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Dishes of India Alexandria
| Address Dishes of India
1510A Belle View BoulevardAlexandria, VA 22307 Ph: 703-660-6085
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Dishes of India VA: Decent Indian Food; Spotty Service
Who'd have thought Dishes of India housed in a dungeon-like setting in a nondescript strip mall would serve such delicious fare!
Sandwiched between a Subway and a bakery on Belle View Blvd in Alexandria, Dishes of India turned out to be a pleasant surprise.
We were desperately hungering for some good Indian food following disappointing experiences the previous day and after walking down the stairs into Dishes of India's dungeon we were understandably in a state of trepidation as to what fate awaited us.
Mercifully, Dishes of India dished out nice fare that for the most part found favor with us.
Some items like Kheer Pista and Masala Tea were so exceptionally good that for a few deluded moments we even considered selling our house and relocating to Virginia. ;)
Decent Vegetarian Spread
Hey, even the ubiquitous and humble Dal Masala (Dal Makhani) turned out to be a flavorful treat at Dishes of India.Most Indian restaurants in the U.S. are hopelessly inept when it comes to Dal Makhani, doling out finely boiled lentils floating in warm watery sauce devoid of any taste.
Seekh Kabab, Rice Pulav, Naan & Saag Alu
Tori Masala (a Zuchini dish) set in a medium thick brown color mildly spiced sauce was delicious with both plain rice and naan bread.
Ditto with mildly spiced medium thick Saag Alu.
Flavorful Worthy Meat Dishes Too
Seekh Kebab Masala prepared with sliced lamb rolls, onion, ginger and, garlic sauce was a dish fit for the Gods.So smitten were we with its divine flavors that we heaped it again and again on our overladen plate.
Murg Chicken Makhani prepared with chicken breast in tomato sauce was tender and tasty.
The sauce had seeped well into the chicken making it very flavorful.
By now, we were now drooling at the embarras de richesse in front of us.
Tandoori Chicken (top)
Tandoori Murgh a.k.a Tandoori Chicken was well marinated and roasted. For once we were happy to be served Tandoori Murgh without the ugly black pockmarks that shameless, remorseless Indian restaurants place in front of diners.
Partially Cooked Garlic Naan and Burnt Plain Naan
While we enjoyed all the vegetarian, Lamb and Chicken items what irked us a bit was the partially cooked Garlic Naan and the burnt Plain Naan bread.The first set of Plain Naan was soft and did not stir our complaint cuticles. But the second set of Plain Naan bread and our order of Garlic Naan were complete disasters. Plain Naan bread was so badly burnt that even gluttons like us who'll eat anything Indian couldn't stuff it into our mouth. Garlic Naan turned out to be very raw with partially cooked flour taste coming from the middle.
Heavenly Kheer Pista
Believe us, the Kheer Pista was not for mere mortals.
Kheer Pista
Maybe it was an accident that it landed on our plate. Or is it possible that we are unlike y'all and possess some divine qualities? ;)
Medium thick, smooth, cold but not freezing cold, we were certain that it was ambrosia, the food of the Gods.
Throwing all calorie concerns to the wind, we gormandized and gormandized until we couldn't gormandize any more.
Flavorful Masala Chai
Our order of Masala Chai came hot to the table and, by God, for once we got the real deal - a blend of Indian spices, tea leaves, milk, water and sugar.Rarely have we had such good Masala Chai. A must-have at Dishes of India.
Spotty Service and Pricing Issues
While the food was decent despite being mildly spiced, what disappointed us was the spotty service.When we walked in around 11:08 a.m., the dining hall was empty - no diners and no wait staff either. We waited patiently for a waiter to show us a table. After about two minutes of wait, we saw a Hispanic looking waiter busy adjusting his bow tie emerge from the kitchen. Without any greeting, the c*nt showed us to a table.
Aghast at the cold reception, we were adjusting the chairs to plonk our derrieres into it when a tall dark desi waiter (from Delhi?) walked over with a pleasing smile pasted to his face and asked us whether we wanted to drink anything. Being cheap desi bastards, we politely declined and proceeded with our lunch.
Food on the lunch table was fresh and hot with the exception of the cold Bhel Puri. There was ample quantity of food in all the lunch table vessels.
They removed the first set of used plates promptly and then ignored the subsequent sets. As the table was getting cramped with used plates, we deposited them on the adjacent clean table. ;)
Also when we pointed out that our order of Garlic Naan was partially cooked and very raw in the middle, the same tall desi waiter just nodded a OK and took the bread back without as much as offering us his regrets. Aren't we paying for the food, chutiya? Show some remorse!
After about five minutes he brought another set of Garlic Naan just as we were finishing up our meal. The second set was again partially cooked and had a raw flour taste in the middle. This time, however, we kept quite as we saw no point in raising the issue again and vowed never to order Garlic Naan again at Dishes of India.
While we enjoyed the flavorful Masala Chai, we did not think it was worth $3.50. Also though Masala Tea on Dishes of India online menu is priced at $2.95 we were charged $3.50. We consoled ourselves that Indians will always be cheap, crooked bastards, even if they are in America. These minor irritations aside, Dishes of India in Alexandria, VA dishes out decent food and one of the few Indian restaurants we'd consider revisiting. - © VAIndia.us