One of my favorite ways to eat Indian food is on a thali, a round metal platter filled with little bowls of a variety of dishes — basically, a buffet that’s brought to the table. And one of the best places to experience it is Jodhpur in Herndon, which offers nothing but a bottomless thali every day of the week save Tuesday, when it’s closed.
A visit on a Sunday found a mash of eggplant speckled with mustard seeds, chopped okra in spicy tomato sauce, creamy paneer, hearty chickpea curry, spiced spinach kebabs and lacy onion fritters arranged in a circle with (unfasten your belts, folks!) cumin-scented rice, shards of crackery papadum, cucumber salad, bright mint chutney, mouth-puckering pickles and desserts including syrup-soaked doughnut holes. Did I miss something? The thali called Purani Dilli (Hindi for “Old Delhi”), also offered on Thursday, is a lot to absorb. Don’t count on leftovers. There are none, at least to pack up and take home. While you’re at Jodhpur, though, you’re free to ask for more of anything. Actually, the servers are one step ahead of you. “More bread?” they ask, proffering hot whole-wheat roti and puffed-up bedmi puri — plus extras of anything else. The feast is switched up throughout the week to encourage return guests.
The interior is as memorable as the cooking. Diners enter a foyer whose pink neon sign lets them know “This must be the place” and whose display cases tempts them with colorful Indian sweets before they’ve had their first bite of lunch or dinner. Chandeliers and flowers dress up the ceiling; shiny gold chairs and blue walls add a regal touch to the expansive dining room. (Jodhpur, in northwest India, is known as the Blue City.)
There’s no alcohol or meat. But a mango lassi, luscious vegetables and bread that don’t stop until you do are draws aplenty. So is Jodhpur’s location, a convenient five miles from Dulles International Airport. Think of it as a possible trip before a trip.
1114 Herndon Parkway, Herndon. 571-382-0909. jodhpurusa.com. Open for indoor dining. Thali of the day, $22.99 to $24.99.
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