Saffron Indian Cuisine - Falls Church, VA

1077 West Broad Street
Falls Church, VA 22046
(703) 992-0077

WE WELCOME a terrific addition to Falls Church City's Indian food scene - SAFFRON took over the now-closed Curry Mantra 2 in the West End Plaza Shopping Center.  We were not fans of Curry Mantra 2, despite its seemingly popular appeal to those who prefer a more modern version of Indian food, both in flavor and presentation. So, we were happy to see Curry Mantra 2 close its doors in NoVa to re-open in DC in Spring 2015. Good luck, Curry Mantra 2!

Goes without saying, that, in our humble opinion, Saffron is heads above its predecessor. Since we began our blog in 2010, our long-standing neighborhood favorite for traditional Indian food has been Haandi in the Giant Plaza (Falls Plaza Shopping Center) in Falls Church City. Saffron may well offer some competition to Haandi, located right across the street.

The service at Saffron was great.  Azad, a knowledgeable and very pleasant maitre d', took our order and, throughout our meal, was attentive. He supervised several cheerful and very polite wait staff, who assisted in serving dishes, clearing plates, and ensuring our water glasses were always full.

There were happy diners of all ages and demographics, families, couples, and singles, eating here early on a Saturday evening. On a cold evening, the atmosphere in Saffron was warm and amiable.

The food, both in taste and presentation, was also great  While we waited for our food to arrive, we snacked on the traditional Papadum served with the standard Indian dipping sauces / chutneys.  Our appetizer order of Samosas came out quickly, it was hot and delicious. The Chicken Tikka entree served on a rectangular white plate was perfectly moist and seasoned just right. It comes with an order of plain Naan, but we also ordered a Cheese Naan, which as delicious, though a bit greasy. The saucy, stewey Chicken Vindaloo, served in a bowl, was also terrific, with just the right seasoning and a very slight tinge of sweetness.  Hint for those who want an even spicier version of the Vindaloo: Order it as a "10." It was absolutely excellent in its flavor, poured over rice.  It is typically prepared at a "5" spice level, so if you can handle the double hotness, you will love it. Overall, the food was wonderful, and priced quite reasonably.  Our total bill came to about $41.00, not counting the tip.

For the most part, the restaurant has not been remodeled since Saffron took over this space. The main positive feature of the restaurant's layout is its open kitchen with a very strong exhaust system. The relatively small dining hall seats about 50 at its tables along walls and one middle row. We hope that the new owners address the somewhat sea-sickening askew placement of dining tables in the middle row, which is a relic of the previous restaurant's layout.

Most of the wait staff remained from the predecessor restaurant, though definitely were much better trained, more responsive and seemed much happier and more knowledgeable about their jobs than when they worked for Curry Mantra.  The chef, who apparently, worked for a short time in Curry Mantra 2, then left, has returned to cook at Saffron.

Overall, we can't say enough good things about Saffron.  Our experience there was very pleasant. We will definitely be back!

 Askew placement of tables can lead to sea-sickness, but try not to think about it...

 Incomplete renovation...

 Vegetable Samosas

 Paneer Kulcha (Cheese Naan) and Chicken Tikka

 Chicken Vindaloo

Hooray for round plates!

Curry Mantra 2, Falls Chuch, VA

*** CLOSED AS OF OCTOBER 2014 ***

1077 W Broad St
Falls Church, VA 22046

(703) 992-0077

I love Indian food and I can honestly say that this is not only the worst Indian food that I have ever had, but also the weirdest restaurant I’ve ever eaten in.   On top of it, the service is also so weirdly bad that I just can’t understand why Tom Sietsema, or anyone else for that matter, would like it.  But what do I know?  And by the way, just for the record, Bill, who is not a big fan of Indian food, but supports me whenever I have a craving (which is all the time), didn’t hate this restaurant as much as I did.  So, there you go.  Lovers of Indian food – AVOID. 

The strangest thing about this restaurant is that they serve dishes on top of dishes.  I don’t know how to explain this because not only is it extremely inconvenient to eat the food, it is also highly likely to be unsanitary.  I am not implying that Curry Mantra 2 practices poor hygiene, but what I am saying is that I don’t want dishes touched by people’s hands, no matter how clean, to touch my food directly on the plate.  There is just no reason for it.  Nonetheless, this is oddly how Curry Mantra 2 (never been to Curry Mantra 1) chooses to serve its food.  I’m sure they think that it is a cool nouveau culinary presentation, but it is just disgusting.  You can see in the photo what I am talking about.  If that doesn’t gross you out, more power to you, this is the place for you.

Secondly.  Forget any concept of feng shui here.  All the dishes and the tables are square.  There is nothing wrong with that per se, except for the fact that half of the tables are arranged askew, while half are perfectly straight.  The plates are also arranged askew on the table.  I am not going to describe to you the shape of everything else in the restaurant, e.g. the dining hall itself, which is rectangular, the rectangular open kitchen, the rectangular eating booths along the wall, etc.  Suffice it to say that being cramped in a rather small dining hall with sharp corners randomly-selected askewly-positioned square tables with the additional odd placing of square dishes at strange angles on top of one another is enough to make one seasick. 

Once your chi has been sufficiently disturbed, and the clueless waiters finally bring the food to the table, you may realize that this is the blandest, least tasteful food, mind you INDIAN food that you have ever had.  Bland and boring.  We got 3 appetizers and each of them had a green sauce on one side and a red sauce on the other.  Exactly the same for all three appetizers.  Not very creative or interesting on the variety front.  The couple times that we ate here, there were other patrons in the restaurant, so clearly there are people out there that eat this food and somehow tolerate the restaurant layout.  I have no idea how many of these are there for the first time or, like us, giving the place a second chance with the hope that we just had a bad experience once.  But apparently, they are opening a Curry Mantra 3 somewhere nearby, so seems that I am in the minority. 

Nonetheless, here’s another whammer -- the price for this “wonderful” experience is pretty high and definitely not worth it.  You’d think that paying almost $20 for a chicken biryani would at least motivate the otherwise useless wait staff to help you out by putting the leftovers into the Styrofoam container as a nice service for the customer.  Think again.  Even in restaurants where entrees cost half as much as here and are twice as tasty, the waiters do that for you.  But not here.  You’re on your own baby.

 

All in all, you may have surmised from this write-up that there is no way in hell we’re ever coming back to this restaurant.  For really good Indian food with excellent service and pleasant ambiance, our choice will continue to be Haandi, which is right across the street from Curry Mantra 2 in the Giant shopping mall on West Broad Street in Falls Church. 

Panjshir, Falls Church, VA

924 West Broad St.
Falls Church, VA 22046
(703) 536-4566

One of our old time favorites is still going strong.  No pretense, no higher ambition, just plain good Afghan food with great hosts and excellent service.  For those who are interested in factoids, Panjshir catered a large party hosted for President Hamid Karzai in Washington when Karzai first became president. But more importantly, the restaurant is always filled with regular people having freshly grilled kebobs on flat skewers, succulent pumpkin with yogurt sauce, scallion dumplings with minced lamb and other delicacies from Afghanistan.  It is a small restaurant with a cozy setting, clean and welcoming atmosphere.  Panjshir has been open at this location since 1985, no small feat.  When the Bankgok Blues surprisingly closed down next-door last year, Panjshir continued to stay strong, and that’s a testament to its goodness.

We ordered 2 appetizers – Bulanee Gundana (lightly fried dumplings stuffed with scallions and ground beef) and the Sambosa Goshti (deep fried dumplings with ground beef, chickpeas and parsley).  The sauces served with the appetizers were fantastic – one yogurt sauce and one spicy green sauce, which was very flavorful and we asked for seconds on the sauces.  Went great with rice and would go great on anything.

The wait staff was very knowledgeable about the food.  Pleasantly, even the waiter that is not Afghan definitely knew the food and made excellent recommendations.  This is not surprising for Panjshir because it is a family-run business that is truly run like a family with the warm atmosphere.

 Our entrees included a Kabab E-Murgh, which is a tender and flavorful chicken kebob served with saffron rice; a Samarooq Palow, which is tender, flavorful chicken cubes and mushrooms served in a stewy saucy dish with yogurt sauce; and a Vegetarian platter with any choice of 3 dishes selected from the vegetarian menu with saffron rice.  In our case it was eggplant (Banjan Chalow), spinach (Sabsi Chalow), and pumpkin (Kadu Chalow) – a perfect combination of salty and sweet.  All entrees came with a sizeable section of Afghan bread that is topped with black sesame seeds.  Entrees were also preceded by a nice garden salad with a homemade mustard-based dressing.  We finished off the meal with a tasty cardamom tea.  Portions were a “just right” amount and at about $20 per person (total bill) were reasonably-priced.

Panjshir is a place we have visited many times and will continue to visit and recommend to our friends. 

Ireland's Four Provinces, Falls Church, VA

105 W. Broad St.
Falls Church, VA
(703) 534-8999

Ireland’s Four Provinces is a tale of two restaurants. Weekdays and weekend evenings, it’s a very nice Irish Pub serving fine bar food and the perfect pint. On Sunday morning it becomes an entirely different place. Ireland’s Four Provinces becomes a cleaned-up, relatively refined dining establishment that offers one of the best and economical brunch buffets in Northern Virginia. We’ve tried the brunch there a few years ago, and can honestly say this “Best of NoVA 2010” winner* has not skipped a beat. In fact, it is maturing with age. This place does a great job of mixing the local feel of a nice neighborhood bar/restaurant while representing the best of Ireland’s pubs (it just takes one visit to the men’s room to see a poster entitled, “The Urinals of Ireland.” Take a guess where you'll find the poster hung in the men's room).

Friendly hosts guided us past those without reservations (we highly recommend reservations if you’re planning brunch during the busy hours around noon) and sat us in a very crowded dining room. Drink orders were taken and off to the buffet we strolled. The buffet, situated in the bar area is cramped, but fully stocked and frequently replenished with fresh foods. The array begins with cold salads, salmon and breads. The warmer foods are presented next with a wide variety of breakfast fare including French toast, waffles, scrambled eggs, breakfast meats, corned beef hash, eggs Benedict, spotted dick (yes, spotted dick), and the assorted accoutrements to compliment all the above (syrup, butter, cream cheese, etc). This is followed by some assorted lunch fare including the almost mandatory Sheppard’s Pie. The end of the line sits an omelet and a roast beef station professionally manned by a chef ready to take your omelet order and slice some roast beast. On the way back to the dining room is a table containing a wide variety of juices and for those who believe its “5 o’clock somewhere” a Bloody Mary station.

Everything we took from the buffet lived up to our expectation as evidenced not only by our empty plates but by the frequent return trips to the buffet. All the food was fresh and well stocked. The eggs were light and fluffy, the waffles were crispy and the eggs Benedict came with a very creamy hollandaise sauce. Coffees, waters, and sodas were kept full by a very attentive wait staff. Hosts frequently checked (but not too excessively) to make sure our brunch experience met our expectations.

At $16 bucks per adult, this local Falls Church City Sunday brunch is a local best bet. Just be sure you make reservations first.

*According to Northern Virginia Magazine

Haandi, Falls Church, VA

1222 West Broad Street

Falls Church, VA 22046

(703) 533-3501

Haandi is one of the best Indian restaurants in this area.  We have gone there many times for dinner by ourselves and with friends and have had impeccable service and wonderful food.  As you can see in the photo, this strip mall eatery distinguishes itself by outfitting its tables with white cloth linens, always spotless, always pleasant.  On the day before Christmas, we tried their all-you-can-eat buffet lunch.  The buffet assortment was decent.  The selection included a garden salad, two chicken dishes, including one dry (tandoori) and one in sauce, one lamb dish in sauce, a spinach dish, a vegetable medley in a mild curry sauce, and basmati rice.  Apologies for not recalling the names of dishes, but you can find the menu on the restaurant’s website.   There was also a rice pudding dessert at the buffet table and a plain naan placed on the table in a wicker basket.  Sauces, including raita, mango chutney, the green cilantro sauce and others were laid out at the buffet.

Each dish, including the sauces, tasted substantially milder in the buffet assortment than if ordered as separate entrees, based on our experience.  Seasonings were undoubtedly toned down for the buffet dishes to please those clients least tolerant of spicy food, so any Indian food novices will probably find the lunch buffet a good introduction to this cuisine.  The regular lunch menu was available, however most everyone we saw went for the buffer, which was a good value at $10.95/person on weekdays and $12.95/person on weekends. 

The restaurant is not overpriced and the menu is diverse.  We have had many dishes on the menu and all have been exceptionally good.  The decorations are subtle with soft sitar music in the background and paintings of Indian scenes recessed in eastern-style architectural frames.  There are always lots of patrons at this restaurant, including lots of regulars.  Waiters multitask, and provide consistently  efficient, attentive and friendly  service, making for a pleasant ambiance. 

La Caraqueña, Falls Church, VA

300 W. Broad Street,  

Falls Church, VA 22046 

(703) 533-0076 

What an unexpected lovely surprise at this tiny restaurant adjacent to a Falls Church motel.  La Caraqueña, which means “a woman from Caracas” in Spanish, has about 10 tables inside (when the patio is closed due to cold weather).  Reservations are definitely recommended because the wait on a Saturday night, at least when we were there, was almost out the door.  The waitress explained to us that ever since this restaurant was featured on the Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives program on the Food Channel back in November, they have been trying to keep up with the surge in clientele. 

When we entered the restaurant, we were greeted by the very cheerful chef himself, who is also the owner, and was, at least at the moment, the host.  We were a few minutes early, so we had to wait until our table freed up, which happened right on time for our reservation.  From the moment we walked in, we felt welcomed the entire evening.   The atmosphere was jovial - every table was filled with diners of all ages, some of whom clearly were regulars, since they knew the chef by name and he came out to chat with some of them.  The lively, non-intrusive Latin music was interrupted once and a “happy birthday” broke out as the staff walked over singing with a candle in cake to one of the larger parties.  Everyone applauded as the birthday person and a friend jumped up and danced for about a minute.   This was really an animated, warm, family-like, cozy ambiance. 

Service was not only very friendly and attentive, but also efficient.  Three waitresses and a bus boy hustled to make sure everyone was well-taken care of.  Our waitress knew all the items on the menu and cheerfully made recommendations based on our questions. The menu is a combination of Bolivian, Venezuelan and Chilean dishes, most of which were unfamiliar to us, so we were grateful for her help.  The menu itself seemed rather limited in choices, but a note on the menu said that this is not a fast food place and patience will be required as each dish is made to order.  Although the wait for the food was hardly noticeable, it was clear that each dish was thought-out and prepared with individualized attention.  We were disappointed when we learned that they ran out of the only appetizer we wanted – the Empanadas Saltenas.  Apparently, this is their most popular appetizer and they still had not been able to plan out their dishes since the Food Channel episode premiered, skyrocketing their customer level. We hope to return and try this appetizer in the future.

The Sopa di Mani, a peanut-beef-rice soup, was a puree of its listed ingredients, with no one component dominating the others, making it a wonderful warm blend on a cold December evening.  The ham and cheese arepa (an arepa, we were told, is a typical Venezuelan sandwich) served inside fried corn bread, was also delicious.  But the Pabellon Completo con Baranda, the restaurant’s special, was absolutely amazing (see photo).  Pulled beef in a superbly flavorful sauce served in a bowl-like plate with rice, black beans, fried plantains, a fried sunny-side up egg, with shaved white cheese and avocados.  The fresh homemade jalapeno salsa that was served separately made this meal perfection.

This was a great restaurant that we highly recommend.  It has been there for 3 years, replacing the Rose Restaurant, which served Iranian cuisine, and was also very good.  Despite its location adjacent to a motel, this “dive” is a neighborhood gem.  Hope the success doesn’t go to its head and the delightful spirit and flavors of La Caraquena continue to thrive.