. Then why is she even thinking about asking me to upsize? The answer is simple – profit. It is so easy to “upsize” your belly in the US – all the cheap and easy ways you have at your disposal to do this – it is unbelievable. Upsizing is one way fast food restaurants can add easy profit to their business. It is only 75cents so they say – but are you getting your worth? Sure you are in your eyes but it is a cheap way to reduce your life span for their little profit - the responsibility is yours! Oh well – so much for day to day mundane stuff. Now back to the chicken sandwich – how delicious! I was happy I stopped by – “please come back again soon Sir” – said the cashier on my way out. Oh yes I surely will – I thought to myself. It will have to be another one of those long and weary days when I stop by to “upsize my belly”.

First time!

The very thought of posting something for the world has given me the jitters! Anyway, here goes - one of my goals in life was to write and this is a great medium for me to exchange thoughts and ideas. Hopefully I can convey my life experiences into the hearts and minds of someone who will find it useful.
Heres to my first blog.
Bala