Gahndi...
The Taj Mahal...
And the red dot...
Dont get me wrong, i had some indian friends in school but they didnt help the stereotype, they all came from hotel owning families and there may have been a service station owner in there as well...
I still know very little about india but i do love a few things about it....
First of all, the food....this is a touchy one...very many people hate it and think it stinks...i think a vast majority of these people have not tried it or given it a chance...it does indeed smell and look different to what us as Americans are used to but is that such a bad thing? and it should fit in the best in the United States seeing we are a melting pot and a mix of foods from all cultures...
For a long time the only place i had been was india palace in greenville...while delicious, india palace has some problems...first of all, it has the absolute worst service of anywhere ever...the waiters sit around and talk and seem that they could really care less that you are there...i think this comes from them being the only indian place in town for a long time...this could be overlooked because the food was delicious....the part i always had a problem with was the GIANT bug zapper on the back wall...im not usually a squeamish type but this is too much for me...also the door to the kitchen is open from time to time and cook looks like that guy from indiana jones, you know the guy that has the swords that Indy just shoots...see below...
Click here to visit their website for more details...
Then something wonderful happened! handi opened up in downtown greenville. handi is a delightful place right on main street. not that it matters, but it has a nice exposed brick interior that makes it seem like a more upscale place.
the waiters actually attend to you and sometimes even run to get your order/request....this may be a little much but its nice to know they actually do care about their customers...i am actually going their tonight with my wife and some of our dear friends....Dan and Joyce and Rob and holly...i think it may be some of their first times so we will see how it goes...i am not worried because this place is great! it turns out that a handi is a deep, narrow-mouthed cooking vessel that is used in Indian cooking...i like it for a name!!!
Click here for their website!
Everyone always asks what to get at an indian restaurant...thats a tough question...personally i think everything is great but i usually tend to lean towards something like...
Some kind of Vindaloo...which i just found out is not really that popular at all in india outside of Goa...it was a dish originally brought by the portuguese...hmm who knew...
I also like Saag Paneer...all i can say is that it tastes better than it looks...
i usually dont like spinachy type stuff but this is unbelievable...
another good option is tandoori chicken...it is chicken that is cooked in a big clay oven thing...
and no meal can be complete without some naan...which is just bread, but you can get all kinds of toppings/stuffings....this is garlic naan, which i love!
these are just a few things i like but there is so much more out there...Anybody want to share some of their favorites?
this is getting long so we will continue tomorrow with something else i love about india...slumdog millionaire...
This is amazing...