Life at NYU Law » SALSA Ball: Celebrating Diwali

(Originally posted at Life at NYU Law » SALSA Ball: Celebrating Diwali)

This past Friday, the South Asian Law Students Association held the SALSA Ball, the group’s annual celebration of Diwali, the festival of lights. As a member of the group, I participated in full force. Just in case you could not readily discern it from my picture to the right, I am not South Asian. Why then, you ask, am I a member of SALSA?

Let’s backtrack. When I was an undergrad, my only involvement in extracurricular activities was to help establish a student group named the Global Cuisine LLC. This brilliant ploy allowed my friends and me to frequent various DC-area restaurants and feast on different ethnic foods, all on the dime of our gracious benefactor: The George Washington University. The LLC may have been somewhat unconventional, but that was the extent of my participation in student groups.

About a month ago, NYU Law’s Office of Student Affairs held the annual Student Groups Fair. Representatives from each group manned tables sprawled across Greenberg Lounge, luring in wide-eyed 1Ls with candy and fliers. Considering my lackluster extracurricular history, I did not anticipate signing up for many clubs. But that all changed quickly: the representatives of each group promised me free food, free drinks, and other benefits just for joining. Reflecting back on my experience with the Global Cuisine LLC, “free food” was all I needed to hear. Pen in hand, I made the rounds to each table and scribbled my name on the ledgers of nearly every student group in sight. It was as if I were on autopilot; soon, I was in over my head. I joined the Student Animal Legal Defense Fund, Older Wiser Law Students, West Coast Connection, LSHR, SALSA, APALSA, and many more. I did not even know what many of the acronyms stood for, but that didn’t matter. I was in the zone. I even managed to sign up for Law Women, whose representatives, after laughing at me, told me that being male did not disqualify me.

As a result of my over-zealousness, my NYU email account is now constantly inundated with event invitations from the various clubs. For many people, this is where Gmail’s “spam” folder enters the equation. But for strapped-for-cash law students like myself, these list-serves are a godsend. Now I am sure that all of these events would be enthralling anyway, but add in the element of free food and drink, and I am there.

Soon after the fair, I received my first email from SALSA, which I discovered was the acronym for the South Asian Law Students Association. The email promised free Thai food at their first meeting; right away, I knew it had been a good decision to join. Just like the Law Women reps, the SALSA representatives at the fair had been very welcoming, assuring me that being Caucasian did not preclude me from joining their group either. I went to the meeting and enjoyed the free (and gluten-free) Pad Thai while I met the other group members. And that was when I first learned about the SALSA Ball to celebrate Diwali.

I felt rather ignorant. Admittedly, before then I had no idea what Diwali was all about. After asking a few questions and doing some research, I learned that the festival of lights represents the victory of good over evil, empowering everyone to perform good deeds in their everyday lives. On a more spiritual level, the festival is meant to reveal an awareness of the “inner light.” In Hindu culture, Atman is something pure, infinite and eternal, existing beyond the physical body and mind. The essence of Diwali is to rejoice in Atman, the inner light, which illuminates the oneness of all things as well as the importance of being compassionate.

With my new-found understanding of Diwali, I had a good feeling about last Friday’s SALSA Ball. I was certainly not disappointed. Held in the Greenberg Lounge, the night was filled with food, drink, dancing, and the spirit of South Asia. Roughly 320 law students and their friends attended the event, 100 more attendees than last year’s celebration. Guests were treated to a full Indian buffet dinner featuring samosas, chicken tikka masala, saag paneer, basmati rice, and naan. In addition, the event featured an open bar with a selection of beers, wines, and non-alcoholic beverages, a henna artist decorating guests’ hands with reddish-orange dye, and a DJ playing traditional Bollywood dance music. Tickets were just $15 at the door ($12 at the week-long presale in Golding Lounge), and all of the proceeds were donated to Sakhi, a local nonprofit organization serving domestic violence victims of South Asian descent.

I volunteered to help out as a bartender for an hour of the event. During that time, multiple people approached and asked me if I were part South Asian. Seriously. Although I may have inadvertently caused some confusion, I do not regret joining SALSA as a Caucasian. No matter your ethnicity, we could all benefit from becoming more culturally aware. And of course, we could all benefit from more free food.

Will The FDA Finally Implement Standardized Gluten-Free Labeling?

The Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act of 2004 mandated that the presence of any of the “eight major allergenic foods” be clearly identified on a label.  This included wheat, milk, soybeans, peanuts, tree nuts, eggs, fish, and crustacean shellfish.  Additionally, the law required the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to finalize standards for "gluten-free" labeling by August, 2008.  Unfortunately, the regulations have still not been finalized; more than three years later, we are still waiting for FDA to fulfill that mandate and establish the "gluten-free" standard.

But hope was restored on August 2, 2011, when the FDA announced it was reopening the Gluten-Free Labeling proposal for an additional 60 day comment period.  Advocacy organizations such as 1in133.org (so named to represent that an estimated 1 out of every 133 Americans suffers from the disease) implored celiacs to add their names to the petition and share their comments on the proposed gluten-free labeling standard.  At the close of the comment period yesterday, the American Celiac Disease Alliance (ACDA) submitted its comments to the FDA in the form of a nine page document.

Principal among the comments is the ACDA's concurrence with the FDA's proposal that a product may be labeled “gluten-free” if it does not contain 20 parts-per-millon or more of gluten.  Although in theory celiacs must follow a 100% gluten-free diet, which may lead some to believe that a 0 ppm standard is necessary, research has demonstrated that a 20 ppm standard is safe for the majority of individuals with celiac disease.  The proposed rule is very important as there is currently no agreed upon industry standard as to the "acceptable" amount of gluten in a producted deemed gluten-free.

I also believe the inclusion of the following comment (if implemented) represents a great leap forward:

"The ACDA strongly urges the FDA to bar the use of qualifying claims for inherently gluten-free foods and require all products labeled ‘gluten-free’ to be in compliance with the <20ppm standard, and follow the same labeling protocols. Although this position differs from existing policy for the labeling of inherently ‘free’ foods, it is warranted to help maximize the safety of celiac consumers."

Currently, if a product is not labelled "gluten-free", a celiac must analyze the ingredients before making a judgment call as to its safety.  But even products that some would deem "obviously" gluten-free (i.e. oats & other grains as detailed in ACDA comments) can present risks.  Requiring the same labeling standards for these products would make the celiac experience at the grocery store much less taxing.

Now that the FDA has received our comments, we celiacs continue our wait.  Perhaps we should not be overly encouraged, as the organization has already dragged its feet on this issue for a displeasing amount of time.  But sooner or later, the FDA will implement standardized gluten-free labeling, and celiacs everywhere will rejoice in knowing that our interests are finally being recognized.  As always, hope is a good thing.

NYC: Center of the Gluten-Free Universe

It is already well-established by scientists that New York City is the center of the universe.  But after just three weeks of living here I've come to my own conclusion:  New York City is also the center of the gluten-free universe.  There's just no debate.

Now, I am not/will never be a "food blogger" in the traditional sense of the term.  The number of people reviewing restaurants on the internet is already well past its saturation point, and quite frankly I know that no one cares what I ate for lunch last Tuesday, and how good it was, etc.

Having said that, I am utterly blown away by the amount of gluten-free friendly restaurants within walking distance from my apartment in Greenwich Village.  I feel compelled to share this information, if only so that desperate celiacs around the country will know where to migrate.  Not to my apartment... I meant to the city.  I should probably clarify that.  Moving on...

First, there's S'MAC (345 East 12th Street).  Sarita's Macaroni & Cheese eatery allows you to order ANYTHING from their menu gluten-free.  Brown rice elbow macaroni can be substituted for an additional charge, and they even use gluten-free cornflakes rather than actual bread to make the breadcrumbs for every dish.  And instead of Small, Medium, and Large, they've taken a play out of Starbucks' book and gone with their own sizing system: Nosh, Major Munch, Mongo, and Partay!  For a restaurant that only serves macaroni they do extremely well, but it's easy to understand why.

The majority of Indian food is naturally gluten-free, so when it comes to Indian restaurants celiacs can usually just pick one and not have to worry.  But Panna II Garden (93 1st Ave) is not your typical Indian restaurant.  For one, the dining room is like New Delhi on acid.  Their motto is "Where Christmas Tree Lights Meets Chili Pepper Lights" and nothing has ever been more accurate.  If you suffer from seizures I warn you to exercise caution when entering the labyrinth of low-hanging bright flashing light bulbs.  And make sure you tell them it's your birthday.  The waiters will serenade you with a masterful techno-Bollywood rendition of "Happy Birthday" before serving you a complimentary mango sorbet.  Also, like any fine establishment Panna II is BYOB.  It's the little things that count.

Although potatoes are gluten-free, eating french fries is nearly impossible as a celiac.  Most restaurants use the same frialator and do not change the oil when cooking different things; as soon as a breaded chicken finger or mozzarella stick is fried, the oil is contaminated with gluten.  At that point only a celiac with a death wish would eat anything from that frialator, including the otherwise safe french fries.
But at Pommes Frites (123 2nd Ave) this is not an issue; the only option on the menu is authentic Belgian french fries.  Nearly 30 Tasty Sauces cover the entire spectrum of flavors.  Not all of the sauces are gluten-free, but the shop is well aware of gluten and will provide you with a menu that clearly identifies the contents and allergen information on request.  Unfortunately, I had to choose something other than Vietnamese Pineapple Mayo, as I learned that it contains soy sauce... I guess I can't expect to get everything I want.

Risotteria (270 Bleecker Street) is the self-proclaimed "gluten-free heaven" and I can't really argue with them.  Unlike many restaurants that stock frozen gluten-free bread to offer as an alternative, at Risotteria everything is baked fresh in the kitchen.  Every gluten-free menu item is clearly marked with a "g", meaning that even the semi-literate celiacs are in luck.  Your food comes adorned with a little flag that reads, "The Celiac Seal: Certified Gluten-Free" with a picture of a baby seal.  In addition to being clever, Risotteria offers gluten-free pizzas, gluten-free risottos, gluten-free paninis... even the breadsticks are gluten-free.  And all of the desserts, too.  Lastly, they serve no less than FIVE gluten-free beers (RedBridge, Bard's Tale, New Grist, Green's, and St. Peter's).  So yeah, I'd say they make a pretty good case for gluten-free heaven.

Alright.  I know you've been wondering for the last two minutes, and I don't want to ruin anybody's

We are open!

day, so I'll tell you.  Last Tuesday I had a Pondicherry Dosa for lunch.  And it was really, really good.  NY Dosas (50 Washington Square South) is a South Indian street cart vendor that sets up shop in front of Washington Square Park just a block away from the law school.  My new best friend Thirukumar, or Dosa Man as he's more commonly known, assured me that all of his Dosas (except Rava) as well as the vegan soy drumsticks are gluten-free.  But the best part?  Dosa Man is on twitter; you can follow him @nydosas.  Everyday at about 8:30 AM he tweets, "we are open".  It's like clockwork.  Except, of course, during Hurricane Irene, when he tweeted, "we are not open".  High comedy.

So as you can see, I live in the center of the gluten-free universe.  If you still don't believe me, yelp has my back on this one.  New York City is a mecca for celiacs, and all of you gluten-eaters better watch out.  We're taking over.  You've been warned.  Now excuse me while I bury my face in my macaroni.

Interpreting the Omens at One L Orientation

(Originally posted at Life at NYU Law » Interpreting the Omens at One L Orientation)

 

“We have this language of the omens, the language of the signs. It is an alphabet that is directed to us.” –Paulo Coelho

The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho’s classic fable, tells the story of a young Andalusian shepherd named Santiago. After having a particularly vivid recurring dream, Santiago visits a gypsy woman to have the dream interpreted. When the gypsy insists that the shepherd travel to Egypt to find his treasure, he is dubious. But then a wise old man approaches Santiago, instructing him to follow his dream and interpret the omens around him. The next day, Santiago sells all of his sheep and embarks on a journey across Africa.

Settling in at NYU last week to attend the law school’s orientation, I couldn’t help but think of Santiago. Everywhere I went there were omens. It began on Tuesday when a magnitude 5.8 earthquake rocked the East Coast. Standing in my ten-by-eleven D’Agostino cell, I held onto my desk for dear life as I waited for the sudden vertigo to pass. I must be losing it, I thought to myself. I’ve been in the city for less than 24 hours and I’m already having a breakdown. Eventually I regained my balance, and a few minutes later 546 Facebook status updates reassured me that mine was not the only world to shake. I tried to brush the episode off, but a few hours later, just seconds after having my student ID photo snapped a fire alarm blared loudly. The fire department evacuated Vanderbilt Hall, forcing me to wait across the street for a half-hour before receiving my ID. It was a minor inconvenience, but experiencing the largest East Coast earthquake since 1944 a day before the start of orientation? Not a good omen.

Thankfully, the rest of the day passed without incident. When I visited the NYU Bookstore on Wednesday, a dazed expression swept over my face as I stared up at the stacks upon stacks of tomes and casebooks, many of them authored by my new professors. Once again I suddenly felt dizzy, but this time shifting tectonic plates were not to blame. Accepting the reality that I am now a law student, I slowly scoured the shelves for my books. I left the store nearly $800 poorer, but I do have some nice light reading (and a new coffee mug!) to show for it.

Envisioning two hours of awkward forced bonding, I was wary of the section mixer on Wednesday night. In retrospect, I should have gone prepared with some really creative answers to the requisite Four Questions: Where are you from? Where did you do your undergrad? Where are you living? And, what kind of law do you want to study? Luckily I met a bunch of interesting people and enjoyed the event, even partaking in a few real life conversations.

On Thursday morning the omens struck again. After my alarm disrupted my slumber at the ungodly hour of 8:00 a.m., I dragged myself into the bathroom. I twisted the shower knob and began to brush my teeth as I waited for the water to heat up. Spitting out my toothpaste, I stuck my hand beneath the showerhead. Still cold. It’s early, I thought. Maybe it will take a few minutes. But a few minutes passed with no signs of heat. If anything, the water felt icier each time I tested it. Not wanting to hog the bathroom from my roommate, and unwilling to meet my colleagues in my present state, I gritted my teeth and hopped in. Despite frantically washing and scrubbing as quickly as humanly possible, the shower was still my most brutal in recent memory. The message was loud and clear: Your life is miserable now. Get used to it.

The day quickly improved, thanks in large part to the free coffee that NYU so graciously provided us throughout the morning. In the afternoon I met my 30-student Lawyering section, a remarkable group that includes a Ph.D. holder, a certified yoga instructor, and an ordained rabbi. We had a fairly heated debate about a hypothetical situation involving Angelina Jolie, a moped, and a statue of an army tank. I guess you had to be there. At our “brown bag” lunch, I was pleasantly surprised to receive a gluten-free alternative to the provided sandwiches, and got to explain to everyone how I’m special and get special treatment from the school and all of that. It’s just one of the perks of being a celiac.

By Friday the hot water had returned, but a dark cloud hung over the day’s events as the school and city made preparations for Hurricane Irene. NYU’s advisory emails began pouring in before the first drop of rain, instructing us to (among other things) keep our Venetian blinds closed. Indeed, things seemed dire. On Saturday morning my roommate went so far as to evacuate the premises in search of drier lands. After fighting through crowds at the grocery and liquor stores, I hunkered down in my apartment, took one last look at civilization, shut the blinds and waited.

Despite temporarily converting the concrete jungle into a ghost town, the storm certainly did not live up to the hype. From what I gathered none of the NYU Law community was greatly affected, and on Monday our events proceeded as scheduled. A tornado really would have capped off my first week in the city quite nicely, but I think we were all pleased to avoid any more natural disasters.

With the conclusion of orientation, my colleagues and I now embark on a three-year exploration of the law. Like Santiago, we all hope this journey leads to some great treasure, whether monetarily or otherwise rewarding. Although the omens this week were not always so bright, Irene’s mild outcome leaves me hopeful that our collective anxiety of what lies ahead is ultimately unfounded. But if law school really does become as horrible as some of us fear, just remember that we could always take another cue from Santiago: sell our sheep and flee to Africa.

Outside Lands Music & Arts Festival

This weekend I went to California to visit my sister and to attend the Outside Lands Music & Arts Festival. San Francisco is filled with some, uh, interesting people to begin with…but throw in nearly 70,000 festival-goers (many of them loyal Phish “phans” following the festival’s headlining band) and suddenly people-watching reaches a whole new level of entertainment. A number of attendees seized the opportunity to wear full-body animal costumes. Or maybe they were just doing it for warmth. Combine temperatures dropping into the 50s with a steady ocean breeze flowing through Golden Gate Park and you’ve got all the makings of a chilly festival.

The Shins revealed that their new album is coming in 2012.

But luckily, after a cloudy opening day, on
Saturday and Sunday the weather was amazing. I saw many, many bands this weekend. In addition to Phish, the three-day event was headlined by Muse and Arcade Fire; roughly 100 other acts performed on four stages and inside a DJ dome across the festival grounds. I liked basically everything that I saw, but the most memorable acts (aside from the headliners, and in no particular order) were Little Dragon, Ellie Goulding, The Black Keys, Paper Diamond, The Shins, Girl Talk, Lotus, STS9, Major Lazer and Foster the People. I think I finished a marathon just walking to all of the stages.

Between shows, there were plenty of opportunities to unwind. Thanks to a rather loose interpretation of “medicinal use”, California is on another level when it comes to laid-back living. It goes without saying that the festival was no exception. Also, the Wine Lands tent featured tastings from over thirty local wineries, many of them start-ups from the Sonoma and Napa valleys. My favorites were Hobo, Palmina, and Banshee, which not only offered quality products but also doled out rather generous ‘one-ounce’ pours.

Girl Talk's finale = mind-blowing.

In keeping with the city’s rich street food culture, there were a staggering number of culinary options to offer “a taste of the Bay Area Restaurants”. With one area of the park designated as Food Truck Forest and yet another Choco Lands, there really was something for everyone…yup, even the gluten-free. Before the festival, I inquired via email about what options I would have within the park. One of the event coordinators responded that the festival was “replete with seafood”, specified a gluten-free cookie vendor, and also mentioned a potential gluten-free pizza vendor. Inside, I found GF peanut butter cookies at Brad Roth’s Choco Lands concession, but the wheat-less pizza was nonexistent. Maybe next year. Given such a large group of attendees, I was impressed that my email garnered a response at all.

Safe to say a lot of people saw Foster the People.

Getting out of the park via public transportation was a nightmare. On Friday night, as our semi-full train pulled into each overcrowded station along Judah Street, our conductor instructed passengers to crowd the doors and not allow any additional people to board. I guess she was in a hurry…if this had happened in Seoul or Beijing, there would have been riots. Even being fortunate enough to get on a train, it took us nearly three hours to reach Palo Alto (a 45-minute drive by comparison). So the logistics could definitely use some work. But all in all, the Outside Lands festival is a great synthesis of music, art, food, and people in one of America’s most colorful cities.

The audience sang so loud that Foster the People stopped and let them handle Pumped Up Kicks:

DJ/Producer Paper Diamond played a lot of new material. Samples from three new tracks:

 

...and his dubstep remix of Kanye West's Power:

The Shins played a great set on Friday night. Here are samples from five songs:

 

And finally, Girl Talk's finale on Saturday night:

Midsummer Report

Hey world. It took a while, but I have finally recovered from reverse-culture shock. As far as I can tell, since I left there’s been some progress toward a gluten-free America. More and more restaurants are implementing gluten-free options, and the diet is gaining a lot of mainstream attention.

Poolside office...can't complain.

Although I’ve been unemployed, the last two months have been rather busy. I’ve thrown myself headfirst into writing a proposal for a book about my life experience over the last 2+ years (noticing the first signs of celiac disease, visiting doctors for nearly 10 months, getting properly diagnosed, figuring out the gluten-free diet and traveling around Asia, finally healthy again). Writing a book is a daunting task; in college, I actively avoided any writing-intensive courses. I was a statistics major by design. Not to say that I didn’t enjoy writing – I just enjoy writing much more when it is on my own terms. That being said, I’ve realized my writing needs a lot of work, so I’ve attended a few literary workshops. If all goes according to plan, I’ll finish a book proposal by the end of the summer, send a copy to every literary agent and publishing house I can get an address for, and start receiving rejection letters mid-Autumn.

Is it strange that I actually enjoy coding?

Also, this summer I learned just enough HTML, CSS, and JavaScript code to write this website. And by “learned”, I mean, “stole and manipulated source code from the Internet”, but you get the idea…it’s still pretty time consuming. The site is still a work in progress so please bear with me.

I’ve edited a series of short videos, GFNOMAD: Asia. Most of the episodes have nothing to do with gluten but instead show some of my more memorable travel experiences. The episodes are all roughly two minutes long and the entire "season" will only take up about 15 minutes of your time.

The beer you can't get in stores.

I’m in the process of brewing a batch of gluten-free beer, made with sorghum and honey. It’s a hobby I picked up last summer after I was diagnosed. If you must follow a gluten-free diet and were previously a beer drinker, I highly recommend homebrewing. It's a fairly simple process as long as you can read directions and know how to tell time. And if you're in the habit of drinking Redbridge and cider all of the time, homemade beer is a nice change-up. I’m forever grateful to the good people at Homebrewer’s Outpost, who make it easy to do-it-yourself with their Gluten-Free Brew Kits.

The first gluten free t-shirt you ever wore...

So, things are happening here at the GFNomad Headquarters. I hope everyone is enjoying the summer as much as I am. In three weeks, I will be moving to Greenwich Village to begin my studies at NYU School of Law. I will be writing for the Student Life Blog, but will make an effort to keep things updated here as I explore the gluten-free heaven that is New York City. One last thing…I'm selling “Mo’ Gluten, Mo’ Problems” t-shirts for $16.99 plus the cost of shipping. It's my fallback plan in case the whole law school thing doesn’t pan out. I'm just kidding...I think.