Tikka Masala

I'm in the midst of the Big Push to finish my book by Labor Day.  I have this brilliant ability to start projects, and then just sort of ... never finish them.  I get distracted by a new project, or I get overwhelmed by the scope of the project, or I start obsessing over making all the little tiny details of making the project absolutely perfect (which is never possible... thus it never gets finished.)  But my publisher is really breathing down my neck, telling me I gotta finish this book ASAP, so I have buckled down to do it.

Part of this no-nonsense approach to finishing my book included wonderful cooperation from both my mom and my in-laws -- they each took one kid on for a night or two so I could really focus.  And since we didn't have any kids around, my publisher and I decided we'd better seize the day and get inspired over a meal out, at my favorite local restaurant, Sindu.

Sindu is this great Indian (as in South Asia, not Native American) restaurant over near campus.  The service is indifferent, the decor a little sad, the bathrooms dreadful, and the music a strange mix of caterwauling vocals and tinny sitars.  But the food -- holy cow!!!  We were taken there years ago by some friends, and it's been our date night restaurant of choice ever since.  We always (and I mean always) get Chicken Tikka Masala, medium, with a side of Paneer Naan.  This could very well be the sweet and sour chicken of Indian cuisine, with the waiters laughing behind their hands at us uncouth Americans who never try anything else.  But I don't care, it's so, so good! 

Which brings me to an important question:  are common things lame because they are common, or are they common because they are awesome?  I get Tikka Masala because it's awesome.  I read Jane Austen because her books are awesome.  I order Pad Thai because it's awesome.  I love the Bourne Identity movies because they are awesome.  Just because everyone else in the free world knows about these things and likes them doesn't make them any less awesome, does it?  Sure, occasionally you stumble across some little known book, food, movie, boutique, or band that you, in your unique coolness can enjoy and champion -- but if it's that good, other people are probably going to be on to it before too long.  So, now that I've worked this out through the catharsis of my blog, I am now going to proudly order my Tikka Masala without a trace of shame.  Anyone up for Indian food?