Josh & Megan

What a busy month this has been so far. Last weekend, our good friends came up and the boys hung out at our house, devoured delicious Indian takeout and played Wii. Meanwhile, Rose and I went to the Seattle School of Midwifery auction. It was a lot of fun and I must say we bid on many more things than we should have. I came home with a 90 min acupuncture gift certificate and a package deal complete with 3 hours of house cleaning, a coupon for a dozen mighty o donuts, a facial and massage and a pass to a spa in south lake union! Josh was supportive of my crazy spending, but he did have a good point in that it was silly to get the acupuncture thing b/c our insurance covers acupuncture! Oh well.
We also went on another bike ride on the Burke Gilman, this one from a park in Kenmore to a park in Bothell. (I would post some pictures, but Josh is the only one who knows how to do that) It was awesome! The one crazy moment was when I almost got hit by a golf ball from the golf course next to the trail! I thought cars and bikes were the only things I needed to watch out for….
This weekend we are taking a road trip. We will start our journey on Friday with a sleep over in Kalama with one set of Josh’s grandparents, then go to Bend, OR on Saturday to see the other set and to see The Decemberists and Death Cab for Cutie in concert, go to Vancouver WA to see good family friends on Sunday and trek back home to Seattle on Monday. It should be a lot of fun and hopefully not too exhausting!

Megan and I visited our favorite Indan restaurant Cedar’s on Brooklyn last night, and from the first step in the door I could tell that something was off. At 7:00 on a Friday night I expected Cedar’s to be brimming with energy with people waiting in every corner of the small entryway, but instead I found myself seated immediately (pleased, but confused). Throughout our meal Meg and I agreed that the place felt a bit different, from the extra puffy naan to the silence where once there was vibrant Indian music (though the chai was still spot-on). Don’t get me wrong, the food was still good, but it wasn’t the experience we’ve come to know and love. As we left Megan noticed the one change that I had silently feared, Muhammed was missing, as we’re the pictures of his family that once adorned the walls.

For those of you who have never been to Cedar’s Muhammed is(was) the ever present proprietor, and for many the face of Cedar’s. Muhammed could be seen nightly taking reservations, answering phones, and generally running the restaurant every day. As a frequenter in my college and post-college days Muhammed knew me by name, often I was greeted as “Mr Josh” and given a free desert at the end of my meal. Unfortunately it appears that that time has come to an end. I found confirmation on Taste of India’s website that Cedar’s as we knew it is no more.

after 19 years, Mr. Mohammed Bhatti has sold his Cedars Restaurant to new management effective April

I hope that the new owners will find a way to bring back some of the vibrancy that the Cedar’s from my college days held, but this may be a sign that we need to start branching out and give some other Indian restaurants another try (suggestions?)