A Night Out - Rasika

Yesterday, since Ben is out of town with his youth group and Rachel is in rehearsal for The Wiz all evening, Carol took the Metro downtown to join me for dinner. She asked for suggestions from our foodie friends on Facebook and got a couple of recommendations for Rasika, a great Indian restaurant two blocks from my office. I had been there before but was happy to go again.

We couldn't get a reservation so we arrived at 5:30, right when it opened, and sat in the "casual" section near the bar. The menu is the same as the formal dining area so we were fine.

First up was Rasika's signature dish, the appetizer Palak Chaat, which is made of crispy baby spinach, sweet yogurt tamarind, and date chutney. The spinach is fried which makes it crispy and delicate. The texture is unlike anything I've ever had and the taste is really, really good. I'm thinking of going back for lunch and just getting a bowl for myself.

Palak Chaat

For dinner, Carol ordered the lamb dish, Aloo Tamatar Ka Gosht, (lamb / green cardamom / star anise / and potato). It was very good, but I won with my order of Honey Ginger Duck (cashew nut / candied ginger / and pulao rice). The duck medallions were very tender and the honey ginger sauce was great.

Honey Ginger Duck

For dessert, Carol ordered the excellent Apple Jalebi (Beignet) with Cardamom Ice Cream while I ordered the Date and Toffee Pudding. Both were delicious and gone before I remembered to take a picture.

Afterwards, we toured Chinatown a bit and headed home. Carol used to work downtown before the kids were born and we went out to eat every now and then. This was a nice reminder of those times.