One May in America : Four

 Hot Pot in Rockville filled my pot 

A 15 min Metro ride got us to Twin Brook on the red line towards Shdy Grove..

A short walk and we’re in Hot Heaven. Daughter Ananya orders merrily on the all you can eat in an hour and a half… and twenty percent penalty if you don’t finish anything you order…

So in comes a pot of soup she chose the chicken and the meats- lamb- pork, bean curd, tofu, Pak choy, various kinds of elegant mushrooms…. Enoki and the like

Pots come to a boil we inserted all the goodness got our sauces… choice of 10-15 sauces and condiments…then began the food meditation and silent sweaty mindful eating and heating up.. the slurp of the soup the bite of the meats the flash of spice gave us a complementary sauna.. sips of beverages… we went on.. 

I added shrimps sea basss and spinach… and another bowl of Tom yum soup.. the stomach was screaming no the greed and brain said more. The heart was satisfied..

The Robot Waiter served us dessert.. fruit, cheesecake and Coconut milk- Sago and the robot had nonchalantly spoke I gotta go now…

Outstanding meal with most outstanding eating partner Ananya… who introduced me to this wonderful format of dining…

We were offered a complimentary ice creams after all this debauchery.. she chose a watermelon iced lolly and I chose an ice cream sandwich all from Hershey’s…

Phenomenal experience… Hotpot .. the restaurant is Urban Hot Pot very Asian… South East Asian … Originally Chinese…

We finished in an hour…

One May in America : Three

Uptown Georgetown ….

Uptown Girl with a Downtown Man describes me and my daughter most aptly…. She drops off at Kushi Sushi an uptown Japanese restaurant in Wisconsin Avenue in Georgetown… having a lunch with a friend I was told later Lychee Cosmopolitans and a Bento Box of Sushi’s and other delights …

While I wanderered around the most upmarket precinct in DC… the whitest of white blue blood in the lightest of light linens…

I wonder the heaviest pastries yield the lightest results here in DC … while they don’t elsewhere… 

DC is a showcase of fit educated cultured white people on parade with tons and tons of old money …. It’s delightful to see so much history and wealth accessible to us modern day credit card holders with no such lineage… 

I often felt and say you have to feel rich to look rich… here I felt you have to cleary look rich to feel rich… Brands are on display in stores and on people…

I ended buying a pair of Clothes and shoes I didn’t need but what the heck it’s my birthday month coming up I could use some DC charm and dress like a WASP (White Anglo Saxon Protestant)

With some shopping under my belt I tucked into the nicest crisp outside and billowy inside..croissant by the nicest French Boulangerie Christophe… while the Presidents waited for their tables at The Martin’s Tavern… with an upmarket English Pub feel and of course stylish pub food like Steak and Eggs etc..I am told several Presidents have eaten there in last  89-90 years of it’s existence … since 1933….it’s also said JFK proposed to Jackie in now what’s called the proposal booth…

Moving on to Alo a new upmarket athleisure brand and my Daughter’s favorite stores for high fashion- Aritzia for clothes and Skims for lingerie and styles…

With all the fun and dreams it was now to trek back to the nicest and biggest and best church ever visited the Washington National Cathedral the largest Church in North America… again on the historical Wisconsin Avenue more of that later..

One My in America: Two

Reminiscing Bethesda 

Revisited Bethesda after 30 years in Maryland… bang on got off at Hyatt Regency where I stayed at USD 125 then which was today USD 300 

Back tracking to 7700 Wisconsin Avenue the erstwhile Discovery Channel office I stopped at the Bethesda Deli where we often used to  stop for Breakfast… of a muffin, danish pastry, fruit or juice.

Daughter Ananya immediately ordered a Ham&Cheese toasted with pickles in it… which she said was the best she ever had considering that she’s been here and has had quite a few.

The Korean lady bought this deli from Janelle the original owner, who moved with Discovery Channel to Silver Springs from Bethesda… when Discovery Channel moved there…she went with them and opened there.

Next stop was the second hand car lot… Chey Chase Cars, as it’s the Chevy Chase County…last time I was here with good friend Akash Ahluwalia, I wanted to to buy a Mazda Mieta… this time I salivated over a Ford Mustang… it was a visual treat and got my heart racing.

Next stop was the Bethesda Theatre… which is now still there .. surprisingly.. single screen in these times…we did see a movie or two back in time..

Searching for the street full of restaurants, they seem to have moved or they are new restaurants… and quite a few of them…

We stopped at a Stall selling Hawain Shaved Ice by the Clay Brothers, the Shop or Cart Attendant was a student of Washington University, called Nova, half Argentinian and half White American from Florida.. resting on the boardwalk we watched world go by in their Birkenstock shoes, Goyard bags and Cartier watches.. it was an upmarket neighbourhood, it still is for the richer matured and older audience 

My eyes were searching for a very old diner on Wisconsin Avenue, (by the way Wisconsin avenue is as old as 1775 and some of the establishment catered to the armies and merchants on this road since then) alas it had turned to a Indian and Nepali Restaurant though it strangely retained the old name…

Last stop was the Women Farmers Cooperative market it’s been around since 1932 in a large yard and a very old building… it was a page out of history book  standing still in a very posh neighbourhood astounding…

I was dog tired with all the walking and rush of memories… we went back home and rested before departing to Ben and Karuna’s new home at Woodley Park … Great day great memories 30 years ago  revisited with a 25 year old Daughter…

One May in America

 One May in America: One

America like all countries has interesting people, more so in America….

Provided you are not buried in your own world of phone or headphones…

Talking with real people is getting tougher everyday.. but I do and did…

Like Will, the driver of the first Tesla cab I sat in, he was from El Salvador… and heard Western Classical Music ( Brahms, Mozart) and was easy to talk to.. about Salvador and we exchanged words about cigars now from El Salvador.. and other stuff..

El Nur the second Tesla cab driver from Azerbaijan.. who spoke little English and was rather sweet and simple.. said 4600 instead of 46000 dollars as the price of his Tesla… said it was very nice economical and powerful … and little else.. language problem…

Then a  look alike of Mike Tyson on the bus from Tacoma… my daughter Ananya gave me hell when we got off the bus for talking to strangers… she was right … he was a big burly man who ended up asking me for a few dollars to get by…but he was funny and engaging..

Then at Z Burger, the Albanian Josef, apart from taking our order and guiding us,who gave a discourse on the country of Albania and its old heritage of Albania older than the  Greek Empire.. the language, food culture and famous Albanians across the ages and the world….such proud people proud of their heritage and culture living in this ethnic pot… living the American life and following the norms but inside they carry their country and culture.

This morning I met a true blooded American Mike.. he was readying to hook up U Haul trailer to his Dodge Ram truck… I was taking a walk, he asked me are you strong ( Seldom White Americans speak to strangers especially one looking like me) , I said yes.. I helped him lift the fork and hook up the trailer to the truck..with a little back and forth of the truck..as I am an old off-roader and a military driver and officer who understands fieldwork and motor vehicles and their manoeuvres.. he was extremely thankful.

Early morning they were all set to drive upto Chicago from Washington to Chicago a normal 12 hour drive, longer with a u haul trailer.

Alas he, Mike had a bicep muscle tear with the heavy lifting, I said I can help you. He wanted to go to the hospital. I hopped skipped and jumped to my daughter’s apartment and brought out our family business Cinnta oil, absolutely wonderful for pain relief.. any kind of of pain and applied.. it on his arm .. Soon, he and his lovely daughter were ready to hit the road Jack… in this case Mike…

You meet interesting people if you are willing to listen, talk, communicate and help… God Bless America.. God Bless us and our World.