Indian Food Fast

I love to eat. Like any college student my age, a good meal on the go and for a good price is the ultimate find. More specifically, I love Indian food. I don’t know what it is exactly about Indian food that gets my mouth watering, but, for me, a good chicken tikka masala is where it’s at.

I love Indian food so much that I have been known to buy Indian fare from a box at the grocery store. While red lentils from an aluminum, vacuum-sealed bag will cure an Indian food craving, it is certainly not gourmet.

Recently, I started researching the San Diego area for good Indian food. While a few places do have pretty good reviews out on the web they are a bit of a drive for me. So, you can imagine, how excited I was to find an Indian fast food joint within a stone’s throw of my place in UTC. Royal India Express is actually located in the food court of the Westfield UTC mall. I know what you are thinking…food court? But wait, this isn’t some no name new-to-the-market experiment. Royal India is actually one of several restaurants owned by the Royal India Group, which is headed by the Kambo Brothers. A little web surfing revealed that they are actually well-established in the So Cal dining circle.

Royal India Restaurant is the Kambo’s fine dining spot located in downtown San Diego, they have a catering business called Royal Catering Concepts, a Royal India cocktail lounge and a couple Royal India Express locations sprinkled around San Diego.

Upon reaching the Royal India Express counter, we were greeted with a sample of chicken tikka masala over white basmati rice. The sample was delicious and so we continued to order. I had a two-side combo with white rice. My sides were chicken tikka masala and beef samosas. The samosas didn’t disappoint, but the real star was the chicken tikka, which was richly seasoned without being too overly spiced. I would certainly recommend Royal India Express to any Indian food appreciator. And if the food court ambiance isn’t your style, you can get your Indian fix to go.

RATING 

5 out of 5

Tsunami Comes Ashore

As Japan struggles to put its broken country back together, the world (including myself) is watching with wide eyes and heavy hearts.

After learning of the tragedy that struck Japan late in the evening on Thursday, the enormity of the situation had barely sunk in before news about a possible tsunami on the west coast of the U.S. was making headlines.

Living about 3.5 miles from the La Jolla coast, I wasn’t too worried about my home and family because the likelihood of a tsunami reaching that far inland is bleak. However, the constant interviews with tsunami and earthquake experts on CNN, FOX, and every other channel, did begin to jolt my inner belief that I was safe. The news that the Hawaiian Islands would be the first hit by a tsunami forced me to stay awake into the early morning hours for curiosity of what impact the tsunami would have to a coast within closer proximity to the quake.

I breathed a sigh of relief when around 5 am PST, the tsunami struck the Hawaiian islands with little to no damage. My logic was that over the distance the tsunami would have to travel from Hawaii to the California Coast, it would surely loose steam by the time it reached my state (naïve thinking, I know). All in all, the California coast did experience some damage from the Tsunami and one casualty (a photographer who got caught in the tsunami near the coast of northern California. Here in southern California, though, the impact was nothing more than elevated water levels and interested individuals highlighted on the news for being at the beach when the tsunami was supposed to occur.

All in all, California got off easy this time. Japan on the other hand, sadly not so much. Like people all over the world, I keep turning on the news only to find that the number of casualties from Japan’s tsunami is continuously rising. The tsunami (as with any natural disaster) has made me realize how fragile life is. Really, it shouldn’t take a natural disaster for people to re-evaluate their appreciation for life. This tragedy has reminded me that I have no control over what will happen tomorrow and that I’d better live each moment to the fullest.

LA Galaxy vs Club Tijuana

GOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAALLLLLLLL!!!!!
I love spontaneity, so much so, in fact, that my sisters and I often surprise one other (for better or worse) with concert tickets, sporting event opportunities and new dining places on a whim. Literally, it’s like “Surprise!... We are leaving in 5 minutes.”

As a HUGE soccer fan (and one that used to play on leagues back in AZ), I’m always watching soccer games on TV or looking up funny soccer videos on YouTube. Being so well-versed and updated on which teams will be playing when, it came as a big surprise to me when last Wednesday, my sisters surprised me with tickets to an exhibition match featuring LA Galaxy vs. Club Tijuana playing at the University of San Diego. I didn’t even know the teams were going to be in town. Apparently, they’d heard about the match from local news and purchased tickets a couple days before.

This preseason “friendly” was attended by David Beckham and Landon Donovan (both Galaxy’s star players) and Club Tijuana fans (who are known to be quite a rowdy bunch with endless team pride). What I love most about the sport is the fan experience that surrounds live soccer matches. So it should come as no surprise that I swallowed my American pride and actually rooted for Club Tijuana throughout the game. My sisters sided against me and rooted for LA Galaxy.

The venue at University of San Diego was called Torero Stadium and it provided an intimate environment that really harnessed a fun atmosphere for fans. One section of Club Tijuana fans didn’t let up on their cheering the entire game. Though not too large, Torero Stadium held about 5,000 seats, most of which were occupied on Wednesday night.

In the end, the game finished a tie and went into a sudden death shootout where Club Tijuana dominated.

My only grievance with the event was the parking situation, we had to park in a student parking structure clear across the USD campus and were shuttled to the main gates. Leaving the parking lot after the game took about 25 minutes, waiting at a stand still.

All in all, I had the true fan experience and my team won. Next, I have to top that with a surprise for my sisters. . . ideas are welcome.

RATING

5 out of 5