Dirty dishes, knotty dreads
We recently ate for the first time at an Indian place in Somerville called The Kebab Factory. The word of mouth was that the food was great (it was) if a little overpriced (also true).
The service was just OK. Mostly little things, like we asked for a table for five, waited for 30 minutes in a pub across the street, and then were given a table for four. Fortunately some other diners were just finishing, so were were able to move to a larger space after a few more minutes. Our waiter was very pleasant, but the girl who was assisting him was kind of… hmm, brusque?
My primary issue was that a good 20-30 minutes after everyone at the table had clearly finished eating, no one on the staff bothered to clear a single item from our table. I finally had to make this kind of awkward, irritated sweeping gesture to communicate that maybe it was a good time for them to clear some plates. This really, really drives me nuts. Also, I asked that the leftovers from Jenny’s and my meal be wrapped up but I guess I was misunderstood and they ended up in the trash because I was never brought a “doggie bag”.
In case this seem a little harsh, let me remind you that this was no mom-and-pop Indian joint (like the excellent India Palace). The Kebab Factory is getting $15-25 for an entree.
But wait, there’s more.
Afterwards we strolled down to Harvard Sq. for some ice cream at Toscanini’s. We were served by two dudes in dreadlocks. I bought my ice cream and ate it and it was good and I’m sure it didn’t have any cooties in it, but thinking back on it, I’m kinda grossed out. Last time I checked, one of the steps involved in forming dreadlocks is not washing your hair for several months. Surely there’s some kind of health dept. regulation that requires food workers to wash their hair? Honestly, I’m not anti-dread; I’m pro-hair-washing.
Posted: October 12th, 2006 under Hate It, What's for Dinner.
Comments: 5
Comments
Comment from Stefano
Time: October 13, 2006, 9:17 am
Hey man, you finally posted something new! Unfortunately, I cannot say much about the Indian place aside from hoping tha tyou kept the tip to a minimum – that should have made quite a statement.
As for the second reason of your disappointment: were the dudes’ hands clean? Were their dreadlocks tied, maybe even covered with a hat? If the answer is “yes”, no worry. Have a look at this site:
http://www.howtodread.com/dreadlock.html
especially the “Myths” and “Making Dreadlocks” sections: the “not washing your hair for several months” thing is apparently a hoax. Hey, I’m not flat-out pro-dread, I just wanted to reassure you about the hygienic soundness of your icecream!
Comment from lbjay
Time: October 13, 2006, 10:04 am
Ciao, Stephano! I stand totally corrected. Thank you for allaying my fears. You are truly a wealth of information.
Comment from Angela
Time: October 28, 2006, 3:33 pm
C and I went back there recently and sat in front of the window to the kitchen. The fluorescent lighting of the kitchen cast an unappealing bright yellow-green light on our dinner, and I must say it did not taste half as good as the first time we went.
Comment from Girly
Time: December 4, 2008, 2:42 am
BLAH!!!!!! how terrible! its people like you that make it difficult for people with dreadlocks to get jobs:( No. You’ve been misguided im afraid, mature dreadlocks(about 6 months old) can,and most commonly are, washed every 2 or 3 days. Dreads are all the hair you’ve ever lost. meaning every hair you shed each day stays on your head. So washing leaves them very very wet and drying takes much longer than usual. Washing everyday is unrealistic, and and completely unnessesary.
When dreads are new, however, yes it is reccommended you do not wash daily. This does not mean though that you should go months without washing your hair. People have done it and lived but its just not something i would suggest. Washing once or maybe twice is ideal for the first few weeks. Your scalp, for short periods, will only produce oils to replace what you’ve washed off. So iunno, i think that speaks for itself anyways. And there’s no reason a person with dreads cant shower without washing their hair. But ya.
Hope i helped turned that stereotype around:)
lol. Have a nice day:)
Comment from Girly
Time: December 4, 2008, 2:43 am
Lmao just realized your post is like 2 years old.
The info is still valid, lol.
And i still hope you have a nice day:)
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