Dinner at Rasika

I finally got the opportunity to have dinner at Rasika after mentioning it repeatedly. As you may or may not know I am on the hunt to try different cuisines and Rasika was right on the top of my list. Although I went during restaurant week they only participated in the lunchtime slot, which was a bummer.

Location and Parking: Rasika has 2 locations. I went to the Penn Quarter location at 633 D St, NW Washington, DC. They offer valet parking for $8, which is a steal for the DC area. In addition to valet parking there is an abundance of street parking. It also didn’t hurt that my reservation was on a Monday night at 9 pm, so the world was my oyster for parking. Although there are parking meters it is still cheaper than valet parking at $2.30 for 2 hours.

Price: Entrees are between $18- $28 , which I think is pretty reasonable. Appetizers price varies, but the most expensive appetizer was $12, so overall you won’t be breaking the bank if you decide to have dinner there.

Food and Experience: Inside the ambiance is upscale and intimate with dimmed lighting ( hence why the pictures are so dark ). Unlike other restaurants in DC where the tables are extremely close to each other the tables at Rasika are generously spaced apart, so you don’t feel like you are sitting on top of each other.

I wanted to try an appetizer along with my entrée, so I asked the waiter to recommend the most popular appetizer dish. Without hesitating he recommended the Palak Chat , which he described to be fried spinach. Already going out on the limb with my entrée dish I didn’t feel like being adventurous with my appetizer dish, so I declined the Palak Chat. My waiter was pretty insistent that I had to try it , so I said sure why not (assuming it was on the house because he was really insistent). My friend ordered the Mango Shrimp for an appetizer, which was pretty good.After eating the Mango Shrimp we got the crispy baby spinach, which consists of sweet yogurt, tamarind, and date chutney . It was surprisingly really delicious (tasted better though when I thought it was free). For the entrée, my friend opted to get the Duck Vindaloo , which was described as being sweet and spicy. The sweetness of the dish overpowered any spiciness , which made the dish just ok and not something I would order myself.

I got the Chicken Green Masala , which the waiter stated was a 6/10 for the spice level. Being Jamaican spicy food is my go to, but the spiciness of the dish really took me off guard. It wasn’t unbearable spicy, but it was certainly spicier than I thought it would be. I also got the truffle Naan, which complimented the meal .Overall I thoroughly enjoyed my dish. Based on what we got to eat I can tell that there is a lot of similarity between Indian and Jamaican food, which is probably why I enjoyed it so much . If I had a money tree I would have definitely opted to do the Chef’s Table, which is a six course-tasting menu for 75/60 per person, but alas I don’t. I see myself going back to Rasika in the near future to try different dishes and who knows I might have a money tree by then and will be able to partake in the Chef’s Table. Since restaurant week was last week did any of you guys participate? If so, where?