This past Saturday my husband and I went out for a much-needed dinner-and-movie night out. Both of us were craving a departure from the general rhythms of suburban life. So we went to the city, or more precisely, to Georgetown , an eclectic neighborhood made up of restaurants, used and rare bookstores, and Georgetown University. The beauty of this area of town is the plethora of restaurants up and down the main drags of M street and beyond. We could walk around and pick a place willy-nilly. As we were to find out, this has its benefits and drawbacks.
Our pedestrian wanderings took us into some wonderful bookstores, fun shops, and finally, to a strip of 3 restaurants altogether: One French, one Mexican, and one Indian. We stopped in at the French restaurant first, but sadly, they only took reservations. So we decided, Ok, it's been a while since we have had Indian. We decided on Taj of India, a restaurant of Northern Indian cuisine which we had been to a few times over the past decade, including one dramatic summer evening in 2003, during a wild lightning storm. I recalled the restaurant being a pleasant experience with reasonable good food. I was hoping for a similarly good experience.
Fortunately, this restaurant seated us fairly quickly. It was around 7pm, just before the crowds arrive in the DC area on Saturday nights. The waiter seated us in a corner table close to the bar. We shared one order each of naan bread, the soft, thick yogurt-and-flour-based bread basic to Indian cuisine in the USA; and vegetable samosas. Also chaat papri, an appetizer of crisp bread, yogurt, chick peas and spices. Both of us went for our old standby, chicken tikka masala. This dish is really not traditional Indian, I found out a few years ago, but a later invention made up for Western palates with tastes for milder, creamier versions of Indian food. In England it is more commonly known as butter chicken.
The vegetable samosas were very mildly spiced, almost not at all. However we enjoyed their take on the breaded outer layer: Rather than the oily, crispy layer that it usually is, this samosa bread was soft, thick, fluffy. The chaat papri was adequate, hugely dosed in yogurt and a barely detectable amount of curry. The naan bread held the telltale standard, softly triangular shape of a chain-produced item, ie, not made on site. I cannot be sure of this, but I just had a feeling.
Then came the main dish. Now, while I realize tikka masala is already a pseudo-Indian dish, I was surprised to see the sauce look almost entirely creamy, slightly saffron-colored, with very little if any tomato-and-curry/chili spice. This is my pet peeve with many Indian eateries, be they formal or casual: they pare the taste down too much, presumably because they assume Westerners cannot, or wish not, to handle the hot factor or "different" ingredients in their spices. I adore Indian spices of curry, cumin, chili powder, and the richness of turmeric and saffron, and I like my dishes much hotter. Some conscientious places will inquire first before providing us with the milquetoast version of their dishes, but I have seen this practice dwindle over the past decade, as Indian food is consumed on a larger scale in the United States. The current recession may also be driving this practice, as restaurants attempt to save on costs. However, the chicken itself was very tender, the rice just so. The quality of the ingredients used, in other words, was good, but a "Westerner's version" seemed to pervade its preparation.
Now a word about the service: from start to finish, our waiter stood around long enough to take our orders, but his mind was obviously on other things. He kept swiveling his head to look at the table next to us, the kitchen, the door. Often we had to repeat our orders to him. I was tempted to ask him if he was expecting something, and sorry we were such an interruption. When he and a helper brought the dishes, they were plopped on the table indifferently. For dessert, my husband and I ordered mango kulfi (Indian ice cream) and rice pudding, respectively. The rice pudding was predictable yummy, but regrettably devoid of pistachios, cardamom, or any of the other flavors that make Indian desserts so distinctive and memorable. And when it was brought out, the waiter plopped my small dish of rice pudding on my side of the table and informed my husband that they were out of kulfi. In my experience, it is good etiquette for waiters to inform their patrons of what is available before bringing their companions food, so no one is left out. My husband declined dessert and we asked for the check.
Soon the restaurant began filling just a bit more, and indeed, I could see the source of our waiter's attention. He swiveled his head once more, looked to the next table, and perked up as it began filling up with a large group. The manager or owner eventually stopped by our table and graciously apologized for the lack of kulfi and tried to persuade my husband to order something else. We thanked him very much for his courtesy, but hubby declined. The attentiveness of the manager would have made a vast difference in our experience, had our waiter expressed some level of interest beyond plate-plopping. But sadly, it was too little, too late. The sense I get from this restaurant is that it is banking on the general public's interest in Indian food, plus the fact that it has location, location, location. It has good potential, but it either had a weak night, or it has lost touch with consumers who want a more memorable experience of Indian food. On the other hand, the dinner was reasonably good, filling, and we reliably had a table and a meal in Georgetown without a loud crowd -- an undeniable plus.
So overall, this restaurant was a satisfying dining-out experience, if a bit disappointing in "fine Indian cuisine".
Question: Can folks recommend some delicious Indian fare in the DC Metro area? Or any other part of the country, the world? What Indian dishes do you like, and why?
Star rating: **
Taj of India
2809 M Street, NW, Georgetown
Washington, DC 20007
(202) 965-4266
Fax: (202) 965-3305
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