When I saw my parents' photos as they were boarding their first flight to US, I started thinking about me being in the very same place not more than five months back. And when I look back at these five months , I feel I did not really see them fly past. I suddenly feel I should have stopped somewhere in between to think how I felt but somehow I was too busy keeping myself busy. There were many highs and far too many lows but I believe I will fight them all because of a wonderful person who has been spending more time in office than his wife :P
What was I most excited about when I came to the US? It was surely the food. Whenever I go anywhere, even when it was Dandeli, Kerala, Nainital or Hyderabad , it is always the food I look forward to. Ofcourse, I did not expect the US to be France of any sorts, but it would be something very different from what I was used to eating, I was sure. First time me and A ate out, I thought it was just me who felt that the food was a little too much for one person, what with all the sides of fries and bread and pancakes. We, Indians , get one idli when we order one. Some waiters actually twitch if you ask for extra sambhar or chutney for your dosa. Rich that it is, maybe this country has a lot more per capita food, I thought. Even the smallest coffee here should easily be equivalent to five cups of our filter coffee.
I never liked Pepsi or Coke as a kid and have given it up years back. I have always pondered at what my sister and mother loved so much about Pepsi to have it once a month or so. I could only imagine its effervescence clogging my sinuses whenever I saw it. But people here seem to drink this same drink more like water. Not only that, the drinks are added with artificial color making them look blue, green , red, pink and what not. Imagine my shock when I saw a high school kid buy at least 5 for 6 of those 2 liter bottles for as cheap as a dollar per bottle. But again I thought it was just a cultural shock and nothing more.
Another thing that I noticed that although the people here like black coffee without milk and sugar, everything else seems to be quite sweet for food.The snacks section is full of bakery items and biscuits and cookies. Yes, the pancakes and waffles with a dollop of butter and the heavenly maple syrup are something I love to come back to. It may also have to do a little with my obsession with Parks and Recreation [Thanks to Amy Poehler and her butter loaded waffles ;)] But having come from a place where spice is part of our staple diet, the sweet in the American diet might put you off. With no chaats or vada pav stalls just round the corner, I feel a little lost for spicy junk food here.
My friends had told me about how health conscious people here are. Unfortunately, I have not met many yet. Although the lunches and dinners have a lot of variety of whole wheat and multigrain breads with lot of eggs and greens, most of them are flooded with cheese. Once when I tried to get a Sub without cheese, the lady behind the table gave "which-third-world-country-are-you-from" look. The burgers and pizzas taste more and more of cheese. And for lactose intolerant people like me, limits non-sweet junk food options.
Being a hardcore fish and chicken - eaterian, I tried different kinds of fish but have not been overly excited about it. Any meat without spices and a thick coconut or onion-tomato curry is synonymous to ghaas-pus to any Indian food enthusiast. I do not enjoy raw or undercooked meat, even less without a generous spice rub. But Denny's Grilled Tilapia with avocado, tomato and freshly roasted squash and zucchini seemed worth a shot.
All in all , the food here was nothing you could gawk over. But with restaurants serving different cuisines opening up in Sacramento, I might have something better and different to eat and write about :) No more writing until I have more delicious food on my plate ;)
What was I most excited about when I came to the US? It was surely the food. Whenever I go anywhere, even when it was Dandeli, Kerala, Nainital or Hyderabad , it is always the food I look forward to. Ofcourse, I did not expect the US to be France of any sorts, but it would be something very different from what I was used to eating, I was sure. First time me and A ate out, I thought it was just me who felt that the food was a little too much for one person, what with all the sides of fries and bread and pancakes. We, Indians , get one idli when we order one. Some waiters actually twitch if you ask for extra sambhar or chutney for your dosa. Rich that it is, maybe this country has a lot more per capita food, I thought. Even the smallest coffee here should easily be equivalent to five cups of our filter coffee.
I never liked Pepsi or Coke as a kid and have given it up years back. I have always pondered at what my sister and mother loved so much about Pepsi to have it once a month or so. I could only imagine its effervescence clogging my sinuses whenever I saw it. But people here seem to drink this same drink more like water. Not only that, the drinks are added with artificial color making them look blue, green , red, pink and what not. Imagine my shock when I saw a high school kid buy at least 5 for 6 of those 2 liter bottles for as cheap as a dollar per bottle. But again I thought it was just a cultural shock and nothing more.
My friends had told me about how health conscious people here are. Unfortunately, I have not met many yet. Although the lunches and dinners have a lot of variety of whole wheat and multigrain breads with lot of eggs and greens, most of them are flooded with cheese. Once when I tried to get a Sub without cheese, the lady behind the table gave "which-third-world-country-are-you-from" look. The burgers and pizzas taste more and more of cheese. And for lactose intolerant people like me, limits non-sweet junk food options.
Being a hardcore fish and chicken - eaterian, I tried different kinds of fish but have not been overly excited about it. Any meat without spices and a thick coconut or onion-tomato curry is synonymous to ghaas-pus to any Indian food enthusiast. I do not enjoy raw or undercooked meat, even less without a generous spice rub. But Denny's Grilled Tilapia with avocado, tomato and freshly roasted squash and zucchini seemed worth a shot.
All in all , the food here was nothing you could gawk over. But with restaurants serving different cuisines opening up in Sacramento, I might have something better and different to eat and write about :) No more writing until I have more delicious food on my plate ;)
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