[ CULTURE ]
Taking a bite out of Tava Local restaurant re-invents Indian cuisine Text and Art by ANGELA XU
L
unchtime, hoards of Paly students spill out of their classrooms and being theit march across campus towards Town and Country. Laughter and bits of conversations follow their fast strides. The lunchtime rush is a struggle that many students must face daily, sometimes forcing us to choose between great tasting food and getting back to class on time. Fortunately, Tava Indian Restaurant, newly opened in Town and Country, solves this dilemma by offering a fast and portable lunch for all Paly students. By offering a special discount for Paly sutdents, appropriately dubbed “the Paly special”, Tava has made life easier for everyone without a prep after lunch. Ever since
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their opening day on Feb. 27. Tava, using the Paly Special, seems determined to change how we view Indian food. After realizing that many people haven’t tried Indian food for fear of its spiciness, the owners of Tava decided to make their main dishes more mild and offer more heat if asked. “It’s because a lot of people think that it’s too spicy, or it takes too long, or they don’t even know what it’s about.” Hasnain Zaidi, manager of Tava says. Tava’s menu was born off the goals of being portable and healthy. Instead of taking a traditional approach to Indian food, they decided to modernize and make a more portable type of Indian food that people could easily pick up and go. These were the main ideas behind the Paly special, consisting of a burroti, or a bowl with a free soft drink for $6.00. The Paly special is aimed to preserve as much lunchtime as possible for students by making the wait in the lunch line only two minutes long and offering soft drinks in the restaurant. “Your lunch break is precious we don’t want you spending your lunch break
CHOWING DOWN: Eveli Mayfield sinks her teeth into a Tava burroti