India's Annapolis Review
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Address India's
257 West StAnnapolis, MD 21401 Closed Other Maryland Indian Restaurants |
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India's Annapolis Review: Wee Bit Underspiced But Still Decent
Thank God, there are at least some things in life that don't get worse over time.
After a gap of eight long years we visited the appositely named India's restaurant on West St in Annapolis, MD for lunch the other day.
Boy, were we surprised to see that this Indian restaurant still serves fairly decent food.
During our latest visit we grazed across the vast prairie of Indian cuisine and mostly returned satisfied.
After all, of how many Indian restaurants in the mid-Atlantic region can you really say that they even serve edible fare let alone palatable food.
If we had any complaints, it was that India's tends to scrimp on the spices a wee bit prompting our palate to throw the occasional tantrum.
By the way, despite the presence of the Naval Academy and the city's status as the state capital, Annapolis is almost a wasteland as far as Indian cuisine because India's is the sole restaurant in the area serving our favorite cuisine.
India's Annapolis - Decent Appetizers
We tried Vegetable Pakoras and a combination of Chicken and Lamb Kebabs in a thin sauce.Both delighted us.
The kebabs were juicy and delicious while the Vegetable Pakoras came with Tamarind Chutney, a heavenly Mint Chutney and Mixed Vegetable Pickle that we gave the cold shoulder to.
Mostly OK Entrees
Chicken Shahi Korma, a Mughlai dish set in a brownish-yellow thick gravy was a creamy treat that went well with both Naan Bread and White Rice.Channa Masala, often an inedible disaster at other places, was a palatable entree at India's as was the slightly underspiced Spinach Curry.
Spinach Curry has a raw, undercooked flavor at most Indian restaurants and we were gratified India's was one of the exceptions.
One of the clear misses of our meal was the Kadhi Pakora. Slightly high on Turmeric Powder, this popular Indian vegetarian favorite also lacked the coriander seeds flavor and was not as flavorful as we'd have liked.
We hit the other big pothole with Khara Pasanda. The lamb was a chewy mess and sent us into a high dudgeon.
While the Garlic Naan and Plain Naan bread did not send us on an euphoric high, they gave no room for complaint either.
Yummy Desserts
How pleasing that both the desserts we tried, Rice Pudding and Gajar Halwa, endeared themselves to our palate.Maybe a teeny-weenie bit low on sweetness or maybe we like our desserts extra sweet.
Rice Pudding was a divine delight while Gajar Halwa had just the right texture (neither too watery nor too dry). Frequently, both these items appear on the menus of most Indian restaurants and invariably they turn out to be inedible much to our immense irritation.
It was with dificulty that we restrained ourselves from seeking a second helping.
Good Service
Service was very good by the standards of Indian restaurants.The elderly gentleman (owner??) we'd last seen eight years back was still around. He greeted us with a smile and later went out of his way to give us handwritten directions to the waterfront.
Overall, we found India's in Annapolis to be among the few Indian restaurants that can lay claim to a competent kitchen and polite dining room staff.
You can be sure we'll be returning to India's the next time we're in Annapolis. - © MDIndia.us