Ananda, Maple Lawn in Fulton - From The Owners of The Ambassador

[HowChowBlog]

There is a very expensive-looking restaurant built in the Maple Lawn development of Fulton, and there is still hope that it will open as an Indian restaurant called Ananda.

Last I heard, Ananda got a liquor license last week (end of March 2014).  So that's good.  But the construction has been delayed all winter, and there have been several rumors that Ananda might never open.  At one point, the building was listed for rent.  It's a big space with lots of wood panelling and an entire room built with garage-door-style windows so that it can convert into almost outdoor space in good weather.

The exact outcome -- and certainly the timeline -- are unclear.  But Ananda is owned by the folks who own the Ambassador in Baltimore, so it should be great food if they can get off the ground.

[DonRocks]

There is a very expensive-looking restaurant built in the Maple Lawn development of Fulton, and there is still hope that it will open as an Indian restaurant called Ananda.

Last I heard, Ananda got a liquor license last week (end of March 2014).  So that's good.  But the construction has been delayed all winter, and there have been several rumors that Ananda might never open.  At one point, the building was listed for rent.  It's a big space with lots of wood panelling and an entire room built with garage-door-style windows so that it can convert into almost outdoor space in good weather.

The exact outcome -- and certainly the timeline -- are unclear.  But Ananda is owned by the folks who own the Ambassador in Baltimore, so it should be great food if they can get off the ground.

This is not in the former oZ. Chophouse space, correct?

[HowChowBlog]

No.  The former oZ became something else.  This is new construction on the other side of the Maple Lawn development.  It is on Maple Lawn Boulevard just south of Johns Hopkins Road.

[HowChowBlog]

Ananda has opened.  Right now, they're in a "soft" phase with a $20 three-course dinner from a limited menu.  Over the next few weeks, they'll roll out the full menu, add a sign, etc.

[HowChowBlog]

I tamped down my excitement when I first wrote about Ananda.

 

The Fulton restaurant is the closest food to my house, serving a cuisine that I love.  And I'm just a hobby blogger, which makes me reticent to act like I know exceptional food after a meal or two.

But the professionals love Ananda, so I'm letting myself wax poetic.  It's a new restaurant, but I think it already matches the best restaurants in Howard County.  If you're nosing around Don Rockwell, then I think you're the type of person who would be very happy with a 30-minute drive to Ananda.  So that makes this place open to a wide circle of people in Baltimore and DC's Maryland suburbs.

We had another amazing dinner last weekend.  Great cocktails.  Spectacularly flavorful shrimp, chicken and dessert.  The class of white tablecloths and subtle waiters, paired with the friendliness of a veranda full of families and kids.  All as the cool evening rolled in through open walls.

 

It's a magical combination, and it's getting notice.  Todd Kliman of the Washingtonian mentioned Ananda on-line a few weeks ago -- distilling the observation that the kitchen fuses Indian cuisine with a local seasonal vibe of a city bistro.  Then Kathy Patterson of Minx Eats enjoyed both the drinks and food.  Then Richard Gorelick gave Ananda four stars in the Sun:
 
Boom.  Now I can say that I love the food without feeling like I'm infected with amateur-writer puppy love.  We have eaten three meals at Ananda, each better than the last.  This time, I ate the shrimp dish jingha karari and used rice and bread  to lap up every drop of the sauce rich with ginger and garlic.  My wife ate a chicken kabob that was juicy white meat chunks, cooked perfectly and then served with an herb sauce.  We finished with a special peach crumble that rivaled our favorite seasonal desserts at Woodberry Kitchen.

Read the professional reviews.  They all capture the place -- and Gorelick goes respectful when he describes the Maple Lawn development.  I had harrumphed after Kliman summarized the area as being the middle of nowhere  I'm amazed that Ananda's kitchen is serving recognizable -- even traditional -- Indian food in ways that seem unique.  It's a bit in the food itself.  A bit in their offering plated entrees.  My shrimp came with a choice of lentils or spinach as a side dish.  A bit in the local and seasonal specials like the watermelon salad that we ate on an early visit and that Gorelick raved about.

We're not the only ones raving.  The table next to us last night ordered three watermelon salads for three diners.  It's so good that they didn't share.  We have neighbors who have gone with their toddler every Sunday night since Ananda opened.  They love the food, and they're making a family tradition.
 
This is a link to all my blog posts about Ananda.

[porcupine]

We have friends who live up that way, and one is a picky eater with an inexplicable fondness for Indian food who loves to dine out, so I was quite excited to try Ananda.  But, #16 on the Washingtonian 100 Very Best list?  Really?

I'm not sure how to describe what we had.  The lamb in my shahi korma was great: large chunks of tender, well-trimmed meat with a pronounced lamb taste that wasn't gamey, and yet they sauce was... bland?  I wasn't expecting spicy hot, but I was expecting spicy complex, which just wasn't there.  I'd say the same about the matar paneer Mr. P ordered: the peas and paneer themselves were treated well (the peas not overcooked, which can happen in this dish, and the paneer had great texture and flavor), but the sauce was bland with an unexpected raw acidity*.  Dal makhani tasted like a random assortment of legumes, without the rich, earthy complexity that makes the dish so endearing.  Even the rice was just blah.

On the other hand, it was nice to have a well-executed paratha with the meal rather than the usual naan (which is also on the menu, of course).

Desserts trend Western, or western-style.  For authentic they did have an excellent rice pudding; there's also gulab jamun available.

Possibly my biggest complaint is that since our friends loved it, it will be harder to get them to join us at Passage to India in the future.

I'm sure we'll be going back, hopefully in hot weather when those big garage doors are open.  I truly hope our dinner there was an aberration and that this places deserves that high ranking on the Washingtonian list**.

*the phrase "raw acidity" came from Mr P, who elaborated: "it's like when you add a can of tomatoes to something but don't let it cook and blend in".

** I just noticed that Ananda was rated one position higher than Mintwood Place on the list, which is where we were supposed to go that night but those plans had to be scrapped.  I haven't been to Mintwood in over a year and now I'm really dying to try it again.

[astrid]

Our experience resembles Porcupine's experience here.  The environs and service were lovely, the breads were great, but the "curries" were meh.  We got the lamb korma and the chicken tikka masala, and both were very underspiced (and the chicken dish didn't have any of the delicious grilled flavors associated with tandoori chicken) to the extent of not tasting like much of anything.  I think Rasika is much much better.

[porcupine]

^I'm sorry to read this.  I hope others can contribute something more positive.

[Lori Gardner]

I'm sorry to read this too.  I had a great experience at Ananda several months ago, and am planning a return visit in a few weeks.  Here's my post from October.

http://beenthereeatenthat.net/2014/10/ananda/

I'll report back after I return.

[eroica38]

Based on the rave review in the January Washingtonian, my wife and I recently decided to have dinner at Anada as we live but a few miles south.  The setting is quite grand, but alas the food was mediocre at best.  I had the almond-crusted lamb chops and my wife had shrimp buna as main dishes.  Both dishes were not hot, just barely warm, when they arrived, further they were both underspiced and flavorless bland.  My lamb chops appeared to have been grilled earlier in the evening.  We have had much better food at numerous steam table lunch time buffets.  Lastly our waiter disappeared after delivering our food giving us no opportunity to get the food set right.  In sum, I agree the above "meh" comment as to the food.         

[Lori Gardner]

according to DC Eater Ananda just made the list of 25 best new restaurants in the country!