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IanPike's avatar

Ian Pike

Ian Pike is a Reader contributor. See staff page for published articles.

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Sundara: underwhelming Indian food

So, it's OK for service to be bad as long as it happens in OB? I mean, even the stoniest surfer kid ought to be able to set silverware in front of a guest instead of on the other side of the table, or get through taking an order without dragging a table into an endless verbal maze. Not asking for miracles here....just *competence.* Fact is, I almost never write bad reviews. I'm much more of a lover than a fighter. It just smarts when someone says something less-than-glowing about a restaurant you, ReggaeBushmaster, personally like. As far as being trivial goes, we kind of *hhave* to be trivial. 80% of restaurants are very, very average, and it's only small details that make the difference between them. Noticing those seemingly trivial details and teasing them out during a restaurant review is part of the gig. People are generally sensitive to such trivialities, and that includes you, but they don't have the time or words to really spell them out. I do, ergo obsessing over trivialities so you don't have to.
— August 27, 2013 12:37 p.m.

Chef Miguel’s decision

Good story of the man behind the idea, Bedford. Kind of an amazing decision, but one that I think any smart chef makes as the years start to wear on him. The work is just too damn hard and soul-crushing to spend an *entire* life in the kitchen. Not if the chefs in question have to do any actual work, anyways!
— August 22, 2013 8:15 p.m.

Sundara: underwhelming Indian food

Chicken tikka masala is British food and chicken breast is the worst part of the chicken. Legs and thighs all the way. We get served chicken breasts a lot of the time because people have internalized a (not entirely groundless) idea that dark meat is unhealthy. Sadly, chicken breast meat is lame to the extreme and good curry should be filled with thigh meat. Really, any time you're cooking chicken it's better to eat the dark meat. Ten times as delicious. Calling the prices "amazing" is an overstatement. $9 for a bowl of OK curry is on the low side of expensive. At Punjabi Tandoor, you get an entire meal with two curries, rice, and naan for that much money. And it tastes better. Don't forget that. As for charging for sauces, it certainly makes sense from a business standpoint, but people would lose their shit if burger spots charged for ketchup and mayo. It's not a matter of right or wrong, it's just a matter of doing the thing we're all used to and not making customers feel like they're being nickle-and-dimed. Plus, "rankle" is an amazing verb and we should all incorporate it into our daily speech :D
— August 22, 2013 2:45 p.m.

Sundara: underwhelming Indian food

I guess it's cool if you and your friends like it. My main point is that, as Indian food goes, Sundara is mediocre at best. Anyone going there and hoping for a killer chicken dish would get dried out breast meat and only-OK curry. I wouldn't dissuade you from going there if you like it....but it's a pooor substitute for legit Indian cookery, which first-time diners might want to know if they were making a decision about whether or not to go spend hard-earned money there.
— August 20, 2013 12:53 p.m.

Old Town: Back from the dead with a deal

Place has a killer patio. Just walked by the other day and thought to myself, "hey, could be a cool spot to chill out and drink a glass of vino!"
— August 13, 2013 11:50 a.m.

Eat the Night Away

Guess YouTube embeds don't work so hot in comments! :D reference video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SiMHTK15Pik
— August 12, 2013 10 a.m.

Eat the Night Away

Well, it's more of an internet meme DragonballZ joke than anything else! <iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/SiMHTK15Pik" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> I do think there is a lot of hipster pretense surrounding these clubs, of which the Celalr Door is a fine example. Some of it is deserved, because the meals can be the radness, but I can't help but notice that people find all sorts of reasons to be smug about dinners in private homes. In reality, it's not THAT much different from having a grandma who was a rad cook and would make meals for family and friends. That said, Cellar Door is the radness. Gets a big thumbs up from me as a totally different way to do dinner out and have a great time, break out of the quotidian "dinner out" mentality, maybe even meet some new people.
— August 12, 2013 9:58 a.m.

Aqui es Texcoco serves pulque!

Thanks!
— August 8, 2013 2:30 p.m.

Lotus Cafe joins series of closed Hillcrest restaurants

That would be a much better use of the space than yet another restau. I am sure the hospital has some need of clinic space.
— August 7, 2013 2:30 p.m.

Aqui es Texcoco serves pulque!

I have biked by Ranas a few times on my way to or from the Great Western Loop, and it never fails that someone points to it and says, "that place is BOMB!" I guess the Helix-area pulque market was too narrow.
— August 7, 2013 8:28 a.m.

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Chris Ahrens Ian Anderson Thomas K. Arnold Eric Bartl Don Bauder Ed Bedford Siobhan Braun Robert Bush Chad Deal Joe Deegan Barbarella Fokos Leorah Gavidor Dave Good Marty Graham Moss Gropen Andrew Hamlin Dorian Hargrove Garrett Harris Ken Harrison Patrick Henderson Tam Hoang Eve Kelly Dryw Keltz Eva Knott Thomas Larson Ken Leighton Matthew Lickona Mike Madriaga Bill Manson Scott Marks Bob McPhail Walter Mencken Joseph O'Brien Sheila Pell Ian Pike Matt Potter H.G. Reza Dave Rice Elizabeth Salaam Jay Allen Sanford Julie Stalmer DJ Stevens Matthew Suárez Amanda Tascher
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