Menus in Nepal

Posts are indeed sparse as I work toward getting the restaurant on its feet. While registration and paperwork continue in the background I've spent the last several days working on the menu. The text of the menu took quite some time and is essentially done, pending final decisions on which items we are going to run. Something I've wanted to do is put a menu together that is very reminiscent of the pub style menu's that you get in the US, one that integrates graphic elements, good descriptions and maybe a little wit into a menu that is more interactive than the typical menu that you find here- which tends to be rather boring and often depicting pictures of food that the place couldn't produce in a million years.

  Buffalo Wings!

One of the things I'm most excited about seems simple enough, but nobody does them here and that is Buffalo wings. Now outside the US people have no clue what you're talking about apparently as many other expats from Britain and other places have looked at me like I had three heads when I brought up the term. They cause a bit more confusion here when you consider that Buffalo (or buff) is a normal staple on menu's and thus the term Buffalo Sauce can cause confusion. Due to this, and other cultural variances in food lingo, I've added various text boxes that explain what stuff is. In this case it's a place, Buffalo New York and not the animal. Other cases are things like chili being what Americans think of it as, and not the the little peppers or the sauce that you get here when you order "chicken or chips chili" which is entirely different. 

New Hampshire wins best licence plate hands down.

On the menu and eventually in the restaurant we're hoping to create a fun environment by adding things like US licence plates, odd street signs...although how you top some of the stuff you around here I don't really know. That said it'll be some small pieces of home that will be something new for people here and something familiar to those who come from the west, giving a different kind of appeal to both groups. Slowly over time I'm hoping we can collect some really cool stuff to decorate the place from both around Nepal and on various trips back home and around the region.

 The Shrimp from Bikini Atoll are spicy!

To add texture to the background I've included a bunch of pictures that are relevant to the items that sit above them. Although often you can't see the pictures unless you look carefully I've managed to fit in pictures of many things with some importance to me, including the Portland Head Light light house, Alexander the Great, the Acropolis from Athens and some others that are iconic like the Empire State building, the above pictured Bikini Atoll (which produces the best coconut buffalo shrimp...heh), and Caesar of salad and imperial fame. 

Still Working On It- I'm sure that won't be the tag line

I'm sure once things are finalized I'll have the full menu posted on here, but for now it's still up for debate and being refined. The logo, menu design, and items offered are all still in a bit of flux and awaiting feedback from the other people involved. Something that is important to point out is that just because it's called Brian's Grill House doesn't mean I'm the only one behind this- its the combined effort and resources of six people. Thus this isn't all me, and the end results are compromises settled on by bringing the combined insight of all involved to the fore. What I might think is a great idea may not play all that well to the local market, or I could easily overlook something that could be caught by the people who already run restaurants here. I'm extremely fortunate to have an excellent team to work on this project with that all bring insight and expertise to the table.