Last Thursday was Samuel's birthday and we opted to go with our friends and their 4-year old to SANGAM located in the Comfort Inn (free garage parking!) at 1211 N. Glebe Rd (at the corner of Washington Blvd) in Arlington (www.sangamrestaurant.com), right at the I-66 Glebe Rd exit just minutes from DC.
After perusing the menu over a MANGO LASSI which the kids adored (and we did, too), we opted to order several items and share. We WAY OVERORDERED. The appetizers are all huge portions and cost $3.50 to $5.00 so are an amazing bargain. We loved the PANEER PAKORA which are cottage cheese fritters and there CHICKEN PAKORA, also a fritter, both of which can be dipped into either of the two sauces provided.
Less exciting was the SHAMI KABOB made of ground beef and lentils and pan-fried as patties (similar top the mid-Eastern kefta kabob) but a bit on the dry side and oddly served with raw onions and green peppers (neither of which I like in their raw state!). Best was the piping hot huge VEGETABLE SAMOSA with potatoes, peas and spices in a pastry puff shell.
We had a pretty good and reasonably priced bottle of ST. SUPERY SAUVIGNON BLANC from Napa which works very well with the spices. We moved to a very nice medium bodied 2005 LOUIS BERNARD COTES du RHONE which again held up to the spices in the food. Our entrees were a SANGAM FEAST (made for two at an amazing $31) which includes TANDOORI CHICKEN, CHIKEN TIKKA (barbecued pieces), SEEKH KABOB, LAMB ROGANJOSH (cooked in a rich almond sauce like a stew), CHICKEN SAAG (curried with chopped spinach), NAVRATNA KORMA(vegetable curry in almond sauce), CREAMED LENTILS, RAITA (yogurt, cucumber, tomato, herbs), PALAU RICE and NAAN (flatbread). This oculd easily have fed three and we ordered two platters of this!! AND in my stupidity also a plate of SHRIMP KADAI (curried with vegetables) and SAAG PANEER (an always yummy spinach & cottage cheese combo).
The kids managed several bites of CHICKEN TIKKA MASALA which in kids version came with Indian spice-dusted fries and broccoli (Samuel would have none of that!). They seemed to like their KASMIRI NAAN which is made with dried fruits (especially cherries) and nuts, and I am always a fan of ONION KULCHA (that superb fluffy bread with chopped cooked onions).
Needless to say it was too much and we were stuffed. We had brought along a CHOCOLATE Birthday CAKE with MARSHMALLOW Icing that Samuel and I had baked at home (from my mother's recipe that goes back some 50 years!) which we all managed to enjoy a bit of before heading home.
SANGAM is nothing spectacular to look at, although the underlit dry ice lamps are cute. There are nice linens and the service is not wondrous (we poured our own wine, and had to pack our leftovers into the plastic containers as well), but the food is quite good and real deal!
