The Best Indian Restaurant

          Hello! I hope you guys are doing well and had an amazing week. Welcome back to my blog! I am excited to review this particular cuisine, and I can’t wait for your thoughts and input. We’ll be following the same format as the previous post; incase you haven’t read it, I suggest you to check it out. For this post, I will be covering the cuisine that presents a range of flavors as vast as the country itself: Indian cuisine. This time, three restaurants – Kabab and Curry, Amber India, Aachi Appakadai - will be judged based on the same factors as before.

            My dad flew down here a week earlier than planned to surprise me, and took me out for dinner to Amber India. I have never been there before, and we had such a lovely time. I got the opportunity to meet his colleagues and friends from the Bay area. The restaurant is located in Santana Row, and walking there is not impossible, but something I don’t recommend. Having my father in town, it was easy to commute from one place to another. My dad picked me up from my college and drove to Santana Row; he joked around saying that he was like my own personal uber driver. Santana Row was filled with lights, and the atmosphere was lively and refreshing with live music playing in the background. Amber India was busy on a weekday, and the atmosphere was filled with indistinct conversation. Next to the bar, the wall gorgeously decorated with texts from Bhagavad Gita and attracted my attention the first thing I walked in.

Butter Chicken

Platter of Kebabs 

For appetizers, we ordered Paapdi Chaat, Vegetable Samosa and a platter of Kebas: an assortment of chicken tikka, sheek kebab and barra kebab. The juicy flavors in the sheek kebab and the tender meat made it melt in my mouth. Chicken Tikka was by far my favorite dish of the day; the smoky flavor of the well-marinated chunks of chicken, grilled to perfection on a skewer, is to die for! For main course we ate the regular Butter Chicken and Chicken Biriyani. The butter chicken is a classic, authentic dish originated in North India. According to Wikipedia, “The origins of butter chicken can be traced back to a man named Kundan Lal Gujral, who ran a restaurant called Moti Mahal Delux in Peshawar before the partition of British India. With the partition of British India, Moti Mahal moved to New Delhi. Butter Chicken is regarded to have been first introduced by Moti Mahal in New Delhi”. The creamy sauce of the butter chicken is as deep as its history, and made with variety of ingredients. For desert, my dad and I walked to Pinkberry and shared some frozen yogurt.

Chicken Biriyani 

         The next restaurant is Kabab and Curry. Last Sunday was an exciting day, India was playing a crucial match and my friends and I were eagerly awaiting the Indian cricket team’s first game of the 2015 world cup. We began gearing up to witness this game of cricket, and in the midst of preparing for this exciting night- getting all the homework done, Streaming the live video online and waiting for the fun to begin - I felt like something was missing. However, the game had begun and started to get intriguing. Everyone was watching with great excitement, while celebrating and munching away on snacks. This was when I recalled passing by an authentic and traditional looking Indian restaurant on Isabella Street.  I felt like Indian food at this moment was probably the missing element and after the First innings or during halftime, we decided to indulge in their well-known butter chicken curry and infamous array of kebab’s.

We brought back Chicken tikka Masala, and a mouthwatering Clay oven chicken seekh Kebab. Eating these delicious dishes of excellent flavor and authenticity, while watching an interesting game of cricket made us feel at home. The right mix of a legendary sports game, great company and exceptional Indian food was all that was needed. Generally, the walk to this place takes about thirty minutes, and it can be tiring. With an important cricket match going, we couldn’t risk missing a single second of it! My friend decided to rent a zip car and drove down and brought us all back some food. The food was normal as usual and nothing spectacular.

The next restsurrant is Aachi Appakadai. It is a south indian based restaurant which delivers chetinar food. It is located 2.4 miles away from our campus. Hyderabad, the city I come from, is known for biriyani: a rice dish mixed with marinated chicken cooked in high temperature. Unfortunately, it did not reach up to my expectations and it was nothing like Biriyani. The next dish I tried was Chicken Appam. Haveing come across a number of different types of appams in my life, I can safely say that the one at appakadai was on of the best ones I have ever tasted. Firstly, appam is similar to a pancake but it is made out of a rice batter and served with chicken stew. The one at appakadai was authentic and tasted like a slice from heaven. The texture wasn’t grainy; it was smooth and enjoyable at the same time, and the chicken stew was out of this world. It had the right amount of spiciness and went extremely well with the appam.

It’s safe to say my favorite restaurant Aachi Appakadai and I highly recommend you to try this different, unique, not-so-famous kind of Indian food. It wins in all factors: food, ambience and flavors.

Ike’s vs. Subway: The Battle of the Sandwiches

           Welcome back to my blog! I hope you guys had a wonderful week. Over the week, I had the opportunity to try a new place near our campus called Ike’s Love & Sandwiches, and it was a wonderful experience. The sandwiches there reminded me of the similar ones found in subway, so I decided to throw the two sandwiches into a metaphoric battlefield and decide the winner. The two contestants will be judged and evaluated on factors such as location, ambience, cost and most importantly - the taste and flavors of the sandwich.

            After a stressful computer programming midterm, a friend from my class and I decided to try Ike’s Love & Sandwiches since none of us had eaten there before. According to Google maps, Ike’s Love & Sandwiches is located 0.4 miles away from Santa Clara University, and tucked between Ramen Taka and a clothes-shopping store called Booger Kids. Yes, you read it right; I was taken aback at the name Booger Kids as well. The walk to Ike’s Love & Sandwiches took us a good fifteen minutes mostly because we strolled by the stores, and even checked out Booger Kids on our way. The distracting colorful signs of different shops and places distracted us and made our walk longer than it should have been. On our walk to Ike’s, we crossed Subway, Wicked Chicken, Taco Bell, Wrap This and other eating places that deserted Ike’s from costumers. I stumbled across Ike’s Love & Sandwiches three weeks ago when I went for a run, and that was how I heard of it. However, the place was packed with costumers, majority of whom were students from Santa Clara University. The entrance was in the corner right next to the colorful and decorative benches that were placed outside. Right above the two benches, Ike’s Love & Sandwiches written in bright colors of purple, yellow and red hung, and drew my attention. I noticed a lamp above the entrance door, and right below the lamp there rested a unique architectural motif design, and presented itself in a rather dull color.

            As soon as we walked in, a bell melodiously chimed, and the staff members warmly greeted us. To our right, the menu was painted brightly on a black wall and the font was written in chalk giving the restaurant a chalkboard theme. The menu was divided into three sections: meat, vegan and veggies. A large variety of sandwiches were proudly displayed on the menu, and made it difficult for me to pick one. I walked up to the counter next to the menu, and ended up ordering the 49er, and my friend picked I wish I was a little taller. “Nidiya”, the cashier announced my name incorrectly. My sandwich was wrapped around a delicate brown paper and cut into two big portions. The first bite was rather juicy and fiery, but heavenly indeed. The thinly sliced halal chicken tampered with my taste buds with its exquisite flavor. The crispy lettuce rested gently between the freshly baked bread, and covered in tangy buffalo wing sauce with the perfect amount of honey mustard. A sprinkle of cheddar balanced the flavors and made me reach for the second portion of the sandwich. My friend, on the other hand, was delighted to see mozzarella sticks, and dived into it as soon as his order came in. The savory flavor set him off, and he didn’t enjoy his sandwich. “I ordered for the name, not for the taste”, he emphasized.

            I walked 0.3 miles to Subway the next day. It was a warm afternoon and I was craving for a healthy sandwich. Although there isn’t much variety, Subway comes up with new sandwiches on a monthly basis. According to the main website, there are 43,538 restaurants in 109 countries! One can find Subway in every corner of a street. Subway is located next to great cuts, and walk took me around five to eight minutes from Graham residence hall. The ambience is casual like any other subway store with small tables. I made my own sandwich and ordered a Teriyaki Chicken and extra grilled chicken meat dressed in ranch, chipotle southwest sauce and light mayonnaise with a tint of creamy Sriracha wrapped in Italian break toasted with American cheese. I added lettuce for veggies since I like my sub without any other veggies. The first bite was crispy with the mélange of sauces overflowing. I ordered a chocolate chip cookie well. The biscuit was perfectly tender and the chocolate chips melted in my mouth. Overall, I liked my sandwich.

            Now it’s time to compare the two sandwiches and announce the winner! Battle Round 1: Taste. I enjoyed my Ike’s sandwich much better than the one in Subway. The flavors were perfectly balanced in the 49er and meat was tender. To make it fair, I tried my friend’s premade Chipotle Chicken & Cheese from Subway but nonetheless; the winner for this round is Ike’s! Battle Round 2: Location and Cost. There’s a tie on location since both the places are not far off. Coming to cost, Subway is affordable whereas Ike’s is more on the pricy side. One Ike’s sandwich cost me eight dollars ninety cents, and sandwich from Subway cost my six dollars. (Excluding the cookie) The winner for this round is Subway! Final Battle Round: Ambience and Atmosphere. In Subway, my friend and I had to on a table next a garbage can, and it was unpleasant. Ike’s definitely ranks higher when it comes to setting with its colorful ambience and table, and hence, the winner for the deciding round is Ike’s Love & Sandwiches! I would definitely recommend Ike’s to people who have never tried it before, and I hope you enjoyed this battle. See you next week, goodbye!

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are of my own, and not influenced by any merchandise or person. No, I’m not getting free sandwiches from Ike’s to write this review, although, I would definitely love to eat one right now. Let me know your experiences at the two places in the comment section and who the winner is according to you! 

Introduction + Jasmine Thai

My name is Nithya Geereddy and I’m a freshman in Santa Clara University. I was born and raised in Hyderabad, India. I love taking photos and I’m passionate about photography. Although I’m majoring in computer engineering, I hope to pursue a career in photography. Like most people, I love music and I’m into Electronic Dance Music (EDM). I’m a huge fan of this band called Kodaline; they’re not like the typical boy band we see or hear about these days. I am a dog lover, and I have two adorable monsters - Max and Leo - living with me back home. Max is a Pug and Leo is a Labrador (he’s worse than Marley from the movie Marley and Me when it comes to behavior). One time, Leo locked my maid in the bathroom by accidentally closing the bolt from outside! This other time, he ran around with the maid’s clothes and ended up throwing them on the toilet seat. He’s notorious and full of energy all the time and it’s always fun having him around. You’re wondering why I am telling you all these random facts about me, right? Well, before you read this blog, I want you to know something about the person writing it – me.

Maxiee (Maximus the Gladiator) 

Leo (Leonardo)

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           Now that you know a couple of facts about me, we can proceed. Coming to my blog, I decided to make my theme restaurant reviewing. We all know college students have the most unique diet varying from person to person. For instance, I have a friend who eats M&Ms for breakfast and cereal for dinner on most days. I myself have a set routine when it comes to diet. For breakfast, which I skip half the time (it’s unhealthy, I know), I either drink a glass of milk or eat Quaker oats. This quarter, my classes end at two pm and The Bistro lunch special closes by then, so I end up either eating yogurt parfait or something unhealthy from The Bronco. And finally I get the special for dinner. After a few weeks I got tired of this routine and I started trying different restaurants and places to eat at around campus. That was when I realized I wasn’t aware of half the places around our campus and all the cuisines I am yet to try. Hence, I decided to seize this opportunity and try different places and write a short review on them. I plan on evaluating each place based on the food, ambience and cost. The main purpose of my blog project is to make students of Santa Clara University aware of their dining options around campus so that they do not skip meals, and instead, they get motivated to try different cuisines and places to eat at.  I’m interested on finding out the amount of time and money college students spend on eating off campus; and to do so, I plan on conducting a small survey and find out how many times a week college students go off campus to grab a bite. Aren’t you excited to know? Well, I am and I can’t wait for you guys to read my reviews and help me with the survey!

            For my first post I’m going to talk about my experience at Jasmine Thai. This restaurant is located 0.6 miles away from our campus. One evening, my friends and I decided to eat some exotic dinner. There are several different cuisines that one can find in the bay area so it was a very hard decision to make. We finally decided to go to Jasmine Thai and reminisce on the first time we met, which was at this fine restaurant. However, I never paid attention to the finer details until I was asked to write this review. I realized that there is much more to the restaurant than what meets the eye. A variety of groups of people dine here on a regular basis and it is fascinating to see an mélange of cultural backgrounds eating one cuisine. Even though, this occurs all over the world, it still mesmerizes me.

            The walk to Jasmine Thai is rather boring with nothing much going on in the area. However, there are a couple of restaurants like Subway, a Chinese restaurant and a mini-mart. In front of the restaurant, there is a small fountain with a couple of benches where people can sit and relax. The restaurant itself is interesting, with a number of tables and booths giving it a warm and comfortable atmosphere. One can find several different categories of people at Jasmine Thai: older couples, college students, families, and staff meetings. The ambience is beautiful inside with small statues of Buddha everywhere and the atmosphere is filled with the aroma of coconut milk.

Ambience 

            We were all eager to eat some warm curry after the fifteen-minute walk in the cold weather. We ordered a serving of Spicy Chicken Fried Rice, Penang curry, and to mix it up a bit, we went out of our comfort zone and ordered something new: Hor Mok Pla. It is a steamed fish with coconut milk and Napa cabbage wrapped in a banana leaf and garnished with some traditional Thai seasoning. Coming from the land of spices and chilly, I found the fried rice to be rather fiery. South India is known for spicy food and I felt as though I disappointed my people back home! Penang curry was delicious. The meat was rather rubbery but the curry was the savior of the dish. They made it with the right proportion of hotness and sweetness. Hor Mok Pla would be the winner of the day. I highly recommend it to the people who love fish. The meat is tender and melts away in one’s mouth.

Penang Curry 

The service is fast and the wait staff is wonderful and attentive. The pricing was decent and it cost thirteen dollars with tip for the three of us. A regular benson special is around fourteen to fifteen dollars and it’s always one dish. In Jasmine Thai, we got to taste three different dishes and we weren’t disappointed. Overall, I highly recommend this restaurant to college students, as it’s not placed too far away and moreover, it’s value for money. I rate Jasmine Thai a 7/10: Food – 8/10, Service – 8/10, Ambience – 9/10, Convenience – 8.5/10, Value for money – yes.

I hope this review was of some use and I’ll see you guys next week with another restaurant of possibly a different cuisine.

PS: My grading scale