18. Rasika
Last night I went with my new Internet friends, Leigh Anna and Marian, to Rasika. As a preface, I’m not a big fan of Indian food. It’s not quite in the same ballpark as French food, but I definitely don’t like it as much as say, pancakes. Luckily for Indian food, they have something that’s sort of like pancakes (naan). Now if they could just have something that’s sort of like bacon, we’d be on to something.
Rasika is on a semi-deserted stretch of D St. that seems to only have law firms and parking garages, but at 8:30pm on a Tuesday night, Rasika was totally packed. The decor is very chic but still nods to the culture—think of the way a Bollywood Ritz Carlton would be decorated. It felt very expensive without feeling like an expense account restaurant. There was only one table of Brooks Brothers-suited men furiously blackberrying (each other?), and they totally stood out. Actually, the hostess seemed to fit in better even though she was Kate Moss thin and wearing what we figured was a leg warmer as a dress. Not exactly standard fashion for DC.
Here was where my Indian food aversion hurt me, because I really couldn’t decipher what all the dishes were. It’s my understanding that everything on the menu was pretty standard fare Indian, but if you don’t know your tikkis from your masalas, the descriptions aren’t going to help you. Luckily, Leigh Anna was well versed in all things curry so she was our guide. We went with the crispy spinach and the crab pepper masala for our apps, and the mixed grill (salmon, lamb and chicken) and chicken green masala as our main courses. I had been told by just about every person I knew that the crispy spinach was a winner and it did not disappoint. I’m guessing it was flash fried (it had that rigor mortis look to it), and tossed with something sweet. I really have no idea what made it so great, but I could have eaten about three to eight more servings of it. The crab pepper masala was like a napoleon almost, and was okay. It just sort of tasted like fishiness and spicy. The mixed grill was good; my favorite was the salmon, though the chicken was well spiced without being five alarm. I was disappointed with the lamb kabob, it was a little waxy and truth be told I’ve had much better at Tabaq Bistro. Finally, the chicken green masala was my favorite. Served with basmati rice, which came in handy to soften the spicy blow, the chicken was cooked well and the green sauce was delicious. Perfect for scooping with our extra naan.
I read an article a while back about upscale ethnic restaurants and why they are so popular. First is the setting, and second, the quality of ingredients. Rasika hits those two restaurant traits out of the park and trust me, you will never confuse this restaurant with the Number One Indian Café and Buffet down the street. Even for the Indian food-averse, Rasika is worth the trip. I’m definitely going back, but not before a little more research on what Indian dish is most like shrimp and grits.
