India and Apple Pie

We will admit it, we are feeling homesick.   Three months is supposed to be the hump you need to get over, things are starting to feel routine and the awe of seeing cows or a family of four on a scooter is wearing off.    Food, family, friends are a void which cannot be totally filled in India.  Will says he cannot check facebook, he misses high school life in the US.    Emma misses her friends and both Doug and Nolan miss American football.   I am so busy working every waking hour, I just miss the pace of my old job on occasion (which I thought was hard).     I miss decorating my house for Halloween, celebrating with friends and Doug's wicked Hallow-tini's topped off with real dry ice.     The key to success when you are far away from home is to try not to replace what you are missing with the India version; it's better just to do something different otherwise it (the food, the place, the time) just don't stack up.

 Last night we focused on fulfilling the food piece and went to The Only Place, a staple in Bangalore since 1965.   http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bangalore-India/The-Only-Place-Restaurant-Bangalore/151278534042  It's famous for Beef.   Steaks, burgers, beef stronganoff, chicken, garlic bread, cheese fries and apple pie.    Our mouths were watering.   No reservations needed, so we showed up at 7pm and were the first people seated.   The Only Place resembles a pavilion decked out with red and white twinkle lights.   You enter off Museum Road and walk back past a boutique (who flipped their sign to open as soon as this pack of foreigners showed up), the toilets and some assorted shacks.    However upon entering the pavilion with its red checkered table cloths and tall vegetation around the perimeter, we felt like we were in Little Italy, NY vs. Bangalore.     

Our table was in the corner and my back was to the general clientele, focused on my family and the menu of American favorites we quickly ordered:   cheesy garlic bread, hot wings and onion rings as starters; a round of cokes in the bottle (if you are a coke connoisseur like myself, these are the best variety); followed by Chateaubriand for Doug, American cheeseburgers and fries for Emma and me, more hot wings for Nolan with cheese fries and Will tried the Big Irani Burger (stuffed with cheese, pickles, mushrooms).    No fighting or complaining from the kids.  The only sound I heard was an occasional slurp and some lip smacking.    The dinner was not high end, but it tasted like it should.   No Masala!    Regular tasting American food.    Every plate was clean.    We followed it up with hot apple pie a la mode with French Vanilla ice cream.     We moaned a little as we loaded ourselves into the car and enjoyed a food coma.