World Flavor

A little while back, The Flat Hat ran a Variety section on ‘The Best of Williamsburg,’ in terms of restaurants. As a Flat Hat photographer, I snatched up this assignment ASAP. I ended up getting 3 restaurants to photograph: Nawab, Tequila Rose, and the Trellis.

Great, I thought, this is perfect! Nawab has good appetizers, Tequila Rose has yummy mains, and the Trellis has mind-blowingly amazing desserts! I can go to each one all in a row and have a long, drawn out, extended meal!

Well, that was the plan anyway. So on a lovely Saturday, Jeff and I hopped in the car and drove the short distance to Nawab, an Indian restaurant. Before getting a seat, I asked the manager if I could take photos, for the newspaper. He was happy for me to, so I snapped some shots of the buffet.

Lunch buffet

We sat down and got waters and an appetizer, the chaat papri, which came with raita, and regular naan.

Chaat papri

Raita

But that wasn’t all that was brought to us. The manager himself brought us samples of mango lassi and garlic naan, on the house. It was amazing!

Mango lassi (the remains)

Naan and garlic naan

Now, if you know me, you know that Indian is currently my favourite type of food, having recently surpassed Mexican. So this huge amount of free Indian food was astonishing, and wonderful! I’ve liked Nawab the 3 or 4 previous times I’ve been, and this time increased my opinion even more! If you’re in Williamsburg, this is the place to go for Indian food, a relatively cheap lunch buffet, or just a delicious meal in general. I had never had mango lassi before – but now I highly recommend it! And that’s saying something, since I don’t really like mango at all.

Needless to say, the unexpectedly large quantities at Nawab completely filled us up, and we decided to put off Tequila Rose and The Trellis for another day.

It wasn’t at all crowded; and there was no fanfare this time – no free stuff, I’m afraid, just delicious tacos and enchiladas.

The ubiquitous chips and salsa

Beef enchilada with beans

Beef taco

Tequila Rose is fairly far out of the way – a decent trek down 143/Second St. – and isn’t my top choice for Mexican in Williamsburg. However, Flat Hat thinks it has the best margarita in town (I wouldn’t really know…). I must admit that its bar certainly has character.

If you’re looking for Mexican in Williamsburg, Tequila Rose is not your best option. La Tolteca (which has 2 locations: Richmond Road, near the outlets, and Second Street) and South of the Border (Second Street) are both closer to campus than Tequila Rose and better. La Tolteca is your standard Mexican style restaurant, while South of the Border has a bit of a different fare, and is a pretty new discovery of mine. Some of the dishes are not something I’d encountered in Mexican restaurants before – and that’s saying a lot! I’d say South of the Border is definitely the tastiest. A lot of college students favour Casa Maya, for convenience most likely, but personally I don’t think it’s very good at all. I would rather go to Taco Bell (and yes, I actually like Taco Bell) which is next door, practically.

The Trellis is an upscale restaurant right in Merchant’s Square, Duke of Gloucester Street, at the edge of Colonial Williamsburg. Despite its proximity to campus, it’s not well frequented by students – it’s a tourist place, and for good reason. That reason is that it’s quite expensive, which you can guess just by the decor, which mostly consists of horrendously overpriced local art on the walls, all of which is for sale.

There’s one thing, though, that keeps me coming back to The Trellis at least once a year – their famous dessert offering, known as Death by Chocolate. It’s their signature item. Instead of explaining it, I’m just going to show you a picture, and let you drool.

Do you think you can resist that? I can’t. Jeff and I shared it and could barely finish it. It’s unbelievably rich and decadent. Not something to be had on a regular basis, or risk packing on a lot a pounds.

All in all, I think our food triathlon was a success. It didn’t go as planned, but I think in the end, it was better that way. Delicious!

Drug decriminalization worked for Portugal.

Hi, if you’re reading this, I’d just like to add a couple of things.

-I wanted to make it clear that I have used Macs quite a few times before, and know the basics of Mac use; I simply haven’t used them extensively.

-I couldn’t add as many links as I’d have liked to. Other sites I’m active on to potentially consider are my STA Travelers’ profile and my Twitter.

Thank you!!!

1. Request an aisle seat. Now, I know it’s largely a matter of personal preference whether you choose and aisle, window, or middle. I usually prefer window seats – but on a 13 hour flight from LA to Auckland, I was eternally grateful for my aisle seat. You automatically get more leg room (you’ve got the aisle to stick your legs into, but be careful not to trip anyone), and I think leg room is one of the biggest factors in airplane comfort. You may argue that the window seat has somewhere to lean against, but that never works for me – it’s always an unbearably uncomfortable angle. But, if you really prefer the window to lean on, take that. Whatever you do, try to avoid the middle.

2. Try to put most of your carry-on in the overhead compartments. This is also about leg room – the less stuff you have crammed under the seat in front of you, the more space you have for your legs. Try to just keep essentials like a sweater, music player, drinks and snacks in the seat pocket and stow everything else above. To help make boarding less awkward, sort things beforehand, while waiting at the gate, if you’ve got time.

3. Don’t be afraid to get up when you need to. On many long-haul flights, they keep the seat belt sign on for most of the time. However, as long as you’re not currently in turbulence, taking off, or landing, you should get up if you need to. If you need the bathroom, to stretch your legs, or to go get some water, do it. You may inconvenience others if you’re not on the aisle, but it’s definitely worth it. You can go to the back and ask for water, if you want.

4. Keep hydrated. This is essential! Drink plenty of water – you dry out a lot more in that recycled air than you normally would. Avoid alcohol and caffeine if you can, but if you must have it, have it in moderation and also have some water.

5. Stretch your legs. It’s important to get up and walk around every once in a while. If it’s a shorter flight, this may not be necessary, but anything over about 5 hours you’re really going to want to do this. At the very least, do some leg exercises. There are serious health risks associated with sitting for long periods of time.

6. Eat something. Hunger is another source of discomfort on long haul flights. On short flights, you can get away with not eating, but if you’re on a plane for 12 hours, you’re going to get hungry. Eat the plane food if you can (maybe you’ll be lucky and it’ll be good! Air New Zealand at least has pretty tasty food), and get a few little snacks at the airport (or pack them if they can be brought through security – check!).

7. Entertain yourself. Boredom makes the flight go so much slower. If you’re on a transoceanic flight, chances are there will be an entertainment player in the seat in front of you. Use it! If there isn’t one, watch the movie provided. Better yet, pack a few things to do – music players, books, magazines, puzzles, and portable game systems are all great ideas.

8. Sleep if you can. Another way to make your flight go faster is to sleep through part (or all) of it. Planes aren’t very comfortable, so this can be quite difficult. However, if you know the best way to get yourself to sleep, you should use it. Eye masks can be helpful, as can night time tylenol and other medication (definitely use carefully as labeled!), and if you’re of age and they’re serving dinner, a glass of wine can help. Remember my earlier suggestion – stay hydrated! Alcohol is definitely not the best method of helping yourself sleep (but can work).

I hope that these tips help a little in making your long flight a little better. These were all written assuming a passenger in coach, with the least personal space. Of course, they’re not comprehensive – share your tips in the comments!