rasika

rasika
633 D street northwest, washington, DC 20004"
tel: 202) 637-1222
hours: monday-friday 11:30am-2:30pm, monday-thursday 5:30pm-10:30pm, friday-saturday 5:30pm-11pm

what was consumed: palak chaat (crispy spinach, sweet yogurt, tamarind, date chutney), paneer makhani (cheese, tomatoes, fenugreek), tandoori chicken (chicken, kashmiri chili, mint chutney), basmati rice, garlic naan

this year, prior to the transiberian orchestra's holiday performance, friend t and i head out to rasika for some dining enjoyment. i'd heard so many great things about this indian restaurant. i'd heard of its fine 'flavors of india' as well as its innovative twist on the traditional, which i often appreciate. i'd also heard about the cross between the comfort indian cuisine crossed with the chic, metropolitan, and popular of dining out altogether. so, when tom and i walked in to see the modern decor of rasika, i was excited to see what the eating would behold. hurrah!

we sat at the bar (one of my favorite places to sit) and was immediately greeted by their friendly and very well versed bartender. i was surprised to see their limited indian beers on the menu, but was happy to see an impressive listing of other libations. i opted for a great lakes option for the night (yay!). we quickly ordered an appetizer, palak chaat, which came highly recomended on a number of yelp reviews that i had read. i love spinach, so i was curious about it and had to order it (on top of that, i couldn't remember the dish that i always love to order as an appetizer ... i still don't remember what it is. whoops). and i'm glad i did! the spinach was nice and crips, though not too oily. and the yogurt sauce that came with it was refreshing. we quickly gobbled up each bite.

when it came time for entrees, i was delighted that my favorite indian fare was on their menu! i love paneer makhani! i didn't see it on their online menu, but it turned out that they had changed to their winter fare just that day - yay! the paneer makhani was done just right - tomato-y, cream-y, butter-y, delicious-y! and the paneer was not too soft, not too hard, not too chewy. just right. i proceeded to polish off the entire bowl with all of the jasmine rice that i ordered to accompany the paneer makhani. no leftovers! friend t ordered the tandoor chicken that was charred just right. and coupled with the delicious mint chutney ... delicious! i didn't try the garline naan (as is my way), but friend t said that it was delicious.

i'm happy to have finally gotten the chance to go to rasika ... and i can't wait to go again! yum yum yum, yay yay yay!

online: http://www.rasikarestaurant.com/rasika.html