Dinner at Sparky's Diner in Chennai

Tom heard about this place from someone he works with, I think. We looked it up online, http://www.sparkysindia.com/, checked out the menu and decided to give it a try.

We knew we would be out running around the city this past Saturday night so we went there for dinner after we shopped til Tom dropped (HA). It was so fabulous to go into a restaurant in India and be greeted at the door by the American from Southern California who owns the place. I don't know his name, I guess he just goes by Sparky!

This place is decorated like a little diner somewhere in the U.S. All black and red, with old license plates from all of the states on the walls, Elvis Presley posters, and just general Americana decor.


I was just tickled when we sat down and they offered me ICED TEA, and not just ICED TEA, but SWEET ICED TEA! Tom was also able to get his favorite, lemonade. It wasn't as lemony as we make it at home but it was still good. They also have unlimited refills - just like at home! Unfortunately, they were out of go-cups so I didn't get to bring any iced tea in the car with me on the way home.

We tried the chips and queso as an appetizer, this poor man told us that he had never had queso before which was obvious because it tasted like Velveeta melted in water with some tomatoes thrown in. We did get actual corn tortilla chips and that was great!

The menu is fairly extensive, full of stuff that can be found on any menu in a restaurant back home. We decided to go with Mexican, since Tom loves Mexican food and hasn't had any in about 9 months. He had Carne Asada with refried beans and Spanish rice, and I had Native American Flatbread tacos (beef) with refried beans and Spanish rice.

I have to stress the significance of the whole beef thing; this is a Hindu country where cows are sacred and beef is just not available. Tom has heard of a butcher somewhere in a back alley that will sell beef but he hasn't found him yet. Even if Tom does find the butcher, it won't be cuts of beef like we get at home. It will just be a hunk of meat from somewhere on the cow. Even McDonald's in India displays a sign that says "We Do Not Serve Beef" - at McDonald's...NO BEEF!

So, we were thrilled to have a little cow. Tom's Carne Asada was very good, very flavorful, the only thing that would have made it better is if it had been sizzling hot instead of lukewarm. My flatbread tacos were fabulous and I loved them.

Other items on the menu were meatloaf, chicken fried chicken, chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes and gravy, french fries, spaghetti, lasagne, French Onion Soup, various salads, and HAMBURGERS.
We enjoyed our dinner very much and plan to go there again before I leave. It was kind of amusing to see these Indians in there chowing down on meatloaf and mashed potatoes. There were also quite a large number of white people in there, I'm not sure if they were American or European but I thought that was a good sign.

Mr. Sparky was very friendly, one of those restaurant owners who likes to go around and visit with everyone. He told us that he came to Chennai about 10 years ago and loved it so much he never left. I can't imagine loving Chennai enough to voluntarily stay here; maybe he knows something I don't know. I can imagine loving Mumbai enough to voluntarily stay there, but definitely not Chennai.

Anyway, this guy opened the restaurant about 5 years ago and he's going strong. He said he got all of the decor off Ebay; I love Ebay. He even has the typical diner red plastic drinking glasses that you get all over the U.S.

All in all, it was a fun way to end our day of shopping and I can't wait to go back there again. The next time we go I just might have to try his chicken fried steak with mashed potatoes and cream gravy. YUMMY!