Jewel of India - Restaurant Review #2
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I'm the type of person who's afraid to venture out on a limb and try a new restaurant I am unfamiliar with.
First, I hate to waste money on something I might not like and could probably make better myself.
Second, if I hear someone may give a less than stellar review, I may not want to even try it.
However, every once in a while you'll catch me being a little adventurous and find me taking a leap of faith to try something new. On this particular occasion, I was with my sister, who's been to this restaurant plenty of times. She gave it a great review, so I had to take her word and try it for myself.
I came in with a bit of a bias. I had visited another Indian restaurant, but the food was mediocre and didn’t live up to the hype. Not only that, but while I was sitting there trying to eat my food, I saw roaches crawling around on walls and countertops next to me. From that point on those literal bugs killed my figurative restaurant adventure bugs and stopped me from trying new restaurants (especially new Indian restaurants).
I know it's bad to judge every other restaurant based on one bad experience, so that's why I decided to go with my sister to the New Jewel of India and see what it's all about.
The atmosphere and ambience of this restaurant was rich with culture. As you walk in the door you are greeted with the aroma of fresh herbs and spices. The décor catches your eye and draws you in, if the smells from the herbs and spices haven't already enticed you.
The New Jewel of India is a nice, quiet restaurant. You can tell it's authentic because of the unique Indian artwork and intricate designs. Another great sign is when the accents of those serving the food matches the restaurant type they represent. (I don't want Americanized Indian food. I'll stick with authentic). Everything was clean and well maintained, which is extremely important to my restaurant experiences, which made me realize that I was in good hands.
When my sister and I sat down, I immediately noticed the wide variety of dishes available. I usually get an orange chicken dish with a creamy orange sauce, rice and a bread called naan, but today was different and I wanted to try something new.
My sister said pretty much everything is good on the menu and she recommended to me a coconut and chicken dish that sounded fantastic. The chicken was in the creamy orange butter sauce with coconut shavings in it. The naan bread that I had, had coconut shavings as well.
My sister had the regular creamy orange chicken, but she had the naan bread with the garlic and herbs spices.
There was not a long wait for the food to arrive, and when it did, I could not wait to dig in. The first bite was a firework show of flavor in my mouth. And the smells were just like "Folger’s in your cup." I just couldn't get enough.
Poetry - Faith
Once in awhile, life tends to treat you well. Once in awhile, life tends to give you a little treat, a little taste of something new, a little taste of what's to come, but if only you knew, if only you take that step, that leap of faith, that new direction.
Some days you have to let loose and let go and allow your feet to follow your curiosity, allow your heart to lead the way instead of always being guarded, instead of always being behind the brick wall, never climbing over or going around it.
Steady trying to push your way through the wall but, can’t make it through.
Some days you just have to follow your nose, because you never know what life might have in store until you open your eyes for something more.