Saturday, February 18, 2012

First Thoughts On The New Mango Grove

The new dosa station at Mango Grove
The new Mango Grove has opened in Columbia, and it's wonderful to see an old friend.

Great to taste the old friend too. That's the masala dosa. It's a star on the short "soft open" menu that they're serving as they get the kitchen up and running.

Great place, not blog-friendly lighting
The new Mango Grove looks like a step up even from what was one of Howard County's best restaurants. The new space off Dobbin Road is open and filled with warm, earthy colors. The back tables overlook a pond in the midst of the commercial development.  At the front is a open kitchen where you can watch the chefs make the dosas.

You need to go for the food. Eventually, they'll serve food from both Mango Grove's vegetarian menu and Mirchi Wok's non-veg selections. For now, they have a short menu. It's more than enough to fill a table -- mixing some standard curries with some southern Indian items like dosas.  Try a mango lassi.

We had a masala dosa. You get an enormous thin crepe filled with a vegetarian mixture of potato, vegetables and spices. Break off some of the crisp crepe and use it to scoop up the filling. We also had baighan bartha, an eggplant curry that seemed smokier, chunkier, even better than the old Mango Grove.

If liked the old Mango Grove, then you should definitely go visit the new one.  You'll see many friendly faces from before.  If it's new to you, I can't recommend it enough.  Great food.  An interesting variation from northern Indian cuisine.  It's a fun restaurant, and it's great to have it back.

On a practical note, this is a great place for vegetarians.  The food is delicious, and there is strict separation if you have ethical or religious reasons to avoid meat.  They actually set up two kitchens -- one vegetarian and one for meat.

Mango Grove
8865 Stanford Boulevard
Columbia, MD 21045
410-884-3426


NEAR: This is the shopping center that faces Dobbin Road south of Rte 175. You enter by turning from Dobbin onto Standard Boulevard. This has Pub DogHanamuraRiverside Coffee and Noodles Corner.

3 comments:

  1. I went for lunch on Thursday - for the buffet. I never tried the old location, so I have no comparison point that way. My only comparison point is the lunch buffet at Royal Taj.

    Generally, I felt like this was more introductory Indian - it was all mild, nothing was particularly spicy. Very tasty - please don't get me wrong - just not very spicy. I like my Indian to have a bit more bite.

    I'll do it again after they're fully opened, but at the moment I'm thinking Royal Taj will remain my go-to spot for an Indian lunch buffet.

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  2. Mango Grove is the best and I am so glad to have them back! The food is amazing, the service good, and upon your second visit there you will be greeted like a long lost friend. While I also love spicy food, authentic indian food does not have to be spicy across the board to be amazing. The variety of vegetarian dishes offered by Mango Grove allows you to go outside of your tried and true favorite indian dishes to try something different. Do so and you will be pleased.

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  3. I was not happy when I called and was told that Mango Grove would not honor the Restaurant.com certificate I had purchased for their restaurant in July, shortly before they closed the other location. Not cool.

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