For anyone living around the Capitol Beltway (Washington DC area), or just passing through, here is the first in a series of restaurant reviews designed to help you find great spicy food just minutes off the Interstate in Northern Virginia.
I’m hoping this will be useful to chiliheads up and down the East Coast, because sooner or later, your travels might very well bring you through the DC area on I-95.
Yeah, there are plenty of BBQ joints around here, but I want to start out with an Indian place that has been open a year in Lorton, VA, less than ten minutes North of Quantico Marine Base or South of the I-95/495 “Mixing Bowl”, and just a few hundred yards off the highway. You need to know about My Karma Indian Bistro because; a.) they have some of the best Indian food in the DC metro area and; b.) they are happy to indulge your craving for heat!
The owner, Subhash Gavri, is there most of the time, so be sure to introduce yourself and tell him you love hot, spicy food. He will be happy to make some recommendations. If you have a really good tolerance for heat, make sure he knows what you mean by “spicy”. His Nepalese chef has a heat scale that stops at “double spice”. Insist on a “triple spice level” if you want to be scorched. On my umpteenth visit recently with fellow chilihead and bon vivant, Bob Linn, we came up with the following recommendations:
For an incredible variety of flavors and spices, you have to get a few things that are not scorchers. The best feed on the menu, which is great for sharing, is the Tandoori Mixed Grill, shown here:
This is a sizzling platter of meats and seafood, each one spiced or marinated in its own unique way. Because of the intense heat of the Tandoori oven, these items cook in a matter of a few minutes and they are incredibly tender and moist. Sizzling beneath all of those goodies are lots of sliced onions. I guess you could say this is like an Indian version of fajita.
Be sure to get a basket of the Nan (Indian bread made fresh in the clay Tandoori oven). My two favorites are Garlic Nan and Onion Kulcha. Here, they are served with my favorite spicy dish from My Karma ““ Chicken Vindaloo.
Vindaloo is traditionally a style of cooking that surrounds a meat (such as Tandoori-roasted chicken) and potatoes with a hot, spicy sauce. Sometimes, there are tomatoes in the sauce, sometimes not, and usually it has a touch of vinegar. The version that I tried for the first time at My Karma a year ago has brought me back there at least once a month! Don’t pass up the vegetable dishes, which can be spiced up on request. They are incredibly flavorful, using spinach, eggplant, okra, onions, tomatoes, chick peas and lentils, to name a few.
For those chiliheads who are unfamiliar with Indian cuisine and might have been reluctant to try it, My Karma is the perfect place to give it a whirl. Subhash is a friendly, informative host. For those who know their Indian food, you will be duly impressed too. It is well worth your making a stop and I would bet once you eat there, you will plan your next trip thru DC to coincide with the lunch or dinner hour.
For information and directions, go to www.mykarmabistro.com .
Written by SteveM
Nick Lindauer founded Hot Sauce Blog in 2004, making it one of the internet's very first hot sauce review sites. After 20+ years of tasting, reviewing, and attending every major fiery foods event in the country, he's back behind the keyboard covering the hot sauce world he helped build.
34 responses to “Restaurant Review: BELTWAY BURN – Part 1”
Good review Steve. Looks delicious.
I believe your package is being shipped today.
[Comment ID #134121 Quote]
Sweet! I will be all over it. SM
Nice work Steve
That chicken sure looks good! Nice JOb.
Steve we definitely have to getogether at some point along the Beltway. Indian food is not my favorite, but have had some good meals in the past. If you have some Cajun joint on your list give me a hollar.
[Comment ID #134154 Quote]
Roger that, Buddah! Will try to connect soon.
I LOVE Indian food! Not to many good places around here.
Steve email me @ albuddah@yahoo.com
This looks good enough to eat. So much so it brought me out of the woodwork to post a comment. I notice you have google ads now NickL.
Good for you. If you are ever interested in setting up a trading clicks forum, I’m in. I have already clicked on yours. 🙂
seems a bit more of a fusion restaurant with a indian flair. good review though.
[Comment ID #134443 Quote] Physically, it’s a very contemporary looking place, and yes, you could say it’s fusion. The Indian side of the menu is traditional. I have to admit I haven’t gotten around to trying the Indian Style Chinese items yet.
can we put a new post up already..lol
This has become an ad blog (commercial spots), no longer the great chili head blog it was 2 years ago. Just look at the entries that are months old and no new inputs. Nothing new or interesting happening!!
The new ones generally don’t have much to do with hot sauce. With the exception of the paid reveiwed ads which only benefit the seller. Items in the Main Menu; some haven’t changed anything in years. Nothing to much of interest to a new collector. I think the BLOG needs a
MAKE OVER! So much for my 2 cents.
My second of the 2 cents.
DISBAND THE FORUM, go back to only the blog, the forum does not have enough traffic.
Only one of these are needed now.
[Comment ID #134559 Quote] Sorry you’re getting bored, HenryK, but are you implying this review is like a commercial and I have an ulterior motive in posting it? That would hurt me more than the hottest hot sauce!
Well actually, I do have an ulterior motive. I like to see good, spicy ethnic restaurants in my area succeed, so I don’t have to eat the same old crap in the usual joints. The best way to do that is to spread the word.
Maybe I should spice things up once in a while and pan every crappy wing joint in a 100 mile radius. I generally like telling people where to eat instead of where not to. If that means the reviews sound too much like a commercial, well then I’m willing to take the criticism.
As far as your thoughts on straying from the hot sauce orientation of this site, that’s a comment worthy of further discussion, and one I’m sure Nick would like to know about.
[Comment ID #134286 Quote]
Pmac!! you been lurking around the blog huh? Hot sauce is an addiction, you can try to kick it…but you will always come back! Good to see you post! I got some collectibles for you if you are interested lol!
[Comment ID #134597 Quote]
Don’t be so touchy, nothing was said of your reveiw which is great and was interesting. The point only one good comment(reveiw) in 4 days. In the past you could not keep up with all the new entries that were being posted on a daily basis. There is something gone wrong.
Hi Pmac good hearing from you to.
well HenryK while you like to travel in the 100 miles radius of DC come to Hagerstown, MD and try MR.D’s Wings, Ribs and Sandwiches (www.mrds-wings.com), introduce yourself and I PROMISE you will have the best wings in town. Peace out.
Marco
[Comment ID #134614 Quote]
OOOPS…i mean SteveM
[Comment ID #134607 Quote] Good point. Sorry to be touchy. I guess there has been a slowdown, now that you mention it. I better taste some more sauce. I’ll get on it ASAP. Cheers! SM
[Comment ID #134616 Quote]
Maybe Steve and I can both make the trip. I wanted to go to last years Defcon Day, but had obligations. So it is good to know you got a restaurant to try out your goodies. What you think SteveM? Sunday lunch trip one week?
Yeah I have been lurking for months (Or longer). I personally like the reviews. Reading this again has made me hungry. (What else is new for a fat bugger like me 🙂
Hello HK and CHE. No collectables thanks, i have what I have and I am sticking to that. But I do want to talk to Eric because he sells Loco Luna and I am out. 🙁 I lost most contacts info months ago in the conputer crash of ’07. 🙂
eric = eman.
[Comment ID #134762 Quote]
Hey pmac! Not sure eman still sells Loco Luna, Brians been MIA!
Does eman still peruse these pages? What about Bigshow or Ryan and his wife or …(The non manufacturers I remember from the Hot sauce thing in Texas from ’06)
I ask about the non makers, because obviously this is the place for the makers to be. Its a part of the job (as well as social of course)
Big show seemed to get his B&M open and I have not seen anything from him since (I am not too frequent here but a couple times a week I pop in and catchup).
I recall Ryan was going for an eye surgery. Eric had a baby and named it Blaire 🙂
HenryK is and was HenryK 🙂
And where the F**K is NickL. Old bugger. Sells the company and buggers off for the most part 🙂 (j/k NL)
Congrats on the Marriage when will it become the FHT not the THT? Is there a fourth on the way :), Chris seems to me the type of guy that would give the y chromosome. Juuuust kidding Chris! 🙂
But that would be great, because I think you guys would do a great job raising a girl. Chris seems to be a very calm and relaxed guy and a girl would bring out the protective animal in him! “You’ll date my daughter after I am dead and bleeding Hot Sauce” 🙂 Ok that wasn’t as funny as it was when I thought it to myself.
Hope all the people that I met are all good and well including Ryan and his wife 🙂 (sincere, not being facetious)
Hey NickL how come my name isn’t red now under the Top 20 commenters? just wondering, not a big deal.
P.S. to all
Kindest Regards from Heather and Paul
My post count was somehow reset after I had left for a period. I remember when I was in the top 10 commentators. That…was a long time ago. I hope like our differences! 😀
yes
[Comment ID #134607 Quote]
I know that a lot of people who do posts and reviews here have been very busy as of late, however I would be willing to bet things pick up shortly. Patience grasshopper. Good things come to those who wait.
HAHA, yes well we are actually hoping somewhat for a girl….and don’t feel bad about the y chromosome joke, I think I made the same one myself two weeks ago! 🙂
Eman rears his head every now and then, yes had a BEAUTIFUL daughter but her name is actaully Isabella Blair, lol, and Ryan shows but only after being mia for several months at a time.
Nick and Laura are having a fanfreakintastic time out in the big state, we catch up every now and then. She’s ou there to finish up school and is having a blast in the the meantime.
I think Bigshows brick and martor has taken off and he’s doing well. Thats what I hear through the grapevine at least.
Hope you and Heather are doing well. Say hello from THT and tamale jr. 🙂
I like a good vindaloo as well, but it’s not actually an Indian dish! It was created in the UK early on in the stages of the curry takeover (we do like a good curry over here). Ironically it wasn’t even created by Indians… The owners of the first curry places over here were Bangladeshi! If you’re feeling really brave you should try a phaal or a tindaloo….
Nevertheless it’s pretty much still referred to as an Indian dish, just thought you might like the trivia 🙂
[Comment ID #135396 Quote] Fantastic! Dave, thx for taking time to write that. By any chance, do you live in or near London? My son will be attending school there from late August to early December of this year. He is an Indian food hound. Can you make some recommendations for Indian cheap eats? Location: Russell Square/ Regents Park area.
Cheers!
SteveM
Hey Steve,
Unfortunately I’m at the other end of the country! (Manchester area) But it really won’t be hard finding a good curry place in London. There are so many curry houses over here that we even have the ‘curry mile’, literally a 1 mile stretch of road lined with almost nothing but Indian takeaways 😀 I don’t visit London too often but I’d imagine there are hundreds of places that are worth checking out
Your son should have a blast anyway, good luck to him!
Dave
[Comment ID #136130 Quote] Dave, do you happen to know the location of the “curry mile”?
Go Man-U !