For this week's update I am going back to America, to Flushing New York to be precise. Now don't be flabbergasted by the fact that this update is indeed about a TEMPLE, the Mahaganapathi Temple in Flushing New York. Now if my parents were reading this blog secretly they would swell with pride right about now, but just to ensure that they don't come and hug me tomorrow, let me tell you this post has nothing to do with the great Lord Ganesha or any of his other fellow spiritual men, this post is about the awesome canteen situated in the basement of the temple. Now that sounds more like me doesn't it?
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Well ever since I was a kid, my parents have tricked/bribed/conned/"spun an intricate web of DECEIT" to get Gautam and Ganesha under the same roof, not that I have anything against the man, but its just Parenting 101 - The more you force you're kid to do something, the more further away he's gonna run from it. Anyways, my father still graciously lets me live under his roof so the odd temple visits every once in a while are the least I can do. And as I've grown older, their bribing has become less effective, its now more of a "magnanimous gesture" from my behalf to them. So in my supposed summer blowout in Vegas, LA and New York my parents somehow convinced me to go to this temple. I must say, temples in America are nothing like the ones we have in India. Very very clean. Spacious. Lesser people. MUCH lesser people. Hell I'd even go out on a limb and say that there's a sense of serenity and calm in these temples, unlike the ones in India were you have sweaty shirtless men giving you dirty looks because your poonal is not maintained properly and the fact that you are chewing gum and listening to music when he's saying some mumbo jumbo prayers for you. Still enough about the temple, lets go down to the basement shall we.
You know of all the million places to eat in New York, this basement won't even feature in the top 1000, but nevertheless you can only eat out at all these 1000 places if you have an endless amount of earnings or a super rich dad who loves you too much. Since most of us have neither, if you are studying in New York and you can't cook a tasty meal to save your ass then this basement should be your lunch time destination. Some of the NRI's have set up this pretty sweet canteen, where proper "Ghar Ka Khana" is prepared at alarmingly reasonable prices, but before you start drooling over naan and paneer, when I said Ghar Ka Khana, I meant MY Ghar ka khana. Delicious South Indian food, Sambhar, Rasam, Dosas, Idli's, Tamrind Rice, Curd Rice, Sambhar Rice etc etc. Its almost like a proper side business for the owners of this place because this world we live in is filled with pigs like me who would visit a temple just to eat good cheap food. The whole scene is run by 4-5 people (they do appreciate volunteers); and all you have to do is stand in line, place your order and wait for them to announce your number. They have ample seating area, free water and amenities, paper plates and plastic spoons and forks to ensure no clatter and noise, all in all a very good place to visit if you're a struggling student who would go to any extent to save a few dollars. They do have jain food available (onion and garlic free preparation) it is after all a temple you know.
They have a wonderful variety of dosas to try out, Paper Roast, Ghee Roast, Mysore Sada, Rava Sada, Onion Rava, Uthappas and so many more variants of Idlis and Vadas in Sambhar, Rasam and Curd. But what I really liked about this place was the rice preparations like Tamrind Rice, Lemon Rice, Bisibelle Bath and our very own Thair Sadam. Served in these cute containers, they are very easy to eat, very easy to take home and store because most of these preparations stay fresh for a couple of days. An absolute bargain I tell you, you can have a super filling lunch for almost as little as 5 dollars. The only catch is that they do not deliver to any college campuses nearby, but I think its a fair price to pay, I mean if you want some good food in New York, the least you can do is say HI to Lord Mahaganapathi.
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