While in Puebla, Mexico, for our honeymoon, we took a wonderful cooking course at Mesones Sacristia, a boutique hotel. We learned how to make some truly spectacular dishes like Mole. In this photo, Sona is doing what she does best:…
Travel Tips: Five Travel Tips To Get The Best Prices on Airline Tickets
One of the most annoying things about travel is exactly that: traveling. I’ll admit that taking rickshaws in India, or riding on sleeper buses in China is bloody good fun. Flying, however, is the most boring form of transportation, but…
Musings: Osama Bin Laden is Dead. Now What?
Over the weekend, Sona had a journalism conference near Grand Central, so I met her afterwards for dinner. And it was a lovely day, so we decided to go for a long walk, randomly ending up in Chinatown. And equally…
Musings: Independent Travel . . . With Children?
I finally got my computer in good enough shape to edit this video and the last bit made me smile. Watch it and you’ll see what I mean. We were staying at this coffee plantation in Madikeri, Karnataka,…
Going Local: Ten Best Coffee Bars in New York City
In a pinch, we can drink coffee anywhere in the world. We have drank burnt espresso, overly milky frappuccinos, and super-sugary Keralan cold coffee from street coffee shops in places like Vietnam and India, at chain stores like Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, 7-11, and McDonald’s worldwide. But we’ve also tasted a coffee brewed to perfection at coffee plantations in India, been intoxicated by the fresh aroma of drip-coffee at coffee bars in Milan, Naples, Paris, San Francisco, and New York City. You heard us right, New York City has finally gotten with the program for the serious coffee drinker!
New Yorkers used to have to rely on West Coast roasting companies like San Francisco based Blue Bottle Coffee or Stumptown Coffee Roasters in Portland, Oregon to supply the coffee beans for their favourite joints. Now there are plenty of roasters right here in town (including roasting companies that supply not only coffee bars, but restaurants and carts all over the City), like the Brooklyn Roasting Company, Porto Rico, and West Coast roasters mentioned above. There are a handful of companies that already do on-site roasting, and many of the coffee bars listed here have plans to roast their own beans within the year!
Here are our picks for the best coffee bars in New York City:
Photo of the Week: Fortune Cookie Factory in San Francisco, California
Who knew making something as fun as fortune cookies could entail so much stress? If those flat mini-pancakes on the right are allowed to cool for even a second, they become too hard and can’t be folded. We tried them and they are delicious. Round, crunchy, fortune cookie . . . with no place to put the fortune though!
Weekend Honeymoon: Las Vegas, Nevada
Looking for a quick, romantic getaway? With its sparkling lights, posh dining and worthy sites galore, Las Vegas is a sure bet for romance – especially if you want to tie the knot or renew your vows. In fact, Navdeep and I got married there (before the big, fat Desi wedding), so for us, it’s a super-special weekend honeymoon destination.
Travelogue California: The World’s Largest Gingerbread House in San Francisco?
We had all of two days to spend in San Francisco with my parents-in-law, and for some reason, I was stuck on seeing this two-story gingerbread house — made of real gingerbread, of course — at the Fairmont Hotel. So…
Eat this Page: Aloo Paratha (whole wheat Indian flatbread)
Parathas are whole-wheat Indian flatbread that can be as healthy as you want them to be. You ca eat them plain, or stuffed, for breakfast or lunch. This recipe uses our favorite filling – aloo (potato) – with a much healthier adaptation from expert paratha maker, Binder Bhua, Navdeep’s aunt. She is very Punjabi, so doesn’t understand the concept of “no ghee” and finds the idea of a dry paratha unfathomable, hence the glistening parantha in the photo above.
Eat This Page: Spicy Kickin’ Kaju (cashews)
Sona’s mum makes these spicy kaju (cashews) as an occasional indulgence—but they’re perfect on a dreary day with chai or a mellow whisky (depending on your mood). She fries the cashews till they’re golden brown, then seasons them up with a red-hot masala. This version is pretty spicy, so feel free to adjust the mix for less adventurous palates (zzzzz).
Video: Cursing in Quebecois!
Cursing in Quebecois, the French spoken in Quebec, Canada, is much different than its English counterpart, and is very religious based. On a recent trip to Canada, I met up with an old friend from China at a bar (where else?), who gave me the run-down of swearing in Quebecois (don’t ever call it French or Canadian French). It is fascinating that all of their swearing revolve primarily around religion. She also recommended a movie called “Bon Cop/Good Cop” which gives a great breakdown of swearing in Quebecois akin to George Carlin’s “Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television.”
Video: The Karni Mata “Rat” Temple in Deshnoke, Rajasthan
Check out the video of our visit to the Karni Mata “Rat” Temple, home to 20,000 rats in Deshnoke, near Bikaner, Rajasthan in India. The rats are believed to be incarnations of tribesmen of the aesthetic Karni Mata (an incarnation…
