Panda's Ultimate Sacrifice
 

Succumbing to some undifferentiated need to take care of those less fortunate than we have mistakenly invited Bob to our house for dinner tomorrow night. Perhaps this is training for our Bali debacle. I hope he likes gruel from the collective. If he gets really out of hand, there are countless pictures of past vacations. We can show these to him until he leaves.

Karen, of course, is truly welcome. A separate menu for her.

i have been to the doctor this AM in anticipation of tomorrow's exercise in civility.....he has prescribed a number of things to calm our stomachs and a pill which allows you to vomit on command...

the one good thing is that there is a mcdonalds open late right around the corner so we can eat a true meal after we are presented food worse than even the lowest budget airline...

now i know why beth wants to eat out all the time....self-preservation...

Andy, I'm going to need a complete report on Bob's behavior as I'm having them over to dinner on Monday night. As you noted, Karen is welcome since she is always lovely and it's unlikely she will present any kind of problem. Bob, on the other hand...

Bob has his amusing moments. The problem is that these are not amusing to any of us.

The Cambridge gendarmes have been put on high alert.

Andy
Hope you have a fab evening. I can report that Bob was well behaved when he visited us in the UK in Nov and of course Karen was the model house guest!!!!

So...another tip from the "banker's guide to saving for your vacation": arrange as many free dinners with friends as you can in the week leading up to your vacation, saving $ on food that can the be used to dine out in Bangkok.

So Bob's idea of retirement is to go Cap in Hand to any and all Fodorites and "Sponge" off them.

No wonder he can afford two month trips to Asia!

Maybe we should all visit Bob at once !!!!!!!

Bob

Can't you feel the love!!

Bob was well-behaved when we met for brunch last Sunday. Perhaps lawyers bring out the worst in him???

We split the check (evenly) by the way and we both left a generous tip for the wait staff...

Bob & Craig meet for brunch.

Bob has a two month vacation planned!

Craig is starting to plan an extensive (expensive) trip!

Methinks I smell a rat--or a panda.

Craig-defending Bob is beneath you. He's clearly leeching off of all Fodorites. It's his nature. A dinner here, a lunch there and his trip is paid for. If you split the bill in half, he MUST have ordered the most expensive thing(s) on the menu. Evenly is just an illusion.

Craig, I think it is more correct to say that Bob brings out the worst in lawyers.

He brings out the worst in everyone.

The Scots do not have a "worst".

We are kind, good natured and of course generous.

We are universally loved and admired.

<i><b>The Scots ...are universally loved and admired.</b></i>

Maybe that's because no one can understand a blessed word that you speak.

Fit ye spikkin aboot Manny.

I ken athing ahm sayin.

For the illiterate amongst you--

What are you talking about Sir.

I know everything I am saying.

give that scotch man more to drink...

craig did not know that i arranged for a kick-back from the restaurant on our bill....

i remember that laurie just bought a new flat screen tv, 96 inche, i think, so that may walk out her backdoor during my visit...

we love our english silver 'collected' on a trip to england last november...

i managed to get a bag of algae today and i will slip it into gpanda's pool (sorry hot-tub) tomorrow nite when he is not looking...

pook is far too much of a gentleman for me to spring something on him, so he is safe as i would not want to create an international incident..

Here's the good news. I'm cooking indian Food and have no idea how it's going to come out. Bob is sort of like those monkeys we used to shoot into space, except not as well dressed.

Serving Indian food? To Bob?

Well then, I'm sure he likes a good chili thrown into the curry, or maybe two, or three, or five. In fact, a whole handful of chilis will teach him what happens when he ventures forth to Cambridge.....

His Bobness does not venture, he sneaks. The only other time I made it, the raita was so spicy that Beth could not eat it.

If you're cooking Indian, be prepared to be regaled (again) with stories of shipping rugs home from India I-)

We've numbered his stories and he just says the number and we all laugh. It saves time.

Laurie-Andy...will you both get off Fodors and cook my dinner properly!!! I expect the gourmet quailty we have in this house. Can't wait k

The raita is done, two kinds, one spicy and one not. The shopping is done. The chickes has been marinating since last night. There's a cigar in my near future and then back to slaving over the stove.

Laurie-two Coney dogs each should suffice.

If it's not Scottish, its crap.

i hope the nan is cooked in an authentic oven or i may have to turn the living room into one...

Just got back from Coney Island with the hot dogs. Karen, hope this is gourmet enough for you!

we survived....in fact it was the perfect evening!!!

we took two packages of ramen noodles with us as a joke....just in case...

after arrival and a look outside at the gardens and the flowering trees, we all hovered around the kitchen island and watched andy cook up a storm....a complete indian dinner from scratch...it COULD NOT HAVE BEEN BETTER!!

karen and beth arranged the flowers we had brought...

we drank some simi white wine and snacked on two french cheeses while andy worked away....he had it all down pat, thanks to two indian cookbooks....everything was from scratch..he even pounded the spices himself....

menu:

dal, one of our favorites
24 hour marinated chicken with sour cream topping, baked to perfection..
sag paneer, from scratch (spinach with fresh cheese)
white rice
peas simmered in milk and spices/herbs
two raitas, one spicy (best), one mild
nan

selection of indian sweet desserts
merlot and lemon water

i wanted to lick the plate....

we talked about fodors and fodorites---were your ears ringing--

we talked about our meeting up in a few weeks from now in ubud, bali...

we talked about a future LA GTG????

and of course we talked a bit about the boston GTG on oct 11 in cambridge....

and all of this is based on a friendship established a few years ago on the asia board of fodors...

Sounds like Andy really did a great job. Maybe he could cook for a GTG sometime?? Say, 30 fodorites...

We do need someone to pick up on a GTG to LA... guenmai, filmwil, femi...

See you next Saturday, Bob. Andy, we'll catch up with you in BOS if not somewhere &quot;on the road&quot; before then.

Carol

Sounds like you had a fantastic time, Andy who knew you were such a Gordon Ramsey!!!!

Looks like Muffin and I need to get ourselves over to Boston...

Namaste-as the POB reported, it was a delightful evening. Karen charmed us all and Bob's medications were adjusted properly. We look forward to many similar occurrences in Bali, without the cooking.

I cooked Indian food as a gamble. Originally, the menu was Italian, but at the last minute I decided it would be more fun to experiment with a new cuisine (for me). The results were mostly edible.

One of our conclusions was that Fodorites come in all flavors.

Oh my. Andy has set the bar very high for dinner. I guess I'd better serve sauerkraut with those hot dogs.

We should all applaud Andy for cooking something a bit different and serving Indian to Bob.

However...............
We all know that if sometime in the next, oh say two to three weeks, should Bob have some stomach upset (maybe even a little gas), we will never hear the end of it and Andy will have to review the menu endlessly with Bob, explaining how it couldn't have been the chicken tikka.

gas has arrived....it must be the nan

Mouth-watering menu.

Given Andy's prowess at cooking Indian food, I would like to sneak in a question here about Cambridge-area options for Indian restaurants. What do you recommend for Indian food when you are not cooking it yourself?

So far, we have best enjoyed Punjab in Arlington and Kebab Factory in Somerville but maybe there are better options.

Thanks to you folks we now enjoy The Similans for Thai food. Is there an Indian restaurant star nearby as well?

Thanks.

Bob, you and Karen are welcome for dinner in my home any time. I'd invite Beth, but she'd bring GPanda, and they're actually more likely to be able to take me up on the invite as there's a Panda living in Ann Arbor!

I look forward to hearing about the evening's conversation in detail in October at the GTG.

BTW, I just returned from Rome. (I know, I know, I'm supposed to take your advice &amp; go to Asia, but the immune system's not up to it yet, not can I have any innoculations just yet. As a matter of fact when I returned from Rome I promptly caught a cold!) I flew over for a couple of days alone, then one pal came over from the States, two others arrived the following day, and we went to Florence for a couple of days, then came back and another pal arrived from Germany. We were celebrating my birthday and the fact I actually lived long enough to have another one!

Take care, and hey, GPanda, maybe the banker will have you over next time!

BC

MaryA-we really like Punjab in Arlington. We went there with the POB and he really liked it as well.

BC- in truth, we had dinner at their place last time. Now, we can go back to eating at Similans.

After 24 hours, Bob is on his own for any gastointestinal difficulties.

The sacrifice was well worth it.

the arlington spot is the best indian food we have had outside of india....maybe even better than we had in india...

BC...we are still looking for some flatware that vanished while the pandas dined with us...next time it will be finger food or just bamboo... you never know when we might take you up on that dinner....tomorrow nite we are having dinner with laurieco and really looking forward to it..

Bob, while I know I could never possibly regale you with stories that are quite as entertaining as Laurieco's, I would do my utmost to make you and Karen as welcome as possible in my humble home. I just had my kitchen re-done while vacationing in Italy, how wonderful is that? There's no shortage of flatware at my place, and you &amp; Karen are always welcome, should you ever find yourselves in this part of the USA. Who knows, perhaps I could even serve some imported Romanian bear for the meal???

Best to you &amp; Karen on your upcoming adventure to Asia,
BC