Nirvana

The other day I finally experienced one of Owen's favorite restaurants, The India Palace. It's a place that Owen and the other "lab rats" from Dr. Mumma's lab go each week for a lab meeting. It was totally a new experience for me. When we walked in, there was no menu, no waiters or daily special boards. In fact, I felt like we'd arrived at an informal pot luck dinner party. The food was laid out family style and we could sit wherever we pleased. Occasionally, the turban clad proprietor came around to fill our water glasses. There is punjab music playing in the back ground as we feasted on jasmine rice, naan, palak pakoras, various dals, chaat, and lobia. It was delicious! The problem was that about half way through my meal, I began to feel like I was in a total trance. Maybe it was the heavily spiced food, or the music or both. I don't know, but I felt totally relaxed and like I needed a nap right a way! At one point Owen looked at me and started laughing. He said that the exact same thing happened to him the first few times that he ate there. I guess that his reaction to the restaurant is a favourite anecdote in Mumma's lab. Is this the typical Native Utahan's reaction to authentic Indian food? It does make me wonder...