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Sangam
That's the new Indian food place in the Food Court, at the Johnson Center at George Mason University. It's excellent, at least so far, thereby making it the first good food at GMU, ever. I'd put it in the top quarter of local Indian restaurants, though I expect time and the crowds to take its toll. The vegetarian sampler is the best dish and they serve Halal food as well. The samosas look overfried. The analytical question is why this took so long to happen, or alternatively why it has happened at all. I have read there is also a wave of innovation in hospital food as well.
Posted by Tyler Cowen on March 29, 2008 at 04:49 PM in Food and Drink | Permalink
Comments
It's good to see more Indian food around, I love it.
But, an incidental point, you are implying that "Halal" is a good thing. By "Halal" you mean killed according to ancient superstition and not according to the latest scientific research on what actually causes least suffering to the animal being slaughtered?
Posted by: RNB at Mar 29, 2008 4:55:28 PM
Sangam, not Chandram. But yes it is quite good. Though I've got to defend La Pat's sandwiches and the Bistro against your claims of "no good food ever." I have no theories as to why it took so long to get Halal at Mason (given the diversity) or decent food (given the sheer volume of people who eat on campus). Can't wait to hear the explanations for why it took so long for "good" food to arrive on campus.
Posted by: Kyle M at Mar 29, 2008 4:58:42 PM
Food in universities across the pond has also improved, but surprisingly I've yet to see much Indian food served at the various outlets around the University of London apart from SOAS.
Many do halal food however, but you have to wonder what miracles have been performed to list "Pork Meatballs (halal)" on the Uni. of London Union menu.
Posted by: Naadir Jeewa at Mar 29, 2008 5:31:19 PM
Oh, and a point of information to the first commenter. "Ancient superstition" is one way of putting it. Another way is that traditional halal slaughter was what was considered most humane around about the 8th century before fMRI was readily available. Many modern halal slaughterhouses are no different to their areligious counterparts, with the argument running from Muslim scholars that the definition of halal needs to keep up with technological advance.
Posted by: Naadir Jeewa at Mar 29, 2008 5:38:16 PM
An all night donut shop at Ninth and Hennepin in Minneapolis. Chuck Weiss and I are having coffee at the counter, late, caught in the middle of a pimp war between two 13-year-old kids. One outside on the street, firing live ammunition, the other running into the cafe, diving behind the counter, unarmed, and screaming, "Leon you're a dead man!"
A toothpick dispenser hurls toward the street, the beater of a blender, a spatula, and a handful of forks. Bullets hit the stove, a framed dollar bill, a china dog. Chuck and I drop to the floor while the jukebox pounds out "Our Day Will Come" by Dinah Washington. Each bullet changes the selection on the Wurlitzer to a different song, each more poignant than the one before.
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I have no idea what kind of spam was posted above, but it was amazingly poetic.
Posted by: Brad Holden at Mar 29, 2008 7:36:56 PM
Mexican and Thai food seems to serve the same niche in America that Indian food does in the UK.
Posted by: Ali Choudhury at Mar 29, 2008 8:16:31 PM
Campus food court food sucks because the people who pay for it (parents of students) aren't the same people who consume it (students). * cough * health care * cough *
Posted by: Hei Lun Chan at Mar 29, 2008 9:55:49 PM
Since we are thinking aloud here, and as someone that didnt visit George Mason, what is the question here?
Is the question that why did the powers that be give a contract to an indian (apparently muslim and likely non-indian restaurantuer) who happened to be at the right place at the right time now rather than why didnt this happen before?
Posted by: Karuna at Mar 30, 2008 1:57:13 AM
"...though I expect time and the crowds to take its toll."
I don't think posting about the place on your pretty popular blog is helpful. In any case, could the perceived quality be because of low expectations?
Posted by: Rajan R at Mar 30, 2008 5:45:23 AM
Does it seem to anyone else that more schools are offering halal options?
Posted by: sarah at Mar 30, 2008 7:02:52 AM
Procurement regulations for state agencies make decent tasting food very difficult. Think not only the food court, but also GMU catering, Ciao, George's (unsure if it still exists, but it was a couple notches beneath what it claimed imo, even if it wasn't as unpleasant as the rest of the fare when I was an undergrad). I'm not quite sure of the details, but I think that the contract basically goes to the lowest bidder, provided they can show the food is safe.
Posted by: Daniel at Mar 30, 2008 7:22:31 AM
More schools are offering halal options as the children of immigrants have grown up and are going to college. They have Kosher options everywhere and there are usually just as many, if not more, Muslims on most campuses, especially on the coasts.
Posted by: Adam at Mar 30, 2008 10:09:37 AM
isn't this just what you'd expect from the invisible hand in the kitchen?
Posted by: Jim Hu at Mar 30, 2008 5:03:45 PM
My daughter who is a freshman at GMU, says that Ciao now has the chef who used to be at Bistro,
which means that its food has improved. However, she agrees that Sangam is pretty good, and it
is her current fave eating locaion on the Mason campus.
Posted by: Barkley Rosser at Mar 30, 2008 10:24:00 PM
:-( The year after I graduate GMUSL and leave Arlington, Sangam decides to move a step closer to campus (original is at Washington and Glebe). IMHO, the benchmark for quality Indian cuisine is the lamb biryani, and Sangam's lamb biryani is pretty damn good.
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