There's a new vegetarian place that opened at the Woodley Park/Zoo metro two days ago. Details:
Swagat
2604 Connecticut Avenue
Washington, DC
(202) 462-4786
(For those of you familiar with the Woodley Park area, the restaurant has taken over the space that was formerly a Dunkin' Donuts, in the basement beneath the Baskin-Robbins.)
They're the same people who run the two Indian Delight places in Union Station and the Old Post Office Pavillion. They also have a place out in Adelphi, MD, on University Blvd near Riggs, also named Swagat. Not vegan, but vegan-friendly: When I spoke to the owner he said "call ahead and we can make it any way you want". The place has a permanent build-in buffet. The menu's quite large, and the decor is pleasant. (The owner's wife hand-paints the tables.) Though this restaurant isn't wheelchair- accessable, he said his Adelphi location is. The seating is rather limited. The space is better suited to a carry-out. I've only eaten there once, but enjoyed it.Washington, DC
New vegetarian Indian restaurant
(Kevin C. wrote about Swagat: >They're the same people who run the two Indian Delight places in Union >Station and the Old Post Office Pavillion. Interesting you should mention this. Coincidentally, I had dinner at Swagat last night. The preparation is significantly different from that at the two Indian Delights, which trumpet themselves as "healthy" Indian vegetarian. Swagat makes no health claims. As it happens, I had rajma (a hot curry of red kidney beans) last night at Swagat; that's a signature dish at the Indian Delights, which makes comparisons possible. Swagat is a lot more liberal with oils and ghee, which does two things: it raises the fat content and it integrates spices into the dish much more effectively. Consistent at Indian Delight is an unpleasant sensation of discreteness; flavors don't meld, so that you're conscious that you're eating a plateful of kidney beans with hot spices dumped in, overliberally and almost as an afterthought, so that it's almost indistinguishable from Cajun red beans and rice. Fat is a binder, so the same dish at Swagat is much, much better. It actually tastes like an Indian curry, not a bunch of uncomfortably tossed-together ingredients. So I wouldn't necessarily use past experiences at Indian Delight as a guide to whether to drop on Swagat, where the food is better-tasting but noticeably heavier and more expensive. ----- Alex Johnson [email removed] When replying, delete NOSPAM from the return address.