WRITING CULTURE 2012: Film, Food & Beyond

A splendiferous meal with succulent meat, well-balanced flavors, and attentive staff, you can’t beat.

Upon arrival at Chote Nawab we were greeted with a pleasant and inviting modern décor. With red oak polished chairs, colorful lamps and pastel gray colored flooring. Not to mention a warm and welcoming ambience with a friendly staff. I am sometimes lily-livered when it comes to trying new foods but I instantly felt at ease and was ready to have my first Indian cuisine experience. The waiter immediately came to the table with menus for my three classmates and me. I was pleased. I scanned the menu not sure what to order. After some encouragement from my classmates I settled on Chicken Tikka Masala, cooked in a creamy tomato sauce ($9). After orders were placed, appetizers graced the table. The table quickly began to smell like a bakery and I learned of new bread, naan. Naan is an oven-baked flatbread; the breads soft texture almost melts in the mouth. It was delicious. It reminded me much of Trinidadian roti skin, which I loved.

I was enthused and couldn’t wait for my meal to arrive. My taste buds were teased. I thankfully didn’t have to wait too long. My dish was placed in front of me and was pleasantly slapped with the spicy aroma of curried chicken.  I sampled a piece of chicken and rice, delightfully surprised by the familiar flavors, “I’ve had this before” I announced to the table. I didn’t lie, exactly. I’ve eaten something similar before. The tender and savory chicken was dressed in mild curry with traces of tomato, pimento, ginger, and garlic lingering with a slightly course and chewy (not gummy) texture. Chicken Tikka Masala reminded me of Jamaican curry Chicken! I am of Jamaican decent and eat curry chicken often. Though the two dishes aren’t identical they evoke similar tastes.  To accompany my meal I had a beverage, Mango Lassi ($4). I thought Mango Lassi was going to be blended mango with water and sugar. It’s not; it actually contains milk and yogurt that gives it a creamy-like texture. The enriched flavor of the mango left my mouth tingling with joy. The jar-like glasses the juice and water came in was a nice whimsical touch. During the course of our meal the restaurants owner, Shiva Natarajan came to our table. We were informed that he had several other restaurants in the city that received admirable reviews. I made a mental note to visit his other restaurants like Bhojan and Chola.

All in all, I walked away from the table grateful and satisfied. I am still in awe at the attentiveness of the staff and happy that my first Indian cuisine experience was a lovely and inexpensive one. I promise a return to Chote Nawab.

New York has never been one to dwell on the past. We move forward.

Photo Credit: NY POST

Sandy brought many to low points that they weren’t even aware they could reach. Those people are clawing themselves from the pit, fighting for a better tomorrow.

I don’t know what it is to go without power for ten or more days, but my brother does. My brother and his family lived without power for close to two weeks and he told me that the worse part was the feeling of impotence Sandy brought with her. I just can’t fathom what it is to go from having everything one second to having no power, or no home.

Power is back to almost everyone in New York City. They now have some place warm to sleep. Things are looking up, for some.

Some had more problems than just losing lights, they lost homes. Those people are living out of shelters, relatives homes, or places the NYC government has fashioned for them. Their lives are going to take a while to go back to how they were. All of those that are still displaced are still asking for help and asking not to be forgotten because they need the help, they need us.

I was fortunate enough to not be harmed by Sandy’s wrath and that made me more eager to help. My neighborhood church hosted a donation table to send out necessities for those in parts of Staten Island and Coney Island that needed it the most.

I made sure to contribute with everything I possibly could.

Sandy brought with it a lot of destruction, but it also united communities in astounding ways. People in the city reached out to their neighbors in Staten Island. They organized caravans to take supplies to those who needed it the most.

The physical destruction Sandy caused might take weeks, months, or even years to fix. New Yorkers’ spirits though, that is being rebuilt by the second.