Few journeys are as difficult, dangerous or gratifying as climbing Mt. Everest. However, if people do not feel up to risking life and limb for glory in the Himalayas, they can still enjoy Himalayan-inspired food by journeying to the Himalayan Eatery. The Himalayan Eatery, like Mt. Everest, boasts some large numbers—a staggering 61 sandwiches averaging close to $9 each. The restaurant’s menu offers pastrami, pork, steak, turkey, meatloaf and veggie sandwiches.
The owners Ashish (AK) Karki and Sanam Reham enjoy the creative license of inventing sandwiches and showcasing this creativity with sandwiches such as the Texas Reuben, a sandwich loaded with barbecued roast beef, cheddar cheese, chipotle sauce and spicy cole slaw on grilled sour- dough bread.
The ingredients of other sandwiches could also be listed, but they would likely eat up the rest of the article. Karki and Reham spent an extraordinary amount of time crafting the menu—two years to be exact.
One other hard-to-find item the eatery offers is dumplings, which the owners call Momos. They o er five different Momos that come in packs of three for $3.99 or six for $5.99. One of the most unique Momos is the Cheese Hamburger Momo: ground beef, cheddar cheese and secret spices. Even though Momos are a small feature of the menu, Karki and Reham spent two months perfecting their recipe.
Karki and Reham’s dedication to food is fueled by one specific purpose: Both said they want to make people happy through food.
Reham and Karki are an example of how two different people from different cultures can go out into the world, come together and make something amazing—their wide array of sandwiches.
Karki left Nepal when he was 18 years old to go to Australia to attend culinary school, and Reham graduated from culinary school in India. However, much of their education about food came after culinary school.
“Back home (in India) I wouldn’t have known what a cheeseburger was … but now I could make 20 different kinds of cheeseburgers from different places in the United States,” Re-ham said.
Both men enjoy meeting other people from other cultures and contributing their shared knowledge to the menu, which explains the vast selection of sandwiches they have perfected for their customers.
This perfection is exactly what makes the ordering process at the eatery fun and similar to buying a car.
For example, if a customer asked for a Reuben sandwich without the special-house sauce, to Reham and Karki, the sandwich has lost its essence; it is simply incomplete and is no longer going to make the customer happy. So, with the customer’s best interests in mind, Reham and Karki will go on a journey of sandwich selection until the perfect sandwich has been found for the customer. Bobby Perde, senior Christian Studies major, went on this journey to find his perfect sandwich.
“The peak of my Himalayan Eatery experience was when I observed how loyal and passionate one can be in crafting a mouthwatering sandwich,” Per- de said. “If you want your taste buds to reach their summit of satisfaction, this place is shouting your name from the mountain tops!”
The Himalayan Eatery is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and is located at 2025 Chicago Ave. Unit A14 in Riverside.
