Pondi Café Now Open at Asia Society Texas Center

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HOUSTON: Visitors to Asia Society Texas in the heart of the Houston Museum District are now greeted by the enticing aromas of India-inspired cuisine from Pondi, Pondicheri’s little sister. Pondi is open for extended lunch hours Tuesday-Sunday with a vibrant and innovative menu featuring everything from Butter Chicken to Saffron Shrimp Salad and Bombay Benedict.

“Asia Society Texas is known for providing Houstonians access to beautiful art exhibits and scintillating programs and policy discussions,” said Asia Society Texas President Bonna Kol. “Now, we will also be known as a destination for cultural cuisine. This aligns perfectly with what we do and we couldn’t be more excited about the new partnership.”

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“I believe you should eat well and live spicy,” said Pondicheri Chef Anita Jaisinghani. “Pondi and Asia Society are providing the opportunity to achieve both. I am thrilled to be serving lunch around some of the best cultural programming in Houston.”

Pondicheri, Pondi for short, is the old French name of a city in Southern India now called Puducherry.

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Jaisinghani chose it as the name for her restaurant not because she or her food are from there, but just because the city had a special meaning in her childhood and she loves the sound of the word. Pondi’s menu represents carefully curated and authentic, yet reinvented preparations, from all over the Indian subcontinent.

Pondi is open Tuesday-Friday, 11 am-5 pm and Saturday-Sunday, 10 am-5 pm. The menu is available at www.pondicheri.com.

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Before or after lunch, make plans to visit Asia Society’s current exhibit Wondrous Worlds: Art & Islam Through Time & Place, a showcase of the global history and breadth of Islamic art. In recognition of the city’s ongoing recovery from Hurricane Harvey, general admission to the exhibition is FREE through December. Two factors distinguish this exhibition: first, the inclusion of works from areas largely overlooked in most exhibitions of Islamic art; and second, modern and contemporary works are featured side-by-side with historic objects. “There are works spanning more than 1,400 years of faith, culture and everyday life of Muslims across the world,” said Bridget Bray, Asia Society Texas Center’s Nancy C. Allen Curator and Director of Exhibitions. “Nearly all media, ranging from carpets to dress to jewelry, ceramics, glass, metal, paintings, prints, calligraphy and photographs are on display.”

The exhibition is organized by the Newark Museum. It runs through February 25, 2018, but you can only get in for free until December 31. Information about future programs and exhibitions is available at AsiaSociety.org/Texas