Sudhir Seth

Went to dinner there last night. Bottom line--I thought the food was generally great and I'm *thrilled* by this addition to Rockville Town Square (which is otherwise marred by some real dogs). As apps we ordered the chili cheese toast and the samosa. I thought the chili cheese toast was only so-so. I don't know what I was expecting, but somehow this wasn't it. It wasn't bad, it just wasn't to my taste. The samosa was fine, unremarkable, but pretty pricey compared to other Indian restaurants. What got the attention of everybody at the table was the chickpea dish on the side with the samosa. We told our waitress we didn't know what it was, but we wanted more of it. I don't know what the spices were, but it was SO good.

For mains we ordered the lamb ishtoo stew, chicken tikka masala, benghan bartha (sp?) and a Portugese shrimp dish. I didn't have the lamb or the chicken tikka, but I can tell you that the lamb stew was probably the least favorite at the table (based on how much there was left over of it). My friend said that the chicken tikka was a bit creamier than she likes it, but she acknowledged that there are probably a lot of people who prefer it as creamy as this was. The banghan bartha was *great*. Everybody at the table liked it. And I thought hte Portuguese shrimp dish was *fantastic* I emphasized to our waitress that I wanted it spicey and it came out perfectly spicey for this dish. Not incendiary like you sometimes think of a vindaloo as being, but full flavored, some heat and delicious. All of the mains came with rice, a side of a slaw-like dish (shredded cabbage, no vinegar? not sure) and some vegetables. The slaw-type thing added little visually, but I liked the textural addition it provided. The rice was fine (it's rice). I didn't eat the vegetables because they basically looked like frozen mixed vegetables (I recall cubes of carrot and peas, I think there was something else, I can't remember) with some kind of spices on them. Everybody at the table agreed that they were the weakest link on the plate. Oh, and that amazing chickpea dish. The waitress didn't know what it was (we'll get back to that) when we first asked. But when we asked her what it was when we got an extra helping of it, she said it was dal makhani. It was like no dal makhni I've ever had (I've always had a black lentil, mildly spiced, very creamy dish), so I found that a bit strange. But I would order it again in a heartbeat. We got plain naan, garlic naan and aloo paratha. I thought the breads were fine. I typically prefer my naan a bit chewier than there's. To each their own. No desserts, so can't comment. We got three EtOH beverages, and a couple of others (mango lassi and something else?). Total (without tip) was $110 for 4. In all, a good deal.

My two biggest complaints have nothing to do with the food. For some reason, we were seated in the bar area (and no, that wasn't the only place for us). The chairs were quite comfortable, but about 20 min into the meal I realized I really would have preferred sitting in the main dining room. I didn't feel like asking to move at that point, but I wasn't really into staring at the bar and the TV. The other was the waitress. She was very nice and fairly attentive. But she didn't know much about the menu specifically, or Indian food generally. And when asked about something, she would smile sheepishly and say that she didn't know. That's not a particularly big deal, but the next words out of your mouth probably ought to be, "I'm happy to go check for you--would you like the answer now, or should I continue taking your order?" She didn't do the logical follow-up on "I don't know." My +1 asked if there was any chance they served burfi for dessert. The waitress had no idea, but said she could get us the menu (ok, good follow-up). The +1 said no, he knew it wasn't on the menu, he was just wondering if there was any chance (it's a fave of his). It was pretty clear she had no idea what it was (she suggested that the chef could 'whip some up' if he wanted it). I'll admit, this is closer to the kind of response I think a wait person should give, but I don't think that burfi is something that can be whipped up. The wait staff could just use some more training. Our waitress was very friendly and I think with a bit of guidance could be quite good.

I doubt it comes out this way (there's very little I'm wholly positive about), but I really, really liked it. It's a fantastic addition to Rockville Town Center specifically and mid-county generally. I look forward to returning.

Hi

Thanks for pointing out in detail all that went wrong during your visit to the restaurant. This kind of accurate critique really helps us in the restaurant business to focus on and correct those mistakes the way you have pointed them out. Please accept my apologies for not being able to come up to your desired level of satisfaction.

The chicpea dish is Chana Masala and you can always order it as a side also. I am sorry, we do not make Burfi but since I have a buffet everyday we always have some off-the-menu desserts available. Please feel free to ask for me or Harry (my partner) if you are in need of any assistance with the menu/dishes. I must admit that I have not been able to find out why you were made to sit at the bar side if you had not wanted to.

I am still continuing the process of training the staff since it is a lot of info for them to absorb considering that some of them are working in an Indian restaurant for the first time.

I must take this opportunity to thank all the members of this board who are a well traveled lot and use this board to critique; thereby helping us improve our selections and service.

Carryout dinner of paneer makhni and aloo do piaza travelled well and was tasty, but Mr. Seth, may I make a suggestion? The website menu isn't very useful to those who aren't Indian cuisine aficionados. Add some descriptions.

You are right, I had missed out on that earlier but the description of the dishes should be done hopefully by tomorrow on the website. Thanks for reminding me. Are you coming this Wed for the $20 dinner?

I don't mean to steal Sudhir's formidable thunder, but circumstances dictated informal Bethesda takeout tonight, and Saveur India fit the bill in a big way.

Paalak Panneer ($9.00), Baghaare Baingan ($9.50), Raita ($2.50), Achaar ($1.00), Naan ($2.00), and Onion Kulcha ($3.00) were all much better than your standard Sunday-night Indian carryout. However, the Aalu Gobhi Masaala ($9.00) may have been the best I've ever eaten - the cauliflower was cooked with great skill, and the end product surpassed its humble components.

Chef Kumar tried his best not to jump in and help in the kitchen - he was messing around on the computer in an otherwise empty restaurant - but he couldn't contain himself, and ended up looking like a cross between Gillian Clark and Tom Power manning the well-worn pans. He took charge of his stoves to fill my order, and it was a pleasure to have his cooking.

Cheers,
Rocks.

I am very happy to see Anil's cooking and business taking off. It gives me great satisfaction to see Anil grow in this profession and in his skills. He was always a quick study and he deserves the fame that he has received of late in his venture. I learnt quite a few of his native Andhra dishes while he was working at Passage to India.
Best wishes and Good luck Anil.

You mean Cesare Siepi?

(click)

Wish I was as handsome as that!!!!

I stopped in for lunch today and was very pleased with the quality of the buffet--reasonably priced, with an excellent selection. I especially appreciated the variety of chutneys and pickle....and the curries were very good. As usual, Chef Seth's food is distinctive and flavorful. (I know, this sounds like an advert, but I'm not that great at describing food. Suffice it to say that it's good stuff.) But what I'm really looking forward to is a full meal off the menu. Now that I work nights, it's hard to get out for an evening meal, but we'll find a way to go soon.

Hey Jeff

You walked in, ate and left without saying Hi. I was in the kitchen and replenishing the buffet. Do ask for me next time you folks are in. It is a good feeling to see known faces in this new area.

Hi DanielK

Thanks for coordinating the dinner. If it is not too much of a detour for you, I would you rather stop by and we fix a menu so that you all can enjoy the evening instead of spending time over the menu and ordering.

We can then fix a menu for $20 which would satisfy everyone in the group. I am sure you would be familiar with their tastes and any dietary restrictions. Any last moment changes can still be incorporated.

Regards

Holy crap, if you're not already signed up for this dinner, do so NOW. The variety and amount of food that Chef Seth is planning for your $20 is going to be stupendous. Menu forthcoming, but expect pickles, breads, lots of small plates, an incredible variety of mains, and TWO desserts. Most of it is from the menu, though there will be a couple of specials. And, there are plenty of vegetable items, so vegetarians and pescatarians should join in.

P.S. The space is gorgeous, and there's a bar. Dinner is at 7:30, but I will be there early...

All right folks, start building your appetite. Thanks to Daniel's visit, last night we were able to plan a menu for the April 1st evening.

On arrival:

Pickle & Condiment platter with Onion Kulchas

Appetizer sampler:

Chicken Kathi Roll

Tawa Grilled Scallops with anise

Chili Cheese Toast

Vegetable Cutless (no jokes please)

Entrees (served family style for better sharing):

Chicken Chatpata (kitchen special-not on the menu)

Nariyal Fish Curry (king mackerel in a coconut sauce)

Salli Boti Jardaloo (lamb stewed with apricots-a Parsi specialty)

Vegetable Chorchori (potatoes, radish and eggplants)

Peas/Corn/Carrots/Pineapple Gratin

Accompaniments:

Lemon Rice

Salad

Dal Makhni (lentils)

Garlic Nan / Mint Paratha

Dessert

Semolina Halwa

Shreekhand (yogurt dessert)

Folks, get the numbers up to make it more fun for me.

UPCOMING $20 TUESDAYS!

Anyone who wants to join is always welcome! Post here or PM me or the coordinator to get on the list.

Wednesday, April 1, 7:30pm, Spice Xing (Indian), 100-B Gibbs Street, Rockville

Coordinator: DanielK, website, DR.com topic

Hi DanielK

Thanks for coordinating the dinner. If it is not too much of a detour for you, I would you rather stop by and we fix a menu so that you all can enjoy the evening instead of spending time over the menu and ordering.

We can then fix a menu for $20 which would satisfy everyone in the group. I am sure you would be familiar with their tastes and any dietary restrictions. Any last moment changes can still be incorporated.

Regards

Is there a bar where you can sit and order small plates?

We have a full bar and we have an exxxxxtended Happy Hour from 2.30pm to 6.30pm, and yes, we serve in the Bar and the Lounge seating in addition to the Dining Hall (service for Lunch and Dinner only).

Thanks to all the guests at Passage to India, Bethesda whose continued patronage and support encouraged me to open my second restaurant SpiceXing in Rockville Town Square. The menu features contemporary Indian dishes and a lot of dishes influenced by the foreign cultures that came to settle/rule the Indian subcontinent. Once again the recipes are original as collected by me from various households and I am indebted to all those friends who tolerated my persistence in US and in India. There are a lot of small plates, which make sharing several of them quite enjoyable.
Look forward to meeting all the DonRockwellians in Rockville.

Sudhir Seth
www.spicexing.com

No, the list on the website is their 2007 Jan issue. They have to sell this upcoming issue and then sometime towards the end of Jan it will be posted on their website, quite understandably.

NEW YEAR'S EVE

THANKS FOR THE PATRONAGE AND ALL THE SUPPORT OVER THE YEAR TO THE DON ROCKWELL FAMILY, FROM ALL OF US AT THE "PASSAGE TO INDIA".

This year we will be having the following Chef Specials in addition to our A la Carte menu for the 31st December dinner. The restaurant will be serving dinner from 5.00pm onwards. Please call 301 656 3373 for reservations and we look forward to having you dine with us.

CHEF SPECIALS

SEAFOOD CURRY $22.95

Scallops, lobster, shrimp, mussel and grouper in an onion and pepper gravy

LOBSTER MALABAR $24.95

Lobster chunks in a South Indian style coconut flavored sauce

MANGO SHRIMP $23.95

Jumbo shrimp in a tangy mango chutney

MASALA CHAMPEN $21.95

Tender New Zealand lamb chops smothered with crushed garlic and onions

CHICKEN BADAM PASANDA $17.95

Chicken escallops in a delicate almond and saffron sauce

SUBZI KOFTA $13.95

Lotus stem and gourd dumplings in an onion-tomato gravy

PANEER BUTTER MASALA $13.95

Freshly pressed cheese simmered with fenugreek and tomatoes

2) Mirchi Pakora: This dish was not a favorite of mine nor the participants that I talked to. The coating was a bit dry and the Jalapeño not really cooked.

4) The Pork Vinaloo had a wonderful taste but was a bit chewy. I took some of this home and the next day heated it up only tro find that the pork was pretty fatty. I would have cooked this dish and the Mirchi Gosht a little longer/ slower so they were more tender. The spices on each were dead on, it was more the texture of the meat.

5) Dessert: I loved the Spicy Modak dessert and felt it was great the way it was. I would not change a thing with it.

Damn! I had to keep the Mirchi Pakora in the oven to keep it warm and that is why it got dried up - shouldn't have done that. Yes you are right about the Jalapeno not cooked through, should have used halved ones stuffed with the chili paste.

Pork Vindaloo in this country I think will be more palatable if made with lean meat. Back in India with limited food resources and 1.2 billion mouths to feed the traditional recipes call for the pork, fat and the rind as well. But you are right, the fat would need to be trimmed off completely for it to be appreciated here.

At last someone says that they liked the Spicy Modak the way it was. Maybe you were lucky to have gotten a piece with less rice and more stuffing.

All criticism negative as well as positive is very welcome, pls. continue- this is invaluable feedback.

I have emailed the photos to DKORN for posting on this thread. In the meantime I was successful in uploading them to my blog on the following link. Relive the spices.

http://indianfoodblog.blogspot.com/

Thanks to all who attended the dinner last night and hoping that all is well considering the amount of different spices that everyone consumed. Nowhere in India people eat so much spices over a single meal and I am grateful to last night's diners for being so supportive and encouraging. Reading the comments this morning and after talking with you all last night I am glad that everyone seems to have had an enjoyable evening. We missed just one participant Ms. Deborah Tang and hope to see her in our next culinary foray. Xcanucks comments are spot on and we will have to work on fine tuning the recipes for the red meat dishes. Maybe since these are recipes straight from the households of India and we did not factor in the US meat standards, also I did not do enough practice runs on most dishes. The dessert I would have loved to make with chenna but for originality sake went with the rice flour dough; also wanted to try something vegan instead of the regular Indian milk sweets. I must mention that the event would not have been possible but for the efforts of my team, Chef Negi, Manager Shantanu Sen (also a chef) and our server Ali. I have to send the photos to DKORN who has kindly agreed to post them up for all to see.

Don, thanks for the effort to get this going and to have started DR.com in the first place.

THANKS TO ALL FROM EVERYBODY AT PASSAGE to INDIA

Hi folks

As we approach the SPICE NITE on October 7th may I please request all those coming for dinner that evening to PM me ref any dietary restrictions so that I can make some adjustments and offer them an alternative or two. I might not be able to replicate the dish being substituted but I could replace with something substantial atleast.

Thanks

Ladies and Gentlemen

Would request all those on the fence to please decide and post your attendance on this thread. It will help me immensely and I can be better prepared since almost everything on the Spice menu is to be made from start and is not a spin-off from the regular menu.

Thanks and see you on 10/07.

I'm game. When would this take place?

October 7th at 6.30pm.

This is the first time I've thought about it - I guess maybe 6:30 if it's Sunday?

We could start even earlier on a Sunday if that is what everybody wants so that people will not have trouble getting to work on Monday. I can be pretty flexible on the timing for Sunday. The only thing I would like to do in a hurry is to post up a notice and blocking that date for reservations. If we can fill up the house to fifty people I could even close the restaurant for anybody else and make it into a totally private DR affair. We have a large number of Sunday regulars and I would like them to know in advance of what is happening and some of them might become future DR members.

I can not tell, are ALL of these dishes very spicy or are some plain, some spicy and some very spicy? While I love spicy food, I hope we can have a mixture with this many courses.

All the dishes are spicy but accompanied with rice, bread and raita to cool off the effect. On their own each dish has a pronounced spice content since that is what the Event is about.

Sudhir, can you write me with pricing and how many people you can accomodate on any given evening? (Can you guys tell I'm busy? )

Hi Don

The restaurant seats 62 and can be increased to 66 quite comfortably. We could do the following menu for $65 (including tips and tax). The menu needs some fine tuning still and I welcome any suggestions. If there is a demand for something which people do not see on the menu and were looking forward to, I will try to work that in.

IG NITE DINNER

First course

Mirchi Pakora

Chicken Kali Mirch kabab

Lamb Parsi cutlet

Chili Onion Kulcha

Second course

Shrimp Balchao

Mussel Vendiam

Meen Kozhambu

Aloo Chokha

Rice and bread

Third course

Mirchi Gosht

Pork Vindaloo

Green Chili Chicken

Mirchi Ka Salan

Tamatar Launji

Rice and bread

Dessert

Spicy Modak

(Steamed rice dumpling stuffed with kali mirchi, khoya & jaggery)

Chutneys

Green Chili

Garlic & Red Chili

Onion

Coconut

Pickles

Mango

Jalapeno

[i'm guessing there may be enough interest in this to make it a community-wide event, with reserved spots, prepayment with PayPal, etc. Please post here if you're interested, and if enough people want to, I'll work out the details with Sudhir. Remember, ALL members here are welcome at every event (even ones that haven't signed on in a few months, hint hint). Cheers, Rocks.]

Hi Don

This has really piqued the interest a lot more than I had expected. Well to get the ball rolling first thing we have to decide on a day/date. I am working on an exotic hot menu and will post it soon. In the meantime I am proposing three dates in September 23, 30 (both Sundays) and Tuesday the 25th. Let us see what the feedback is and we can take it from there. The four course menu would be structured as follows from different regions of India. Price and menu yet to be finalized

Four apps

3 seafood dishes

3 meat and chicken dishes

1 spicy dessert

the first three courses will have their own dowsers for the fainthearted like breads, rice, vegetables, lentil, yogurt etc.

WOW

Lot of hot folks around this forum. Well some interesting facts about Chilis on the link below

http://www.g6csy.net/chile/index.html

Couple of years ago when I was at the Heritage I had catered to a group of 50 CHILI HEADS and in a five course menu had the spice level going up steadily. I can handle pretty hot stuff myself and was surprised by what these guys could handle even at the fourth course level. The least appreciated fifth course was the dessert. wish I had saved that menu and run a special on it sometime.

Any takers in our DR group venturesome to try the Regional Hot foods of India? We could do something at Passage to India.

In my opinion the best way to kill the spice on your palate is a shot of Espresso. It has never failed me to this date.

A great set of wheels, this MDX. Have owned one since 2001 and then got suckered into their flagship RL in 2005. With all the info available on so many things it is unfortunate that the DVD which stores all this is almost always 18 months old and thus information is never up to date. And yes, ZAGAT is better used as a phone book.

The first link did not paste Try the one below

http://books.google.com/books?id=qh3TqvSSO...rPsHo4#PPA34,M1