New Indian and Himalayan Restaurant Opens in Germantown; Library Faces Calls to Remove Books Tied to Hindu Nationalist Group

Curry Z Opens on Clopper Road, Offering Indian, Himalayan, and Indo-Chinese Cuisine

Curry Z has officially opened in Germantown, Maryland, bringing a family-owned restaurant rooted in Indian and Himalayan cooking traditions to a Clopper Road shopping center that recently lost its previous tenant. The new restaurant is located at 13525 Clopper Rd., Germantown, MD 20874, in the same commercial strip as Mamma Lena and Rio Grande Bar and Grill. It takes over the space last occupied by Bitez, a halal eatery that opened in July 2025 and closed after just six months, in January 2026. The ownership describes Curry Z as offering a unique balance of South Asian cuisine, drawing from multiple culinary traditions within the broader Indian subcontinent and Himalayan region. The Indian side of the menu features classic curries and tandoori specialties, including the slow-cooked gravies, grilled meats, and clay-oven breads that define North Indian restaurant cooking. The Himalayan dimension is expressed most prominently through handmade momos, the steamed or fried dumplings central to Nepali and Tibetan food culture, which have earned an enthusiastic following in South Asian immigrant communities across American cities. Rounding out the menu are Indo-Chinese preparations, a distinctive style of cooking that traces its origins to Kolkata's Chinese community and has since become a beloved fixture of Indian street food culture nationwide. Curry Z also operates a build-your-own bowl station at lunch, available exclusively at the storefront, giving midday diners the flexibility to combine their preferred base, protein, and accompaniments. A dedicated street food section further reflects the appetizer and snack culture that characterizes Indian roadside and market eating. The opening arrives at a moment when Montgomery County's South Asian and Himalayan immigrant populations have grown substantially, creating sustained demand for the kind of varied, regionally specific dining that Curry Z aims to provide. [1]

Activists Push Montgomery County Libraries to Remove Books Affiliated With Hindu Nationalist Organization

Activists in Montgomery County have called on library officials to remove from the Germantown Library's collection a set of books that they say are affiliated with a controversial Hindu nationalist organization. The campaign has ignited a public debate about the responsibilities of publicly funded libraries when it comes to materials connected to groups that critics characterize as extremist, and it has drawn attention from both civil liberties advocates and members of the county's large South Asian community. Those seeking the removal argue that the books in question were produced or promoted in association with a Hindu nationalist movement and that their presence on library shelves effectively lends institutional legitimacy to an organization whose ideology civil rights groups in both India and the United States have criticized for its treatment of religious minorities. Advocates behind the effort have called on Montgomery County Public Libraries to examine its acquisition procedures and to establish clearer standards for collections tied to controversial political or religious organizations. Library defenders and First Amendment advocates have countered that stocking materials representing a broad range of viewpoints is central to what public libraries do, and that removal campaigns risk establishing precedents that could be turned against materials across the ideological and cultural spectrum. The controversy is unfolding in one of the most ethnically diverse counties in the United States, where the Hindu and broader South Asian population is substantial and politically active. For many residents, the case raises nuanced questions about the distinction between honoring religious and cultural heritage, on one hand, and lending public support to political movements that have drawn criticism for exclusionary practices, on the other. Montgomery County Public Libraries has not yet announced a formal decision about whether the contested titles will be retained or removed from circulation. [2]

Sources: [1] The MoCo Show - · [2] The Baltimore Banner