EATING- OUT

EATING - OUT

A NEW MIDDLE CLASS CULTURE

That is the growth of nuclear families. with husband and wife and 1 or 2 children, life seems to have become quite manageable and one can plan and live life as one wants.
AVAILABILITY OF FOOD VARIETIES
First thing is that with the people becoming quite mobile as they go to various corners of the country for higher education, for jobs and in fact may also get married in the state they have gone to, one is almost sure to find the dishes of one’s choices wherever one might be living.
northern restaurants have been serving southern dishes like dosas, uttpams, idlis for quite some time, now even in South India one can easily find dishes such as poori subzi, samosas, paranthas and non-veg preparations. So food preparations and preferences have finally surmounted the barrier of culture-vulture thing.
Secondly, the hospitality sector has received a great thrust with many professional institutes imparting training in hotel management and restaurant management coming up. Now when you visit a restaurant, you really feel that you are some kind of Raja Maharaja as you enter, the gatekeeper, usually quite a tall person with moustache and donning a uniform, salutes you and you become either quite impressed or flattered or perhaps a little intimidated too.
The interiors are decorated generally in soothing colours with soft music playing in the background and the dimly-lit ambience might be mistaken as Juliet’s tomb! The menu card reassures you that you are here to eat and not to quietly see some kind of art gallery.

The menu card reassures you that you are here to eat and not to quietly see some kind of art gallery

The service has become so warm and efficient that if you find a giant dosa priced at Rs. 150 or so, you know quite clearly that you are not only paying for aloos or butter or sambhar or 10 types of chutneys but for something else too.
But is anybody complaining? Perhaps not, “People have become quite used to spending money even on Grandma’s preparations.
“With life becoming so fast, the lady of the house does not have the time to lay the table in a grandiose manner and perhaps she is not even expected to do that. Now all come here to spend some time eating, enjoying, and talking— comfortably.”
Media and advertising people have played a major role in popularizing the concept of eating out and also the varied cuisines of the world. Now journalists on “hotel beat” are quite a common lot who keep people informed about the happenings in various hotels and restaurants — like food festival, Special Cookery shows etc. Among Nowadays even a road-side dhaba boasts of all varieties of food.
Dhabas on the highways have smartly turned themselves into motels providing delicacies — Mexican, Thai, Indian, Oriental, Mongolian — whatever you ask, you are sure to get. Now with recipes of all hues and colours spread before oneself, one’s knowledge of what is what has also increased.
An interesting episode relates to the birthday party which was thrown by a friend of this correspondent in a restaurant in north Delhi. 8 friends were to be treated. All took their seats (too well cushioned) with the air-conditioners making one forget the bright June sun outside. Menu was brought. 4 full plates of
Manchurian chicken were ordered. As the order was being placed, the man taking the order, said, “Sir, here drinks are not allowed?”
“Drinks? Who the hell is talking about drinks?” we all enquired. “Sir, if you are going for proper lunch, then forget Manchurian Chicken — this is a dry preparation taken generally with drinks.” We al! grinned like you know what. Fresh orders were placed.
So, ultimately eating out has turned out to be an experience filled not only with “fun” but with “knowledge” too. With such a deadly combination, naturally it is here to stay.