A great day for eating

We had been hearing commercials on the radio for a new restaurant in Fresno (well, Clovis actually, which is joined at the hip). Its owners moved from San Francisco where their restaurant was rated number one in its category by the Chronicle and Examiner newspapers and the Zagat folks. We found it and walked into a beautiful setting with a waterfall in the lobby. The seating capacity is over 300, and the room we entered was nearly full at 1:30 in the afternoon. Immediately we were escorted to a nice booth by a lovely server. I told her we were neophytes regarding east Indian food so she described several of the numerous items on the lunch menu. She suggested an appetizer to help familiarize us with the offerings, and we selected a couple of curry dishes. This was culinary heaven, and the clouds weren’t cold and wet (a complaint of mine about dying and going to heaven has been that wearing thin white robes and sitting on cold wet clouds wasn’t my idea of heaven!). To say the food was delicious is a major understatement. Even the water was delicious! The prices were surprising—about twice what we would spend at In-N-Out Burger for a number three meal. Karla had chicken curry to die for. I had lamb curry to die for. Come to think of it, both the chicken and the lamb did the dying for us. Bless them. Every morsel was a new and delightful taste and we will definitely make the North India Bar & Grill a habit.

Now we have to try a Chinese place that, once again, was on the top-rated must-go list of every epicurean in San Francisco. The owner/chef loves fire! In a magazine I saw a picture of him standing in front of an astonishing stovetop conflagration. He relocated to Fresno a couple of years ago and it took a while for his old Bay Area customers to find him again and get their fix. Imagine, San Francisco snotties making the trek to Fresno of all places to sate their lust for gustatory excitement! Who woulda thunk?

[Addendum: I forgot to mention the reasons these two brilliant chefs relocated to Fresno. In the case of the east Indian, it was for health reasons for his children. That’s all I know about that. As for the Chinese chef, he wanted to be closer to the source of his ingredients. A lot of people from Asian countries grow their native-land vegetables locally, which lose their essence quickly after being harvested. When the chef says fresh, he means fresh! He’s especially picky about fowl, and wants to be sure they are raised on the correct diet. He knows a lot of local farmers and keeps in close touch with them.]