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I've worked in a lot of restaurants. Mediterranean. Chinese. Mexican. High-end seafood. Low-end burgers. I've sold wine by the bottle and vodka by the case. I've served falafel to vegans and prime rib to everybody else. I've waited on senators and wine critics and drunken Russians and NFL footballers. I even authored a book on how to do it: The Art of Waitering; a Practical Guide for College Students.
I know an awful lot about an awful lot of food from an awful lot of places. But one thing I don't know anything about is the cuisine of India. It's a huge hole and I need to fill it.
Indeed, India itself is a bit of a mystery. My knowledge of India is limited by my professional experience and that lives in the software universe. Some of my coders are from The Bangalore. Four Mile Mike has conference calls to Poon a few times a week. He refers to those as "Chickens and Pigs" for reasons too difficult to explain here. In summation: everything I know about India either derives from "if then, if else" function calls or strained memories of Gandhi, a movie made about a justly great man who quite famously did not eat.
Her Imperial Majesty is no knowledgeable scholar on the subject either. But she is a person Who Has Good Ideas and recently insisted that we trek to Franklin Street in Chapel Hill to Vimala's Curry Blossom Café. On the way over, she told me the back story; it was irresistible. For some 18 years, Vimala Rajendran has hosted community dinners out of her home and her food could be found all sorts of progressive events. To quote from her website: "Her food has shown up everywhere, from protests across the region to weddings and private parties to the Weaver Street Market lawn and Johnny's in Carrboro."
Her street cred established, she opened her space where Sandwich used to be. When we arrived on Saturday night, there was a line some 40 minutes packed with locals. The smells were exotic and intoxicating. When we got to the counter, we ordered and took an inside table in a corner as all the patio seating was taken. About 20 minutes passed before an avalanche of food appears at our table.
We ordered Beef Thali, Dal, Tandoori Chicken, plantains, and vegetable Samosas. Overall, everything was spicy but not terribly hot, as often happens in Indian restaurants I've experienced. Here, the Thali was rich and flavorful. Served with Dal, they complimented each other well. The Tandoori Chicken was nicely seared but still quite moist, which came as a bit of a revelation. The plantains were battered, then fried and were quite different that any others in my experience insofar as they were not sweet. Instead, the batter featured black sesame seeds and they were served with a sweet yogurt dipping sauce that was marvelous. Most interesting were the Samosas, which proved to be light and flaky yet substantial – and interesting trick for what is essentially a dumpling. Indeed, there was so much food at the table, that a good bit of it came home, which was a good thing.
There is much to recommend in Vimala's Curry Blossom. The dishes presented are perfectly simple, yet expertly prepared. There are no distractions like a pretentious setting or trend-oid waitrons. It is, in short, an exaltation of street food, which is something near and dear to my heart. It may very well serve as the opening steps in my Passage to India.
Vimala's Curry Blossom Cafe
431 W. Franklin St.
Chapel Hill, NC 27516
inside the Courtyard
Phone: (919) 929-3833
E-mail: vimala@curryblossom.com
Cuisine: Indian street food done right
Rating: *****
Prices: $$
Atmosphere: Very relaxed and true to its DNA.
Noise level: Nothing out of the ordinary.
Open:
Tuesdays through Saturdays 11:30a to 2p & 5p to 9p. Come out 9p - 10p for drinks after serving hours.
Reservations: Not necessary.
Other: Counter service. Expect lines.
We rank restaurants in five categories: Extraordinary***** Excellent**** Above average*** Average** Fair*
Back in Hoboken, Her Imperial Majesty and I used to frequent a Cuban restaurant called La Isla. It is now internationally famous for winning a throwdown against celebrity chef Bobby Flay in a stuffed French toast war.
But we never went there for breakfast.
No, we went later in the day for what was usually a late lunch. There, we'd while away the afternoon, sitting in a sunny window, sipping on Cokes with limes and munching on Cuban Sandwiches.
A Cuban sandwich is a curious thing and for the pork averse, something to be avoided. Her Imperial Majesty and I have no such aversion and readily chowed down on La Isla's signature sandwich: slow roasted pork, ham, Swiss cheese, a pickle, mustard and the magic mojo sauce. Served Panini style, grilled and pressed, it's a magically crunchy mouthful of happiness that works so beautifully at so many levels.
Sadly – or not – we moved from suburban New York City to points south and lost that slice of culinary culture. The Cuban sandwich was merely a fond foodie memory from one of the epicenters of the Foodie Universe.
So maybe the New York Times was right in naming Durham one of the 41 places in the world everybody needs to visit during 2011. I certainly need to, probably weekly, if only to go to The Old Havana Sandwich shop on East Main.
One recent Saturday found us sitting by a sunny window, breakfasting on Cuban sandwiches and slow roasted plantains, chasing the whole meal with a steaming cup of café con leche.
It was crowded, filled with happy people enjoying the fare. At the Old Havana Sandwich shop, they do serve variants of the traditional Cuban sandwich. We didn't try them but you can. We stuck to the basics: a Cuban sandwich, roasted plantains and for dessert, a guava pastry. Everything was marvelous.
True to the righteous foodie form, they locally source everything. The bread comes from Guglehopf; the pork is locally raised. With a wide open kitchen, what you see is what they serve and what they serve is magical. Everything about it is authentic and real.
Maybe Hoboken is 500 miles away and Cuba is even farther and more problematic. But as long as we have the Old Havana Sandwich Shop, we don't really need either.
Old Havana Sandwich Shop
310 East Main Street
Durham, NC
TEL 919-667-9525
Cuisine: Cuban sandwiches to die for
Rating: *****
Prices: $
Atmosphere: Crowded with local foodies who know
Noise level: Quick service crowded
Open: MON. – FRI 7:30 AM – 5:30 PM; SAT 9 AM – 4PM
Reservations: Nah.
Other: Parking is problematic.
We rank restaurants in five categories: Extraordinary***** Excellent**** Above average*** Average** Fair*
We ordered Beef Thali, Dal, Tandoori Chicken, plantains, and vegetable Samosas. Overall, everything was spicy but not terribly hot, as often happens in Indian restaurants I've experienced. Here, the Thali was rich and flavorful. Served with Dal, they complimented each other well. The Tandoori Chicken was nicely seared but still quite moist, which came as a bit of a revelation. The plantains were battered, then fried and were quite different that any others in my experience insofar as they were not sweet. Instead, the batter featured black sesame seeds and they were served with a sweet yogurt dipping sauce that was marvelous. Most interesting were the Samosas, which proved to be light and flaky yet substantial – and interesting trick for what is essentially a dumpling. Indeed, there was so much food at the table, that a good bit of it came home, which was a good thing. 
