yeti

glen ellen, ca

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instead of visiting wineries, we decided to hike jack london state park just north of sonoma. it was cool to see the remains of jack london's ranch (apparently he was very interested in the science of farming). otherwise it was an ordinary hike in the forest. the map and guideposts, however, were vague and ambiguous -- we accidentally ended up at fern lake about a half mile outside of the state park boundaries. thankfully derek's iphone gps was still working and we managed to find our way back to the car.

we were very hungry after our little expedition and jack london village was just a short drive south of the park. because it was sunday afternoon, yeti was the only restaurant that was open and they were just about to close the kitchen. thankfully, the cooks graciously agreed to serve us. although the restaurant served both nepalese and indian cuisine, we went with our standard indian restaurant order - chicken tikka masala, saag paneer, and basmati rice. i'm not the best judge of indian food, especially when i'm starving, but i thought it was delicious - creamy, spicy, yum.

mint

midtown, nyc

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there are a lot of fancy indian restaurants in midtown. white tablecloths. great service. everything served in silver bowls and platters, with silver utensils. mint falls into this category with a slight twist. the interior is lit up with neon green lights which make you feel like you're inside a dance club or other night spot. it's a little disconcerting when you're meeting a friend in the middle of the afternoon for lunch.

but the food is good. i was caught up talking to XYZ and stuffing my face with spicy corn, so i didn't take a picture until i only had a few bites left. thus the photo of giant corn and giant grains of rice. XYZ and i shared the corn salad appetizer and the corn in saag sauce, with a side of excellent naan. very tasty.

chinese mirch

28th/lex

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neal is a new new yorker, but he's already got excellent restaurant recs. we met up for dinner at chinese mirch, which serves indian chinese food. neal being indian, me being chinese - we were very intrigued by the combination. the restaurant doesn't have a whole lot of tables, but it has a nice waiting area and decent soju cocktails to keep you occupied while you wait. the restaurant is also dimly lit, so apologies for the fuzzy photo.

the photo, however, is of the best cauliflower dish i have ever had in my life. amazing. its only served as an appetizer at chinese mirch - it's called "gobi manchurian." the cauliflower is lightly fried so that it's crispy and then tossed with a slightly spicy mix of garlic, onion, ginger, and cilantro. spicy, garlickly, delicious. in general, i'm still a little confused by the indian chinese food concept, but the gobi manchurian appears to be a mix between indian spiced cauliflower dishes and chinese traditional "salt & pepper" preparation of fried foods. delicious! next time, i'll probably order 3 plates of the gobi manchurian instead of entrees.

jewel of india

new york, ny

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i love indian buffets. i'm not an expert on indian food by any stretch of the imagination, especially since i have a low tolerance for spicy, but i know what i like. i was very excited when jinny picked yet another indian buffet for lunch with y and myself. there are two levels of the restaurant, plus a bar area in front. the first level is for ordering off the menu and the second floor is the buffet. so to the second floor we went.

the first thing i spotted at the top of the stairs was a giant vat of rose ice cream - i made a mental note to save room for dessert. the buffet itself was much spicier than other buffets that i've been to, but i compensated by eating a ridiculous amount of naan. someone was constantly coming by the table with a platter full of fresh naan - how could i resist? again, i have no idea what the specific dishes were, but they were delicious.

bombay palace

new york, ny

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it is difficult to find good places to eat in midtown, if you couldn't tell from my many complaints on this blog. jinny, however, is an excellent source for restaurant recs. and this was another one. this indian buffet is an excellent lunch spot - no wait for a table, you can immediately grab food from the buffet, pleasant atmosphere, and attentive service.

i enjoyed everything on the buffet - from the rice, deep fried veggies, creamy spicy entrees, to the deep fried ball of something sweet that i had for dessert. unfortunately, i don't remember what anything was called. but it was all good.