Tiffin Time

Yesterday we made the three hour round-trip drive into Terrace to do some shopping. We got there just in time to have lunch at our favorite restaurant – the Hot House – owned by a turbaned Sikh and his wife, who we are told is Hispanic. There is a blackboard on the Tabasco colored walls, with specials for the day, but we don’t even look at the menu. We almost always order the Chicken Kurchan and cups of hot chai. Anna at the Mystic River Bookstore first recommended this restaurant to us when we arrived in the summer of 2006. She said we would like it - she was right – and now we have even more reason to support this East Indian establishment…

You know all those disposable containers that are used for take-out food… the Styrofoam, plastic, and paper cartons? Well, the Hot House has come up with an environmentally friendly alternative… the Tiffin, a small stainless steel lunch box “used for light lunches prepared for working Indian men by their wives after they have left for work, and forwarded to them by Dabbawalas (tiffin carriers) who use a complex system to get thousands of tiffin-boxes to their destinations. The lunches are packed in stainless steel or tin boxes with carry handles.” (Wikipedia) Bob noticed one on the counter as he paid the bill. There was a sign that read: “Help Save the Environment. Purchase a Tiffin Box for $11.50 (one time fee) and use it for your take out meals.” When you pick up your food, you exchange your empty tiffin for one they have filled and is waiting for you. The tiffen even does a better job keeping the food hot. The idea is still new to the community – the restaurant only introduced it about a month ago, but we hope it will be a big success. It is an old idea whose time has come again.

... P. L. Morningstar
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