30 Days of Turning 30: Day 20

The great thing about 30 Days of Turning 30 is that I never know where the day is going to take me! I was positive I knew what I'd be doing for Day 20 and then all of a sudden between work and friends being in town, the day got away from me. Sitting with good friends at the Trump Soho watching the sun set over the Manhattan skyline, we tossed around suggestions as the day waned and my window of opportunity grew smaller and smaller. Although luckily, we WERE in Manhattan. The city that never sleeps. During the course of our earlier conversation, we had stumbled onto the topic of television shows we liked to watch and Man Vs. Food had come up and it now popped back into my head. So I googled places that Adam had visited on the show and found one in New York City called the Brick Lane Curry House on East 6th Street. Apparently if you eat an entire plate of their phaal (i.e. hottest curry known to mankind) you get a free cold beer from the bar. I had no desire to attempt the challenge, especially since the website said something about signing a waiver for any stomach pain you may endure following the consumption of the phaal, but the idea of trying Indian cuisine (something I've never had before) plus just tasting the phaal seemed like a good idea. And I happened to be starving because we never broke for lunch at work due to time constraints at our location. My fabulous foodie friend Heather accompanied me to Brick Lane and to add another aspect to the mix, I told her to order whatever she wanted and I would try it. She ordered several dishes including: Naan with basil, Keema Samosas, Basmati Rice, Butter Masala and of course the dreaded Phaal. The waiter asked us several times if we were sure we wanted to order the Phaal which only heightened my anxiety about the spiciness. In Heather's opinion, the Phaal looked like poo on her plate and tasted like poison. The waiter confirmed that in fact it IS like poison. But other than the Phaal I thought everything else was delicious, my favorite being the Keema Samosas-fried dumplings filled with lamb and vegetables. I may never complete a real food challenge like Man Vs. Food but I will always be willing to try a bite!

P.S. My nose is still running from the Phaal. And my sinuses are super clear. Check out the video of my first bite.