December
1-7,
2010
Confessions of a White, Middle-Aged
Paan Eater
Jeffrey Stanley is addicted to
what may
arguably be India's most disgusting export
Cover
Story
I pull my hat low as I pound the rain-slicked sidewalks of Curry
Hill
around noon on a frigid November weekday. I look about furtively as I
walk up Lexington, stopping outside of a DVD shop before I dart inside.
There I meet my sugar man, a Punjabi who only goes by the nom de
commerce Arora. By now I know his real name, but he likes to go
by the
one-word moniker. I’m happy to comply because the transaction feels
more illicit that way—and I want to protect his identity.
Sure, Arora looks like an ordinary video store clerk, but to those
suffering from betelmania—like me—all of these movie posters, Bollywood
DVDs and Zakir Hussein tabla CDs are just a front for the meeta paan. I
move to
the prep area at the end of the counter: a dull green, square mat
bordered with small plexiglass condiment bins containing a variety of
seeds, dried fruits
and spices. My eye lingers on these mouthwatering treats while Arora
finishes up with a legit video customer at the cash register. As...FULL STORY
July
21-27,
2010
To Kebab and Conquer
A food fight rages on for
control of a
Tribeca sidewalk
Cover
Story by
Jeffrey Stanley
The sloppy sign taped to the side of the chrome halal cart reads:
hi gangters of Plein Sud guess
What!! We are not moving…from
this spot.
Two scribbled arrows point toward the restaurant nearby. The hasty sign
was composed with different colored ink on green and brown paper taped
together in a checkerboard design. It’s slightly illegible, which means
you have to get up close to read the screed. The diatribe continues in
a sort of streetwise poetry:
Since they started working on their
“fancy” restaurant the owners and the
managers of Plein Sud restaurant
started a...FULL
STORY
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