An old-fashioned restaurant

Last week my traveling companion to India treated me to lunch for her birthday. (Yes, you read that right. People who have birthdays here treat others to lunch or cake, and not the other way around!) We went to one of the few unrenovated, old-style restaurants that still remain. By this I mean that the restaurant is very unpretentious, the tables are covered with simple white tablecloths, a lot of people are smoking, and the waiters, dressed in dark pants, white shirts, and black vests, are professionals, but without the snootiness. This particular restaurant hasn't changed since I moved here over thirty years ago. The white plates with the blue trim and the paper napkins under the serving dish took me back in time, as did the salt, pepper, and toothpick holder. That's a mulled wine you see to accompany my sarma, rice and meat wrapped in cabbage leaves, with a piece of pork, potatoes, a corn muffin, and homemade bread in the basket. The only things that are atypical are the the bottle of balsamic vinegar and the olive oil that replaced the regular wine vinegar and sunflower seed oil!