Hello, All!

It might be regarded as perhaps OT but u.f.indian is the premier 
group for Indian food, IMHO, and has several American posters. 
Today, I tried the lunch-time buffet at the Madras Palace, 50 
Bureau Dr, Gaithersburg, MD (outside the main gate of NIST). I 
had been dubious since it is a vegetarian restaurant with no 
alcohol license but I was pleasantly surprised by the quality 
and the lack of excessive grease. There is quite a range of 
starchy offerings like idlis and breads and most of the food is 
not excessively spicy.

I am a bit surprised that the Madras Palace does not appear in 
the Zagat guide and I have noticed numerous people of apparent 
Indian ancestry eating there. Also three monumental young 
American ladies who were in line in front of me at the buffet!

 James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

E-mail, with obvious alterations:
not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not

On 4 Sep, 18:15, "James Silverton" 
wrote:
> Hello, All!
>
> It might be regarded as perhaps OT but u.f.indian is the premier
> group for Indian food, IMHO, and has several American posters.
> Today, I tried the lunch-time buffet at the Madras Palace, 50
> Bureau Dr, Gaithersburg, MD (outside the main gate of NIST). I
> had been dubious since it is a vegetarian restaurant with no
> alcohol license but I was pleasantly surprised by the quality
> and the lack of excessive grease. There is quite a range of
> starchy offerings like idlis and breads and most of the food is
> not excessively spicy.
>
> I am a bit surprised that the Madras Palace does not appear in
> the Zagat guide and I have noticed numerous people of apparent
> Indian ancestry eating there. Also three monumental young
> American ladies who were in line in front of me at the buffet!
>
>  James Silverton
> Potomac, Maryland
>
> E-mail, with obvious alterations:
> not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not

sounds more like pukka Indian food, James; even in India, restaurant
food can be overspiced and oily (not just my observation, but of desi -
Indians as well). I don't think I've seen idlis on a UK Indian
restaurant menu, but I suppose that says more about the ones I have
frequented.
Love idlis, BTW, just bought an idli steamer, with the little Indian
whistle.
Tell us more about the buffet, please. I have often thought this may
be the way to go, at least for lunch. Saw some chaffing dishes in an
Indian restaurant in Galway, west coast Ireland, but menu looked same
as all others, pity, so I did not venture in ...stuck to the local
oysters, unfortunately they did not stick to me :-(
cheers
Waaza

"wazza"  wrote in message 
news:1189004763.321922.189900@y42g2000hsy.googlegroups.com...
> On 4 Sep, 18:15, "James Silverton" 
> 
> wrote:
>> Hello, All!
>>
>> It might be regarded as perhaps OT but u.f.indian is the 
>> premier
>> group for Indian food, IMHO, and has several American 
>> posters.
>> Today, I tried the lunch-time buffet at the Madras Palace, 50
>> Bureau Dr, Gaithersburg, MD (outside the main gate of NIST).

> sounds more like pukka Indian food, James; even in India, 
> restaurant
> food can be overspiced and oily (not just my observation, but 
> of desi -
> Indians as well). I don't think I've seen idlis on a UK Indian
> restaurant menu, but I suppose that says more about the ones I 
> have
> frequented.
> Love idlis, BTW, just bought an idli steamer, with the little 
> Indian
> whistle.
> Tell us more about the buffet, please. I have often thought 
> this may
> be the way to go, at least for lunch. Saw some chaffing dishes 
> in an
> Indian restaurant in Galway, west coast Ireland, but menu 
> looked same
> as all others, pity, so I did not venture in ...stuck to the 
> local
> oysters, unfortunately they did not stick to me :-(

 I don't really remember what was in the extensive range of 
dishes on the AYCE lunch buffet since I only tried a small 
selection.  I'll maybe give you a report later since I have 
every intention of returning (next week perhaps!) The price was 
very reasonable: USD 8.50.



-- 
Jim Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

On 5 Sep, 16:25, "James Silverton" 
wrote:
> "wazza"  wrote in message
>
> news:1189004763.321922.189900@y42g2000hsy.googlegroups.com...
>
>
>
>
>
> > On 4 Sep, 18:15, "James Silverton"
> > 
> > wrote:
> >> Hello, All!
>
> >> It might be regarded as perhaps OT but u.f.indian is the
> >> premier
> >> group for Indian food, IMHO, and has several American
> >> posters.
> >> Today, I tried the lunch-time buffet at the Madras Palace, 50
> >> Bureau Dr, Gaithersburg, MD (outside the main gate of NIST).
> > sounds more like pukka Indian food, James; even in India,
> > restaurant
> > food can be overspiced and oily (not just my observation, but
> > of desi -
> > Indians as well). I don't think I've seen idlis on a UK Indian
> > restaurant menu, but I suppose that says more about the ones I
> > have
> > frequented.
> > Love idlis, BTW, just bought an idli steamer, with the little
> > Indian
> > whistle.
> > Tell us more about the buffet, please. I have often thought
> > this may
> > be the way to go, at least for lunch. Saw some chaffing dishes
> > in an
> > Indian restaurant in Galway, west coast Ireland, but menu
> > looked same
> > as all others, pity, so I did not venture in ...stuck to the
> > local
> > oysters, unfortunately they did not stick to me :-(
>
>  I don't really remember what was in the extensive range of
> dishes on the AYCE lunch buffet since I only tried a small
> selection.  I'll maybe give you a report later since I have
> every intention of returning (next week perhaps!) The price was
> very reasonable: USD 8.50.
>
> --
> Jim Silverton
> Potomac, Maryland- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

USD 8.50, a good price indeed, wouldn't buy you two small bottles of
fizzy pop with lime slices in the UK now! Local Indian, last time I
went was £52 for two, starter, main, and four tiny bottles of pop.
Did they have anything written down that you could liberate, for
academic reasons, you understand :?) Any particular region's cuisine,
or pick an' mix. Idlis are South Indian, along with dosas and dhokla,
breads usually north of that.
W (off on hols, so no reply for 2 weeks)

wazza  wrote  on Thu, 06 Sep 2007 00:04:59 -0000:

To reply somewhat to what Wazza asked, I just remembered that I 
had picked up their general menu and I don't think the Madras 
Palace has a special regional emphasis. As they say, they are a 
"vegetarian restaurant".

They have "iddlys" (4 varieties), vadas, bondas, samosas, soups 
(including rasam), dosa, uthapam, many vegetable curries both 
north and south Indian style, rice specialities including a 
vegetable "briyani", breads from poori, thro' nan to kulcha and 
at least 10 Indian desserts, mostly standard ones. Given that I 
gather that Indians have gotten to like Chinese food, there are 
also 5 "Indian Chinese" selections. Not all of the menu is on 
the buffet of course. One thing that really impressed me was a 
fresh onion dosa that a waiter brought to my table unasked. 
Practically every  item on the regular menu has prices from USD 
4 to 9 but the place is no greasy spoon and is spotlessly clean 
with real cloths on the tables.

 I would say that the food is a bargain to me and, having been 
subjected to London prices fairly recently, would be a bargain 
in London even if the prices were in GBP. In general, on my last 
visit to London it seemed that restaurant prices there were 
similar to Washington but expressed in pounds not dollars and 
thus actually twice as much.

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

E-mail, with obvious alterations: 
not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not

"James Silverton"  wrote in message 
news:8pgDi.1486$6T5.1094@trnddc06...
> Hello, All!
>
> It might be regarded as perhaps OT but u.f.indian is the premier group for 
> Indian food, IMHO, and has several American posters. Today, I tried the 
> lunch-time buffet at the Madras Palace, 50 Bureau Dr, Gaithersburg, MD 
> (outside the main gate of NIST). I had been dubious since it is a 
> vegetarian restaurant with no alcohol license but I was pleasantly 
> surprised by the quality and the lack of excessive grease. There is quite 
> a range of starchy offerings like idlis and breads and most of the food is 
> not excessively spicy.
>
> I am a bit surprised that the Madras Palace does not appear in the Zagat 
> guide and I have noticed numerous people of apparent Indian ancestry 
> eating there. Also three monumental young American ladies who were in line 
> in front of me at the buffet!
>
> James Silverton
> Potomac, Maryland
>
> E-mail, with obvious alterations:
> not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not

Lucky you, James!  I will have to remember this for the next time I am in 
the area (I think I have mentioned to you I am from DC, and yes, from the 
Maryland side like you), and certainly I can already start recommending the 
restaurant to friends who are still down there.

My favorite vegetarian Indian restaurant here in Rochester, which is a 
fairly small city, closed fairly recently.  I am not a vegetarian, but I 
loved the food, as it was all South Indian.  Delicious idlis, sambar, rasam, 
vadas that made my mouth water, dosa, you name it.  Very good, tasty, 
high-quality.  I was pretty upset it closed, but the owner (who owns two 
other non-veg Indian restaurants and the Indian grocery where I prefer 
shopping) explained that Rochester doesn't have enough vegetarians or people 
who appreciate South Indian food.  I hope that changes soon - until then 
(and sure, even then), I will just keep making it myself.

I lived in Cabin John for a while, and used to get deliveries from Aarathi 
in Bethesda - good dosas!  But I am not sure they are there anymore. 
Minerva in Herndon  - I know, I know, bad traffic - was a favorite, too, 
just generally - I don't remember much South Indian on the buffet, but they 
had it in their menu.  I worked with a number of Indian consultants, and 
they steered me in Minerva's direction - oh, the lunches we had!  Hey - I 
just checked their website - they have three Virginia locations now, and I 
see they have one up the way from you in Gaitherburg.  Have you tried it? 
Udupi Palace in Langley Park - I know, I know, bad location, but such nice 
food out that way - has very good Southern Indian vegetarian food, or at 
least they did the last time I was there.

To steer it back On Topic, are there tiffin delivery services in the UK?  I 
just saw there is one in the Philadelphia area, based on Mumbai's bustling 
way with lunch delivery.  Their site is interesting - www.tiffin.com  It 
must be doing well in Philly, since it appears to be expanding.

Judy B - Rochester, NY, USA, who misses her native Washington, DC, USA, and 
who feels a little guilty posting about US restaurants, even though James 
had a good point...

Judy  wrote  on Mon, 10 Sep 2007 20:46:03 -0400:


 JB> "James Silverton"  wrote in
  JB> My favorite vegetarian Indian restaurant here in 
Rochester,
 JB> which is a fairly small city, closed fairly recently.  I am
 JB> not a vegetarian, but I loved the food, as it was all South
.

  JB> Minerva's direction - oh, the lunches we had!  Hey - I 
just
 JB> checked their website - they have three Virginia locations
 JB> now, and I see they have one up the way from you in
 JB> Gaitherburg.  Have you tried it? Udupi Palace in Langley

 Thanks for the reply! I had heard of Udupi but have never 
gotten around to trying them and Minerva is new to me. I must 
look into it. I would mention that I like practically all Indian 
regional cuisines but I am definitely not a vegetarian and, in 
fact, that was one reason why I took so long to try the Madras 
Palace. A problem for me is the amount of fat in many Indian 
dishes and the Madras Palace has quite a lot of dishes that seem 
reasonably low in ghee.

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

E-mail, with obvious alterations: 
not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not

wazza  wrote in 
news:1189037099.106857.24670@57g2000hsv.googlegroups.com:

>  Any particular region's cuisine,
> or pick an' mix. Idlis are South Indian, along with dosas and dhokla,
> breads usually north of that.

Dhokla are not southern, in principle. They are very much a Gujarati 
dish, with some spillover into neighbouring Rajasthan and, who knows, 
perhaps into neighbouring Maharashtra as well.

Culturally - and food-wise as well - all three of those states are 
northern states. 

However, dhokla have become sufficiently popular in India that you can 
now buy it in the rather cosmopolitan city of Calcutta, even with its 
highly parochial food habits and it has become acceptable in Calcutta to 
take some along as a contribution to a meal.

- Shankar