Tamarind

Last night we tried an Indian restaurant we'd never been to before, Tamarind. We both really like Indian food and were happy with our dining experience. Tamarind has two restaurants in the greater Pittsburgh area. The one we went to located in an old house -- you can see the picture from their website. It was a pretty space, although there were crumbs on the table and a ripped cover from a composition book wedged under the table's legs. We had two waiters -- the first was a bit intense, so I was relieved when the second waiter turned out to be low-key and attentive.

There was a lot of veg choices on the menu, but J and I both had dosas. I have no pictures of the food because I was afraid the first server wouldn't like it! -- but to give you a frame of reference, a dosa is a crisp savory pancake normally served with a chutney. And when I say pancake, I don't mean the sort that you would find in a diner. One dosa is more than enough for one person; our dosas literally did not fit our dinner plates! Anyway, J's was spread with spinach chutney, and mine with peanut chutney. They were both really good, but I preferred the spinach dosa! J offered to switch with me, but I decided to be stoic and eat what I ordered.

Then I took his picture, with stern orders to "smile this time!"

Here is an accompanying photo of me:

Anyway, we will definitely go back to Tamarind. I'd like to try more of the dosas, as they had a dozen or so different options. And the entrees sounded great too, like a cauliflower and potato masala dish. Also, the special they are running on Sundays for a buy one, get one half off entree makes for a good incentive. :)

After dinner, we did some of our grocery shopping, which can be labor-intensive, as it normally involves four different stores. At Whole Foods, I was seduced by the vegan bakery options ... and was convinced by J. to buy an oatmeal chocolate-chunk cookie. It was masterful looking to say the least. Here it  is posed with the Kitten bargain book I got at Borders. Because, yup, sometimes I feel the need to buy things with cute kittens on them.

Also, I love when products are clearly labelled as VEGAN. Sometimes I feel like I have to carry around How It All Vegan (which is my go-to source for all the sneaky ingredients that sound innocuous but actually contain animal by-products) all the time. In this case, Whole Foods took the guesswork out of it for me. Thanks!

Also, the cookie was scrumptious. I made a very solemn promise with myself to only eat these on very special occasions, because I liked it so much.

More things to look forward tomorrow, including the opening of the Farmer's Market!!!!!!