What part of MD are you in, tre?

We haven't worked out a time yet but I'm available from 1pm on so lunch or dinner is fine with me.

Tre, I would be interested in your idea for exchanging recipes and such. I'm Indian so I can add more international flavor. :D

Hi. I am in baltimore maryland

Hey,

I am actually living in DC, but I work in Bethesday ... so I tend to think of myself as belonging to both places :-) .

So has a decision been made about time and place tomorrow? Hm, since I am new to the group I should not be the one to make this decision. Anything is fine by me as long as it is for dinner, but if you prefer lunch then please go ahead and we could arrange at another point.

Best,
Marina

If anyone makes it to the Eastern Shore (Ocean City), let me know. :)

I think everyone (that can make it) has agreed on Yuan Fu in Rockville.

I am okay with either lunch or dinner.

I guess we need a poll or something.
Rani said anything after 1 pm. IamJen? Elena99 are you coming?

PM me if you need a lift from the metro station.

Anytime after 12:00 is okay with me. :yes: Yay!

Well since all of us are available for dinner, why don't we meet at Yuan Fu at 7??

K!

Dinner at 7!

Yuan Fu
798 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852
301-762-5937

Whomever gets there first tell the host its a VB party. Then as we arrive we can just say "I'm with the VB party."

should we make reservations?

Great see you at Yuan Fu at 7!
Best,
Marina

<<Is going to be unable to attend. I hope that someone gets the message. I'd love to meet with y'all, but life is getting in the way today. :)

^^^

That's a shame, but we all know it happens.

So there are 3 of us??!!

Rani, Trelirodia and I

I love your new avatar, Jen. :)

I can't go to this one either (it's over an hour away) but I hope you guys have fun.

It went well. The place was a little hard to find even though it was on a main road. I passed it about 3 times. Dinner was all women this time.

Yuan Fu was very relaxing because it was kind of quiet and you didn't have to worry about eating anything on the menu. I also learned that besides eliminating dairy and eggs they eliminated garlic, onion and leeks from their menu. They say it clouds the mind. I imagine that it would then make it more difficult to meditate if one consumed these "pungant" items.

No Garlic??? That's just wrong! Glad it was a good time, though. What did you eat?

I also learned that besides eliminating dairy and eggs they eliminated garlic, onion and leeks from their menu. They say it clouds the mind.

That's really interesting. Did they say anything else to back it up? I came to that conclusion a while back, but I thought that was just me. Hmm, I may have to check out this joint next time I'm passing thru the area. :think:

No, the reasons I gave above I presume are their main focus.

However, I did just read a few articles on the history of vegetarianism and although the restaurant was Chinese that we went to... the articles were saying that in some parts of India they forbade garlic because of the sensuousness it aroused. --- don't know how much I believe that since the Hindu faith does not view sexuality with the same sinfulness that Christianity does.

I ordered the vegetable soup, vegetable fried rice, green tea and for dessert a steamed peach bun.

It was all very tasty and I had leftovers for lunch today!!! :lick:

Dear all,

I just wanted to give my little input on the onion, garlic, scallions, spring onions and chives issue, since I am also one of those who do not eat these vegetables.

More so than meat, this issue is related to purity of body, mind and soul and I can try and give you a million explanations, but I think the easiest one is to cite the following text from one buddhist sutra: "All living creatures seek the 'three kinds of wisdom,' and should refrain from eating the 'five pungent.' These five pungent foods arouse desires when eaten cooked, and anger when eaten raw."

It is basically the make up (both the Chi and the chemical consistency) of these vegetables that has a very strong effect effect in our body and mind and can really make our efforts for clarity and serenity much for difficult. It is a struggle anyway and so much more so, when your food is not pure and intoxicating.

I am not a buddhist myself and in fact it is not only buddhists who refrain from onion, garlic etc, but also Taoists for example.

If you really want to understand the difference, in my experience there is no better way, but to try it out for yourself.

Hope you are all well,
Marina

That's really interesting, tre. When I first went veggie I tried to compensate for the lack of flavor by heaping on the onions, garlic, salt & other spices. I had insomnia for 6 months straight (not to mention high blood pressure). Then I cut all of those things cold tofurkey, and suddenly my brain seemed to clear up.

It's odd though that the buddhists would recognize this, yet the hindus (from which buddhism originated) love to heap on that stuff. There have been a rare few who have bucked the trend, like Gandhi who swore off all spices, but the culture as a whole can't seem to kick the habit. This is just my observation based on all the Indian restaurants I've ever been to. Talk about pungent foods!

(I wish this thread was in the general vegetarian section).

trelerodia: One of my favorite places is an Ayurvedic restaurant in Albuquerque that subscribes to the same principles. I sort of understand the principles from talking to the staff there and all, but I've been curious about something - are leeks not one of the vegetables you abstain from?
And why not, if they are also a member of the onion family? (Not trying to argue, please understand, just curious)
It seems as if I run across leeks in the food occassionally and have wanted to ask about it...
Also, they definitely use spices! Some dishes are very spicy, just no garlic, onions, etc...
Fascinating discussion, I'm glad I stumbled across it, even if I live far across the country...

(I wish this thread was in the general vegetarian section).

Fascinating discussion, I'm glad I stumbled across it, even if I live far across the country...

Yep. I'm sortova Maryland infiltrator too! :sweat: But this discussion is really interesting, and it's the 1st time I've heard of restaurants taking that stance.

My totally unscientific instinct tells me that as we get further away from the root & stalk of the plant, the foods become more refined & pure. Example: I have no problem with red peppers (fruit), but onions & garlic (root) make me feel all itchy & stinky. Parsely (leaf) doesn't seem too bad.

Leeks & scallions are at the crossover between root & leaf, so I guess it could go either way. But I guess if you want to be pure, you should stick to the top of the plant. And I suddenly feel like I have no idea what I'm talking about, so I better cut it short. :think:

Dear All,

I am new to this list and relatively new to the area too (just moved here in August) ...I would really love to meet up with you all, but it seems that it will depend on the time. Have you decided on lunch or dinner? Lunch might not work for me, but I could definetely make it for dinner. If this is not suitable for others of course, we could always meet up another time.

Btw, I was thinking of organising a free vegetarian/vegan cooking class at my place sometime in March. I have some other friends here and we were thinking that this might be a good idea for people to get together. I am Greek and they are Chinese and American so it might work out very interesting. Do you think any of you would be interested?
The idea is not to have a paid class or anything, but get to know some people and have a fun day exchanging recipes :-).

This was a big success. I personally had a great time and met about 7 new people. The food was amazing! I think we should all get together again, maybe for a hike in Rock Creek Park or something.

Hey, this might be off topic and if it is I am sorry. I just wanted to introduce myself...my name is chelsea and I live in baltimore maryland. I have lived here my whole life but will be moving in a few months to PA

This was a big success. I personally had a great time and met about 7 new people. The food was amazing! I think we should all get together again, maybe for a hike in Rock Creek Park or something.

When did this happen? I didn't see anything about dates. :(

This was a big success. I personally had a great time and met about 7 new people. The food was amazing! I think we should all get together again, maybe for a hike in Rock Creek Park or something. I'm glad to hear you all had a nice time. I would have joined you but unfortunately I already had other plans so couldn't make it. Definately next time!