off the eaten path

One of my favorite (or “favourite” for the proper speakers out there) bits about the UK is that they’ve rediscovered their craft beers again. In most cities and towns, you can find at least one pub serving a real, hand-pumped, room-temperature ale. And this is good stuff, the multiple flavors and textures coming out due to the fact that the beer isn’t so cold that it freezes your taste buds, yet is still quite refreshing.

And this movement can be traced, in large part, to the work of CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale. As well as ale, the Campaign seeks to preserve the best in beer culture, including pubs that have historical significance. This group works tirelessly to celebrate some of the best in British, Welsh and Scottish liquid fare.

If you ever go to the UK, look for CAMRA’s telltale logo in a pub’s window - if it’s there, you can be assured that a hoppy treat lurks inside.

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Note: this review has sat in queue for a while, though it’s still relevant to the DC dining scene - enjoy!

As part of DC Restaurant Week, Kirstin and I had dinner at Rasika, a modern Indian restaurant in Penn Quarter. Thanks to a friend, we were able to use her reservations and enjoy some of the best Indian food we’ve experienced in DC.

Rasika is upscale, part of a group of restaurants that include Ardeo/Bardeo and The Oval Room. Chef Vikram Sunderam certainly has the pedigree, having spent the past 14 years as head chef at Bombay Brasserie (read a review here) in London - a hotbed of high-quality Indian fare. The interior of the restaurant is warm, with rust-colored tile on the walls, wood floors, and bead separators that keep the bar and dining areas apart. There are also two round tables in bay windows for large parties, as well as a private dining area behind the host’s podium.

We took advantage of the special $30.06 Restaurant Week menu, which offered a lot of wonderful options for the money - though we noted that the vegetarian tasting menu ran $36, offering one extra dish, though possibly not dessert. The RW menu included an appetizer, a main course, and dessert.

Kirstin chose palak chaat for her appetizer (the signature dish, according to our friendly server), a vegetarian sampler with palak makki, dal makhani and kashmiri vegetable curry, and apple jalebi for dessert. I chose the tawa fish for an appetizer, fish malai curry for an entrée, and anjeer and walnut kulfi for dessert.

Most of the dishes went over well. The palak chaat was a clear winner: a delicate, crispy spinach with lovely, balanced spices. The tawa fish was also well-executed, flaky and mellow with a spice mix that had a subtle zing. While my fish curry was an excellent portion size and had and intricate yet not overpowering flavor, sprite’s veggie sampler was both too big and had a lot of building spices, which proved far too potent. The desserts made up for it, for sure, though her jalebi (a fried dumpling) was a bit too greasy and heavy. My kulfi - an ice cream/sorbet - had a wonderful pyramid presentation and tasted great, closing the meal quite well.

All told, Rasika is a winner. I’d like to co back and try one of their prix fixe sampler menus sometime.

Rasika
www.rasikarestaurant.com
633 D Street NW
Washington, DC
(202) 637-1222

Hours:
Lunch:
Mon - Fri: 11:30am - 2:30pm
Dinner:
Mon - Thu: 5:30pm - 10:30pm
Fri and Sat: 5:30pm - 11:00pm

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I went to brunch today at Perry’s Restaurant, which is noted for its impeccable breakfast fare, sushi, asian fusion quisine…

… and its Sunday brunch drag queens.

Yes, in this case, Perry’s excellent fare is very much upstaged by its parade of drag queens. It’s quite impressive, and if you aren’t in on the joke, it can be quite a shock to the system. I, of course, happened to pick the prime position to be part of the show.

But like I said, the food was terrific. Their brunch is an all-you-can eat affair for $22.75 a head - not bad if you come hungry. I give high marks to their sushi (California rolls, tekka maki, Philly rolls, cucumbe rolls, and tuna, salmon and shrimp sushi), their sweet potato soup, their marinate mushroom salad, their buckwhet groat salad (which might make me actually buy some Kasha and give it a try - that would erase a childhood food dislike), the seared beef, and the waffles.

But really: everything was tasty, the coffee was hot and strong, the buffet replenished often, and the service most friendly. It’s a must-experience for any DC dweller.

A note: this is a very popular brunch, and the line get started before 10:00 am - and the doors open at 10:30, give-or-take. So get there early if you want first seating.

Perry’s Restaurant
1811 Columbia Rd NW
Washington, DC 20009
(202) 234-6218

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