An intimate dining experience. A journey through Central India.
Born from memories of Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh kitchens, 23rd Parallel is a thoughtfully paced evening of food, poetry recital, and stories shared at the table.
May 17, 2026 · 8 seats per night · San Jose, California
You arrive as a guest. You leave as part of a story. Between those two moments — seven courses, a poem read aloud, and the kind of conversation that only happens when eight strangers sit down together and taste something true.
Menu varies each month. Vegetarian by design. Surprises guaranteed.
✦ 6 PM · 8 seatsI grew up in Korba, Chhattisgarh — a small city in the coal belt where the market smelled of raw turmeric and mahua flowers, and food was never written down because everyone already knew. Then came Surat, Gujarat, where I was raised on undhiyu and the particular sweetness Gujaratis fold into everything. My roots, though, are in Bhopal — my parents' city, the one I return to, the one that made me.
I studied and worked in Maharashtra before the road brought me to California. Trained as a software engineer, I spent years building systems — but the thing I kept returning to was the food nobody here had tasted. Central India's flavors are among the most layered in the subcontinent, and almost entirely unknown to the world. That felt like something worth fixing.
23rd Parallel is my answer. A Californian table set with forgotten recipes of the heartland — reinterpreted with local produce and the eye of someone who has lived at both ends of the world. Not fusion. Not nostalgia. Something new, grown from something very old.
"I grew up eating food that has no Michelin stars, no Instagram presence, no English translation. It just had flavor — the kind that lives in your body for decades. That's what I'm serving."
— Host & Chef · 23rd Parallel
Each dinner at 23rd Parallel is shaped as a seasonal, multi-course journey through central India — drawing from Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and neighboring culinary traditions, then reinterpreting them through California produce and a contemporary table.
Rather than a fixed list of dishes, the menu changes with the market, the mood of the season, and the story being told that evening. Expect thoughtful pacing, elegant plating, and flavors that feel both rooted and surprising.
Some evenings may lean nostalgic and comfort-driven. Others may highlight lesser-known regional ingredients, festive preparations, or a single place remembered through several courses. No two dinners are exactly the same.
The full menu is revealed at the table.
The menu changes with the season. These are only a few of the stories we've told.
We're collecting stories from our guests. Check back soon — there's much to tell.
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23rd Parallel Supper Club · San Jose, CA
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