Best Friends

I think it is the weather, the Hurricane Hanna effects that we experiencing in CP or whatever is in the air now, I decided to write about Best Friends in general. I remember Vikas, one of my best friends, with a heart that was so pure, wherever you are Vikas I hope you read this sometime, (I never let my hopes drop down).


I have these fond memories, of having lunch with you, I loved the chappathi's and allu sabbjji that you used to get and it took me days maybe even weeks to realize that you would never come back to occupy the first place in that line for Class 1C, but there are still times when I remember you, and wonder how the world would be if you were here, maybe you would be a doctor like Munni, or maybe you would be like me or maybe you would have taken a different path, but this is just to reach out to you.


I still remember that day during assembly when your sister was wailing and Bhatia Ma'am was consoling her and I didnt have the faintest idea why you would never be there to play with me again. But when I think of that today my eyes well and I really wish you would be there here by my side!


I have many best friends, all along the way, every new stop I make in life I end up having atleast one best friend but as life rolls on we kind off lose touch with our best friends, not our fault not theirs, its just destiny's little crime, maybe an excuse may be not even. We lose some of them to time and some of them to ego but life still goes on.


We still remember them in those moments of reminiscence and we know that no matter what, we still have that special place reserved for them, but trust me it makes a world of a difference if you pick up the phone now and speak to one of those many best friends, time would have flown by, too much water would have flown over the bridge but still the warmth that it brings is far too valuable to be weighed with anything.


One of my friends', friends' recently asked me to watch out for her, I do not know if it is the fear of straying on the wrong path or if it is because she senses that my friend seems to be lost and needs someone but I found that so touching, we maybe at our points of highs or lows but still our best friends are always there to care for us, miles away, minutes away, sometimes even eons away. The feeling is in itself truly refreshing, so here is to Best Friends and in particular to Vikas, I know you will be there high above in heaven smiling down at me right now.

Jobless and eating chutney podi..

Read this article on Job Market recession and the trend right now, scary! The only consolation being it isnt as bad at 2001's recession or the 1990-1991 recession, but they say that is attributed to the fact that not many jobs were added to be cut down as compared to those periods hmm. Anyways when it hits you it hits you hard.

All this because I was cribbing about not having money to enjoy, which is the truth, not just for me but for anyone in my plight. The statistical figures relating to disposable income and joblessness is really interesting, read on at

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122057362716301721.html?mod=todays_us_nonsub_money_and_investing

When times are bad they really are, its like one of those Murphy's laws.

On the cooking front, I feasted on rice and chutney podi yesterday, my mouth was so watering while I was taking the chutney podi dabbas out to eat with the hot rice. I still dont know how to make chutney podi, but apparently I discovered that there are a thousand varieties of chutney podi. People at home will be like, I cant believe your eating chutney podi with rice, but well you need to experience the 'away from home' feeling to determine the true worth of chutney podi.

Selling a concept - The Brew HaHa way..

Now this is a games bar located in good old garden city. Met up with my dearest pals there and had a ball of a time when I was in India last. Basically they'll loan you games like pictionary, scrabble and so on, along with the food. So you can order food and you can like play something while waiting/dining. There is an hourly rate for the game boards and the charges for the food is separate. Eventually you will be engrossed in the game and kind off pull it, you end up having more food or something to drink and they do good business. Well the concept sells well, the fact that it is strategically placed behind JNC gives business a run for itself. Nice nah!

It reminds me of Dave&Busters, just that its a bar and a restaurant in addition to a games parlor, http://www.daveandbusters.com/. You get to play snooker and games of that sort here.

Selling a concept - the Melting Pot way

This is something I am yet to experience, heard that there is this restaurant called The Melting Pot, http://www.meltingpot.com/ that sells by its fondue experience. Pretty neat huh! Imagine going through picking your meal and letting it cook before you, while you enjoy some small talk with maybe (not necessarily) your better half. I knid of like the concept but people who are averse to cooking wouldnt think too great of it. Be sure to read through the history at their site, cant believe its something thats been there for the past 30 years, ding dong, why doesnt something like that flash through my brain once in a while ?

Selling a concept - the bd way...

So well the management bug has bitten me too, now I tend to see everything the marketting way, so here is an insight to selling a concept centered around culinary skills. Went to this restaurant called bd's Mongolian Grill,

http://www.gomongo.com/index.php

Check out the video, savagely wild nah! :)

There is one at Bethesda and I loved the concept, basically you grab a bowl, and fill it with the meat of your choice and whatever you want to compliment it with, the pasta, the veggies and the likes and then you hand your bowl to the chefs who'll grill it for you in front of you and serve it in a plate. You can then have this assorted mix of grilled veggies and meat that you created with either tortillas or rice. Compliment it with the sauce of your choice and there you go, a wonderful meal for yourself. They have some good martini's too that go with the meals. The dessert section is also just as wonderful. Just remember to strike the gong as a token of your appreciation for the food and try not to look up at the ceiling :).

Barbecue & S'mores

Apparently it was Hot Sauk's birthday and we decided to celebrate it the barbecue way, trust me it is an altogether different experience. So we had this lovely chicken marinade that Aappy made and the paneer with veggie marinade that was equally sumptuous. We went to this State Park near Germantown and got the grills started. Layered the veggies on the skewers and let them barbecue and let the chicken barbecue to glory. Then we feasted on it all, amidst the woods, what a royal feeling. By the way barbecuing is not all that easy, you need to constantly watch the coal, so that it maintains the red hot environment, good for us that Sauk was around, (giggles).

But the best part of the barbecue was the S'mores, basically you barbecue marshmallows and sandwich them with Graham crackers and dark chocolate, simply divine, it just melts in your mouth. So well thanks to Sauk, I got to eat some lovely S'mores courtsey my dearest fellow TA, Mona!

Panera Bread

On our way back from Ocean City, we stopped over at Panera Bread to grab something to bite. Heard these great reviews for this restaurant and so we decided to check it out and you bet it was good. So for people new to the US here is one of the foodie stops you wouldnt want to miss,

http://www.panerabread.com/

I went for the Broccoli Cheddar soup which was amazing, the bread that goes with it is also far too fabulous. For the veggie people, I have heard that the Panera Bread Mediterranean Veggie Sandwich is a must eat and there is nothing like a Caramel Pecan Brownie to go with it, mmmm.... mouth watering I know!