Rasika

**I wrote most of this entry before break started but didn't have the heart to rewrite it, so I am posting it as is.**

I am so thrilled for spring break. I'm not doing anything special, per se, but I'm going back home and that is good enough for me. I want to read until my eye sockets burst and spill out words, drink countless cups of tea, sew buttons and labels onto things, and in general, have everything be quiet for once. Don't you guys miss that about home? Having mornings when you wake up to an empty house but find warm grinds in the coffee-maker and the traces of people hurriedly leaving, and feel hummingly, perfectly happy? Or is that just me? I read recently that Brahmin children in India used to be woken by their parents while it was still dark to recite poetry in anticipatory thanksgiving of the coming day. Maybe they still do this...I should go investigate for myself. Hurray for break!!!

DC Restaurant Week ended on the 22nd but I was fortunate enough to tag along to Rasika. Being entirely ignorant of DC, I had never heard of Rasika before, but Google proved to be handy as usual and turned up a ton of praise for its reinterpretation of Indian cuisine. I was super psyched and it did not disappoint!

To tell the truth, I didn't take this photo, but I wanted to give a general idea of the interior. My own photos from dinner didn't capture how tempted I was to paw at the crystals hanging over our table.

Glasses.

The Parsi lamb cutlet-minced lamb with cilantro and ginger and served on top of a spicy tomato sauce. For some reason, this tasted so Korean to me that I was tempted to order some rice...

Scallops! I don't remember anything about this other than that the scallops tasted very alive.

And once again,my limited knowledge of Indian cuisine and poor memory fail me...this is a curry. That is all I can say.

Our table with my entree in the foreground. Black cod with dill, honey, star anise, and red wine vinegar. The reason why I can rattle off these ingredients with confidence is that Rasika (bless them!) included my entree on their restaurant week meny, conveniently placed online. This also tasted very alive and fresh, as if I were eating a baby black cod.

Carrot salwa with cinnamon sabayon. I wish I hadn't been so full by the time the dessert was served. I felt like a little piece of my heart died when I pushed back the plate after just a few bites, forced by my stomach to wave the cowardly white flag of surrender. My dessert made me the happiest out of all the ones we tried...the rice pudding tasted like a peasant's breakfast.

The green tea ice cream. Notice how the blackberry on the left of the plate is the same length as the strawberry on the right side. Have you ever seen a blackberry that big???

We had an amazing dinner that night- it's just too bad that I forgot a lot of what I wanted to say about the food. In any case, I don't think that the restaurant made any negative impressions on me, so I recommend it 110%!

Rasika
633 D Street, NW
Washington, DC 20004