JeffC

Chai Pani won the 2022 James Beard award for best restaurant of the year.  Congratulations to my friends Meherwan and Molly Irani, who have worked so hard to build and maintain their business.  They managed to take care of their staff during the most difficult days of the pandemic and continue consider their staff to be family.  Some of you may have seen Meherwan’s Cutting Chai, his culinary tour of India.  I’m so happy for them!

A brief update...it's been four years since I posted here.

--Here's one for Tweaked.  There's a good Peruvian chicken place in Calabash.  Mmm...Que Rico is excellent.  The flavor reminds me of El Pollo Rico in metro DC--the owner is from Peru and knows the El Pollo Rico people well.  His wife makes very good empanadas and the sides are pretty standard for a Peruvian chicken joint.  My wife likes it so much that she insists we make the 30-milw round trip at least once a week.

---There is finally a very good pho place.  The Saigon Cafe in Myrtle Beach has the best pho in town, as well as other soups and Vietnamese dishes.  The broth is very, very good.  They also have pho ga, make with a very good chicken broth.  There are a couple other pho houses in the area, but this one is the best.

---La Rinconcito Salvadoreno in the Windy Hill section of North Myrtle Beach has very good pupusas, as well as a large menu of other Salvadoran dishes.  I stick with the pupusas.

---La Poblanita in Myrtle Beach continues to set the standard for Mexican food. 

Fig and Rodney Scott win 2018 James Beard awards....Fig for best wine program, Rodney Scott for best chef, Southeast region.

Rodney Scott just received the James Beard award for the best chef in the Southeast:

"This SC Barbecue Chef Was Just Named the Southeast's Best" by Susan Ardis on thestate.com

Thanks for the link, JimCo!  I haven't had Rodney Scott's barbecue in over a year, so a trip to Charleston is definitely in order.  And Lewis Barbecue sounds wonderful.  

One of the things I missed the most when we moved was Jim Vance...so natural and unpretentious, he always felt like a friend.  Geri and I were so sad to hear of his passing.  

Thanks for your posts on your trip!  India is indeed a fascinating, confounding, but ultimately rewarding place.  I haven't spent much time in northern India, but other than my beloved buffets at the Leela Mumbai, I eat at out of the way places that serve wonderful food at ridiculously low prices.  The catch is that you have to do some research, asking westerners who are familiar with the restaurants about the safety of eating the food.  I stay at a pilgrim retreat that charges 300 rupees--$4.50--for three vegetarian meals p/day, but a few times a week I need more protein, so it's off to various local restaurants where, after a huge meal and a Kingfisher or two, the bill comes to around 7 dollars.  IMO, Indian wines are just awful...flabby and overly sweet.  I do like Kingfisher--not bad at all for an Indian beer.  Avoid beers like Knockout, a fortified beer that may be the most apply named drink, ever!

Again, thanks for your posts.  I love India, but am most happy away from the craziness of the big cities.  Despite the seeming chaos, it somehow works.

 

Here's something fun...my friend Meherwan Irani, who owns Chai Pani restaurants in Asheville and Decatur, made a six-part series called "Cutting Chai", named after one way that chai is served in India, when the order is split into two smaller cups so it can be shared.  Meherwan took his two chefs and a camera man on a whirlwind tour of (mostly) street food destinations in India...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1t3abfVBxfU&sns=fb

Thanks, Laura!  As the article you linked noted, people are really suffering, especially those who have never had bank accounts and who have only dealt in cash--farmers, small merchants, produce sellers, etc.  Then there are those who, living in very remote areas, didn't even know about Modi's edict.  I have friends who spend six months out of the year in India who have managed by going to local ATM's and getting their 2000+ rupees out on a daily basis, but the lines are long and the people are losing patience.  You are right about the Indian people.  They are, as a whole, as hospitable and wonderful as one could ever want.  Over the years, I've shared many meals with people I only met in passing, but who insisted that I join their families for a meal.  Many in India are suffering greatly.  Modi has made one of the great blunders ever...wonder if his brand of Hindu nationalism will carry him through.  

Thanks for a really nice summary of your trip!  I love India, having visited many times over the past 45 years.  The traffic has gotten much worse, but like you said, after a few days you just fall into the new frame of reference.  If people drove like this in the states, we'd go nuts...but in India, it somehow works.  As for the horns, didn't you love the Indian "truck art", including "Horn Please" on the back of almost all trucks?  We blow horns out of impatience and sometimes anger, but Indian drivers do it to let you know they're there.  There's never a need to be offended by a horn in India.  My last few times in India, I've gotten brave and rented a motor scooter.  I drive it on rural roads and small villages and towns, but NEVER is a traffic-heavy city or town.  

I was supposed to leave for India tomorrow, but have had to postpone my trip because my wife is getting new hips soon...so it'll be the fall before I can go.  How was the currency situation?    

My understanding is that Modi wanted demonetization to be a complete surprise.  The rationale being that had the Indian government printed enough new rupee notes to replace the old ones, the word would have leaked out, thus defeating the purpose of flushing out/demonetizing "black" money.  I've also wondered the same thing...why destroy so many small vendors, farmers, etc?  

But what do I know?  Much of my attitude is a selfish one, knowing that my upcoming stay in India is going to be inconvenienced, to say the least.  I would love to hear from some of the Indians on the board and how they see it.

I'm leaving for India for a month.  I called my hotel (Leela Mumbai) and was told that I could get $80 worth of rupees at the airport exchange, but not to count on anything from the hotel.  After a couple of nights at the Leela, I'll be leaving for my ultimate destination about 200 miles away...I've been told that my driver will take dollars in lieu of rupees, but I have no idea how I'll fare otherwise for the remaining two months of my visit.  I'm taking a lot of small dollar denomination instead of the more convenient hundreds and fifties.  Friends who lived where I'm going assure me that'll I manage somehow...a lesson in detachment and faith, maybe?  I had about 4000 rupees to use as tips and incidentals until I could exchange more...3000 are now worthless, but luckily I have nearly 100 Rs. in hundreds.  And thank goodness for plastic....

For the last few years, I've taken Cipro and a good painkiller...so far, no need.  But it's always good to be ready!

Lion, that's really good advice.  The sickest I've gotten in India was after eating street food just hours before my flight home.  This was 45 years ago and I've never forgotten the plane ride to Copenhagen...I'll spare the details, but it was horrible.  In Mumbai, I always stay at the Leela and eat the buffets...the quality the past couple of years has been superb, some of the best Indian I've had.  I always book directly with the Leela and have been quite fortunate to get excellent rates for very nice accommodations.  After leaving Mumbai, I consult with Western friends about safe eats.  They usually know the the quality and safety of most places. I've been really lucky for the past 25 years or so, having had no major digestive issues.  (Knocking on wood...going for a two month stay in January.)  I'm much more susceptible to respiratory illness and the pollution and dust make it necessary for me to wear a filtering mask when on the roads.

Just returned from a few weeks in India.  I stayed at the Leela Mumbai upon arrival and at the Hyatt Regency on the way out.  The Leela continues to have a fabulous dinner buffet, well worth the $40 price tag.  Unfortunately, the formerly 24-hour coffee shop--Citrus--now closes at 11 PM, a huge inconvenience for travelers who arrive in the wee hours and are wanting something decent to eat.  The Leela must have a new Indian chef, because the Indian dishes were some of the best I've ever had...it was impossible not to go back for seconds and thirds.  After leaving Mumbai, I didn't eat anywhere of note, but did have a couple of nice meals at restaurants in Ahmednagar (in Maharashtra state, about 190 miles east of Mumbai)...one was Iris, a vegetarian Italian/Indian/Chinese restaurant that served decent pizza and some nice vegetarian dishes.  I am always careful to check with local westerners to see how safe a restaurant is before trying it.  In the case of the Iris, many westerners frequent the place and it has a good reputation for cleanliness.

I was very disappointed in the Hyatt...the food was as expensive as the Leela, but was less than mediocre.  I got a great deal on my room, but won't stay there again because of the food...I had an afternoon snack--some kind of crab/tomato soup--that was expensive and bland.  The evening buffet--my last meal in India--was not good at all.  The choices were limited and, with one or two exceptions, the food was inexplicably bland and flavorless.  After a few bites, I should have paid the check and walked down the road to the Leela for a really good meal.  Live and learn.... .

The best news is that I once again managed a few weeks in India without getting sick.  I rented a motor scooter while there--that's as close as I'll get to taking my life in my own hands!--and was careful to wear a filtering mask when riding.  One thing to remember while on the road is that in India, the "big dog" always wins, so don't try to finesse a larger vehicle...Indian drivers play by their own rules and in the many years that I've been going, have never seen a single car pulled over for a driving infraction.  If you decide to rent a scooter or bike, it is imperative to wear some kind of mask to keep the dust out of your mouth and nose, lest you get a really bad respiratory infection.  The roads in the vicinity of where I stayed were terrible--pot holes everywhere and dust from the many trucks that use them.  But despite all this, I love India and will continue return, as long as these old bones allow....

Funny stuff!  I used to lose 10 pounds or so every time I spent a few weeks in India, but lately it's been the opposite...last year I gained 10 pounds from all the ghee and oil used in their cooking!  I'm now doing low carbs to lose the weight I gained from the last trip, before i go back next month.  Weight loss in India depends on how sick you get...Delhi Belly is not for the faint-hearted or the weak.  Given the miseries of severe Delhi belly, I'll take the weight gain!  

Great topic...when I lived in MoCo, I got a couple of truly insane deals on single malt scotch in the county stores.  The best deal ever was two bottles of Laphroaig 30 year-old for $130 per.  This was in the Kensington store about ten years ago.  At the time the average retail was at least twice that and has since gone much higher.  I can only guess that they didn't know what they had...best scotch I've ever tasted.

Mumbai...new airport, in some ways spectacular, but like a stay at the Leela Mumbai, it is has little to do with life in India. That said, it really is a nice way to leave, although I felt filthy with the dust I'd accumulated on my clothes, body, face, travel bags, etc. There is no escaping dust and no way of getting really clean when you bathe out of a bucket--one bucket of hot water every two days, due to a serious water shortage where I was staying. The new Mumbai airport has Pizza Hut (chicken tikka pizza), KFC (spicy chicken tenders in a special masala)...but forget all that and try something from Street Food or what appeared to be some very tasty kabobs in a Kabob house. The chicken tikka from Street Food was very good and was prepared fresh...take a number and they call you when it's ready. Next time I'll bypass the Leela on the way out and have a much cheaper meal at the airport.

BOM

Posting from Mumbai....I'm spending two nights at the Leela Mumbai, before going to my final destination about 175 kilometers inland.  Despite being exhausted from the long flight, I went to the 24-hour coffee shop--Citrus--and had Malabar fish curry at 3 AM.  It was delicious, as was the garlic naan.  This afternoon I went back for the lunch buffet.  There was an Asian section, Italian section, and an Indian section (including dosas to order), as well as several items that could be grilled to order, plus soups, desserts, and a sushi bar.  It was all good...especially the Indian dishes.  I've always believed that Chef Sudhir Seth at Passage to India makes the best naan in DC and the naan here is about as good...and very similar.  Thin, crispy--but not fall apart crispy--and perfectly singed.  (No pillowy naan for this guy!)  Last night it was garlic naan, this afternoon just plain.  The buffet isn't cheap--I spent close to $50, including a Kingfisher, taxes, etc.  Is that too much for a buffet?  Probably, but I left satisfied and wasn't really unhappy with the bill.  There had to be five or six cooks working--one doing the grills, another making dosas, another making Thai dishes, etc.  Buffets like this are dangerous to the waistline...how do you walk away without trying as much of it as possible?

The Leela has four restaurants--Chinese/Thai, Indian, Italian, and the 24-hour coffee shop.  The buffets are in the coffee shop.  There is a breakfast buffet with north and south Indian choices and there is also a dinner buffet.  But tonight I'm eating at Jamavar, the Indian restaurant.  The Leela is an excellent hotel.  At one time, a room ran in the $250-300+ per night range, but lately good deals are available through hotels.com.  It could be that there are so many upscale hotels now that the prices have become more competitive.  Mine was $130, a real steal for a place of this quality.  

Wish that I had more time to explore Mumbai, especially the street food options Kanishka mentioned.  I'm going to Ahmednagar district in Maharastra state, where there are no restaurants of distinction that I'm aware of...but I have many friends there and if anything turns up, I'll share.

Just a quick note. My wife and her sister are in Myrtle Beach right now and went to La Poblanita yesterday and RAVED about it (but for the lack of beer though) - a timely update from a fellow DRer results in massive food satisfaction. My thanks to you!!

You're welcome!  So glad that they liked it...it always feels good to know that a place I like has made someone else happy.  My wife and I had dinner there tonight.  I had the chicken enchiladas mole...the best mole I've ever tasted.  And the waitress brought us chips to go with the red and green salsas.  After countless meals, this was a first!

A few updates...

There is finally a pho house down here, located in Little River--a few miles north of Myrtle Beach, near the North Carolina border--next to Toby's Old World.  Decent pho with several possible combos of meats available.  Like most good pho houses, iNoodle's decor is functional and spartan.

There is an excellent Mexican restaurant--La Poblanita--on Highway 15, near 3rd Ave. South, in Myrtle Beach.  I usually go for a late lunch, around 2PM, as it tends to be packed during traditional meal hours.  No chips and salsa available, just good Mexican home cooking.  Excellent tacos, enchiladas, etc.  And very inexpensive.  Yelp is not the most reliable source of restaurant info, but check out the reviews on this one...it'll give you a good sense of how good this place is.  They do not serve alcohol and I've never seen anyone bring their own.

A combination Thai/Lao restaurant just opened in downtown Myrtle, right next to another Thai place that's been there for a long time.  Appropriately named Thai Lao, it has an interesting menu.  Haven't tried the Lao dishes, having only discovered the place yesterday.  I liked the pad thai I had yesterday.

Finally, the Indian place I recommended in my last post has changed its name and is now Masala Myrtle Beach.  "Masala Zone" is also the name of a well-known Indian restaurant in London and the owners of the MB establishment got letter threatening a lawsuit, unless the local place stop using the name.

I can barely contain my glee as I post this! At last, there is good Indian food at the beach. In fact, Masala Zone is better than good and would hold it's own with some of the better Indian restaurants in metro DC. The owners are part of a family that have two very successful Indian restaurants in New Jersey and have years of experience and a wealth of culinary skills. The husband is from north India and his wife is from Hyderabad in south India...and they have cooks who specialize in cooking from various regions. The Chicken Hyderabadi is one of the finest dishes I've had--already spicy, I asked for "Indian spicy" and they delivered...perfectly. The flavor of this dish reminded me of some of the great curries I've eaten India. Their Fish Curry Madras is wonderful....as is their Kadai Chicken. A measure of how much I liked this place is that for three days after sitting down to their lunch buffet, I ate nothing but their food, which so far has ranged from good--Butter Chicken--to really good and even sublime. The naan is light and well blistered. The portions are very generous, so taking leftovers home for another meal is almost a given. My only quibble is that the food is sometimes lukewarm if the buffet trays are not replenished...so like most Indian restaurants, it is better order off the menu.

The setting is elegant and the ambiance is friendly...the owners are eager to please their customers and are open to feedback and suggestions. Slowly, good cooking is finding it's way down here. Tweaked...next time down, you must have a meal here. This is a seriously good restaurant that easily transcends the dreaded "good for Myrtle Beach" label.

Too many memories to list, but one of the things Geri and I have missed the most are our frequent drives down Connecticut Ave. for a meal...it was always last minute and Dean and Kay were always welcoming. If I don't get up there before you move...we'll find your new place.

Just a quick update...

Scott's BBQ in Hemingway continues to amaze....60 miles from N. Myrtle Beach, it is worth the drive.  I was in there a few weeks ago when a couple of food writers associated with the Southern Foodways Alliance were sitting on the front porch happily eating their half-pounds of 'Q.  They had driven a couple hundred miles, so they left with several pounds.  That's pretty much the way it goes there...the first taste tells you that this is something very special and that you need to take as much home as you can reasonably eat.  I usually get two pounds for myself and several pounds for friends.  If you go, remember that it's cash only and that Scott's is closed Sunday through Tuesday.

Ciao is still good.  As another poster noted, it's small and popular, so reservations are recommended.  Lunch is a good option.

The Blue Elephant in Murrell's Inlet is still the go-to Thai place in the area.  Really, it's the only good choice and it's well worth the drive.  Another cash only place, so hit the bank machine before you go.  And it's a bit pricey compared to most of the Thai places in DC.  I love the Panang Salmon and despite having several other good choices, I am addicted to this one...spice level three.  (There is a four--the owner calls this level "authentic"--but given that the three induces plenty of sweat and more than enough heat to get the endorphins pumping, the highest level would be to much for this heat-lover.  Don't even think about it!).

Mr. Fish had moved to a new location around 63rd Ave. N on Business 17 in MB.  They have nightly special that are mostly terrific--I haven't had a mediocre special yet.  In a place saturated with fried seafood joints, this one stands out.  Their fried stuff is very well done and they get creative with their specials.  Given that Mr. Fish is connected to a the Mr. Fish seafood market, which is considered to be the best market on the beach, you can count on their seafood being fresh and of the best quality.

Lil' Tokyo in the Coastal Grand mall recently took second place at the Taste of the Beach for pho, so I naturally went down there the next day to check it out.  Unlike the pho houses in metro DC, there is only one choice of beef.  The broth paled in comparison to the rich and complex broth of my beloved Pho 75, but I was able to use the available condiments to create a passable bowl.  Given that this is a Japanese restaurant, it's probably expecting too much to expect something great.  At $10, it was a bit overpriced, but when I simply must have a bowl of pho, I'll go.

Last night I was craving Indian, so we drove 60 miles to Wilmington, NC, using a stop at Trader Joe's as an excuse.  After loading up on necessities like Gorgonzola Crisps (this puts the "crack" in cracker!), we stopped at Tandoori Bites, an Indian place a couple blocks away.  It appears to be in a converted Pizza Hut, so it's a bit odd on the outside.  Inside, the decor is quite nice and the service was cordial and helpful.  We ordered a couple of thalis--hers veg, mine non-veg, figuring this is a good way to get a feel for the place.  The naan was fair...a bit pillowy, I like mine more charred and thinner (Passage to India does it best, IMO).  The butter chicken was good, the shrimp tikka masala was better than good, and the lamb vindaloo was rich and fiery.  Geri really liked the dal makhani and the chana masala.  I asked for my food to be spicy and they did a good job with that...but kicking up an already spicy vindaloo challenged my limits.  We both agreed that this was far better than what we have in Myrtle Beach and that it will be worth another visit next time up.

Just a note regarding Tommy Bahama restaurant, mentioned in another post.  The corporate boys swooped in a pulled the plug on the place a couple months ago...I know one of the waitresses and she said there was absolutely no warning.  We had had a couple of meals there and thought it was better than your average franchise, but evidently business was not good enough.  But you can still go next door and buy a shirt....

And finally...Tweaked, I'm also a fan of Holden Farms.  It's my go-to place in the summer for heirloom tomatoes--about two bucks a pound and abundant, they keep us in caprese salad for most of the summer.  And they have the best prices anywhere for Blenheim ginger ale.  You can't beat that!

Astrid, this may come too late, but I had mentioned Pranee's Thai Food a few years ago in an earlier post, but I want to post this again, as it seems that almost everyone who eats at this little roadside stand shares my loves for it. If you're in Hana around lunch time on Sunday or Monday, just follow the signs....

Pranee's Thai Food

Pranee does amazing things with fresh seafood...it really is an extraordinary--and inexpensive--treat.