Indian Food, Part Three

One of the older stand-by Indian restaurants in the area has always been Bombay Oven. It's on Stevens Creek Blvd. close to De Anza College and has been there much longer than the glitzier Panera and Peet's which are now adjacent. In the olden days (ie about a year or so ago), when you went for the buffet lunch, you seated yourself, eventually someone would nod at you and acknowledge your presence, and bring you water and MAYBE ask for a drink order; and after you had stuffed yourself, a small old Indian lady in a sari would decide what you owed and collect money from you. No signs. No menus. Just a tasty buffet.

That has all changed. A few months ago when Beth and I went for lunch the ambiance was totally different. Newly painted, fresh tablecloths, nice waiters, a bigger buffet moved to the back nook,and when we arrived at 11:30 it was not yet ready. We were brought drinks during our wait, and before the food line opened, the place started filling up! As we had been the first people in, we were sent to the buffet first, a nice gesture. And the quality of the food was much higher than it had been in the past.

Fast forward to Wednesday night. I had purchased a Groupon for dinner at Bombay Oven a few weeks ago, so we decided to give it a try. The place is very comfortable, with a pleasant dining room, painted a soft yellow and with low music playing. Several families were there but it was not crowded. Our young waiter was very friendly and helpful. We ordered an appetizer and three dishes to share, plus naan. The appetizer was something I'd never had before but highly recommend---honey cauliflower. Think slightly sweet, savory popcorn cauliflower. Yum. The main dishes were the house curry chicken, butter chicken, and bhindi masala (okra). Michael was a big fan of the curry, which I also liked, but butter chicken just makes my mouth happy. I think the only place where I've had any butter chicken that was better is at Amber India, where it is a signature dish. The quantities were large enough that we were able to bring home more than enough for lunch the next day.

Now for my Okla/Ark/Texas families: Okra. You think fried okra is the best thing on earth. Well you know I do, at least. Let me tell you, okra masala as cooked at Bombay Oven rivals any okra dish I've ever had. The okra is fresh, cut like we do to fry it, sauteed with onions, tomato, and spices. It was crisp, smooth, fresh, spicy, all at once. I promise, if any of you come to visit, this will be a stop on the food tour.

I asked our waiter if he eats okra, feeling that possibly even Indian gourmets might have mixed feelings about this vegetable. But he assured me that he did, and that in his country there is a belief that eating okra will make you smart in mathematics. I told Michael that it must not have worked on me and he replied, think how much worse you might have been in math if you HADN'T eaten it all your childhood! Touche.

AHS Class of 1961 Group Photo

Susan Miller, Charlene Goss, Carrol Evans, Oras Rainer, Thomas Berryhill, Linda Presley, Darryl Hunkapillar, Mary Walters, Suzy Russell, Charlotte Brown, Joe Pap, Judy Means, Janice Barnes, Harvey Colley, Cherry Jeffrey, Karen Haston, Mike Howie, Judy Nutt, Freida Clay, Diann Thompson, Jesse Reed, Linda Briscoe, Marvin Witt, Lynn Paschall, Danny Heartsill, Shirley Lewis, Barbara O'Brien, Tanya Jackson, Trudie McCreight, Linda Collins, Dorothy Royall, Phyllis Hignight, Sharon Wiggins, Linda Painter, Linda Lanphere, John Burton, Phyllis Hamilton, Carol Carlock, Sandra Fisher, Jim Porter, Carol Daube, Bill Thomas, Midge Ledbetter, Sharon King, Jane Robbins, Carl Holliday, Karen Adams, Terry Gutshall, Charles Rice, Sharon Halstead, Doyle Williams, Lynda Jones, Bob Williams, Kenneth James, Gary Grider, Mary Beth Osborn, Carolyn Kinkade, Jan Pruitt

Katie and Laura at Katie's wedding

http://www.wpja.com/contests/49-2011-q1-contest/06-emotion.html#10

Friends sharing happiness and joy. I love these two young women. Gorgeous photo!

Indian Food in Sunnyvale, Part Two

We are still trying to explore the wonders of Indian cuisine right here in our neighborhood. In April we went to another buffet, this time to Athidhi, located in the shopping center at the corner of Wolfe and Old San Francisco Road. The address is 727 S. Wolfe Rd but the restaurant is in the strip that faces Old San Francisco. We got there at the end of the lunch time; well actually, we got there after the end of the lunch time. Their web page said lunch from 11 until 3 but that is only on weekends. Weekdays they close at 2:30. The host was gracious enough to seat us anyway, and there was still an ample quantity of delicious food.

We thoroughly enjoyed all the variety of curries and masalas and tandoori. Michael was brave enough to try the goat curry which he thought was quite yummy. The dessert choices were completely different. There was some fresh melon and a pudding but no gulab in honey sauce. There were gulab with a savory filling in the entree section. I think they had run out of dosa before we got there.

We both felt this was a good balance of spicy, a little hotter than Taste Buds, and way spicier than Ganesha. It was a much bigger buffet than Taste Buds, with an assortment of south specialties added to the mix. Again, we got fresh hot naan brought to the table. The place had several small altars and posters for a variety of gurus. It obviously has a spiritual clientele.

There was a long gap between Athidhi and our next choice, Shalimar, located on El Camino near Bernardo. We think the building used to be a Sizzler or something similar. Shalimar bills itself as Indian and Pakistani food. The parking lot was full and there was a big, fairly noisy crowd. It is NOT a buffet at lunch. They have a large menu posted on the counter with pictures of food. It would be best to go there with a group and order a variety of dishes to share. We did not think to do this and as a result had two identical entrees. Both of us ordered Saag chicken, which was basically chicken chunks in a spinach base. We also ordered naan. The chicken was delicious although it was a challenge to eat that much spinach, even dipping the naan in it. Michael liked ordering a single dish because we did not leave the restaurant stuffed as we usually do after a buffet. Next time we'll try 2 entrees. This would also be a good place to order take-out.

For those of you looking to get good deals on local restaurants, I recommend checking out Groupon. I have a coupon waiting to be used for Bombay Oven on Stevens Creek and there are frequently deals for new and newly remodeled places.

Trying to Sync

What a wonderful reunion we had last weekend in Ardmore! By the end of the day Saturday, the years had melted away and I felt like I had reclaimed dozens of friends. I only wish I could have talked more with everyone there and taken even more pictures.

If you took photos, please add them to the album, I sent the link to everyone who left their email address for the directory. So far mine and Doyle's are there and Linda has helped me to tag all the photos.

We can stay connected through the email group and through Facebook.

Indian Food in Sunnyvale

Or close-by.

Michael and I have embarked on an adventure, to try all the Indian restaurants in Sunnyvale or near-by. This turns out to be a big undertaking as there are many new places.

So far:

Last week we started with Ganesha Indian Cuisine in Santa Clara. Located in the Kiely Plaza at the intersection of Kiely and Benton, this was certainly not the closest or the best known in our area. It WAS, however, the one featured in a Groupon coupon. We went for the lunch buffet. Because we don't have to do prime time, we were a little late and were the only customers in the restaurant. The decor was very very pleasant; nice blond wood chairs, very clean, soothing wall color, flat panel tv playing an Indian music channel. It suited a western aesthetic while still reflecting Indian culture.

The buffet had the standard choices. Stand outs were the very fresh salad ingredients: lettuce, tomatoes, radishes, with raita to use as a dressing; the butter chicken; the rice pudding and gulab; the tandoori chicken; and the very best garlic and plain naan, brought hot to the table. The server--possibly the owner--was preoccupied with working with a web designer (I think), but was very very friendly and prompt when we needed him. And it WAS way after the lunch hour.

We did notice that the food, while very flavorful, was NOT hot-spicy. We are accustomed to more heat, but the flavors were very good.

I think the combination of the pleasing decor, the naan, and the mild spices would make this an extremely accessible place to non-Indian customers. We will definitely return. This would be a good place to take newbies to Indian cuisine.

Week Two:

Tuesday night I went online and did some research into the Indian restaurants we pass by daily. They are a mix of north and south Indian cuisine. (More on that later). After reading recommendations I chose Taste Buds Indian Restaurant on Grape in Sunnyvale (across from Lozano's). We went there today, once again at the end of the lunch hour for the buffet. The reviews on Yelp were good, and indicated that it had expanded the seating area.

Good thing.

The original space had room for a small buffet counter and seating for maybe 16. They've added a big room with 2 long rows of tables for 4. There is NO decor. None. Nothing on walls. No TV. No music. They might have started as a take-out place, not sure.

But the food was good. Again, the buffet was a typical mix of curries or masalas, mostly vegetarian. The only meat dishes were butter chicken and tandoori chicken. The sauces were spicy, hot but not fiery, The butter chicken sauce was also used in a cauliflower dish and was super yummy. Again, freshly cooked naan was brought to the table. Maybe this has become a standard? I hadn't experienced it before. My personal favorite dish was the okra. I asked what it was called and told "okra". When I looked puzzled the woman on the counter added masala. So I will call it okra masala. Any good Okie would love it. Michael was less entranced.

The dessert, kheer, was extremely good. It was made with vermicelli, almonds, and lots of cardamom. I understand the name and the ingredients change from region to region in India. At Ganesha it was rice pudding, sweet, creamy, not spicy at all. At Taste Buds the experience was completely different. Of course I liked both, but I was enthralled with the one today.

Wrap-up: two good places, similar food, although spiced differently. Very different decor (or lack thereof). Taste Buds was closer to us and cheaper. I can see us making it a regular place for lunch.

Next week I think we will try someplace that specializes in south Indian cuisine--dosas and idly and such. When we have some comparison point we will brave Saravanaa Bhavan down the street.

Oscar Nominees

Nominees for the 83rd Academy Awards

I have ranked the movies I have seen, my opinion. Who do YOU think will win?

Actor in a Leading Role

• Javier Bardem in “Biutiful”
• Jeff Bridges in “True Grit” 3
• Jesse Eisenberg in “The Social Network” 2
• Colin Firth in “The King's Speech” 1
• James Franco in “127 Hours”

Actor in a Supporting Role

• Christian Bale in “The Fighter” 1
• John Hawkes in “Winter's Bone” 4
• Jeremy Renner in “The Town” 5
• Mark Ruffalo in “The Kids Are All Right” 3
• Geoffrey Rush in “The King's Speech” 2

Actress in a Leading Role

• Annette Bening in “The Kids Are All Right” 3
• Nicole Kidman in “Rabbit Hole”
• Jennifer Lawrence in “Winter's Bone” 2
• Natalie Portman in “Black Swan” 1
• Michelle Williams in “Blue Valentine”

Actress in a Supporting Role

• Amy Adams in “The Fighter” 4
• Helena Bonham Carter in “The King's Speech”2
• melissa leo in The Fighter 3
• Hailee Steinfeld in “True Grit” 1
• Jacki Weaver in “Animal Kingdom”

Animated Feature Film

• “How to Train Your Dragon” Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois 1
• “The Illusionist” Sylvain Chomet
• “Toy Story 3” Lee Unkrich

Art Direction

• “Alice in Wonderland”
  Production Design: Robert Stromberg; Set Decoration: Karen O'Hara
• “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1” 2
  Production Design: Stuart Craig; Set Decoration: Stephenie McMillan
• “Inception” 4
  Production Design: Guy Hendrix Dyas; Set Decoration: Larry Dias and Doug Mowat
• “The King's Speech” 1
  Production Design: Eve Stewart; Set Decoration: Judy Farr
• “True Grit” 3
  Production Design: Jess Gonchor; Set Decoration: Nancy Haigh

Cinematography

• “Black Swan” Matthew Libatique 1
• “Inception” Wally Pfister 2
• “The King's Speech” Danny Cohen 4
• “The Social Network” Jeff Cronenweth 3
• “True Grit” Roger Deakins 5

Costume Design

• “Alice in Wonderland” Colleen Atwood
• “I Am Love” Antonella Cannarozzi 3
• “The King's Speech” Jenny Beavan 1
• “The Tempest” Sandy Powell
• “True Grit” Mary Zophres 2

Directing

• “Black Swan” Darren Aronofsky 4
• “The Fighter” David O. Russell 3
• “The King's Speech” Tom Hooper 2
• “The Social Network” David Fincher 1
• “True Grit” Joel Coen and Ethan Coen 5

Documentary (Feature)

• “Exit through the Gift Shop” Banksy and Jaimie D'Cruz
• “Gasland” Josh Fox and Trish Adlesic
• “Inside Job” Charles Ferguson and Audrey Marrs
• “Restrepo” Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger
• “Waste Land” Lucy Walker and Angus Aynsley

Documentary (Short Subject)

• “Killing in the Name” Nominees to be determined
• “Poster Girl” Nominees to be determined
• “Strangers No More” Karen Goodman and Kirk Simon
• “Sun Come Up” Jennifer Redfearn and Tim Metzger
• “The Warriors of Qiugang” Ruby Yang and Thomas Lennon

Film Editing

• “Black Swan” Andrew Weisblum 1
• “The Fighter” Pamela Martin 4
• “The King's Speech” Tariq Anwar 2
• “127 Hours” Jon Harris
• “The Social Network” Angus Wall and Kirk Baxter 3

Foreign Language Film

• “Biutiful” Mexico
• “Dogtooth” Greece
• “In a Better World” Denmark
• “Incendies” Canada
• “Outside the Law (Hors-la-loi)” Algeria

Makeup

• “Barney's Version” Adrien Morot
• “The Way Back” Edouard F. Henriques, Gregory Funk and Yolanda Toussieng
• “The Wolfman” Rick Baker and Dave Elsey

Music (Original Score)

• “How to Train Your Dragon” John Powell 4
• “Inception” Hans Zimmer 3
• “The King's Speech” Alexandre Desplat2
• “127 Hours” A.R. Rahman
• “The Social Network” Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross1

Music (Original Song)

• “Coming Home” from “Country Strong” Music and Lyric by Tom Douglas, Troy Verges and Hillary Lindsey
• “I See the Light” from “Tangled” Music by Alan Menken Lyric by Glenn Slater
• “If I Rise” from “127 Hours” Music by A.R. Rahman Lyric by Dido and Rollo Armstrong
• “We Belong Together” from “Toy Story 3" Music and Lyric by Randy Newman

Best Picture

• “Black Swan” Mike Medavoy, Brian Oliver and Scott Franklin, Producers 5
• “The Fighter” David Hoberman, Todd Lieberman and Mark Wahlberg, Producers 4
• “Inception” Emma Thomas and Christopher Nolan, Producers 8
• “The Kids Are All Right” Gary Gilbert, Jeffrey Levy-Hinte and Celine Rattray, Producers 7
• “The King's Speech” Iain Canning, Emile Sherman and Gareth Unwin, Producers 2
• “127 Hours” Christian Colson, Danny Boyle and John Smithson, Producers
• “The Social Network” Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti, Michael De Luca and Ceán Chaffin, Producers 1
• “Toy Story 3” Darla K. Anderson, Producer 9
  
• “True Grit” Scott Rudin, Ethan Coen and Joel Coen, Producers 6
• “Winter's Bone" Anne Rosellini and Alix Madigan-Yorkin, Producers 3

Short Film (Animated)

• “Day & Night” Teddy Newton
• “The Gruffalo” Jakob Schuh and Max Lang
• “Let's Pollute” Geefwee Boedoe
• “The Lost Thing” Shaun Tan and Andrew Ruhemann
• “Madagascar, carnet de voyage (Madagascar, a Journey Diary)” Bastien Dubois

Short Film (Live Action)

• “The Confession” Tanel Toom
• “The Crush” Michael Creagh
• “God of Love” Luke Matheny
• “Na Wewe” Ivan Goldschmidt
• “Wish 143” Ian Barnes and Samantha Waite

Sound Editing

• “Inception” Richard King 1
• “Toy Story 3” Tom Myers and Michael Silvers 3
  
• “Tron: Legacy” Gwendolyn Yates Whittle and Addison Teague
• “True Grit” Skip Lievsay and Craig Berkey 2
• “Unstoppable” Mark P. Stoeckinger

Sound Mixing

• “Inception” Lora Hirschberg, Gary A. Rizzo and Ed Novick 1
• “The King's Speech” Paul Hamblin, Martin Jensen and John Midgley 2
• “Salt” Jeffrey J. Haboush, Greg P. Russell, Scott Millan and William Sarokin
• “The Social Network” Ren Klyce, David Parker, Michael Semanick and Mark Weingarten 3
• “True Grit” Skip Lievsay, Craig Berkey, Greg Orloff and Peter F. Kurland 4

Visual Effects

• “Alice in Wonderland” Ken Ralston, David Schaub, Carey Villegas and Sean Phillips
• “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1” Tim Burke, John Richardson, Christian Manz and Nicolas Aithadi 1
• “Hereafter” Michael Owens, Bryan Grill, Stephan Trojansky and Joe Farrell
• “Inception” Paul Franklin, Chris Corbould, Andrew Lockley and Peter Bebb 2
• “Iron Man 2” Janek Sirrs, Ben Snow, Ged Wright and Daniel Sudick

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

• “127 Hours” Screenplay by Danny Boyle & Simon Beaufoy
• “The Social Network” Screenplay by Aaron Sorkin 2
• “Toy Story 3” Screenplay by Michael Arndt; Story by John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich
• “True Grit” Written for the screen by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen 3
• “Winter's Bone” Adapted for the screen by Debra Granik & Anne Rosellini 1

Writing (Original Screenplay)

• “Another Year” Written by Mike Leigh
• “The Fighter” Screenplay by Scott Silver and Paul Tamasy & Eric Johnson; 2
  Story by Keith Dorrington & Paul Tamasy & Eric Johnson
• “Inception” Written by Christopher Nolan 4
• “The Kids Are All Right” Written by Lisa Cholodenko & Stuart Blumberg 3
• “The King's Speech” Screenplay by David Seidler 1

Link to Golden Globes winners:

New Mouse

I am not usually a big I can haz cheezeburger fan but this struck me as very funny this morning. Love the little mouse feet!