So we went to the United States for a couple of weeks — a real whirlwind tour: Tim’s graduation from the College of Wooster, a spin through Topeka and Kansas City (where I finally got to visit the awesome ACME Bicycle Company AND Arthur Bryant’s in the same day!), Kara’s graduation from Penn State Medical School, a quick swing through Philly where I had a nice conversation with the guys from Revolution Wheelworks (more from them coming soon), then a week in New England where we spent time at UNH, visited our good friends at the incredible Exeter Cycles, bumped into a good chunk of the present and past UNH Cycling Team, and I did the whole UNH commencement thing.
Overall it was an awesome trip, but the absolute highlight was the post-commencement dinner at Tulsi Indian Restaurant, in Kittery. We kind of stumbled across Tulsi when Monica, my dissertation advisor’s other grad student, mentioned that she had been to this great Indian Restaurant. And when she described it to us we realized that it a new venture by Jan and Raj, who also run Divine Cuisines and, more importantly, who catered our wedding a couple of years ago. We knew for a while that they were planning to open a new restaurant, but it still hadn’t happened by the time we left for Belgium last spring, so this was our first chance to visit them. It was totally worth the wait.
The food was completely incredible (more than one of our dining companions told us it was the best Indian food they had ever eaten) and the service was fantastic as well. Jan came by to congratulate us on graduating and see how we were, despite the fact that she had been up since 4:30 in the morning to handle Divine’s other business, selling prepackaged food at the Portsmouth farmers market. (Note to Seacoast dwellers, Divine also goes to the markets in Hampton and Exeter, so if you want some great food but can’t make it to the restaurant, there are three other options for you.) Raj came out and chatted with us about our lives in Belgium and the success of the new place. The menu is excellent, well-balanced and reasonable in scope, and includes a really interesting and unusual variety of unique dishes. One highlight is the salmon curry, which was one of Raj’s creations for our wedding menu. The salmon is nicely complemented by a rich sauce, and the salmon — not normally seen in Indian cooking — is a nice counterpoint to some of the more traditional dishes and ingredients.
Needless to say, the meal was a huge hit and was topped off by a surprise from Raj and Jan: a congratulatory cake!
It was obvious that they know how to take care of their customers (and really enjoy it as well). Everybody in the place seemed to know everybody else, and everybody from Raj through the whole staff when out of their way to say hi to us and other customers they knew. It’s a small place, practically hidden in a corner of Kittery Foreside (around the corner from another favorite of ours, Anneke Jans), but the space is attractive and intimate. It was also packed, so reservations are probably recommended.
For those of you on the Seacoast, I can’t recommend Tulsi enough. And for those of you who aren’t — maybe it’s time for a little Portsmouth vacation.
More info here.
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