I don't actually eat at Passage to India, but M- and I have get take-out there all the time and it's consistently good. The restaurant itself is warmly decorated, if a little subdued, and they've always been friendly.
The menu is divided into North, South, West and East Indian cuisine, and also includes appetizers, tandoor and breads. M-and I have tried to branch out from our usual Chicken Tikka Masala and Sag Paneer, but not with much success. Passage to India does both those dishes extraordinarily well, with just the right amount of heat to give you a little burn without upstaging all those other scrumptious Indian spices. The Salli Boti Jardaloo (Parsi style lamb stew with apricots and straw potatoes) seemed like a good call on a cold night, but proved a little too sweet for us. The Aloo-Phoolkopir Dalna (cauliflour and potatoes with freshly ground ginger and cumin) was flawlessly cooked and seasoned, but, through no fault of the chef's own, cauliflour and potatoes just can't carry a show by themselves; too white, too soft, too insistently bland.
The Fritter Platter, sadly, doesn't travel well, but the sauces hold up marvelously, and I imagine that in the restaurant, before the fritters are lukewarm and a bit soggy, it's a great way to start your meal. The Samosa Chaat isn't your run of the mill samosa appetizer and I wasn't wild about it. The samosas themselves were a little anemic to start, the seasoned yogurt drizzle further dampened their flavor, and the bed of heavily pickled and sweetened and spiced chick peas clenched it, completely overthrowing the samosas.
The plain Naan is a little too plain and the Garlic Naan is incredibly garlicky, but either way, the soft flat bread compliments any dish (and holds up okay the next day).
Passage to India, 4931 Cordell Avenue, Bethesda, 301.656.3373
DC Foodies on Passage to India; Washingtonian on Passage to india; Gayot.com on Passage to India
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