A slice of Kaindi

I nagged and nagged the husband to take me to visit this new restraunt in town. And he gave into my nagging and drove some 30 miles and took me there. It gave me a bit of nostalgia. It reminded me of a little dhaba that one might find on the way back home from college or some such thing.Where you are expected to sit at a "nawar mancham" ( I donno what its called in any other language) and eat. I have been to one of these places on the Pune - Mumbai highway years ago where I drank Milk out of a bathroom mug and the chappati - pan was cleaned with a broom!!!! Well to put it in one word it was LOUSY!!!! The husband and I pretty much spent the remaining portion of the day alternating in the loo and ended the night with a Gelusil each!

The service was terrible. One doesnt put a notice near the plates saying "please use a fresh plate each time" and NOT clear the used plates from the table!!!!! Another basic rule of running a restraunt- Make sure that the water glasses are filled!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And if you decide to make Mutter Paneer make sure that there is some Paneer in it. I really had to fish for it and finally got one elusive piece.

The food itself was quite innovative. You know for a South Indian Veg Cusine it served a strange variety!! It wasn't your typical "American - Indian" cusine. You know the channa , fried rice, vada, poori combo. For starters the food was arranged weirdly. You know the appetizers were near one part of the desert(Carrot Halwa) and the other part near the plates (Payasam). Half the dishes were empty and the hostess or usher (or whatever u call them - u know the person who seats u at ur table ah yea Maitre'd) person doubled in for the person who fills the dishes once they are done. And only her mind you. No one else filled any of the dishes. There was Yellow Pappu and some Aloo Palak. And beans and beet-root!! Yeah well.. And rice and fried rice that looked surprisingly like Indian- Chinese. There was some sad looking ice- berg lettuce that served the purpose of salad. And broken pieces of idly!! I mean there wasnt any round idly. You know how its when you make idly in the microwave in a bowl and just eat it like that. Well this idly was just like that. And I dint go anywhere near the sambhar and rasam. But from husband I heard we had to be told which was which. In the middle of the entire buffet was a large pan of roasted veggies with an empty bowl in the middle. Apparently this was their idea of chat. Toward the end of the meal that empty bowl was filled with gravy in which channa was found floating. Dont even get me started on the curd rice!!

My husband and I shared a water glass because the waitress dint bother to give us refills. Toward the end a frustrated me just yelled to her for some water. No one came to us with the cheque and so we thought maybe we have to go to the counter to pay( like the '60s) and that was just what we did.

The people who came in were very interesting though. A married couple next to us. A family in which the mom refused to belt the son into the high chair and therefore had to keep running behind him all over the eating place. A couple sitting at a table and making conversation with the lady at the table next to her. I dont think they came together coz they dint leave together but they were talking to each other ALL the while. And two sets of onsite PMs and their families( Onsite PMs of offshore Indian companies) and one extremely Interesting family. There were two men (one of whom my husband recognized from grad school) and a mom and dad( straight off the plane from India. You know Saree over wind - cheater and Pondy Bazaar purse) and a female with long oiled hair ( i donno how she managed it coz even after loads of shampoo I cant seem to get it off.. Long live Shiakai!!!!!) and chunky gold earrings ( they had GRT written all over them) and Jeans and a T and no jacket.... ( quite a brave girl I must say). My husband and I spent quite a part of our lunch wondering if she was a wife to one of the men or a sister. And she for some reason was eating out of her neighbor's plate!!! I swear she dint have a plate of her own...For reasons best known to her.

All in all I dont know what to say. One of the strange times when "Cogito Ergo Sum" cant find a concluding sentence. I just dont know. and to call it a slice of Kaindi.. I think would be offending Kaindi coz the food there is soooooooo yummmm..