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Monthly Archive for October, 2009

Why We Serve Our Food On Metal Plates

October 5, 2009 by Anamika
After 16 months of being open, curiosity has finally gotten the better of me, and I google imaged ‘Prison Food Trays’.  The reason for this strange search, is that one too many yelp reviewers have commented that they feel like they are eating on Prison trays.  These comments have perplexed me for a while, as I have not really understood the link (thankfully having never eaten in Prison).  Now that I see the picture, I see where the connection is coming from.  Prison food is indeed served in compartmentalized trays, as is our food at Kasa.
I feel I must explain why we use these trays here at Kasa.  It is a sign of huge respect to the majority of India who eat out of these trays every single day and have done so for centuries.  Most especially the humbler economic classes.  Nowadays, of course the wealthy people tend to use porcelain plates in an attempt to mimic the west and distinguish themselves from the poor.  I also love the plates because they are extremely practical.  They never ever break and often last a household a lifetime.
Our thalis, plates and bowls are all imported (via my very interesting cousin Kiwi) from India.  I aim to be truly authentic, along with our food and serve it the way it is eaten in India for an entirely authentic experience.  I would never have guessed that it would make people feel like they were eating like prisoners, or eating in an ultra modern plate (a separate confusion).
My hope is that some of those yelpers are able to read this blog and realize (just as I have done today) that it appears that the majority of India and prisoners in the US have something in common.  They both eat out of compartmentalized trays:)  On some level, I find this discovery extremely cool.  The Thalis are a no nonsense, no frills, humble way to eat.  I’m guessing that this is the reason for the trays in prison too.  The only difference being that food outside of prison is hopefully cooked with love and care and a lot more delicious.

After 16 months of being open, curiosity finally got the better of me today and I googled ‘Prison Food Trays‘.  The reason for this strange search is that one too many yelp reviewer (5 total) has commented that they feel like they are eating on prison trays at Kasa.  These comments perplexed me for a while, as I haven’t understood the rationale (thankfully having never eaten in prison).  Post Google search, I can see where the connection is coming from.  Prison food is indeed served in compartmentalized trays, as is our food at Kasa.

Kasa Thali

Kasa Thali

Prison Tray

Prison Tray

I feel I must explain why we serve our meals on metal trays (called a ‘Thali’) here at Kasa.  We do it as an homage to the vast majority of people in India (many of humble socioeconomic status) who eat out of these trays each and every day and have done so for centuries. Nowadays, the wealthier classes in India tend to use porcelain plates in an attempt to mimic the West and distinguish themselves from the poor.  But we love the metal thalis because they are extremely durable, never break and fit our vibe of being ultra-practical.  We think they look pretty cool too…

Our thalis, plates and bowls are all imported from India with the help of my very interesting cousin Kiwi, to whom we owe many thanks as we had him searching for days on end for just the right sizes, weight, shininess, etc.

We aim to be true to the way Indians serve and eat food in their daily lives.  I would never have guessed that the plates would make people feel like they were eating like prisoners, or even eating in an ultra modern place (a separate confusion that we hear occasionally).

My hope is that some of the Yelpers commenting about prison plates are able to read this blog and realize (just as I have done today) that it appears that the majority of India and prisoners in the US have something in common.  They both eat out of compartmentalized trays  :)

On some level, I find this discovery extremely cool.  Thalis are a no-nonsense, no-frills, humble way to eat.  I’m guessing that this is the reason for the trays in prison too.  Hopefully, most of you find our actual food to be at least a cut above though…

Cousin Kiwi

Cousin Kiwi

Gujurati Thali

Gujurati Thali

South Indian Thali

South Indian Thali

North Indian Thali

North Indian Thali

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The Kasa 1 Construction Story (Vol. 1)

October 3, 2009 by Anamika

The day we signed our lease on Kasa and it was officially ours was a momentous moment for us all.  I think we had drinks to celebrate!

Despite Kasa being a business entirely about Indian food, we now found ourselves in a world which had nothing to do with food.  Creating the physical space for Kasa up to code and having the finances to be able to do it was the enormous task ahead of us.

For a minute, we were all stunned and unsure about where to start the magnanimous task of transforming ‘La Castro Taqueria’ to the blurry vision of Kasa that was in our heads.  It really dawned on me that the restaurant was about to become a reality.  So far, we had ignored all the people who had told us that we were crazy to enter into this business.  I never worried about that as I kind of like crazy.

vegas

But when the owner of La Castro Taqueria, on the night of the signing, breathed a sigh of relief and fled to Vegas tocelebrate getting out of the business, I did momentarily panic as to what I had got myself into.  But not for long as there was no turning back now.  Besides, I think I truly understood the old phrase ‘Time is Money’ to my core, for everyday that went by, we paid rent with no money coming in.  Time really was of the essence just to intensify the pressure.

There was no more theorizing, no more hypothesizing — only completely plunging into action was required.

morgan

At the time, Tim was struggling with his move to San Francisco from Chicago after leaving Kraft and was desperately trying to hunt down an affordable place to live for himself and his family and their very large dog

Morgan and trying to sort out schools for their kids.

Suresh was working hard at his demanding full time Google job and I didn’t have any experience with restaurants or construction projects or health codes or building codes.  I hadn’t worked on anything business-like for the previous 6 years after being consumed by full-time child raising and being a co-op parent (which is still the hardest thing I’ve ever done).  I didn’t really know where to start either.  Those first few days were a little surreal and a lot scary.

Six months later, on June 18, 2008, Kasa finally DID open its doors for business.  For those interested in the birth of Kasa or in opening their own restaurant one day, Tim, Suresh and I will detail some of what was involved during those grueling six months in future blog posts.

Anamika

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