Still Mourning the Loss of Udupi

Despite a ridiculous morning full of annoyances (a mascara wand that suddenly didn't want to come out of the tube even after pliers were involved, a pair of fishnets meeting the corner of a decorative basket and ripping open, a lightbulb that was the singular source of light in my bedroom blowing out just as I'm looking for another pair of stockings in the drawer, then that pair of stockings snagging as I'm pulling them on, which resulted in an entire wardrobe change) I made it to Temple in a reasonable amount of time this morning and the shoot for Fox 9 Morning went very well. 

Thom was a little nervous, but adorable, as always.  After Andrew and I chatted on camera, I got to be the boom mic operator during the segment shot in the kitchen with Chef Tuan, who made a scallop ceviche.  Boom mic operation is hard work!  Lots of angling and moving around and staying out of the frame.  I'm told I did a stellar job, though.

I'll have Andrew keep me posted on the air date, so I can let everyone know here.  It's a fun sneak peek at a restaurant in the last stages of opening; the furniture is sort of in place, the lighting isn't quite right yet, the bar still doesn't have shaker tins, and there's sheetrock dust everywhere.  But when the doors open on the 11th, everything will be perfect.

Going through the blog roll this afternoon, I found one of my pet peeves over on this LiveJournal Twin Cities entry: "...my boyfriend is coming to town and he's a vegetarian, so can you folks recommend some good (and hopefully reasonable) food options? he will eat fish..."

Vegetarians do not eat fish.  Vegetarians eat vegetation.  Examples: A cow is a vegetarian.  My cat is not.  Fish eaters are often referred to as "pescatarians", but I've always thought that sounded kind of lame, so I prefer to call them "Weekday Vegetarians".  These are the folks who only do meat or fish when they go out to eat, usually just on the weekends.

Just a minor quibble.  However, one thing in that LiveJournal entry is just plain troubling, which is the recommendation to try Nala Pak, the restaurant that's now housed in the former Udupi space.  One poster comments that it "looks a little different, new staff, but same great food." 

No, no, no.  Nala Pak's dishes may have the same names as Udupi's dishes, but that's where the similarity ends.  The entire staff--from the owners to the servers to the chefs--is gone.  It's still a vegetarian Indian restaurant, but it's nothing like the fantastic place with the incredible food that once was.  I've tried Nala Pak three times now, and every entree, soup, and appetizer was just average fare.  Will we ever get our beloved Udupi back?  I don't know.  After some la migra scandal, the place shut down and everyone disappeared.  We can only hope that they'll be back someday.

Actually, as long as I'm on the subject of vegetarian Indian restaurants, those that get up to the Columbia Heights area every now and then may have noticed that Sahib's Gateway to India at 4022 Central Avenue is now 'The Vegetarian' (their quotes, not mine).  I had lunch there with Vince the day after it opened and got the skinny on Sahib's departure: there wasn't one.  Same owner, same chef.  It's just that his father, a devoted Hindu, finally convinced him to remake the entire menu sans meat. 

Much like Sahib's, there's nothing really stand-out at 'The Vegetarian', but it's definitely a decent Indian meal for a good price.

[Update: Well, that was timely.  CP just gave heavy praise to Bombay 2 Deli, the new all-vegetarian Indian restaurant four blocks from my house.  I've been meaning to check it out, but just haven't had time during the day.]

Comments

[Dave]

I'm right there with you on the people who are "mostly" vegetarian. Either you eat meat, or you don't. If you eat any meat at all, then you are not a vegetarian.

I'm not a vegetarian, but there is one veggie meal I highly recommend, and that's the eggplant wedge from Brianna's deli down in Burnsville.

A whole one will probably be too much for you, so get a friend to split it with you. It's basically an entire loaf of italian bread stuffed with eggplant, cheese and red sauce (among other things).

It should tell you something that I, as a serious meat eater, pass up on the high-quality meat dishes from an italian deli to order this sandwich every time I go there. It's that good.

(I do usually buy about a pound or so of Genoa sausage while I'm there... but that gets saved for later.)

[mike s]

I'm vegetarian, and people regularly ask me if that means I eat fish.

"Uhhh, yeah, if the fish is made of vegetables." (I end up saying this about once a month, but I laugh -- because I crack myself up -- and explain how vegetarianism works. In my experience, most people just don't know; they're genuinely curious.)

I've had so-called "vegetarian" friends who eat fish and chicken; "pescatarian" friends who eat beef. I really don't care what they eat, or what labels they use, but these are inevitably the people who will wind up holding forth on vegetarianism.

"Dude, you thought that lacto-ovo vegetarians could eat dairy, eggs -- and animals that create milk and eggs!" (I've said this, too. People are not allowed to tell me they don't think I'm getting as much protein as they did during their years of buffalo-wing-eating "vegetarianism")

Alexis, the next time you ever find yourself in NYNY, you should check out Madras Mahal. It's vegetarian; it's kosher; and they serve beer. The disparate peoples of the world could join together at that joint and find common ground -- or at least eat a dosai as big as the table and get silly on Kingfishers....

[Rex]

Bah, I hate all those words. I'm one of those "vegetarians who eats fish" and I think the reason that I added fish to the diet was so that I wouldn't have to call myself a vegetarian, which has such ugly cultural baggage that goes with it.

[mike s]

Remember, Rex: "animal cruelty free" means "I'm better than you."

That said, I am eagerly anticipating the arrival of this shirt.

[Alexis]

Fun fact: I'm the only vegetarian employed by Temple Restaurant and Bar.

[Marchelle]

Lately, I just go with "mostly vegetarian," especially since I'm not exactly a vegetarian by choice. Many's the day I would kill for a cheeseburger, but it's just not worth the three days of intestinal horror that follows. I still seem to be able to eat seafood by the pound without any problems, though.

Curse you; now I am craving that cauliflower pakora with a fierceness.

[Alexis]

I found a recipe that looks fairly similar to Udupi's Gobi Manchuriani (though I'm sure it pales in comparison), so perhaps you could find one for pakora. One thing that could never be duplicated is Udupi's rice. So spicy and fragrant, it was the only rice I could ever really get into.

[geoff]

If "Meat is Murder", are eggs rape?

[hedy de vine]

The closing of Udupi was a HUGE loss to this town. The food was deliciously yummy and the servers were such wonderful people. R.I.P. Udupi.

[geoff]

I particularly enjoyed the fast-talking waiter who would push and push us to order more and more food...is he gone, too?

[Alexis]

Gone, gone, all gone! I miss that damn Rameesh, too.

[chuck]

I remember the fast-talking pushy waiter!
But mostly, i remember the dosai. *sigh*

Glad to hear there's a new Indian option in NE though.

[chuck]

About those labels. Lori is one of those pescatarians, but nobody actually says that. To non-vegetarians (particularly the suburban variety) she has to emphasize that she's vegetarian to avoid things like bacon in the salad. On the other hand, there are people like you who quite accurately whine "that's not vegetarian."

It's like being bisexual - both teams pick on you.

[ldfs]

I eat birds (chicken and turkey) but no other meat, seafood, or fish (with the odd exception of canned tuna). It's pretty complicated to explain all that, so usually I just say I'm a vegetarian because it's easier and I'd usually rather just eat vegetarian than explain what the exceptions are. Sometimes I call myself a "birdatarian" but that only makes sense after I've already made the necessary explanations.

I echo your disappointment at the loss of Udupi. I noticed that the new Indian restaurant going in at the space on 28th & Hennepin, formerly known as Antoine's, formerly known as Taj Mahal, formerly known as Uptown Diner, formerly known as Sri Lanka Curry House is billing itself as all vegetarian. It's called Mysore. Hope it's better than Taj Mahal was.