Passage to India

Bethesda’s Passage to India lies solidly in the upper middle class of Indian eateries. It may not be quite as sumptuous as Heritage India or as sleekly hip as Indique, but it’s sightly more refined than the typical strip-mall place it appears to be from the sidewalk on Cordell Avenue. The interior is lush, and the beautifully bound menus organize entrees into four groups, one for each compass point. It’s a novel way to approach Indian cuisine, but the food itself can lack the polish of its accouterments. Tamarind shrimp (south) offers plenty of tender, healthy-sized prawns, but the sauce is overwhelmed by fenugreek. Kosha mangsho (east) has the opposite problem: A fragrant lamb dish, it arrived disappointingly tough, cooked too hot too fast. Soaking up its sauces in Passage to India's wonderful breads goes a long way toward redeeming it, though—try the garlic naan. Best to fill up on the well-crafted appetizers. A samosa chaat was paired with chickpeas and a well-above-par tamarind sauce, and tandoori scallops do beautifully under the high heat—savory-sweet, juicy, almost buttery.
—Mike DeBonis, December 22, 2005