Cover Story
March 27, 1998, Fairfax Journal Newspapers
It's the inside that counts at
Indian restaurant By MARY HAGER Special to The Journal
ll too often, diners are disinclined to try a restaurant
that has a shabby exterior. Don't let this happen to you at
Mehak, a terrific Indian restaurant in a less than lovely
building. Mehak is located on Lee Highway between Graham and
Gallows roads in Falls Church, VA., and it sure could use
a facelift. But inside, Mehak serves good quality Indian food.
Mehak has good prices (once again, you're not paying
for location and ambience, so that makes its Indian food very
affordable). Mehak offers lunch and dinner specials, including
a luncheon special for $4.95 with meat or chicken, vegetable
of the day and rice.
I invited two Indian food fanatics to join me at
a meal; we were impressed with the quality of the food, but
thought Mehak's food not as spicy as other Indian restaurants.
Vindaloo, for example, is known to be fiery hot, but at Mehak
the lamb Vindaloo was quite temperate. Chunks of meaty lamb
are served in a tangy tomato and Indian spiced sauce ($9.50),
or you can try it with fish ($9.95).
Nibble on a beef or vegetable samosa while you wait
for your food (as with all Indian restaurants, Mehak's food
takes longer to cook than you're used to when you dine out
-- be patient, it's worth the wait). The samosas, or turnovers,
are excellent. A crisp, fried flour-based shell is stuffed
with a mixture of either potatoes and green peas or ground
beef, green peas and potatoes. Indian spices are used lightly
and the flavors and consistency of ingredients in the samosa
are perfectly balanced: the crunchy shell, the warm, "comfort
food" filling with just a slight kick of Indian spices
($2 for two vegetable samosas, $2.50 for two beef) make for
a terrific snack.
Despite the unique complexity of Indian sauces, I've
always felt that sometimes the best dishes are those that
are simply marinated then grilled or baked in a tandoori (clay)
Indian oven. Mehak's Tikka Dinner is a great example of basic,
perfectly prepared meat. Chunks of boneless chicken breasts
are marinated in Indian spices, then baked in a tandoori oven
and served with onions, lettuce and lemon wedges. The chunks
are terrific -- the marinade and method of cooking makes for
tender and juicy pieces of chicken that practically melt in
your mouth ($9.50). Dress up the chicken with a little of
the green yogurt sauce; it's fiery hot but works well with
the refreshing lemon flavor and texture of the chicken.
One vegetable dish, the Naurattan Korma ($9.25),
is a mixture of fruits and vegetables in a creamy sauce with
just a touch of Indian spices. The only disappointment is
that the vegetables are a mixture of flavorless carrot chunks,
peas, corn and green beans and the only fruit I could distinguish
were tiny white grapes... But wrap up a spoonful of this in
one of the many varieties of Indian bread and thanks to the
delicious sauce, you've got a tasty dish.
A dish of cauliflower and potatoes is another good
vegetarian selection; pieces of cauliflower and potato chunks
are cooked in mild Indian spices ($7.50).
A dish of mashed cooked eggplant, onions and spices
is flavorful, but it's almost more of a sauce. The eggplant
is tangy and well-seasoned, and is terrific atop a serving
of tender, flavorful basmati rice that comes with each dish,
or simply wrapped in Indian bread ($7.50).
Mehak serves 10 varieties of bread; my favorite is
the garlic nan, a steaming hot, pita-like bread stuffed with
herbs and garlic ($2.75). Mehak's simple nan (a round of white
pita bread that's puffy and tastes great with whatever dish
you wrap it with) and roti (whole wheat nan bread) are also
excellent.
Be adventurous and try the Peshawari nan; it's a
round of bread stuffed with coconut, almond and raisins ($2.75).
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