One, Two, or Three?

Date: July 3, 2014
Name: Namaste
Address: 10 HaTayelet, Mei Ami Beach, Ashdod

Life has taken us many places, but yet to Ashdod. The ladies are busy with numbers, picking one, a one, the one. R has chosen, while D is facing an impossible (and potentially hypothetical) choice: one, two or three?

This blog-post is dedicated to No. 3, which you might think would be indicative of success. Read on.

Curiously, it was not my idea to visit Namaste. I hadn't even realized there was Indian food in Ashdod. In fact, I hadn't realized Ashdod had more than a central bus station, Frenchies, and beach (and jellyfish).

From the outside, Namaste looked promising: the entire complex feels like it was transplanted from India (see pictures). The menu wasn't extremely extensive, but covered a lot. No. 3 preferred vegetarian, and D played along. We decided to share samosas, vegetable curry, and a rice dish with vegetables. We sat down, and I managed to drop my knife on the floor.

Meanwhile, they brought us papadum and delicious chutneys (mint-cilantro, tamarind, and a delicious pickled lemon). The samosas were good - the dough slightly thicker than usual, but fragrant and tasty. Luckily, I didn't need a knife to eat them.

Our main course was delivered half-way through the samosas - a bit too soon. Still waiting for a new knife. The vegetable curry was ... there is no other way to put it: the ultimate culinary transgression. I'm not even going into the (alleged) curry sauce, which was dark, but not even vaguely resembling curry as we know it. Brace yourself: the vegetables were green beans, corn, peas, and carrots. Yes, yes, frozen vegetables. In Israel, in the summer. There is no lack of fresh vegetables in our world - in fact, the menu promised garden veggies, hinting at something fresh and seasonal.

The waitress had said we could share the rice dish, and it was priced accordingly. This suggests that she is used to diners leaving the restaurant hungry. D is, by no means, a big eater. The rice was definitely not enough for two diners. It featured rice (duh), vegetables (see above), a few raisins, and cashews. The seasoning was far from anything noteworthy. D found herself picking out the raisins and dousing the food in chutneys (not necessarily in that order).

To summarize the evening: The beach was lovely (even with jellyfish) and I finished my wonderful book. And I managed two solid naps on the bus ride. Let's leave it at that.

And the knife....? D got up, and swiped a new knife from another table.