the prince and the papadum

There's this popular sushi house in the neighbourhood. Well, in the driving neighbourhood. I've never been but have heard so much effusive praise, I will admit to my curiosity being piqued. Reservations were made and despite extreme cold alerts, snow squall warnings for much of the area and a car that wouldn't start, we made it. Of course, when we got there, they couldn't find our reservation; and because the place is so packed, they weren't inclined to fit us in either. Man, I had really been looking forward to sushi buffet. I had skipped dinner and by now it had been 8 hours since my last meal. I was unimpressed.

Instead, we ended up at an Indian place. Let's get something straight: despite being Anglo-Indian, I never get cravings for Indian food. I get cravings for my mother's food, but never Indian restaurant food. It always seems very… generic, I guess. And overpriced - when you're paying $2 for a naan bread that costs about 20 cents to make, you know you're getting ripped off. I would have preferred the Mexican place next door, frankly. Also, not being culturally Indian, it's hard for me answer questions about what certain things are called; to this day, I still refer to the "grenade-looking things" when speaking to my mother about certain spices. I feel like an inadequate Indian epicurean.

While munching on lamb gosht and chicken tikka paneer, we chat about a myriad of topics. One of the reasons I like hanging out with Kaylee is she doesn't take things personally, even if something goes against her personal beliefs. Can't say I'm always good at doing that myself and it's refreshing to meet someone else who strives to be the same way. JC and I, being veteran debaters, have been able to do this for quite some time (though, I will admit, if I detect a note of condescension or personal attack, I will likely mirror those back) and it was good to see someone who not only had a different opinion, but who can talk about intelligently. A rarity.
…It was an interesting round-table discussion, featuring an atheist, an agnostic, Church-going Catholic and a self-professed spiritualist. Oprah? Eat your heart out.