This last weekend there was an Oysterfest at Park Tavern. Both Cashew and I love seafood, so of course we were there. Our friend Virginia (her state of origin) also came with us. Truth be told, the festival was more about the bands and the alcohol than the oysters, but we still had fun.
We tried both the fried and the steamed oysters. The fried ones were battered and oily and deep-fried and oh-so-good! I couldn't detect any oyster/seafood taste, but who cares, the fried taste was great by itself. At least we got some oyster taste from the steamed oysters. They were still in their shells, so we had to open them up. Some shells were completely closed, but a safety pin and a plastic fork were the only props we needed to get the meat out. It seems like the steaming process removes some of the fishy taste and slimy texture. I'm not sure yet whether that's a good thing or a bad thing. On one had, it makes them easier to eat, but on the other hand, they're no longer what I think of as a quintessential oyster.
After spending several hours in the sun and listening to live music, we were hungry again. Cashew and I left the festival while Virginia remained there with some friends from Virginia :P Cashew and I agreed that we wanted some Indian food, so we drove over to Little Five Points and ate at Niramish for dinner. I'm no expert on Indian food, but even I could tell that it wasn't supposed to taste like that. We were both very very disappointed. We shared the Vegetable Thali (a tapas like dish) and the Begoon Bhorta (a traditional eggplant dish).
First of of all, since when are spring rolls Indian?!?!?!? Yet, they were part of our thali dish. The other components were: naan bread, mixed vegetable korma, shaag aloo (potatoes with spinach), and tarka daal (lentils dish). The potatoes and the lentils dishes were actually pretty good. They did have the flavor that I typically think of as Indian. However, the mixed vegetables didn't have any flavor at all (despite being served in heavy coconut milk).
The eggplant dish is supposed to be one of Cashew's favorite Indian things, so I was pretty excited to try it. However, I bet that what we got is not what it's supposed to taste like! Technically, the dish we got had absolutely no taste: no salt, no Indian spices, nothing... It was so inedible, we asked for something spicy that we could add to it. And what were we given? The hot sauce that you add to pho soup - not Indian either!
We did finish everything eventually and received the dessert that was part of our vegetable thali. I don't know what it was supposed to be, but here's how I think they made it: they steamed some white rice and then mixed it with canned evaporated milk. For good measure, they added a bay leaf that didn't contribute any flavor to the dessert because it wasn't cooked together with the rice. By the way, leaving a bay leaf in a dish is a big no-no. You're supposed to remove it before serving.
The only good part of the dinner was that we had a 50% off coupon, so we each ended up paying only $9. However, we agreed that we wouldn't go there again even if someone paid us to.
After dinner we did some shopping, but the eating wasn't over yet. I had made chocolate pudding earlier in the day, so it was time to try it. I personally loved it. It had a perfect mousse texture and a rich chocolate flavor. It tasted professionally-made. I don't think I'll be buying mousse ever again when I can make it myself :)
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