Madras Woodlands NYC Review – God, We Just Came!

Oh boy, this is a first for us.

A 45-minute orga*m in public. No kidding.

Folks, the food at Madras Woodlands (Hillside Ave, New Hyde Park) vegetarian restaurant is so good we just came. And kept coming and coming! πŸ˜‰

Madras Woodlands NYC

God, if we were to die tonight we’d have no regrets (except, maybe for watching Abhishek Bachchan’s moviesΒ and premature retirement of this blog).

Tired as we are of trashy New York Indian restaurants like Dhaba, Jewel of India, Utsav, Delhi Heights et al, we were maha-thrilled with our meal at Madras Woodlands.

For once, we were glad that we are sapad ramans (gluttonous pigs).

How else would we have tasted such delicious Idli and Vada, Dosa and Uppuma, Sambar and Rasam, out of the world Lime Pickle and Vanilla Ice Cream on a layer of Badam Halwa.

Madras Woodlands was not a recent find. We had driven past the place on Hillsde Avenue in Long Island on several occasions but never had a chance to step in.

This time we made it a point to stop by and man were we glad we did.

Located on Hillside Avenue, across the street from Maharaja Indian grocery store, Madras Woodlands is a fairly spacious restaurant.

As we entered the restaurant on a recent evening, we noticed the place was mostly empty (a reflection, perhaps, of the recession). A short, fair desi girl offered us the choice of a booth or regular seating.

A little later, a caribbean lady with dyed hair came over and took our order.

We started off with a glass of cold Madras Mooru (buttermilk with spices added). Madras Mooru ($1.95) had a fine flavor of curry leaves, cilantro and hing and whetted our appetite.

The food arrived as we were nearing the end of our Mooru.

Boy, the angels inside Madras Woodlands’ kitchen made the Masala Dosa sing with flavor. So good that it required no accompaniment. Large, crisp and insanely tasty, it was very heaven with the accompanying Onion Chutney but the Coconut Chutney and the Potato Filling inside could have been a bit spicier.

Besides the Masala Dosa, Madras Woodlands offers a variety of other Dosaas like Sadha Dosa, Mysore Masala Dosa, Ghee Roast Dosa, Onion Chilli Rava Masala Dosa. (We swear, one of these days we’re going to make a piligrimage to Madras Woodlands just to sample all the Dosas.)

Our Uppuma, Vada and Idli and the Onion/Drumstick Sambar were worthy followers to the peerless Masala Dosa. The crisp Vada, featherlight Idli and flavorful Uppuma with cilantro and green chillies were beyond reproach.

The Chapati came wrapped in a soft paper. Sweet.

The Rasam swept us away into paroxysms of trembling. Sour and pungent with pepper, this Rasam is the stuff that wars should be fought over.

As for the cashew-filled Pongal with the Onion Chutney, we must have done a lot of good deeds in our previous birth to savor such divine stuff.

Curry Delight
Sure, we tried several curries.

Where do we even start? Channa Sag was subtly spiced and tasty like hell.

The Cabbage Curry with a sprinkling of cashews was again a flavorful delight as was the Carrot Beans Poriyal.

Whether you prefer the curries as an accompaniment with Sambar+rice or Yoghurt Rice or with the Chapati, they give no room for complaint.

Desserts
If you thought these Madras Woodland blokes are good merely with the entrees, you’d be so wrong, so wrong.

We tried Badam Halwa with Vanilla Ice Cream on top, Gajar Halwa and Gulab Jamun.

Badam Halwa and Gajar Halwa were both nothing short of amazing while the Gulab Jamun had a slightly rubbery texture

We lingered over the Badam Halwa and scraped it until all that was left was the shiny stainless-steel cup.

Perhaps, our expectations were in the stratosphere by now. But our Madras Coffee ($1.95) was a let-down, low on decoction and high on milk. Fix the coffee, schmucks.

Service was prompt and polite.

Folks, all in all our meal at Madras Woodlands was a fine symphony with few stray notes.

The good lord smite us down if we don’t sell our home and move to New Hyde Park soon. Alas, since a home these days in foreclosure America has few takers, we’ll have to be content with visiting Madras Woodlands once in a while.

9 Responses to "Madras Woodlands NYC Review – God, We Just Came!"

  1. Ænima Of The State   July 5, 2009 at 10:16 am

    was it the real deal or this kind
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nNhOH4Y0bI

    SearchIndia.com Responds:

    Borrowing a line from the elderly lady at the end of the above clip, if you had what we had last night you’d have the real deal. πŸ˜‰

    Nice clip. Seen the movie. Lovely!

    BTW, the latest issue of New Yorker has a flattering piece on Nora Ephron, writer of When Harry Met Sally.

  2. Aswin_Kini   July 5, 2009 at 10:16 am

    Had lots of yummy food, I guess!!!!
    Keep reviewing about such restaurants in US. Who knows, maybe when I become an achiever, I may just visit those places πŸ˜‰ πŸ˜€

    SearchIndia.com Responds:

    You write: Who knows, maybe when I become an achiever, I may just visit those places

    Given the way our country (U.S.) is going these days you don’t have to be an achiever to land here…just being a schmuck will do fine.

  3. raghavendrav   July 5, 2009 at 5:45 pm

    I saw their website http://www.madraswoodlands.com/home.html and it is quite tempting too… I would visit this place for sure on my next trip to NYC….

    SearchIndia.com Responds:

    We’ll try and put the full review up soon.

  4. Aswin_Kini   July 6, 2009 at 2:33 pm

    By the way, hope this is not a branch of the Woodlands hotel at Radhakrishnan salai!! I have dined at Woodlands only a few times, loved the dosas and the idlis. Hope they maintain their standards at every branch!!!

    SearchIndia.com Responds:

    Nothing in the About Us of Madras Woodlads to suggest a connection to the Chennai Woodlands.

  5. raghu   July 6, 2009 at 4:12 pm

    anything tasty is not healthy

    SearchIndia.com Responds:

    Thus spake raghu-dhusta oops raghu-thustra?

  6. raghu   July 6, 2009 at 4:25 pm

    sir, can u translate ?
    am not into english these days.

    SearchIndia.com Responds:

    You write: sir, can u translate ?

    Madam, please buy a dicktionary (sic).

  7. raghu   July 6, 2009 at 4:39 pm

    SI: please buy a dicktionary

    Thought I signed for the translation also.
    Anyway, gr8 to know u a woman, God bless u chick.

    SearchIndia.com Responds:

    You write: God bless u chick

    In Victoria’s Secret we trust. God is for the chick-lets.

    Too much Starbucks coffee on an empty stomach seems to be having the same effect on us as Red Wine. πŸ˜‰

  8. raghu   July 8, 2009 at 12:31 pm

    pls translate

    SearchIndia.com Responds:

    Oh, go away.

    After a full-plate of Vegetable Pulav with some spicy vegetable curry (moong-bean curry) we’re feeling drowsy.

  9. raghu   July 8, 2009 at 3:06 pm

    u cook or ur boyfriend ?

    SearchIndia.com Responds:

    If you keep asking frivolous questions, your goose will be cooked. πŸ˜‰

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