Topic: FOOD!
Source: An
encounter with an Americanized Indian food trailer truck in Arcata, CA.
A conversation with my boyfriend, who is of Indian decent.
Relation: I
believe we can think of food as a cultural text. For many Indian
people, food can have a great meaning through religion. For example, the
Sikh religion practices vegetarianism and those who step foot in the
temple must have not eaten meat within 24 hours. I feel as though Indian
food spreading to the western culture can mean that people appreciate
certain aspects of the Indian culture and the food. Indian food is very
vegetarian friendly, which many people look for nowadays.
Description: After
a long drive up to Arcata from Southern California to begin the
semester the following week, my boyfriend and I were starving and
craving some Indian food. We had been to the Pakistani-Indian place in
Eureka but upon searching on Google maps, a new place popped up! We were
so relieved to find that it was in Arcata, just about two blocks from
where I currently reside.It was a cold, dreary night but we were excited
to get some good food in our stomachs. We were a little surprised to
find upon our arrival that it was a trailer truck place with some
seating near under some tarps (but the fancier kind). It was a nice
little set up but it was too cold to stay out side so we decided to take
the food to go. So we arrived to my place and dug into the food. I was a
little taken aback from the food, expecting real, authentic Indian
food.I was actually really disappointed! The naan bread wasn't really
naan bread but almost like an Italian garlic bread. The curry plates
tasted like no Indian food I had tasted before, not even close. So my
boyfriend and I researched a bit and found out that the owner was of
Caucasian decent. Ok, well now things started to make a little sense.
Then my boyfriend began to explain that the food had an American twist.
Then we got even deeper into it and he explained that when the British
ruled India, a lot of the Indian food had been altered to appeal to the
general public. Indian were used to having extremely spicy food whereas
the British were not. So they began adapting food so that people could
eat milder versions of the dishes. Something I found very interesting
was when my boyfriend explained to me that Britain's official national
dish was Chicken Tikka Masala, a variation of a traditional Indian dish.
(These pictures are not from the place my boyfriend and I went to but from my boyfriend's restaurant in Southern California. It is an authentic Northern Indian cuisine restaurant and this is what I am used to when I think of Indian food. As you can see, this little "Indian" place has a lot to live up to!)
