Southern Comfort Food

Date: April 4, 2013
Name: Little India
Address:  15 Ringelblum, Beer Sheva 

After the meal at Tandoori, I needed a positive experience. I was hosting D, a friend from the United States, who has been anonymously featured on this blog before. She had spent a few years in Be'er Sheva, and was heading south to visit her old stomping grounds. We decided that I'd join her later in the day, and we'd visit Little India, which is probably as good a reason as you need to move to (or at least visit) Be'er Sheva. 

We arrived for the lunch buffet, which included amazing dishes: red lentils, green lentils, pakora, two kinds of rice, a cooked vegetable stew, and a not-too sweet desert that tasted like malt-o meal (in a good way). And of course fresh vegetables (because this is Israel...)

The price was decent: 42 NIS, and the food was simply delicious. I had to go back for seconds, it was so good. We left, full and happy, and boarded the bus for the 1.5 hour ride home. If you're going to spend 3 hours commuting, it better be for such a great meal.

Tandoori for Two

Date: April 2, 2013
Name: Tandoori
Address:  Zamenhof 2, Tel Aviv (Dizengoff)

My dinner partner suggested this place and made a reservation, so I went with the flow. I arrived earlier, and realized that this place is way fancier than I am used to. Less so in the middle of the week, but still. 

I'd gone out the previous night with N to eat meat - we split a burger and Moroccan meat-filled cigars, so tonight I was going to be veggie. Gotta keep up appearances.

As loyal readers of this blog know, I judge eateries by their samosas. I decided to order a few appetizers in lieu of an entree, while my dinner partner ordered some form of curry lamb he loved from his days abroad. The waiter came, I ordered samosas, and asked about a lentil dish. The waiter recommended pakora, so I agreed. Bad move. I also ordered the Delhi salad. 

Our food arrived. The samosas were great - crispy, flavorful, amazing. But the pakora was just more fried goodness (or badness), that couldn't compete with the samosas. The salad was largely chopped tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, with some lettuce, oily with a lot of pepper. 

The samosas were the shining moment, the chutneys were good. But what sort of waiter recommends pakora when  I just ordered samosas?? 

Lessons learned: 1) Don't always go with the flow. 2) Always study the menu beforehand, especially if you are a picky eater. 

Bigger lesson learned: Don't judge people based on the restaurants they pick.