Shiva's Indian Restaurant and Bar, Mountain View

[David Arnstein]

Well, it's been a few days since I had dinner at this place and no one
has commented on it, so I will do so. This, in spite of the fact that
my knowledge of Indian cuisine is limited.

Shiva's is on Castro Street, in the space formerly occupied by Vivaca.
The new business adds a bit of diversity to Castro Street, in that it
is a somewhat "classy" restaurant. The decor and lighting are very
nice, and the innocuous newage (rhymes with sewage) music will please
many. When I was there (Friday night), the noise level was such that
intelligent conversation was possible. The staff were pleasant and
competent.

I couldn't figure out what region of India the menu draws upon. I
suspect that the chef has assembled his favorite items from all over.
My owl and I had:

A serving of raw, cut up veggies, mint/hot sauce, and tamarind sauce.
These items were brought out before we ordered anything. These made a
very nice munch while reading the menu.

An appetizer that was a flaky pastry filled with spinach and some other
non-meat stuff. I thought that it was quite good. The pastry wrapper
was yummy.

"Pesto naan." That's what the menu said. This indigenous grease bread
of India arrived _very_ hot and steamy, I thought that it was quite
good. I believe that it was whisked to our table immediately after
cooking. The "pesto" flavoring was subtle.

A bunch of vegetables in a coconut milk sauce. It was served with plain
white rice. It was good, nothing fancy here.

A prawn biryani. This dish did not taste like any of the biryanis that
I have enyoyed before. I'm not sure that I appreciated the novelty.
I have no idea if Shiva's interpretation is the one true biryani or not.

We also received a dish of raita at some point. It is my good fortune
that my owl doesn't like raita; I was able to inhale all of it with
impunity. Raita is a simple dish, and Shiva's did it perfectly.

All this food was about $33 before tip. We took home a generous portion
of the biryani because we couldn't finish all that we ordered.

I don't eat Indian food all that often, but I plan to try more of the
menu. None of the dishes that I tasted were spicy, so I probably missed
the good stuff.

I hope that someone more knowledgable will visit Shiva's and suggest
some dishes to try.

[Todd Michel McComb]

Post by David Arnstein
Well, it's been a few days since I had dinner at this place and
no one has commented on it, so I will do so. This, in spite of
the fact that my knowledge of Indian cuisine is limited.

Their website is mostly in place now (it was entirely "under
construction" the last time I looked), although I don't see actual
menus:

http://www.shivasrestaurant.com

The chef seems to have a background serving dignitaries in New
Delhi. The site includes quotes such as this: "Chef Sarkar's
creations use extra virgin olive oil, with minimal use of butter
and cream."

Californicated Indian cuisine? I'll plan to give it a try sometime,
especially being lactose intolerant, but it seems to be some sort
of Indian nouveau cuisine.

[Allan Schaffer]

Post by David Arnstein
Shiva's

What a horrible name for a restaurant!

"Lunch Special: Death, Rebirth, and Raita: $8.50"

Allan

[Zen Wang]

What's wrong with that name ?
Shiva is a very popular Indian name after a Hindu god Shiva.
Shiva is not a god of death etc ..
You seems to have wrong notions /ideas about hindu religion.

Post by Allan Schaffer

Post by David Arnstein
Shiva's

What a horrible name for a restaurant!
"Lunch Special: Death, Rebirth, and Raita: $8.50"
Allan
--
Silicon Graphics http://www.sgi.com

[Allan Schaffer]

Post by Zen Wang
What's wrong with that name ?
Shiva is a very popular Indian name after a Hindu god Shiva.
Shiva is not a god of death etc ..
You seems to have wrong notions /ideas about hindu religion.

Shiva is "the destroyer".

From a quick reference - "Shiva is responsible for change both in the
form of death and destruction and in the positive sense of the
shedding of old habits."

Now, death and destruction can be a positive force. As they say:
You have to break an egg to make an omelet. But that's not the usual
thought to go along with "death and destruction".

As with all the Hindu gods, Shiva's legend is multi-faceted and
complex. But hello mcfly? Name your restaurant after the god of
death and destruction? That's asking for it.

Allan

[David Arnstein]

Post by Allan Schaffer
Shiva is "the destroyer".
From a quick reference - "Shiva is responsible for change both in the
form of death and destruction and in the positive sense of the
shedding of old habits."
You have to break an egg to make an omelet. But that's not the usual
thought to go along with "death and destruction".

So, Shiva is the official god of offshore outsourcing.

[Rajan P. Parrikar]

Post by Allan Schaffer
Shiva is "the destroyer".

.
.
.
.

Post by Allan Schaffer
As with all the Hindu gods, Shiva's legend is multi-faceted and
complex. But hello mcfly? Name your restaurant after the god of
death and destruction?

But He is also the God of fertility, the life-giver.
(find out what the 'Shivalingam' means).

Warm regards,


r

[Joseph Michael Bay]

Post by Rajan P. Parrikar

Post by Allan Schaffer
Shiva is "the destroyer".

.
.
.
.

Post by Allan Schaffer
As with all the Hindu gods, Shiva's legend is multi-faceted and
complex. But hello mcfly? Name your restaurant after the god of
death and destruction?

But He is also the God of fertility, the life-giver.
(find out what the 'Shivalingam' means).

You know, I wrote a post about that but wound up not sending it,
because I don't think I'd want people associating my restaurant
with that, either.

But then, I don't have a restaurant, and I note that not far
from Shiva (or is it "Shiva's"?) on Castro street is a bar and
restaurant named after a man best known for getting crushed with
a bloody great rock.

[Allan Schaffer]

Post by Rajan P. Parrikar

Post by Allan Schaffer
Shiva is "the destroyer".

.

Post by Allan Schaffer
As with all the Hindu gods, Shiva's legend is multi-faceted and
complex. But hello mcfly? Name your restaurant after the god of
death and destruction?

But He is also the God of fertility, the life-giver.
(find out what the 'Shivalingam' means).

I know what Shivalingam means.

1. The restaurant isn't named Shivalingam. If the restaurant was
named "Lingam's Restaurant and Bar" I would go there every day. ;-)

2. The point is that it's bizarre to give your restaurant a name
with the primary connotation of "death and destruction", _regardless_
of what other secondary connotations the name has.

Allan

[Todd Michel McComb]

The point is that it's bizarre to give your restaurant a name with
the primary connotation of "death and destruction",

Perhaps marketing research would have revealed that there is a
significant (or not?) segment of the population for which that is
the primary connotation. They could end up with a name like "R.
K. Singh's" instead.

Saivism is the single largest religion covered by the umbrella term
"Hindu." You might want to inject that thought into your analysis.

And now you've got me humming one of my favorite songs, "Shiva,
Shiva, Shiva Yanarada...." But then who doesn't enjoy Raga
Pantuvarali?

[Rajan P. Parrikar]

Post by Allan Schaffer
2. The point is that it's bizarre to give your restaurant a name
with the primary connotation of "death and destruction", _regardless_
of what other secondary connotations the name has.

Not at all. Does the mention of Jesus bring to
mind all the bastards in the world?

Mention "Shiva" to a bunch of Indians and ask
them if the name brings to mind "death and destruction."


Warm regards,


r

[Rajan P. Parrikar]

(Following up on this off topic)

The famous Sanskrit maxim encapsulates the nature
of Shiva:

"Satyam Shivam Sundaram"

The import being, Truth (Satyam) and Beauty (Sundaram)
are synonymous with Shiva.

Millions of Indian parents name their boys after
Shiva (Chandrasekhar, Shankar, Natarajan, Kedar
and so on are all epithets of Shiva). He enjoys
a central role in Indian music and dance. See -
http://www.sawf.org/Newedit/edit06252001/musicarts.asp


Warm regards,


r

Post by Rajan P. Parrikar

Post by Allan Schaffer
2. The point is that it's bizarre to give your restaurant a name
with the primary connotation of "death and destruction", _regardless_
of what other secondary connotations the name has.

Not at all. Does the mention of Jesus bring to
mind all the bastards in the world?
Mention "Shiva" to a bunch of Indians and ask
them if the name brings to mind "death and destruction."
Warm regards,
r

[ibm]

Rajan P. Parrikar wrote:

[snip]

Post by Rajan P. Parrikar
Mention "Shiva" to a bunch of Indians and ask
them if the name brings to mind "death and destruction."

Used to work with a couple guys named Shiva.
They never struck me as the morbid at all,
quite the opposite in fact.

IBM


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[ibm]

Allan Schaffer wrote:

[snip]

Post by Allan Schaffer
As with all the Hindu gods, Shiva's legend is multi-faceted and
complex. But hello mcfly? Name your restaurant after the god of
death and destruction? That's asking for it.

No, asking for it is naming the place:

McThuggee's
or
Kali's Kitchen


As to Shiva's

Shiva is also Natarajah so maybe they are planning on
putting in a dance floor.

IBM


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[alee]

My favorite restaurant name remains "House of Crabs" just outside DC.

--A

[Paul Russell]

Post by alee
My favorite restaurant name remains "House of Crabs" just outside DC.

I have a photo somewhere of me standing outside a fish and chip shop in
Amsterdam called "Piss Chips".

Paul

[Joseph Michael Bay]

Post by Paul Russell

Post by alee
My favorite restaurant name remains "House of Crabs" just outside DC.

I have a photo somewhere of me standing outside a fish and chip shop in
Amsterdam called "Piss Chips".

Has to do with that pissing boy statue, yes?

[Paul Russell]

Post by Joseph Michael Bay
Has to do with that pissing boy statue, yes?

Indeed - as I recall they have a picture of the urinating child on the
main sign above the shop window. I'll try and dig out the photo.

Paul

[Joseph Michael Bay]

Post by Paul Russell

Post by Joseph Michael Bay
Has to do with that pissing boy statue, yes?

Indeed - as I recall they have a picture of the urinating child on the
main sign above the shop window. I'll try and dig out the photo.

groups.msn.com/Albumofholidaysnaps/ amsterdam.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=57

[Paul Russell]

groups.msn.com/Albumofholidaysnaps/amsterdam.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=57

Yes, that's the one !

And while we're on the subject of silly restaurant signs, you might also
enjoy these pictures of a kebab shop in my home town of Brighton, UK,
where they have an unusual item on the menu:

<Loading Image...>
<Loading Image...>

Paul

[Joseph Michael Bay]

Post by Paul Russell
And while we're on the subject of silly restaurant signs, you might also
enjoy these pictures of a kebab shop in my home town of Brighton, UK,
<http://www.sonic.net/~prussell/DSCF0355.jpg>
<http://www.sonic.net/~prussell/DSCF0356.jpg>

Yikes, that's scarier than a "donner kebab".

[David Arnstein]

Post by Paul Russell
<http://www.sonic.net/~prussell/DSCF0355.jpg>

The Black Mercedes belongs to Geoff, right? You and he fancied a
kebab after hitting every pub in town, I imagine.

[Paul Russell]

Post by David Arnstein
The Black Mercedes belongs to Geoff, right? You and he fancied a
kebab after hitting every pub in town, I imagine.

I believe that The Beast does indeed like a deep-fried vegetarian after
a heavy drinking session. If it's a spokehead or a child then so much
the better, apparently.

Paul

[Al Eisner]

Post by Paul Russell

groups.msn.com/Albumofholidaysnaps/amsterdam.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=57

Yes, that's the one !
And while we're on the subject of silly restaurant signs, you might also
enjoy these pictures of a kebab shop in my home town of Brighton, UK,
<http://www.sonic.net/~prussell/DSCF0355.jpg>
<http://www.sonic.net/~prussell/DSCF0356.jpg>

Is there a barber shop upstairs? [I do recall actually seeing a barber
shop called "Sweeney Todd's" somewhere in the London area.]

[Paul Russell]

Post by Al Eisner
Is there a barber shop upstairs? [I do recall actually seeing a barber
shop called "Sweeney Todd's" somewhere in the London area.]

Don't be silly - it's a well known fact that all vegetarians are
long-haired unshaven ragamuffins.

And yes, I think you're right that there is a barber shop in London
called Sweeney Todd's. There is also a brand of cigarette on the UK
market called "Death".

Paul

[Michael Good]

We ate at Shiva's on Saturday. The menu has some different dishes on it than
what you see at most Indian places here, but the menu is also far too long
for the kitchen to handle. Hardly any dish came out that matched the menu
description, and even the dish labeled "hot" was quite mild. We were
expecting some service glitches since they're so new, but the long menu
exacerbated the problem.

If they trim the menu a lot - keeping the unusual dishes! - and don't try to
dumb down the spices in their cooking, it has promise. Most of the food was
well made if somewhat pallid. The room itself is very nice. For now,
Marigold in Palo Alto provides far more vivid flavors. The bar is supposed
to be ready on October 1; until then it's BYOB.

Michael

[Al Eisner]

On Wed, 8 Sep 2004, David Arnstein wrote:

[snipped, mostly]

Thanks for the report -- sounds interesting. Todd has already commented
Do you always take your owl to restaurants? I didn't see any mention of
live mice among your choices. (Obviously I've missed some UseNet thing, but
I have no idea what.)