Dinner at the Taj

I just got back from dinner and it is worthy of an entry of its own. Actually I just got back twice. The first time, I left my debit card at the restaurant. When I arrived back at the hotel (a short auto rickshaw ride away) I noticed my wallet seemed a little thin. Well another short auto rickshaw ride later I had retrieved my card and my pulse and blood pressure returned to normal levels.

Dinner was at the Taj Coromandel hotel. I started with tomato soup which, like everything else in Indian cuisine, was quite spicy. That was followed by an appetizer of dried lamb (with whole cloves are garlic), and a main course of eggplant (spicy & spicy). All this eaten with an order or garlic naan that must have contained at least a ¼ pound are garlic. I concluded with a dessert that was kind of like melted ice-cream. It was truly a feast of the highest order (plus excellent protection against vampires).

I was actually going to walk to the restaurant but after about a ¼ of a mile I realized that my nerves could not withstand another 10 minutes of walking in Indian traffic. There were sidewalks, but they were all broken up and almost impossible to walk on. That left only the street. I believe my fears were justified, because I soon found out that Ravishankar, one of the members of our team here, was in a motorcycle accident and is having surgery on his leg today.

I saw another interesting example of the differences between US and Indian roads on the way home from the office yesterday. Many of the streets of Chennai are lined with large trees. Some trees, however, do not line the road, they are in the road. Not the middle, mind you. We passed a tree about 4 feet from the curb. I see now why when I suggested to Steve (when we were both here last week) that we rent a car he immediately responded with, ‘No way’. Good call, Steve.