Feel like a whale

February 16, 2007

We could try that place we talked about "Oasis." Oasis? The name did not ring a bell. It's a Middle Eastern Restaurant on Regent Street according to a quick Google search. Wasn't Cambiz's restaurant on Regent Street? I didn't think it was called Oasis. Whatever! I wrote back to Sergio saying that Oasis is fine.

I didn't make it to Sergio's until 8:30. Too much last minute things to take care of before heading off to the States for a couple of days. Heck, I hadn't even started packing. Sergio changed the reservation to 9 while I was on my way from work.

At 9, we were still walking up and down Regent Street and not having much luck finding the restaurant. Why? Because neither of us had been there before. Sergio confirmed that it was the restaurant we learned about at Teri-Aki - i.e. Cambiz's restaurant. Oasis? It still didn't sound right.

On a second pass, I spotted another Middle Eastern Restaurant - this one was called Shiraz. I peered in through the window and said, "I see Cambiz. I think this might be it." Yup. They had a reservation under Sergio's name.

The table reserved originally was by the entrance. The waitstaff switched us over to the table furthest from the entrance instead - right by the open fire grill where Cambiz was cooking meat and vegetables for his customers. We shook hands with Cambiz before being seated.

The restaurant's name had changed after the renovation - in fact we were told that they used the name Shiraz for the first time today. The new decor was warm and elegant - classier looking than other Middle Eastern restaurants I have seen in Cambridge. Not impeccable though - I learned later that Sergio and I simultaneously spotted an imperfection of a paint job on a trim.

The waiter came around and announced that the drinks are on the house. We opted for beer. We decided to get an appetizer as well. The wait for the main dishes took a bit long, but then the waitress came around with a second round of complimentary beer while apologizing for the wait before either of us got around to talking about the wait. We also noted that the beer was San Miguel but only after they brought out the bottles for the second round.

Our appetizer (suggested by the waiter) included 6 types of sauces (2 in duplicate) and a stuffed grape leaves arranged in tic-tac-toe fashion. The sauces went well with pita bread and offered a nice variety to taste to stimulate the palate. Actually with two servings of bread - it was quite filling in its own. The quantity and quality of grilled meat (mixed for me, lamb cutlets for Sergio) was also pretty good - seemingly at least as good as Efes or other Middle Eastern restaurants at comparable or better value. I liked the taste of rice, which accompanied the main dish.

Shiraz would seem to label itself as Middle Eastern/Persian according to the menu - pretty similar to Middle Eastern/Turkish or Middle Eastern/Lebanese restaurants I have been to in the past and related but a bit different from Greek restaurant and a very nice Afghanistan restaurant from my other Cambridge haunt called Helmand (Helmand is also notable for being owned and operated by a sister of Hamid Karzai).

It was past 10:30 when we finally managed to leave the restaurant and confront the chilly air outside and in the car. We ran into and said hello to Danie's mom - she walked in to the restaurant as we were leaving. Small town.

On our way to the LeL, Sergio commented that he was quite full. Yeah. For a change, I felt sated after a dinner out in England. Indeed, few minutes after the initial comment about this, I realized that this could be a problem - somewhat like having a curry before dancing.

Because of a couple of traffic bottlenecks, we arrived at the LeL near 11:30. It seemed a little damp and musty. When I rejoined Sergio chatting with Lindsey and Nicola after changing my shoes, I noticed that the floor was quite sticky too. I was definitely feeling weighed down by the food and drinks also. Uh oh. Eva was there too and we greeted each other warmly - it would have been nice to have my first dance of the evening with her, but I didn't feel up to doing it right away.

The feeling of heaviness never went away, and I felt slow and clumsy all night long. Sergio apparently was feeling the same, and we were making same comments/complaints repeatedly during the evening. I ended up not dancing with Eva in the end - just didn't feel up to it - she wasn't the only one I didn't dance with. Sergio on the other hand did end up dancing with Eva - in fact she asked him for apparently for On2. Nice - because I tried talking him into dancing On2 with her earlier in the evening after hearing him complain about not getting any real workout On2 for a year or so.

There was no On2 practice for me tonight - but there was plenty of talk about it during and after dinner (as well as his experience with various private instructions from likes of Frankie, Leon Rose and Shaka Brown. We might get some other people involved in getting started On2. There really wasn't much time tonight anyway - we left shortly after 1. I'm going to set my alarm clock for 6 and start packing when I get up.