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Woodlands Fairfax
| Address Woodlands
4078 Jermantown RdFairfax, VA 22030 Ph: 703-385-1996
Accepts Visa & Master Credit Cards
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Woodlands Fairfax: Disappointing Food; So-So Service
It must have been our bad Karma that led us to Woodlands vegetarian Indian restaurant on Jermantown Road in Fairfax, Virginia the other day because our meal here was a series of letdowns, mostly major and a few minor.
Spring Dosai
Without doubt, the biggest disaster of our meal at Woodlands Fairfax was the Woodlands Special Spring Dosai.We picked Woodlands Special Spring Dosai based on its inviting description on the menu as Thin Rice Crepes filled with vegetables mix and hot Chutney. Boy, what a mistake it turned out to be.
The Woodlands Special Spring Dosai came sliced in five or six equal-sized pieces with Sambar and Coconut Chutney on the side. A few bites into this Dosa and our reaction was one of horror. In over four decades of eating different kinds of Dosas in many countries, we've rarely been served a Dosa this bad.
The Woodlands Dosa was a tasteless monstrosity and the accompanying Coconut Chutney completely bland and the lukewarm Sambar bereft of any vegetables or flavor.
In our view, to call what we were served Sambar or Chutney is a wilful act of mislabelling that calls for the food police to take note.
Heaping more misery on our table, our waiter brought us Medhu Vada that was crisp on the outside but incompletely cooked inside and a little salty as well. Obviously, the Medhu Vada gave us little joy.
Rasam Soup
Rasam Soup was tangy and spicy but did not rise to the level of Saravana Palace Rasam, which is in a completely different class.Among the few fine items to land on our table were the Idli and the beans and green banana poriyal. Woodlands' Idli was soft and way better than the Idli at Saravana Palace.
Although tasty, the beans and green banana poriyal was insultingly cold suggesting that Woodlands' kitchen has scant respect for its diners.
Avial
Woodland's Avial was a complete impostor - it was sour and tasted more like the Majjige Huli popular in Bangalore and other parts of Karnataka.Dal had a subtle garlic seasoning but the Cauliflower-Tomato curry was just so-so.
Badam Halwa
Dismayed at our bad luck, we turned our attention to desserts only to encounter further disappointment. Badam Halwa with Ice Cream and Gulab Jamun were both disappointments. We'd have preferred Vanilla Ice Cream with the Badam Halwa but the only Ice Cream available was Rose Ice Cream. So we settled for it.But the Badam Halwa had been heated to such a high temperature that the Ice Cream scoop placed on top quickly melted. Also, the Badam Halwa tasted as if too much Rava had been mixed into it.
When prepared well, Badam Halwa (ground almonds cooked in honey and butter) is one of the finest Indian desserts. But the Badam Halwa that landed on our table at Woodlands was a clear impostor. Gulab Jamun had a rubbery texture offering us little pleasure.
Woodlands Rating
Madras Coffee at Woodlands was alright but again did not rise to the level of Coffee at Saravana Palace.If the food at Woodlands Fairfax is disappointing, the service at this Northern Virginia Indian restaurant is not far behind.
Our Rasam Soup came as we were finishing the Idli and Vada. We requested for Coffee and Soda at the beginning of our meal but our waiter took his own sweet time and got it only in the middle of our meal.
Also, our waiter was in a desperate hurry to remove our half-full Rasam Soup bowl from the table without checking with us.
Perhaps sensing our disappointment over the food, the folks at Woodlands Fairfax did not charge us for the desserts. While that was a nice gesture, it did not take away from our disappointment at encountering mostly mediocre food at Woodlands Fairfax.
As a guidepost to fine Indian vegetarian cuisine in Northern Virginia, Woodlands Indian restaurant in Fairfax is a miserable failure.- © VAIndia.us