The last meal before I...

Mixed Falafel Platter, Taim Falafel,
West Village, Manhattan

Not to get my family worked up but I recently thought about dying. Not the depressing 'when will I die' or how, but something that actually matters! Like what will be the last thing I eat before I pop!

I take stuff like this pretty seriously. So please give me your full attention. I will only repeat what I'm saying on this post a million more times. If you happen to still know me in my last days on Earth, the best thing you will do for me is to bring me back food from Taim Falafel. I will bless you forever (if you don’t, chances are I will come back to haunt you in the shape of a falafel.)

My husband had been talking about this place for a while now. And as with most other things that he likes, he sold this place to me endlessly. I’ve had some pretty awesome Mediterranean food in New York and I didn’t think anything I ate elsewhere would trump that. So obviously, I prepared myself to feign some fake excitement when I actually did visit.*

But boy, did I end up eating my words. And also the best meal I’ve ever eaten under 15 bucks. Maybe even the best meal ever.

Taim is like being hugged on the inside. Comfort food away from home. Something you know you will keep coming back to. It's a small, hole-in-the-wall, nestled in the West Village, and if you're looking for ambiance, you're probably better off staying away (believe me, you're not). But if you want to turn into a believer of all things good that exist on earth, visit Taim.

We got the Mixed Falafel Platter which is basically a sampling for 3 falafel flavors on a bed of Hummus, Israeli and Tabouli Salads and an assortment of sauces. The falafels are earthy, fried to perfection, nutty, moist, greaseless, the pita fresh, warm and soft, the hummus rich and to die for, I'm still struggling to figure out what the sauces were but you probably will be too stuffed to care by the time you’re done.

Each time I eat something life-changing, which is actually not that often, I always think about how it must be my last meal on earth. So a friend recently told me that I would die just from eating all the things I want to eat before I die. But this time I just know – for my last meal on earth – nothing else but Taim would work! What about yours? 

*Dinesh, if you actually do read this blog, that sentence means nothing. 

New-York Pizza, really?

Luzzo's Pizza, Easy Village, Manhattan

For all my ranting about the unhealthy food habits of the people in this country, I have to admit that if there’s one thing that will make me never want to leave New York, it’s the New York pizza! Look at the picture above, look me in the eyes and tell me you would disagree. Guilty! 

Deep-Fried WHAT?!!

Led Zappole, Manhattan
Interesting name of the place itself, will plan a visit here when I drop say, 20 kilos. (think: never)

What do you do when you are given an oreo cookie? You eat it.

What do you do when you are given a snickers bar? You feel a little guilty, and then eat it.

What do you do when you are given a slice of pizza? You ponder, feel guilty, and then eat it.

What does an American do when they are given any of the above? Deep-fry them!

This is it. I have concluded that Americans will eat anything. Anything that is fried and deep-fried and covered in oil-and-grease or sugar! Let me re-phrase. Not only will they eat anything that is fried, they will find a new thing each day that can possibly be fried and then deep-fry it till it doesn’t even resemble the original product.

Whoever thinks of frying Oreo cookies? Snickers? Pizza, for heaven’s sake?! 400 calories a slice ain’t good enough for you? Let’s dunk it in oil and make it a round 1000!

I think my arteries clogged up just by looking at the sign-board above. Now excuse me while I write to the Association of Diabetes Specialists or whatever organization it was that named India is the Diabetes Capital of the World. 

When in Rome...

Saravana Bhavan, New York, NY

On a trip to Bangalore in 2010, I happened to tell my host that I wanted to try out some 'local cuisine'. Obviously, my knowledge of the southern states local cuisines was not evovled (to say the least) as I soon found out. Expecting to dig into hot idlis and a mysore masala cheese dosa (seriously, its a dosa commonly available in Bombay!), I was shocked to discover that they served only an Andhra Thali - you know, the kind that serves rice on a banana leaf with the rasam and the gun powder and all the other quintessential Andhra sides?

Now I'm not the biggest fan of rice and rasam, so I requested the waiter (tambi) to provide me with other options. He meekly pointed out to a section on the menu which said 'Punjabi' and had a few items listed under it. Yes, I was as dis-believed (if that's a word) at the knowledge that an Andhra-specialty restaurant serves paneer tikka but not idli! Anyhow, after some sniggering from the waiter and some from my otherwise kind host, I ordered a paneer butter masala and a naan. My second moment of disbleief happened soon enough when I was told that they do not have plates: "Onleee baenana leaf medam'. That was the beginning of it. It got progressively worse.

The paneer arrived looking like somebody had dunked those white Natraj erasers into a bowl of a watered down version of bad tomato ketchup. Of course it was a sight to behold when I tried to contain the gravy from falling off the leaf. Then I had to fight with the waiter to bring me a spoon (yeah Mr. waiter, its completely believable that a top-end restaurant like yours does not have a single spoon!). As if this wasn't enough, I had every single patron, some 20 pairs of eyes looking at me in loathe, almost silently communicating for me to get lost for good.

So there, that was my great North Indian adventure at a South Indian eatery. So I should have known better than to willingly put myself  in a similar situation again, this time on the other end of the world!

A month after we got to the US, sensing that I might be just a tad bit missing home, the husband decided to take me to his favorite Indian restaurant (or one of them) in Manhattan - Saravana Bhavan.

Fortunately for me, SB, although South Indian in origin, neither served food on banana leaves nor restricted its offerings to South Indian fare. In fact, they had quite a few diverse options on their menu and much to my delight, I didn't look like the only person ordering a non-specialty. After some debating with the husband and with my own conscience (which begged me to stick to idli/dosa), I finally got myself a Chole Bhature; This time the Gods were with me! My dish arrived looking scrumptious, tasted delicious and left the waiter ambitious (err, whatever!) after the happy tip we gave him for the happy meal that we had.

Now how difficult is that?

Everybody loves Ramen

"Everybody loves Ramen"
Totto Ramen, New York

A little-hole-in-the-wall eatery, 4 items on the menu (1 for the vegetarians like me), some side options, entertaining chefs, and Japan's favorite comfort food has won the spoilt-for-choice New Yorkers over.

I had, so far, only known ramen in its instant variety form. Therefore my only expectation of Totto Ramen was that of a steaming bowl of noodles, done to perfection.

What I got was spicy vegetarian ramen, in a soy based broth, with all kinds of peppers, veggies, mushroom shavings, tofu, avocados and a fantastically pickled egg as a side. Goodness! Explains the serpentine queues outside, at any given point in time.