I have been ensconced at home since the New Year party. Remote work means I don't go out much. But I also caught something at the family gathering that has laid me up with a persistent cough. Whether it is a weakened immune system from Covid (I've likely caught it several times despite my precautions) or something chronic (any "cold" over the last 2 decades has always dragged on for weeks), I lacked the energy to brave the winter weather.
But on Saturday, I went downtown to the Byward Market. I was meeting a friend for lunch at Peace Garden Vegetarian. I guess this was the year to visit Japan because they also just came back from a family trip over there. They made the same observations: the cleanliness, the politeness (compared to TSA agents when they transited through the US), the food quality, and so on. I find it interesting when I talk to middle-class friends and family as there is often a bourgeois ignorance. In this case, they marvelled that there were no homeless people in Japan.
The vibe at Peace Garden was similar to Govinda's (affiliated with ISKCON) back in my University days. That is, the people working there was about more than just making soup and rice. On the other hand, the sticker shock here meant that this wasn't gentrified Hare Krishna. The menu was small but ran the gamut of vegan offerings. With the bulk of the dishes beingIndian, I chose the Thali platter ($22.99*).
It was a good-sized portion with a delicious daal curry and chana masala. The potato samosas were also tasty. The papadam was slightly soft and the salad was good but, not for the first time, seemed out of place. The rice was poor though: clumpy Jasmine rice instead of fragrant basmati.
I put an asterisk beside the price because the final tally came to $25.75. Without a receipt, I had no idea if they forgot that the government gave us a tax holiday until February 15th or the menu prices were outdated. It was already a tad on the expensive side but my bugbear is opaqueness in restaurant bills. I gave a generous tip but as I left, I realized that I did that when I don't intend to ever return. A small (or no) tip means I will be visiting for years. It's always interesting when you stop to examine unconscious quirks and behaviour.
