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Kerala Cafe - Indian With a Sub-Specialty of the Kerala Region of Southwest India - Muddy Branch Road in Gaithersburg - Closed


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I have gotten tired of North Indian cuisine and have been trying South Indian food recently.  Kerala is an interesting state in India so I was happy to see a restaurant that specialized in its cuisine.  The menu has a large section of Kerala dishes as well as North and South Indian options.  It is clean and the staff is pleasant.  They expect to get a liquor license soon.



We ordered "idi appam" (string hoppers) with egg curry, Kerala chicken thoran with Kerala matta rice, and Kerala-style fish curry with basmati rice.  The string hoppers have to be ordered an hour in advance so we called it in before we left the house.  We asked that the level of heat be 9 on 1-10 scale.  



I had never had string hoppers.  They were similar to the vermicelli one finds in Vietnamese spring rolls but were more delicate, fragrant with coconut.  The egg curry served with it was rather mild and had lots of onions.  A soothing, pleasant dish.  The thoran was chicken, stir fried in spices like cinnamon, black pepper, hot pepper, and cloves, as well as with coconut and garlic/ginger.  It was delicious but it would have been better if they had used chicken thighs rather than breasts, which were dry.  The matta rice was brown rice supposedly good for those with diabetes.  The fish curry was also delicious, tangy with tamarind, I think, and with many spices.  The fish was moist and meaty.  



We enjoyed the restaurant.  The prices were maybe $2 higher than I would have expected for the portion size but acceptable because the cuisine is uncommon.  The waiter told us they have a lunch buffet with lots of Kerala dishes in addition to the standard stuff so this would be a good option for those who would like a lower cost introduction to the cuisine.



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I have gotten tired of North Indian cuisine and have been trying South Indian food recently.  Kerala is an interesting state in India so I was happy to see a restaurant that specialized in its cuisine.  The menu has a large section of Kerala dishes as well as North and South Indian options.  It is clean and the staff is pleasant.  They expect to get a liquor license soon.

I'll be damned. I posted "We Need More Regional Restaurants," and then just now saw your thread on Kerala Cafe - this type of restaurant is *exactly* what I was writing about.

Call it a gut feeling, but I'm initializing Kerala Cafe in Italic in the Dining Guide.

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Closed.  There is a new sign there with a new name.  Next time I drive by, I will let everyone know the new name.

 

I'm convinced one of the hardest things to do is to keep an authentic, deep-ethnic restaurant open.

Washington, DC simply cannot viably support an authentic, ethnically owned, ethnic restaurant in the long term that isn't at least somewhat accessible by WASPs, and quite honestly, New York City is the only city in the United States that can. Not Chicago, Not San Francisco, Not New Orleans, Not Seattle; New York City and only New York City.

I've always said that DC is one of only a handful of truly ethnically diverse restaurant cities in the U.S., but it simply isn't enough. People don't want authenticity - they want comfort.

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Don:  Surely you jest.  In the DC area alone there are hundreds of such places, from many Korean restaurants in Annandale to slews of Vietnamese places around Eden Center, to the recently opened House of Mandi (Yemeni) and Aldeerah (Saudi), both packed daily with, uh, non-WASPs.  And that doesn't even begin to scratch the surface.  And let's not even get started on SF and LA.
 
Don't get me wrong:  As we know all too well, very few restaurants, of *any* kind, have staying power:  Half close within three years; 70% within ten.  
 
But I'd be willing to bet that the numbers are not significantly worse for so-called "authentic, deep-ethnic" joints than for all others, particularly when (as here) they are designed to appeal to immigrant populations yearning for the food they loved back home.

I'm convinced one of the hardest things to do is to keep an authentic, deep-ethnic restaurant open.

Washington, DC simply cannot viably support an authentic, ethnically owned, ethnic restaurant in the long term that isn't at least somewhat accessible by WASPs, and quite honestly, New York City is the only city in the United States that can. Not Chicago, Not San Francisco, Not New Orleans, Not Seattle; New York City and only New York City.

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Don:  Surely you jest.  In the DC area alone there are hundreds of such places, from many Korean restaurants in Annandale to slews of Vietnamese places around Eden Center, to the recently opened House of Mandi (Yemeni) and Aldeerah (Saudi), both packed daily with, uh, non-WASPs.  And that doesn't even begin to scratch the surface.  And let's not even get started on SF and LA.

Take a drive through Eden Center sometime, and tell me how many restaurants you recognize.

Use the Wilson Blvd. entrance, to the west side of Saigon Garden - you'll be greeted with Thai Spoon on your left, and Spicy Bar & Grill on your right.

I'm very much looking forward to ThinkFoodGroup introducing West African cuisine to our region.

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 I'm convinced one of the hardest things to do is to keep an authentic, deep-ethnic restaurant open.

Washington, DC simply cannot viably support an authentic, ethnically owned, ethnic restaurant in the long term that isn't at least somewhat accessible by WASPs, and quite honestly, New York City is the only city in the United States that can. Not Chicago, Not San Francisco, Not New Orleans, Not Seattle; New York City and only New York City.

Define "somewhat accessible by WASPs."

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What about all the Ethiopian and Eritrean restaurants? It isn't all etete and dukem out there.

I was at Dama Cafe today, and it seems to be surviving; not thriving - not unlike the auto mechanics you see on the same stretch of Columbia Pike. (I lowered it in the Dining Guide, btw - my pound cake was stale (they're not doing enough turnover with their baked goods)).

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I have no idea where Dama Cafe is, but there are dozens of little Ethiopian joints in my neighborhood that have been there for years and rarely see a WASP. The best ones get discovered, of course, and then they become more accessible, but there are tons more out there. I don't know all the names, but the Eritrean Community Center (which is a full service restaurant) most certainly fits that bill. Not that I, someone who would probably be considered a wasp for this purpose, wasn't welcomed with opened arms. But I still wouldn't consider it generally accessible, unless you mean that they slam the door in your face and refuse to serve you.

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You could always come up with a counter-example such as Woodlands.

I could, and I started to, but I foresaw someone coming up with reasons why, for instance, Bangkok Golden wasn't really a deep ethnic restaurant, but rather one that was "somewhat accesible to WASPs."

The many, many Ethiopian restaurants in the area are certainly a good example.  I would throw out Da Rae Won in Beltsville.  Taqueria La Placita.  You could take your pick of a few Chinese joints in Rockville that have been around a while without pandering to the dull palate of the White man.  We'll see how long a place like Thai Taste by Kob can last, but Ruan Thai has done pretty well, and is a place I would consider authentic.

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Seems like Eric mentioned a number of good restaurants that are still around.

And you complained about a lack of good options in cuisines that NYC also lacks. I came here from there. It ain't a panacea.

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Seems like Eric mentioned a number of good restaurants that are still around.

And you complained about a lack of good options in cuisines that NYC also lacks. I came here from there. It ain't a panacea.

A lot of restaurants Eric mentioned aren't all that good, but I agree with the general tenure of what he said. For The Source to have been rated the #2 restaurant in the entire area (which it was), from someone who supposedly champions authentic ethnic cuisine, is a travesty.

 

NYC isn't a panacea, but the sheer population, coupled with Ellis Island, makes it the strongest option in the United States, perhaps even the world.

I stand by everything I've written (adjusting, of course, for the passage of time).

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A lot of restaurants Eric mentioned aren't all that good, but I agree with the general tenure of what he said. For The Source to have been rated the #2 restaurant in the entire area (which it was), from someone who supposedly champions authentic ethnic cuisine, is a travesty.

 

NYC isn't a panacea, but the sheer population, coupled with Ellis Island, makes it the strongest option in the United States, perhaps even the world.

I stand by everything I've written (adjusting, of course, for the passage of time).

Real deal ethnic holes in the wall struggle there just as they do here.  They come and go and folks that don't live there are never the wiser.

Ellis Island is a thing of the past.  NYC is a playground for the uber rich.  The outer boroughs are turning into the playgrounds of the B-team rich.  The (culturally, culinarily) rich enclaves in the outer boroughs aren't long for this world.

(I hope I'm wrong, but I don't think I am.)

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I've been writing about this for over ten years, including here (where I put my life on the line) and here.

But the one post that most prevents me from needing to repeat myself is here (the discussion begins with Ericandblueboy's post here (as abrasive as he may have been, he had a very good point)).

I have now skimmed through the other threads you cited. I don't necessarily disagree with what you said in any of them. I do disagree with what you have said in this one.

Yes, this area mostly only has truly ethnic restaurants from the few ethnicities that have settled here (as in most cities), and yes there have been a proliferation of washed down "ethnic" restaurants, some of which get a lot of attention. But from that does not follow that the area can not support ANY true ethnic restaurants. To imply that, much less state it directly, is to discount the hard work of so many families and communities in this area. If they are good, they will attract the attention from people outside their ethnicity, but that in and of itself, doesn't destroy the authenticity of the food - if it did, we may all want to consider not writing about them here or elsewhere.

I last pointed to a long-standing Eritrean restaurant to prove this point. But my point was timely made since by the Washington Post in Tim Carmen's article about what has become over the past year or two my favorite Ethiopian restaurant by far, Cher Cher.

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and

. But from that does not follow that the area can not support ANY true ethnic restaurants. To imply that, much less state it directly, is to discount the hard work of so many families and communities in this area. If they are good, they will attract the attention from people outside their ethnicity, but that in and of itself, doesn't destroy the authenticity of the food - if it did, we may all want to consider not writing about them here or elsewhere.

totally agree. i'd consider bangkok golden's lao menu an example of this. and just to throw out examples--what about woodlands? and tiffin and udupi were around for quite a long time as well. if you argue that they didn't last i'd say--how many restaurants last 40 years? and i'd say hole in the wall ethnic places are less likely to survive for 40 years unchanges just because what is originally an odd ethnic food becomes pretty mainstream and appeals to many tastes, so it's no longer an "ethnic hole in the wall." and what about la sirenita in hyattsville. and when you say the only place such places can prosper is nyc, are you including new jersey? because if not, there are at least a dozen examples of little indian hole in the walls in new jersey that have been there for decades, and i've never seen a non-indian person at. in chicago, there were similar places on devon avenue--indian joints my family went to for at least 20 years--but devon is not what it was. but still 20 years is a long time.

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That just doesn't really feel like a fair statement, at all, that they can't survive or don't exist. As people said above, there are several examples of places that have lasted, and if not lasted, set a precedent for a genre. The long standing Ethiopian places, though now accessible to "WASPs" (not even sure what is meant by that... Maybe you mean "white people" like in "Stuff White People Like", which talks about things that the yuppie moneyed class like, race not really being an issues, so maybe I'm a WASP, too?). Just because a place is accessible to (I'll keep using) "WASPs", doesn't mean it's not deep ethnic. Bangkok Golden keeps a thai menu to keep the lights on. Doesn't stop it from serving some spicy, authentic, and sometimes weird stuff. It's popularity led to Soi 38 and Thip Khao. Same with Little Serow- to some, that places isn't accessible - they don't adjust anything.

Rasika is fancy as heck and caters towards the moneyed and hip, but just take a look at the brunch menu and you'll see some of that "deep ethnic" stuff. Almost every kabob place worth it's weight has mughaz masala (brains!! Brains for crying out loud).

The Vietnamese area had plenty of restaurants that have been there before I came 5 years ago, and still exist now, with throngs of Vietnamese people and "WASPs". There is stuff on those menus that my Vietnamese friends are shocked to see in an American restaurant.

The Korean area- same thing. Not just bim bap and bbq. Salvadorean in my neck of the woods in Del Ray/Arlandria. Chinese in Rock Vegas. Joes has been there forever, and maybe a bit weaker, but maybe not. Bobs 66 is all chinese people and some adventerous "WASPs"

The Ethiopian places keep the Ethiopian population here from feeling homesick. The two places I went to for that in metro Detroit where I grew up were not serving raw beef (kitfo), yet all of them here, do.

When you think of distance to many of these countries, the fact that we have so many (maybe not perfect, and maybe not enough) ethnic places is pretty inspiring. When friends visit from smaller cities that I used to live in - Detroit, Pittsburgh, NOLA, and even larger places like Chicago and Phoenix, they are always surprised at the options.

If you compare the metro population of NYC to DC, it is more than triple. Even LA metro is just 60% of NYC metro. We do well with what we have. If you do apples to apples, and compare the metro statistical areas within 1 million of our population - 1) Dallas- we are smaller and have way more options 2) Houston - we are slightly smaller, and they are comparable because so many immigrants from Mexico, Vietnam, India, China 3) Philadelphia - clearly more ethnic options for us 4) Miami - has a lot of options but regionally specific - Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela, Cuba, other Caribbean, and mostly central/South America 5) Atlanta - some Indian, mish mash of other stuff, but not comparable.

If you look at other world capitals - I lived in Copenhagen, Denmark, for example. There is a Turkish enclave. There is some African countries with a small footprint. The other Scandinavian countries have a presence there. That's it! Other places not lived in, but been to.... Ottawa - not much at all. London/Paris - tons, but it's a world class city and no one would debate that we have more than them. Lisbon? Barcelona? Madrid? Hardly, just regional specialities, different types of spanish, some north African. Mexico City - so much Argentinian, some Italian, some other South American. And that city is huge. Bombay and Delhi - some Chinese but it's indian-chinese, some thai, but indian-ized, the worst mexican I've ever had, some pizza places. Many regional indian places, but that isn't quite foreign.

Don- I respectfully think you're glossing over that we have it pretty good compared to much of the country (especially those in MSAs of less than 3 million). We have some distinct cuisines others don't really have - Ethiopian and Salvadorean. We have places that have nice long runs, and places that flame out fast but leave people wondering what might have been (Karaikudi being one I think about )

I think if we keep saying it's not a restaurant town or an ethnic dining town, it will just feed into a less and less true narrative.

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