A Taste of India: A Celebration of the Cuisine and Culture of India

Description

Bring your appetite on Saturday, November 3, for the first-ever Taste of India Dinner at Aerie Restaurant & Lounge. Chefs Mangesh Hegde and Yeshwant Reddy will present a special, one-night-only menu featuring dishes like chicken tikka, dal fry, tandoori salmon, and plenty of naan.

Both chefs come to Grand Traverse Resort and Spa from Mumbai through a culinary exchange program and are excited to present the cuisine of India to Traverse City.

"These are all dishes we would find at a restaurant in India, and we're using a lot of traditional flavors," said Mangesh. "There aren't many Indian restaurants in this area, so we wanted to bring something from home to Aerie."

Yeshwant agreed. "People here crave Indian food, and they tell me they go to Detroit to get a meal. The second week I was here, we did an Indian dinner for about fifteen people in the culinary department. They were so excited that we knew we had to do a bigger event."

The Taste of India Dinner follows the tradition of the Jamaican Dinner (celebrating its third iteration on October 13) and the Filipino Dinner, which took place this past April. Mangesh and Yeshwant created a menu inspired by their favorite dishes and will also organize ordering ingredients and lead the kitchen the night of the event.

Yeshwant said it's unusual to have so many opportunities to share culture and cuisine. "You don't get these kinds of chances other places. At the Resort, you can make changes to your food and experiment, and if it's good, it will go on the menu. You have freedom to try new things."

The special menu is available on Saturday, November 3, at $35 per guest plus tax and gratuity. Featured beverages will also be available. All ages are welcome.

Call Aerie Restaurant & Lounge at 231-534-6800 for reservations or visit www.aerierestaurant.com.