REVIEW: Sangam Heats Up Fairfax Campus

By Connect Mason Reporter Rachael Dickson

Mason just got a little spicier today, with the opening of the new international food establishment, Sangam, in the Johnson Center, where Charleston Market used to reside.

Sangam is an outbranch of Sangam Restaurant, an establishment in Arlington. The Indian cuisine at the original Sangam has won top honors at the annual food festival Taste of Arlington for the past two years.

Dining Services states that Sangam will serve high quality Halal foods from around the world, employing the same chefs “from some of the most popular international restaurants in the region.”

All the food served at Sangam is Halal-approved, permissible for Muslims to eat under Islamic law. To receive this certification, the meat had to be slaughtered according to guidelines laid out by Islamic practice and tradition.
In addition, vegetarian options are offered. Today, two complete vegetarian meals were available for students.
All the meals offered were available for reasonable prices.

A Personal Review:
It must be said from the start that I have never written a food review in my life. However, since Jimmy of Jimmy Chows Down claims not to like Indian food (and the videographer is still in Europe celebrating her spring break), I have undertaken this task to let you know what I think of the new food at Sangam.

Today, my roommate, Kate, brought in a vegetarian meal from Sangam. I was planning on staying in a little while longer to finish up an essay, but once I smelled the tantalizing aroma of the Indian food, I had to go try it. (Kate did, in fact, like the vegetarian food.)

When I arrived at Sangam, I purchased a meal for $7.99 which included rice with peas, a lamb curry, a chick peas dish, and a strange triangular shaped Star Wars ship-looking pastry (it actually has a name that starts with S that I totally forgot, I keep wanting to say Sanjaya but I’m pretty sure that’s not it.) I found it interesting that the meal itself was termed, “non-vegetarian,” as in, “non-vegetarian meal option A and B.” It makes sense to me- the vegetarian meals get set apart so often, maybe it’s about time to distinguish the food us carnivorous folk eat.

I tried the rice first, and discovered it to be exactly the right consistency- not too dry or wet. It had a light buttery flavor to it, yet didn’t seem to actually have any butter on it. The peas in the rice were excellent as well.

The lamb curry was spicy, but not overwhelming- the meat, tender- the sauce, yummy and not too greasy. The chick pea concoction was also good- nothing in it seemed stale or dry, just cooked to the right consistency.

The pastry that came from Star Wars was probably my least favorite item in the meal, but I think this can be discounted to my lack of Indian food experience. Everything in it seemed fine, just not quite spiced to my taste. Star Wars pastry, it seems, is deceptively spicy- it sneaks up on your taste buds after you’ve already taken a big bite. My poor tongue ached until I grabbed a swig of Mr. Pibb to drown the taste out. I’d rate the actual heat level of the Star Wars pastry as a 3 or 4 on a scale of 1 to 10. (As a sidenote, if you are a fan of spicy foods and spices, I’d suggest trying California Tortilla. It’s a burrito place that keeps a large shelf of hot sauces in stock, with the heat ratings proudly displayed.)

Overall, I enjoyed the food I bought from Sangam. I got a lot of food for not so much money. Also, it may not be the greatest cuisine for my health, but it sure feels a lot healthier eating international cuisine instead of Burger King!

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