Check the link for the comments of always right "customers" of a "fusion" restaurant:

http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=36026952&postID=116084707371341129



OM at Harvard Square

OM Restaurant, Harvard Square, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.


The word OM (AUM) signifies the sound that created universe. It is the symbol of Brahma the creator of the universe. A very religious significant word for the Hindu and the Buddhist - OM… Every mantra starts with OM. It represents primordial vibration from which everything begins…

And so OM at Harvard Square begins the disappointment as you enter through the
Nepali carved door that leads inside to the lounge suggest nothing has been created at Harvard Square, but a mediocre translation of OM - Culturally along with the Culinary…

Food preparation has all the pomp and ceremony but no AAH to the palate. The chef’s compliment – is a total waste and a poor start to the fanfare that it so pretentiously glorifies. The starter popcorn with the cheese sprinkled on it tastes dull. There is nothing modern to American food as you dig into the Lamb Shank.

What is more sad and petrifying is the Buddha looking at your food and the drink. Buddha that symbolizes peace, non – violence, is put on the holes in the wall and embedded… overlook the tables… while people sink their knives into the pork bellies and the shank. There is no Nirvana but only the noises and the horrifying deconstruction of an old tradition, culture and the art, of the people, the place, and the artist – be it the owners father. Buddha must be crying somewhere…

The only piece of art that personifies the place is Kal Bhairav – the Lord Shiva himself – the destructor or the destroyer… OM restaurant – where you could have seen the beginning of all things that could be calm, serine, and wholesome is really a place that emphasizes the modern world where there is nothing but destruction. And, so Kal Bhairav symbolizes the destruction of all that could have been good… if the creator of the place had really thought correctly the usage of such a powerful symbol OM – as you even utter the word OM you can feel the peace within yourself.

As I looked at the Kal Bhairav – the so powerful presence… I must give thanks to the artist that created it. Looking at it you can feel the power and you can almost see yourself transferred to Hanuman Dhoka in Kathmandu Nepal where the 10 foot tall stone statue of the same sits… My heart wants to take the artist creation not only of the Kal Bhairav, but every Buddha statue the every art and rescue it from the rude owner and take it away from the “bhati” or bar and put it in a place that it would truly belong – such as a museum of traditional art… where people would appreciate the artist and the creator and know where it comes from.

The fusion of the east and west leaves a bad taste in the mouth – a bad taste in the intellect and a misplaced restaurant at Harvard Square. It tries to belong and cater to the intellectual capital of the world – only to insult it.

f.o.c bigyapan.....ha ...ha.

Reveiwresturant has nailed it, I should say all the flaws of Om. but I would like to stress that Om is an "American resturant" as one of the owners who originated from Nepal specifically said so in his very own words. Just to make it clear as I feel the confusion exists because the name and decoration seems to be generating it. My next point is can we not go to an American resturant because we are Nepalese??? Should the owner have the right to undermine the customer because of race???? I wonder if he felt that if Nepalese customers came they would ask for a discount or would not leave a decent tip?? I have heard this being said by some people in the resturant business about Indian customers...This just makes me curious??

Actually Nepalis leave better tips than anyone else.

Capn',
I am not being cynical about those people. Boston being a college town will never have a dry spell for wanna be Europeans called EuroThrash. If you've been around these people change venues like they change clothes with the fashion trend. Their lives are dictated by the magazines and fashionista's. he he The most funny part of it is they think they are more european than the Europeans themselves. ha ha ha ! And they are as shallow as fug. Like the GYPSY BAR ha ha ha Just look at how many names changes that Venue has gone through. So if Om wants to overhaul the restaurent every year they might be able to keep up, otherwise it will meet the same fate as the likes of M80's(used to boast they opened 2 to 3 cases of Dom everyday), Europa and now Mantra.

Ratobhalay I don't doubt that at all as we Nepalese are known to be big hearted people who lavishly spend on "mooj masti" and we really feel for the people waiting on us and want to make them happy and thank them for their service, but we can also express our disappointment in their lack of service and illtreatment. In my entire life I have not been to anyplace like OM where I have come out thoroughly disgusted and horrified with the management. And regarding the food just as "one mans meat is another mans poison" for me the food was also hopeless and opinions may differ. My group of friends I can vouch that we love to sample International cuisine and do that on a regular basis and will continue to do so but Om will never be in our list.

Dimple -

"but I would like to stress that Om is an "American resturant" as one of the owners who originated from Nepal specifically said so in his very own words. Just to make it clear as I feel the confusion exists because the name and decoration seems to be generating it."

Hallelujah! Masha Allah! You have admitted it a second time in two posts. Question for you: had you know this when you went to the restaurant for the first time, do you think you might have had different expectations of the place?

"My next point is can we not go to an American resturant because we are Nepalese??? Should the owner have the right to undermine the customer because of race???? "

Oh, come on, you are taking it a bit too far. They have been that way with non-Nepalese too. Just read the reviews. I think their mannerism and etiquette leave a lot to be desired. It seems they just don't know how to handle customers in general. If you had said they needed a crash course if etiquette, I'd have agreed with you but to charge them with discrimination is a bit of a stretch in my opinion.

"I wonder if he felt that if Nepalese customers came they would ask for a discount or would not leave a decent tip?? I have heard this being said by some people in the restaurant business about Indian customers...This just makes me curious?? "

I admit that perception exists out there but I am not sure if we can tie that to how OM treats its customers. I don't have sufficient information to form an objective opinion on this and unless I know more, I am willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. That said, they clearly lack customer management skills and I can understand and relate to any ire based on that.

Also, I am scratching my head at how you have been going on and on about OM. You seem interested in only trashing them. I have no problems with that, after all this is a free forum and you do as you please. But I think I am done trying to get my point across to you because you clearly don't seem interested in opinions that differ from yours. I feel bad that you had an unpleasant experience there, the same way I would feel for anyone who had a bad dining experience anywhere, but I think you are on the verge of sounding like a broken record on the subject. I haven't heard you say a single positive thing about anything on this thread so far.

Bathroom Coffee - I see where you are coming from. I guess it just doesn't bother me as much. But yeah, I don't give much of a damn to pretentious people either. There we can agree :)

Captain H--I haven't had budi in my kheer, but if my memory hasn't given up on me, I think you could have "guliyo" budi too..which does taste Yumiiieee...I don't have a sweet tooth..but once in a while.. it doesn't kill :-)

and ya...that Captain with cigar image does give a sour taste to my mouth...hehehe... I like my share of Captains -the way you described ..on screen...like in "Pirates of the Caribbean"...but do send me a better cue so that I can spot you in the crowd ;-)

Capt. Sure we did a little survey of Om before we went there and we went there not to critisize the place but to admire and enjoy the place to clear your confusion, infact we had made prior reservation and dressed up decently to be presentable, I guess we made every effort on our part to have a blast. I guess I am stressing on my utter disappointment everytime I see something new on this topic but i did not realize i was sounding like a broken record.(More like a stuck record I think) I also do not think that I am only trying pour out my feelings here without noticing what the others have to say, you probably missed out some of my previous comments. I think i did compliment the owners of KTM Spice on their new venture and also reccommended the place to people who want to have good Nepalese food. Captainsaab before you jump into conclusions about my negativity let me assure you that we exchange notes on happier topics.

Sangam,

A restaurant is not just a piece of real estate where the old adage "location, location, location" holds true to its worth or success.

Peter Luger Steakhouse is in Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, which is considered a rough neighborhood. It is considered one of the best steakhouses in the US. There is no dirth of customers who cross over from Manhattan to enjoy its porterhouse.

Restaurant business is in service industry and you need to be courteous and hospitable to your customers on top providing good food to be successful. A pleasant ambience is always a plus.

When the appeal of a new establishment wears off, OM will have a hard time sustaining itself if the staff is not courteous.

Oh yeah! just remembered that broken records produre no sound and when the needle of the record player scratches the record because of too much use then the record starts skipping or gets stuck!! so captain you probably grew up in the cd age which tends to have similar problem specially those pirated hindi cd's can be annoying right?? Hope you find this humorous and informative not nagative!!!!

Oh, go away, Dimple .... shoo shooo!

Just kidding. I must say you are one predictable woman. I bet myself 5 dollars as to what your reply would be and it was pretty much on the lines of what I thought. In fact, I was surprised it took you this long to reply - how you were able to hold it for that long, huh? LOL!:)

"before you jump into conclusions about my negativity let me assure you that we exchange notes on happier topics"

I certainly look forwarding to chatting with you on other topics and your presence has made this thread, and indeed Sajha, more interesting, even though I wish both the style and substance of your contributions were different. At this point I don't have much to add because I sense in your current mood you are only interested in venting against OM. All I can say is I hope you make peace with the incident soon and get it out of your system someday.

If I said woe betide OM, may the owners catch the plague, may the government raid their business, may locusts descend upon their restaurant, may mosquitoes bite all those pernicious waitresses, may municipal trash be dumped into their lounge, would that make you feel any different? I don't mean any of those, but I thought if I left it on that note, we would be done with this biatching session. :)

To good life.

May the force be with you.
 

" Hope you find this humorous and informative not nagative!!!! "

shoo shoo!

"I like my share of Captains -the way you described ..on screen...like in "Pirates of the Caribbean"...but do send me a better cue so that I can spot you in the crowd ;-) "

You have a " share of captains"? My, my! You'll be easy to spot then, the one with a sailor (in singular) next to her? LOL! I'll swing by your table then and introduce myself, how's that?

:)

hahaha...that was my share of "on-screen" Captains...I only wish some or one of them was for real though..tsk tsk...hehe..

anyway, I had my share of "kwati, chicken choila" at Ktm spice today..and the "gajar ko haluwa" was super...just out of this world..!

and ya, I hear they are introducing momos for Sunday buffet..but you gotta pay extra and its a set platter...Yummiee...will have to check them out again...:-)

Avani - You were there today and you didn't tell me you were going? ha ha ha :) Thanks for the info about the buffet. I am not particularly a fan of buffets, although I did go tho their buffet once, but I might try them again some time.

Captain, had I known..I'd buzz you ni...but you definately did miss out on a lot of good food today :-)...It must have been the cruel, incessant down-pour...the place was barren..

This piece from Akhilesh Tripathi in KOL:

- http://www.kantipuronline.com/kolnews.php?&nid=90848

History Made


By Akhilesh Tripathi


It was already 12 at night and nothing was coming out of Baluwatar. November 8 was beginning to seem like it was just going to be another day of talks. Then, when it was least expected, the moment came. On the second day of the fifth round of summit talks, after over 20 hours of rigorous deliberations and discussions, the ruling seven-party alliance and the Maoists had, finally, made history. Overcoming all kinds of suspicions and apprehensions, they had reached the much-awaited peace deal, signing agreements on all political and arms issues and paving the way for the restoration of permanent peace in Nepal.
Both the ruling seven-party alliance and the Maoists deserve a special pat on the back for making the historic peace deal. They have proved the conception that "the Maoists cannot be trusted" and "the government, too, is not serious about establishing peace" as wrong. After more than a decade of deadly conflict and the Maoists living in the shadows, the November 8 Agreement is the strongest indicator that lasting peace will finally come. As mandated by the April Movement, a complete restructuring of the state, too, looks very near.

Indeed, the agreement marks the beginning of the final stage of the delicate and unique experiment of ending the bloody conflict and establishing sustainable peace that began in Nepal in the wake of the success of the April Movement. It has sealed secure the process of drawing the violent Maoist insurgency into open politics and integrating the rebels into the political mainstream. Any misgivings the people may have had, that the leaders may be tempted to go for just mere adjustment of power, just a tuning up of an old system, is gone. All of them now know and have decided what needs to be done- how and when. The historic agreement has clearly spelled out the roadmap for a new Nepal.

The paper work is now over. Real work lies ahead. There is no time for dilly-dallying. If the Constituent Assembly elections are to be held by mid-June 2007, as has been agreed, then swift action will be required. What has been agreed on paper needs to be implemented in practice. And for this to happen, the time line that the two sides have set for forming the interim government and legislature, promulgating the interim constitution etc has to be strictly adhered to.

We hope both sides have learnt from the over six months that took them to make the final peace deal that a change is possible only if the parties trying to make the change are ready to change themselves first with time. While the historic agreement reached at Baluwatar is in fact an expression of their will to change, it must be willed into action.

The Maoist leadership has been time and again accused of failing to bridge the gaping chasm seen between what it says from the national pulpit and its ability to transform its armed cadres at the ground level. Reports of rebel extortions, intimidations and bullying still keep coming in. This has to stop. With the rebel leadership now publicly abandoning the People's War, political re-orientation of their ground-level cadres and activists, so that they can learn to live in an open society, is the order of the day. There is no other way forward.

Maoist Chairman Prachanda's announcement within hours of reaching the groundbreaking agreement with the government that the November 10 convention of the Newa Mukti Morcha has been cancelled is a significant gesture towards this end. For the convention, which the Maoists were touting to be a mass gathering of a million in the capital, the rebels had been pressing the valley dwellers really hard to give shelter and food to their cadres and supporters who were going to attend the programme. Instead they have decided to celebrate for the next three days. Such gestures must continue.

On the seven parties' part, what needs to be changed is the usual political infighting, which they tend to become more vulnerable to when any change in government is made. This shouldn't be the case with the interim government ready to be formed later this month.

No political party or figure is bigger than the nation. The change the nation wants is perhaps possible only if the concerned sides realise this. The Baluwatar agreement has certainly opened a new exit but it will take solid effort and total commitment to make use of it and take the nation out of the centuries-old problems that came to a head in a violent and deadly manner in the last one decade.

In short, the country stands on the brink of a historic changing of the guard, and both the government and the rebels, the latter in large measure, hold the key to whether the peace process ultimately ends up treading the path of confrontation or final conciliation.

Ooops sorry, wrong thread!

:P

Hehehe, got the wrong foot!

Btw, what is vindaloo? Just curious! The one I had was very spicy and killed my other taste buds! Nevertheless did not stop eating.

I cannot imagine Captain swinging Like Jack Sparrow! That would be real fun Avani. ;)