Day: October 6, 2007

While I’m blogging good things…

During our recent tribulations with the car accident, we’ve been being nickel-and-dimed to death with little charges here and there. The thing is, those charges begin to add up fast.

Our insurance agent gave us the names of some reputable body shops and we chose Showcase Collision Center from their list because of its proximity to us. That was a really good choice on our part.

When we initially just had no idea what was going to happen and would there be any chance of us getting the car repaired. We explained the situation to them and they helped us by giving us a very broad idea of how much cost we might be facing.

Then when it became imperative that we get a formal estimate, they took care of that for us, quickly and professionally. All the while knowing that, there was a very high likelihood we’d not have the vehicle repaired at all.

For them to do the estimate, we had to have the car towed to their shop. We had no place to take it and we didn’t know if we could dispose of it because we were still waiting for the court hearing. We had to leave the car with them for several days, at an agreed upon daily storage fee.

In the end we finally disposed of the car for scrap, which they helped us with. The final surprise came when they waived all the storage fees.

Maybe that’s common practice. I don’t know, and I don’t care to go through the experience again to find out. Nonetheless, we really appreciated that and I felt it was worth mentioning.

They were professional, helpful, kind and courteous the entire time, and should I ever be in a position to have body work done, they will get my business. They certainly have my recommendation.

Showcase Collision Center
4635 N 7th St.
Phoenix, AZ 85014
(602) 200-7137

Technorati Tags: Blog

Somedays fate gives you a lucky break. Oh, we didn’t win a million dollars or suddenly discover the guy who hit us was an eccentric billionaire who decided to give us a small private island near Aruba, but we did have a great Indian dinner tonight.

We were heading towards a Tandoori place on Bell Rd, but there have been a gruesome car accident just west of the I-17 on Bell and we were forced to turn off. As we did, we saw a “now open” sign for the India Palace restaurant and decided to give it a try.

We parked near the banner, which is right next to the House of Bombay, an Indian and British grocery store. Things looked bleak for a moment as the shop directly under the banner was deserted and up for lease. We figured it must be on the other side of the Indian Grocery because, while they might leave a banner up if the place went out of business, they certainly wouldn’t have a sandwich board sign out front, too.

We made a brief detour into the House of Bombay when I saw a display of cricket gear for sale. I never thought I’d see the like of it in a store in Arizona. Bats, helmets, pads and gloves. It actually gave me the opportunity to discuss the recent World Twenty20 championship with someone who knew what I was talking about.

After leaving the store (without having purchased a cricket bat) we discovered that the restaurant is actually in the far corner of the shopping center. I mention this because we found the banner to be a bit confusing and if we hadn’t gotten out of the car, we might not have seen the restaurant on the other side.

It was a bit early and the restaurant wasn’t very busy. We were seated right away and the staff were very attentive. Papadoms with chutney were served right away and were good.

Irene chose the Karahi Beef Palak, which is described as Fresh chopped spinach cooked with fresh beef, onions, tomatoes & Indian spices tossed in an iron skillet.

I choose the Chicken Fraizee, described as Palace specialty, chicken cooked in special gravy with onions, tomatoes & bell peppers, tossed in an iron skillet.

Irene didn’t realize she ordered a spinach-based dish, but she thoroughly enjoyed it. She did order it medium spicy, but seemed to find it a bit hooter than expect.

Mine was one of the best Indian dishes I’ve ever had. My all-time favorite dish is a hot-spiced Ginger Chicken Balti from the Copper kettle on the extreme opposite side of town. This dish was very similar in flavor, and every bit as good. I asked for it hot and it was, and the flavor was just wonderful.

Both dishes were served with long-grain rice, and we ordered a couple of naan to go with our dishes. All were excellent.

They’ve only been open at this location for about one month, having moved from somewhere else on Bell Rd. Business was slow when we were there, but with Bell Rd. closed off the whole time we were there, there was little traffic in the area at all. It was beginning to pick up as we left. I certainly hope the location works out for them as it as good as any Indian food I’ve had, even counting London and Edinburgh. (The closest I’ve been to India.)

Another plus, the food was served incredibly fast. It was less than 5 minutes from ordering to delivery. It was so quick, I thought they might be bringing someone else’s food to our table, but it was ours and everything was hot and fresh.

Like most Indian restaurants in the city, they have a lunch buffet every day, and claim to be catering specialists. I might have to give that a try for a party someday.

They also have two other locations. There’s another India Palace in Sedona and a Dehli Palace in Flagstaff. It looks like the menu is identical for all three locations.

India Palace
2941 W Bell Rd. #1
Phoenix, AZ 85032
(602) 942-4224

Strongly recommended.

Technorati Tags: Blog, Cricket, Phoenix, Restaurant, Review

Reuters => Malaysia issues guidebook for Muslims in space

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Malaysia has come up with the world’s first comprehensive guidebook for Muslims in space as its first astronaut prepares to go into orbit next week.

The book, entitled Guidelines for Performing Islamic Rites at the International Space Station, teaches the Muslim astronaut how to perform ablutions, determine the location of Mecca when praying, prayer times, and how to fast in space, the Star newspaper reported on Saturday.

“The reason we formulated guidelines for Muslims in space is because we wanted to ensure our astronaut could fully concentrate on his mission, without having to worry about how he should perform his religious obligations in space,” Abdullah Md Zin, a minister for religious affairs, was quoted as saying.

That’s one alternative, I suppose. Another would be to conclude some things are just incompatible with the realities of the situation and/or the pursuit of knowledge.

Technorati Tags: Blog, Science, Space