Being a Market day, it started righlty so with a breakfast burrito.
When the Market ended, my parents and I walked down the street a little way to check out a new Indian restaurant that's recently opened. In fact, it's opened up literally directly across the street from India Palace. This is problematic in only one way. If this new place is really good, India Palace may close. The only reason that this is an issue is one of sentiment. India Palace is where Sidney and I shared our very first "official" date on December 17, 2013. But the past is the past, and the present is still very good.
Moving on from that, the new place, called Bayleaf Restaurant and Bar, is, as I can confirm, really good. And since I know that my non-Indian ethnicity isn't the most credible judge of Indian cuisine, I have previously enlisted the opinions of two culinary-inclined friends from India. They both agree that Bayleaf is both incredibly authentic and tasty for an American-Indian restaurant.
All I know, is that it tastes amazing. Literally amazing.
I practiced perfect Buffetology, and I'm actually quite proud of myself.
My first plate was, of course, the sampler. I tried the tandoori chicken, chicken tikka masala, beef meat ball masala (a first encounter), some chicken 65, and some fried thingies. Some fresh naan complemented all this nicely.
My second plate was heavy on chicken and meat ball masalas and chicken 65. I did add some fried rice under the chicken tikka masala. I also tried some soup since my dad said it was spicy (it had a little heat).
After this plate, I planned on going hard in the gulab jamun paint. But right as I finished this second plate, one of said friends randomly walked in to the restaurant. When he joined us, I felt obligated (sup Andrew) to get some more savory food to partake in the social construction of group meals. That being said, I really planned on getting some lighter options, and way less of them.
As you can see, that didn't happen. As I was making my way down the buffet, I simply didn't realize how full my plate was getting. It wasn't until I was all the way back at the table that I realized my predicament. But it's not like I couldn't finish this food. After all, it was amazing! I got some more of the masalas, a lot more chicken 65, and some more naan. I also sampled the pea and carrot soupy stuff that my mom recommended. It was delicious as well. In fact, I didn't taste anything that didn't taste good.
But after having eaten an entire plate more than I had planned on eating, would I have room for any gulab jamun?
DUH!!!
These gulab jamun were smaller than gulab jamun I've had at other restaurants, but that didn't mean they didn't taste as good! I probably could've eaten more than the six picture here, but I decided to stop. This was a good decision as I began to feel quite full a short time later. But all in all, it was a great experience. The food was delicious, and the staff seemed eager to please. They were friendly and accommodating. I would return anytime.
From here, I went with Andrew to a power meet hosted by the Strength Club at KU. Before my Bro days, I could often be found in the weight room in Robinson, taking 20 minutes between my sets of squat. Those were the days. But today, with the ghosts of Power Meets past, Scott was competing. With both Andrew and mine's support, Scott performed admirably. He easily bested my total PR by body weight, lifting 975 lbs at 168 lbs, totaling 5.80 times his body weight. My best was a scant 1,040 pounds at 185 pounds, for 5.62 times my body weight at the time. Good job, Scott.
After the meet, I had the opportunity to show my parents around campus and around town. We sat with the newly-installed statue of Dr. James Naismith and his peach basket at the newly-built DeBruce Center, which houses the OG Rules of Basketball.
It was a pretty neat moment. I then showed them all around campus, what's changed over the years, what's the same, and what's planned for the future. We then branched out to the rest of Lawrence for the Grand Tour. It was a good day.
I didn't eat anything for dinner.
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