Out of India

Radhika Sule, owner of The Verandah (842 W. 36th St., 410-889-0999) in Hampden, says “good timing” allowed her to open her cheerful Indian restaurant last August. When Soup’s On closed its doors on The Avenue, Sule was immediately ready to take over the space and offer home-style Indian fare. “I had been at farmers’ markets for years,” she says. “It seemed to be the next step.” She’s still selling her food at the Baltimore Farmers’ Market & Bazaar and other venues in season, but is enjoying regular customers at the tiny restaurant that offers carryout as well as several tables and a counter for in-house dining. We stopped by recently for the half-sandwich/soup special, $9. The paratha kheema—a whole-wheat flatbread stuffed with spiced turkey, potatoes, and peas—and a 12-ounce cup of butternut squash bisque traveled well back to the office for lunch. Sule wasn’t always planning to be in the kitchen, she says. She came to Baltimore from Bombay 11 years ago to study architecture at Morgan State University. But she found herself spending more time preparing her native cuisine. “I love cooking,” she explains.