I regularly go to a
small little Pakistani restaurant here in Toronto that is right across the street from my apartment. They probably serve the best haleem and nihari in the city, and i've always attributed the amazing food to Whipped. Who is Whipped you ask?
Well, this restaurant is comprised of two interesting characters, the owner and the cook. The owner, who looks like a brown version of Jimmy Kimmel, is one of those really loud but friendly guys that always has something to talk about with his customers, from the weather and astrology, to religion and politics. It's a good personality to have since he can make his customers feel important, which keeps them coming back. Unfortunately, the quiet and timid cook doesn't appear to receive the same friendly treatment from the owner. Every time I have gone into the restaurant, the owner is usually sitting near the cash register playing chess or solitaire on his computer, while the cook is literally roasting in front of the tandoor, cooking kebabs and naans, with sweat dripping down the sides of his face. I once observed a customer ask the owner for some chai, after which point the owner turned to the already abused cook and said 'Chai laga-do', which means 'put the tea on the stove'. The cook quietly obliged, and the owner then continued playing his game of chess and chatting with customers. On another occasion, I was once eating some tasty kebabs near the back of the restaurant when I noticed the cook in the back room slumping down on a sack of rice, looking completely exhausted, only to be hailed back into the kitchen a minute later to attend to the tandoor again. As you have probably figured out, 'Whipped' is the nickname that we gave to refer to the cook, since I never heard the owner refer to him by any formal name.
Unfortunately, I went into the restaurant a few days ago and noticed that Whipped was nowhere in sight. I asked the owner where he was, and it turns out that Whipped simply stopped coming into work one day! Good for him I say! Unfortunately, it's not good for me since i've noticed that the haleem isn't as good as it used to be. But at least the owner has to move his butt now, so hopefully he'll appreciate Whipped a little bit more now and will maybe get down on his hands and knees and beg for him to return.
