Chirimoya said:
AZB, I'm sure you'll put in a good word for the DR and its delights, and maybe they'll consider opening a branch here.
A mexican who was selling dominican version of mexican tacos in santiago once told me "you can't sell real mexican food outside mexico". This also hold true in domincian republica when we talk about real indian food.
In usa and england, people have become accustumed in eating hot foods. 25 years ago americans only ate mashed potatoes and meat loafs in restaurants. No one knew anything about spices and hot ingredients in most cities. Now many americans can put many mexicans and pakistanis to shame when it comes to eating hot peppers.
Now feeding dominicans hot food is a never ending up hill battle, at least thats what i thought initially. Now I am beginning to see that more and more domincians are trying dishes from different countries and trying and actually enjoying eating hot spicy foods. Just last night my dominican friend tried eating pizza with hot crushed red peppers sprinkled all over his slice. After eating one slice, he asked for more peppers.
So maybe having an indian restaurant in DR may not be a total loss idea. Lets hope some nutty indian or a pakistani will come up with this idea soon. Hell, if they shut me down in santiago, I may even venture into a small resturant business. you never know.
AZB