John's World "The Necessities"

Well before I touchdown in any country, I make sure I either have or know where I can get the necessities.  A map, a place to stay, a few phrases you made need to order food or ask directions.  Of course food, shelter, and transportation are all part of the planning process.  Certainly things that a lot of people do before they go abroad.

While these things constitute what is necessary, they do not make up what I consider necessities.  Some people would categorize my necessities as luxury.  I do not.  While we need food in shelter to live, I believe I need my necessities to function.  Here is my list of necessities:

Coffee

While I think most people associate me with beer.  I am actually in need of coffee every day.  Unfortunately, all those years in Seattle turned me into a bit of a snob when it’s come to the stuff.  I simply cannot go a day without it.  Headaches, torpor, and irritability are all part of my life without coffee.  Fortunately, here in South India coffee drinking is more common than tea in many places.  The coffee here tends to be a medium roast with notes of cocoa and berry.  Of course the making of it is a unique process.  In this area they drink what is call “meter coffee”.  Meter coffee is made with a contraption that works like your old fashioned drip maker at home. 

South Indian Coffee Filter

However, the coffee coming out of this device is nothing like the bitter dishwater some of you may remember from your office.  This concoction yields something on par with a nice espresso.  You take your freshly brewed coffee and mix it with some boiled milk in a process that involves passing the coffee between the pot and the serving vessel until the top gets frothy.  The process not only mixes the coffee but aerates and cools the drink to the perfect sipping temperature.  A cup of this and a Jammy Dodger (my favorite biscuit) in the morning is the proper way to start the day.

Beer

Ten years ago while in India I thought about how open this market was for craft beer to take hold.  One of the world’s greatest cuisines suffered from having some of the worst beer imaginable.  Don’t get me wrong, a Kingfisher on draft is nice.  Unfortunately, if you take the route of bottled beer here you are asking for problems.  To preserve bottled beer in places as hot as India, most breweries add propylene glycol (aka anti-freeze) to the beer right before the cap goes on.  The result is always an off taste and a headache.  I am happy to say that many people have read my mind and micro-breweries and the “fresh beer” movement is in full swing.  Brewpubs line the streets now in as much number in some areas as biryani stalls.  I’ve been privy to some nice beers here so far (only a month of tasting so far).  The most common craft brewery is “Bira 91” (named after the India telephone code).  They produce a hot selling witbier on par with Hoegarden and Blue Moon.  Personally, I loved a beer called “Colonial Ale” out of Toit in Bangalore.  Colonial is a nice amber colored ale.  Nice English hop bite in the front and a malty finish at the end. 

Colonial Ale, and no this isn't my handbag...

Of note was a beer I had for my birthday from Arbor Brewing.  It was a Rauchbier (smoked beer) made with pepper and jaggery.  Too much going on at the same time but it was worth trying.  The important thing about drinking here in Bangalore isn’t so much what you drink but where.  Brewpubs are simply an urban oasis from the traffic and noise.  Overstuffed couches, courtyards with koi ponds can really transport you to a place where the world only exists between sips.

Food (YOUR FOOD)

I didn’t travel around the world to eat western fast food because my palette is too much of a sissy to handle it.  I don’t want you to tell me about this French restaurant that has excellent rillettes.  In fact, I likely chose a country to visit because I wanted to try authentic food, the exact same way the locals have it.  No matter where I am, I seek out the best LOCAL food place.  Ossie’s Fish and Chips in Faversham.  Say that name in that town and people will know you aren’t just your regular tourist.  Walk up to Burritos Crisomo in Ciudad Juarez and you will immediately get a respectful nod from the locals.  Come to visit us in Dedham and have a croissant from La Luce Pastry Shop and you will get a thumbs up from me (kind of like the Paul Hollywood handshake).  In short, HAVE WHAT THEY ARE HAVING AND EAT IT THE WAY THEY EAT IT. 

I have health insurance.  Eat the chili pepper chicken with chopsticks if that is what people are eating and how they are eating it.  No matter how sick it makes you or how stupid you look eating it.  Why risk?  Am I worried about being sick here?  No.  I am worried about not knowing what something tastes like.  I am worried that I didn’t have the courage to walk into the dusty two table restaurant with the lawn chair for a seat, order by nodding and wobbling my head to something the waiter said ending in “chicken”, and just enjoying the ride.  Eating with no regrets is the beginning to living without boundaries.

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