Lunch near Dulles Airport before an international flight?
Next Monday I need to take my teenage son to Dulles for a flight to Germany. He has to be there at 4 pm although the flight will not take off until 8.
I am not all all familiar with the terrain but would like to find some place relatively close (or on the way coming from PG County) where we could eat prior. We are long overdue for a good Indian meal, but he enjoys most cuisines as do I. I'm just trying to find something that might hold him over during most of his flight. Or at least during his wait at the airport!
We will probably be able to be close to the airport area by 2 pm so it doesn't have to be 'fast food."
Thank you for your suggestions.
By OneSonTwoCats
on Jun 9, 2009 08:41 PM
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I'm going to assume you'll be coming around the Beltway to connect with the Dulles access road. That said, I'm going to enthusiastically recommend an excellent Indian restaurant, Bombay Tandoor located off Rte 7 West, somewhat beyond Tyson's Corner mall. (You would stay on the Beltway past the Access Road exit to take the Rte 7 West exit. At the end of the meal, you won't have to retrace your steps. There's a very convenient route directly on to the Dulles Access Road very, very close to the restaurant. Details below)
Address:
8603 Westwood Center Drive
Vienna, VA
This address is for a service road that parallels Tyco Road. The restaurant is on the retail ground floor of an office building.
Lunch Hours:
11:30 -- 3:00 p.m.
Food:
At lunch you can order a la carte or select from the buffet. (I've never done the latter so I can't rate the quality, especially since you'll be eating at the end of lunch service.)
They do "the usual suspects" -- Butter Chicken, Lamb Roghan Josh, Tandoori chicken/lampchops/salmon/shrimp -- extremely well. I particularly enjoyed the Chicken Kadhi on my most recent dinner there.
Among the vegetarian dishes, I'm very fond of their Baigan Bharta (eggplant) and their Saag Paneer (spinach and cheese).
Getting to the airport after lunch: At the end of the meal, turn left (west) onto Rte 7. Look for the signs that will appear quite soon for the extrance to Rte 267 (the toll road). Take the toll road west towards Dulles Airport. Continue on the toll road until you come to the first left-hand entrance onto the Access road itself. Continue to Dulles on the Access road. I don't know if you'll have to pay a toll for their brief amount of time you'll be on the toll road.
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Thank you Indy. My mouth is salivating right now with thoughts of Lamb Roghan Josh, my usual standby. Your suggestion is a definite possibility and I also thank you for your detailed directions to get to the airport!
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Four hours is a little early. Is he meeting a group there?
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No, solo flight. But I've been told that is what the airline has requested.
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If you are looking for Indian, I'd recommend Mayuri in Reston. Apparently the lead chef was lured away from Minerva.
In Herndon there's Masala Wok, which may be interesting to you if nothing else. It's decent, overall, but interesting.
For non-Indian, you could hit one of the new places in Reston Town Center - like Mon Ami Gabi (French-ish) or Passion Fish if it's open. One hidden gem off Wiehle avenue is El Manantial, which is a family run very nice place serving Western Mediterranean fare. http://tinyurl.com/mgx2dd
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These are all new names for me, thank you for the suggestions and I will check them out over the weekend!
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I should note that the two I listed in Reston Town Center are more upscale. El Manantial is above middlin in price but a great deal for what you get (and a very good atmosphere once inside).
Masala Wok is the hardest for many non-Indians to get (which includes me). Apparently in India (I'm assuming largely in the North) there is a hybrid type of cooking from Indians trying to cook Chinese. Masala Wok is in that vein. An Indian friend who ate with me my first time there said they do a good job of it.
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