Eat Great Cheap 2015The lights are low. The mood is serene. You sip a cocktail and relax as you await the rest of your meal. Nothing out of the ordinary if we were talking about a trendy new restaurant in downtown DC, but in a strip-mall several miles from downtown Silver Spring, and from the owners of Woodlands in Langley Park, a place as tasty as it is worn? Fortunately, the cooking has the oomph and finesse typically absent when restaurants decide to emphasize style and setting. Of particular note, for a kitchen generally strong across the board, are the curries, which manage to be hearty without weighing you down, and the handful of seafood preparations, including an excellent shrimp jalfrezi.
Cuisine: Indian
Where you can get it: 10151 New Hampshire Ave., Silver Spring; 301-408-2200
Also good: Papri chaat, a snack of fried dough, chickpeas, and potatoes with yogurt and tamarind; tandoori prawns; tandoori lamb chops; prawn vindaloo.
Ann Limpert joined Washingtonian in late 2003. She was previously an editorial assistant at Entertainment Weekly and a cook in New York restaurant kitchens, and she is a graduate of the Institute of Culinary Education. She lives in Petworth.
Anna Spiegel covers the dining and drinking scene in her native DC. Prior to joining Washingtonian in 2010, she attended the French Culinary Institute and Columbia University’s MFA program in New York, and held various cooking and writing positions in NYC and in St. John, US Virgin Islands.
