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.

Wow!! if the long awaited peace and order is finally dawning in Kathmandu we should indeed be thankful to all the concerned parties involved in making it happen. But I just read Nepalnews. com where desperate family members were begging the Maoists to release their loved ones whom they abducted for unknown reason, this happened within the close vicinity of kathmandu. If such atrocities still exsists, table talks alone will not solve the problem if they do not impliment it. captain I guess we have to mave on so this article was somewhat a relief from the same old bickering about OM. After all is said and done I will never curse the owner of Om infact I wish him well. But I will always remember him as an arrogent ilmannered fellow, as I have already formed an opinion about him. As for taking a long time to respond ...... just got busy at work man!!

Flip flop - Hey, don't plant any ideas in my head now ... >:)

Vindaloo is from the sweet potato family I think. Called "pidalu" in Nepali if my memory serves me right.

Dimple - That article was for this thread. I feel like a bungling fool posting it in the wrong thread but thanks for reading and commenting :)

Have a good day!

Captainsaab, sorry I couldn't help it even when I am trying to shoo myself. Pardon me but please don't complicate and mistake vindaloo for our pindaloo. Vindaloo is a spicy potato curry, you can have mutton vindaloo or chicken or even plain, and if I am not mistaken it is a South indian dish. And i know for sure they use plain potato not pindaloo. You must be missing "ghiu chaku and pindaloo" Maghe Sangranti. You have stretched your imagination too wide i guess!!!

LOL! Dimple.

OK, I stand corrected then. I was only trying to be helpful. But I could have sworn that chicken vindaloo I had at an Indian restairant tasted just like pidalu - maybe that's why the (wrong) connection. :P

My sincere apologies for any confusion I might have created.

:)

I completely forgot to mention your farsightedness and intuition about knowing what my reply was going to be, unbelievable!!! You almost sounded like an "Antaryami" Take it as a compliment and not sarcasm!!Bye now Captainsaab and have a wonderful weekend. And regarding vindaloo I think it literally means potato cooked in vinager.

ha ha ha Dimple, that is exactly what I was thinking, how come she has not responded to my comment about predictability .... LOL!!

You have a good weekend too. I might be going to Kathmandu Spice this weekend. Your comments about OM have been etched in my memory - I don't think I can go there again without thinking about this thread .. he he he

:)

This from Wikipedia:

Vindaloo
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Vindaloois a popular Indian dish. It was first brought to Goa by the Portuguese and soon became a pleasing Goan meal often served during very special occasions. Historically this was a pork dish cooked with plenty of wine vinegar and garlic, known as "Vinha d'Alho", however it soon received the Goan treatment of adding plentiful amounts of spice and chili. Restaurants often serve this dish with chicken or lamb sometimes mixed with potatoes. Traditional vindaloos do not include potatoes, the discrepancy arising because the word "aloo" means "potato" in Hindi.

The dish gained added popularity in Britain, and became a common fixture at Indian restaurants and curry houses there. In colloquial English it is often referred to as "A Vindy" and is well known for its heat, being one of the hotter curries available.

The famous Anthony Gibson was well known for his love of vindaloo. The phrase "He could devour some curry like it was the last meal on earth" was once said about him. It is thought that this quote may have been the origin of the term "curry munching".

Oh by the way I wonder where that Hush puppy is?? I just can't get over her biting comments. She not only attacked me and called me names for voicing my opinion about the owner of Om and also portrayed herself to be a young teenager calling me aunty. I strongly feel this girl lacks good manners and respect seems very remote. She seems to be living in a fools paradise herself. And the picture she posted speaks for her!!!

Ya gotta learn to let it go !! he he
Don't dwell upon it, he he It'll eat you away.

Dimple you're a PIMPLE onthe face of this earth...why are you calling me?? Do you need to hear more??? Heehhehhehee..go smoke pot and chill out!!

Hai Allah! Just when I was getting used to the demise of this thread, it is back from the dead!

I am laughing real hard now ... Dimple,when you said you had a daughter, I figured you must be older than most on this thread, but your constant berating of others is beginning to border on the infantile - to the point where it is getting a bit comical. How long are you going to go on like this?

:)

PS: I am going to be trying some Chettinad curry this evening - is supposed to be fiery hot, let's see how I can hold up!

Lets not deviate from the real reason - Om is nothing but a concept gone bad... and of course we all know that it is not a Dal Bhat place... and MOMOS are found in all the other places that are non nepali and or non tibetian - In fact the momos are made by the same person that makes it in other restaurants around Boston - !!!

Get real and look at what OM is trying to do - it is just a fusion gone bad and tasteless... from the food to the decor... If one wants to go there go to get a headache...

Reviewresturant - I am curious when you say "the momos are made by the same person that makes it in other restaurants around Boston". So does that mean they all buy it frozen and steam it as needed? I could have sworn the momo at Himalayan Bistro tasted very different from Kathmandu Spice which is why I am asking.

yea,

The momos at himalayan bistro is tasty. I haven't tried momos at kathmandu spice yet.

Maybe I will go there this weekend. It's funny that last weekend I called kathmandu spice to ask if they have nepali food in lunch buffet. I still remember it was a sunday morning and I argued with a lady about raita being Nepali dish. I am still confused if raita is nepali. Now they have nepali buffet in sundays. Is it just a coincidence or they added nepali food to the buffet because of my inquiry?

Anyway, that lady on the phone had a sweet voice. Maybe I will be able to see her this sunday at kathmandu spices.

Captain,

I like your attitude and your good sense of fun and fair play.
Your reviews are interesting too.

Have you tried this restaurant called The Helmand on 143 1st Street in Cambridge?
if so, what do you think?

oohi
ashu

Ashu - Thanks.

I loved the place. I went there right after 9/11 and actually have a funny story about the place:)

Their grilled lamb was really good as was their wine list.

You know that Hamid Karzai's sister owns the place, right?

The funny story is this: right after 9/11, when all of America was drowned in the flag, the people's republic, to no one's suprise, bucked the trend and you were hardpressed to find the old glory flying in very many places in Cambridge. With one notable exception: the Helmand! :) I guess there were playing it safe and being respectful of the sentiment in the country at the time. Except that their immediate neighbors couldn't have cared less ...he he.

:)

You could tell my the hushed, almost embarrased, grins on the faces of the diners. :D

Have a good one.

Haddock why are you complaining like an old man? I think you do have a soft corner for Hush puppy! I had written hypothetically "If I had a daughter who went to a bar every second day i would be worried to death" in response to Hush puppy's claim that she went to Om every other day and loved to be seen there!! Please read carefully before you jump into your own conclusion. As for thinking I am one of the older ones why am I crossing the borderline of my age? Why am I sounding like an old record again?? The very purpose of my writing about Hush puppy was to keep this thread going, but least did I expect that she would be soliciting me to take drugs so openly< does she even know that it is illegal to even make such a suggestion and that her foul mouth could land herself in trouble with the law seriously.Her vicious reply just reminds me of a pit bull!!! as for Helmand I think my next visit will be there as I have heard highly of Afghan food being very good, thanks for your suggestion Ashuji and haddock for supporting it.

Dimple - First off, you have every right to be mad for guessing your age wrong.I'd be fuming too if someone thought I had a kid when I didn't. If it's any consolation, people guess mine incorrectly all the time on Sajha :). But as you suggested, I went back and read this again. It says "This poor girl claims to be visiting OM every second day!! I would be worried to death if my daughter did that." How can anyone know you were speaking hypothetically by reading that? There is no explicit or implicit hint of a hypothetical statement there. Lost in interpretation, perhaps. :)

All right, I acknowledge it was not the best thing to do to talk about age and I seek the Wahe Guru's forgiveness for my impertinence - and your's too, if you can :D

But does it even matter? Who cares about anyones age? At least I don't.

Do I have a soft corner for Hushpuppy? Well no more or less than I might have for you or anyone else. People come to Sajha to meet others and sometimes they they are nice and sometimes they are not. It's like anywhere else - it's fun to catch people when they are in a good mood and it's unfortunate to catch them when they have had a bad day. That's a part of life in cybersphere. She has been kind to me at times and not-so-kind at other times - no different from anyone else on Sajha - but I am totally agnostic towards her. To me talking to someone on Sajha is more about ideas and less about personality. Conversations are only fun when you criticize ideas and not people.

I think you'll like Helmand if you like grilled food. The only catch is Afghan food is not as spicy as the rest of South Asian food, which for me wasn't a problem, but one of my friends thought they would have enjoyed it more had it been a bit spicier.

Bon appetite ... and have a good day. I might be going to a nice tratoria - not too far off from Helmand - for lunch today.

so where is this helmand?? sounds good....what's the best Afgan food to try..have very little knowlegde..except for lamb..i know a cousin of mine..sailendra who's in US marine out there..the last time he was drinking tea, the place blew up along with his friends..and .he was saying " AFgani teas are a BLAST"...very good sense of humor i guess..hmm..and thats all for my knowledge about their drinks..any other suggestions??