When Michael Pollan walks into your joint and you happen to be focusing on local, organic produce, it's natural to get excited and, say, want to take pictures with him and post them online as soon as you get home. :) A friend visiting from L.A. remarked that she's around celebrities so much it doesn't even phase her anymore -- but, she admitted, it's different with someone like Michael Pollan. Perhaps it's his extensive career, including teaching at Cal, or his various books and films, or his straightforward, digestible manner of digging to the heart of a complex issue like food ("Eat real food. Not too much. Mostly plants." & "Spend more. Eat less."). Certainly he has touched and inspired many to lead healthier food lifestyles, for ourselves as well as for the land.
But the story of this night goes well beyond a kodac moment with a local celebrity.
This past Sunday was our second major party since kicking off Ambrosia Juice Bar at Himalayan Flavors a little over a month ago. The first, the "soft opening" party back in December was a blast, filled with well wishers and dear friends (including another local hero and inspiration after whom the "Nipunnnzzzer" drink was named ;)) and felt like a blessed way to start the project. That night we sampled a bunch of drinks that we were considering for the menu, and invited feedback both on the drinks themselves, as well as fun names for them, which eventually birthed the first season's menu.
This time we went a step beyond the juice bar menu and worked with Dhruva-ji, head chef and restaurateur extraordinaire, to introduce more vegan food options to the restaurant menu -- and then, why not, have a party to celebrate that! And to top it off, our friend David was kind enough to provide ambiance with live sitar music, as well as some ukulele I believe, from another friend of his. So it was shaping up to be a great night of ambrosia drinks, new veggie dishes, live music, and again good company, from both old friends and new.
And it's the story of new friends that really touched hearts that night.
