University of Pennsylvania, Cornell University, Brown University

The Initiation. Sitting inside an Indian restaurant for the first time, I tweaked my imaginary mustache and tapped the tip of my fountain pen against the cream-colored paper. I was mentally prepping myself to document whatever would hit my taste buds first. “May I take your order, Ma’m?” The genial restaurant owner with a real mustache kindly brought me back to earth from my food-critic daydreams. “Uh… yeah… I’ll have the….” I skimmed the menu before I found a combination of letters that made sense. “… curry fish head,” I finally mustered. Back then, I didn't know that that dish was simply a…