Washingtonian on the Woodlands: Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad

Washingtonian's Cheap Eats issue has hit the streets, and by and large the selections are decent, provided of course you never touch a drop of alcohol at many of the restaurants listed, which would put you over the $55-for-two price threshold faster than a Nats starter hits the DL. But there is one place on the list that's absolutely guaranteed to go easy on your wallet: the Gaithersburg location of the Woodlands.

That's because it no longer exists.

In fact, that Gaithersburg address, 18216 Contour Road, hasn't housed a Woodlands in close to two years, says Rajendran Sinnameyyan, owner and chef of Madurai Masala, the Indian restaurant currently at the location. Before Sinnameyyan opened Madurai in January, the address was home to yet another post-Woodlands joint, a placed called Sitar Nights.

Some customers, the owner says, have specifically sought out the Woodlands in Gaithersburg since publication of this year's Cheap Eats issue, only to learn the place has been long gone. Part of the blame no doubt lies with Woodlands itself, which has Gaithersburg location still listed on its Web site. But a simple fact-checking phone call could have solved the problem.

"They never called me," says Sinnameyyan, who's been in the restaurant business for 22 years.

The Langley Park and Fairfax locations of the Woodlands are still open for cheap eats. We know. We called.