The sacred cow had to die

Why is it that as soon as you're deprived of something, it becomes the thing you want the most?

Those who know me know that I'm not exactly a huge red meat eater and rarely if ever crave it, but darned if I wasn't hit with the biggest craving for red meat last weekend while I was sick with a cold. Four weeks of chicken and a cold will do that to a gal it seems.

Pete and I tried to find a joint nearby that served a hamburger but after much searching, it turned out that despite Bangalore's reputation as a fairly 'western' city in India, the cow is still very much sacred.

Case in point, we read a review of a local restaurant in which the reviewer claimed it had one of the best burgers in Bangalore. Taking a look at the menu, however, revealed the following 3 types of burgers: a mexican bean burger (what the hell is that?), a veggie patty burger (not a real burger but ok), and a chicken salad burger (yep they call chicken salad in a bun a burger). I'm sorry but it ain't a real burger unless a sacred cow had to die!

Now you might be asking why I didn't give in to the MacDonald's? Well in most countries MacDonald's would still be a safe bet for a burger (although some would argue what they serve can't be counted as any kind of food), but in India, MacDonald's serves chicken, fish, veggie patty, but no beef burgers.

The long and short of it is that there are only a few joints in town that will serve a cow, none of which were very close to our apartment (30 min ride in a rickshaw is not fun when you're sick) so I had to wait till this weekend to satify my craving.

The Only Place restaurant, thus named because when it first came into being it was literally the 'only place' you could get beef in town, proved to be quite satisfying. Not the best burger I've had, mind you, but about as good as anyone will get in India. The place is casual in a outdoor cabana kind of style and prices were very good (Rs 800 for drinks, appetizers, entres, and dessert for two). So if you're ever in Blore and have a hankering for beef, this is a great place.