There Are No Third Tries For Second Chances

Back when Queen St. West between University and Spadina was a food wasteland, Trimurti was one of the first to bring tasty and inexpensive dining to the area. It was the restaurant where I introduced some of my friends to wonders of Indian cuisine - something they had always associated with "stinky" food. But I haven't been back in a while since there are now great Indian restaurants closer to my neck of the woods.

Since I was in the area for a production of South Pacific, I decided to revisit this restaurant. The atmosphere is still quiet and relaxed, with attentive service from the waitstaff. I hope it was an off-day though, because the food was sub-par. I was a bit worried when the complimentary papadam came out soft instead of crispy, and the accompanying chutney was weak in flavour. Maybe it was the humidity. Then the vegetable samosas came out. Two overly large pieces, quite greasy with a tough shell. The potatoes inside were bland and a bit coarse. Oh, dear. The entrees didn't fare any better: a Gosht Saag (lamb in spinach with spices) and a Murgh Sonfi Simla (Tandoori chicken sauteed in onions, tomatoes, and aniseeds). Two of the blandest Indian dishes I've ever tasted. We ate barely a third of the dishes and only 1 of the 2 naans (they were good though).

I'm at a loss for my poor dining experience since it seems Trimurti is still quite popular. The restaurant was two-thirds full on a Sunday afternoon with some tables seated with obvious regulars. There were some South Asian diners in the crowd, who presumably have eaten enough South Asian cooking to know the good stuff. But I know what I ate - and it wasn't great. As an aside, one of the South Asian couple I saw was one of the most attractive couple I've ever seen: the man was handsome with strong features, and the woman was absolutely stunning.

Disappointed, and a bit bloated from the grease, I headed over to Second City for a night of stand-up comedy. This is a recent experiment as this venue is typically known more for sketch shows. For $15, there was a line-up of 7-8 comedians including two "walk-ons". It was a mixed night with more comedians bombing than not. One totally flamed out - it's hard to do angry comedy. Two got a few chuckles, but the short time allotted to each comic wasn't a good fit for their brand of long, drawn-out stories. A couple of them got people laughing at about half their jokes. The two funniest comics were the walk-ons - people who signed up just before the show. One was a wild-haired "ginger" who did non sequiturs and one liners ("They say you are what you eat - that's why I eat human"). The other was a blonde who told crazy, wildly exaggerated, stories. By the end of one tale she was going clubbing with her change in a mason jar, her accessories in a bucket, and all of them stuffed inside a condom. And naturally, without that condom, she needed to resort to dick-punching as a form of birth control. She's got some good material and I believe she'll be appearing in an HSSE (Heterosexual for Same-Sex Equality) benefit in September.