Rasika

In all my food adventures, I have to admit the one ethnicity of food I almost never go out and try is Indian. I am almost embarrassed to admit to my friends how dismal my knowledge of all things Indian is. So when my friend Steph invited me to join her and a girlfriend for dinner at Rasika, I jumped on the chance to try and break out of my usual routine.

Rasika is often called the best Indian in DC and always makes the Washingtonian's top 100 list. Worst of all it is a 5 minute walk from my office. So I have no idea why it took me so long to make it there for dinner. When I walked in, I liked the atmosphere instantly. It is trendy looking, but still minimalistic. (As opposed to the Co Co Sala route of just being trendy to an extreme.) I guess I expected the restaurant to look a little more like your average Indian joint in the strip malls of America, but I'm glad I was wrong. I could have sat in their lounge all night.

The other factor inducing me to never leave their lounge? The ridiculously amazing cocktail menu. If Acadiana sets the bar for Southern inspired cocktails, Rasika set an equally high bar for exotic cocktails. I started off with a blackberry something or other. So yummy! It was like a big kid smoothie. Then I switched to this gin/campari/dill cocktail. I love anything with campari, but I really loved this drink. The only down side to it being that I felt like the dill kept getting stuck in my teeth.

Sadly I didn't get great pictures of the food because my camera was in it's I'm-going-to-be-on-the-fritz-and-then-straight-up-dry-on-you phase. (Which it has fortunately be rescued from!) Below is the crab galouti which are spicy little crab cakes. They were delicious.

I also tried their palak chaat (crispy spinach) because all the reviews online raved about this dish. It was very tasty and a huge portion, but somewhat hard to eat. Imagine a crumbly salad. The table started out with some naan and goat cheese kulche to dip in the cucumber raita. I am not crazy about cucumbers, but I did enjoy the raita anyway. It is mild, and the cool dip goes well with the naan. I was, however, crazy about the goat cheese bread. A-MA-ZING. This is hands down the one thing you cannot leave Rasika without trying in my limited opinion. I also tried one of my dinning companions lamb curry dish. I can't remember which one at the moment, but it was great. Next time I am going to go with an entree instead of trying a few littler things. The entrees at our table smelled so good, I just know I wouldn't be able to resist them on a second visit! So if anyone is in the mood for Indian, I'm looking for a reason to return to Rasika as soon as possible and continue my Indian education!