Curry, anyone?

Yesterday I had quite an adventure. My friend Lily and I drove into Berkeley and played tourist. She hadn't ever been on campus! Well, we set that lack straight. We parked near the top of Bancroft and walked along the edge of campus to Telegraph. Making a right onto Sproul Plaza we strolled through campus passing Sather Gate, Dwinelle Hall and Wheeler. I gave a running commentary about my memories of going to school there and a little history of significant places. We ended up at the Doe library, naturally, and walked around a little inside. They wouldn't let us in the stacks but let us view the staircase that goes into the new underground section....New! Well it was new at least ten years ago, come to think of it, when I showed it to a visiting Hungarian Sister City visitor. Lily noticed a display case which showed a special honors thesis the topic of which was textiles from Cochin, her home state in India. It set the mood for our next stop. For, after continuing east and south through the campus, we retrieved the car and drove down University Avenue to visit some Indian sari stores and markets. Oh, my gosh! The grocery stores were a delight to stroll through. Talk about exotic! Just the smells of fresh vegetables, curries and incenses were enough to send us into a sensory nirvana! And there were all kinds of flours and teas and spices in colorful packaging. And sweets! Yumm! Then we stopped in to some sari stores. How beautiful! The colors were so intense and vibrant. Many of the saris and salwar kameezes (those cute long over blouses with the loose or tight trousers) were embellished with gold threads and stones and were truly magnificent. They were more for weddings and special festivals. But even the ordinary everyday salwar kameezes (those cute long over blouses with the loose or tight trousers) were delicious to look at. And many were very reasonably priced! I'm going back and maybe pick up an outfit or two. They are so comfortable to wear.
After giving our eyes a feast we visited a restaurant, Udupai Palace, at the corner of MLK Blvd. and University. It specializes in south Indian food which means vegetarian! Most of the dishes were presented as a crepe, a pancake or an omelet stuffed with potatoes, spinach or other yummy vegetables. They were also enormous. And they came with other delicacies like a savory lentil doughnut (don't knock it until you've tried it. It was delicious!) and rice patties. They also came with three dipping sauces. I don't know what was in them but they were very tasty. Southern Indian cuisine is something I have only experienced two or three times before and I had forgotten how much I enjoyed the food. I'll be back to that restaurant for sure.
After our lunch (thank you very much Lily) we headed on back to Walnut Creek. Another exciting day in the life of Mardie.....