RW Part 1: Rasika

Rasika is probably the most well known Indian restaurant, as well as one of the most popular restaurant altogether in the Washington, DC area, whether it's by a word of mouth or in dining guides. In last October's Washington Post Magazine's 10th Annual Dining Guide, food critic Tom Sietsema raised Rasika's from three to four stars.
It's been about a year and a half since I've done RW, so as soon as I heard that Rasika was participating in RW, I booked my table almost immediately!
I must say I broke one of my personal rules, the menu of Rasika is rather limited, however, it does offer meat, fish, and a vegetarian option.

Here is the lunch menu for RW:

Appetizers:
1. Malai Chicken Tikka
2. Tamatar Goli Kebab (lamb meatballs)
3. Palak Chaat (crispy baby spinach)

Entrees:
1. Chicken Makhani
2. Lamb Roganjosh
3. Tandoori Salmon
4. Palak Paneer/ Vegetable Mix

Dessert:
1. Black Cherry Sorbet
2. Mango and yogurt ice cream
3. Carrot Halwa with Cinnamon Sabayon
4. Gulab Jamun with Cardamom Ice Cream

For appetizer, I started with the Palak Chaat. It is a dish with fried baby spinach with a yogurt sauce on top. The first bite was delicious, crispy, salty, but balanced out with the yogurt sauce. However, I do feel like towards the end the dish get end up being too salty. It could've used more yogurt sauce. My friend Amy ordered the Malai Chicken Tikka, even though I didn't try the chicken, the cream cheese sauce that came with it was excellent and would be good if we had naan to dip it in!

I ordered the Tandoori Salmon for the entree. And I was surprised to see the two big portions of salmon that came out on my plate. The salmon was to die for, and hands down it was some of the best salmon that I have ever tasted. It was soft, tender, and juicy inside. The spices wasn't overpowering. The sauce that came with it matches well with naan and the mint paratha that came on the side. I had to force myself to finish those 2 pieces because it was so delicious. I would almost go back just for the salmon! I was a little disappointed in the naan, it was a bit on the dry side, and wasn't very fresh.
Amy ordered the lamb roganjosh, which is a dish that goes very well with rice.

For dessert, I chose the Carrot Halwa, which is one of their house specialties. It's a dessert with chooped carrots with raisins and cashews inside. It was a little sweet for me, but still very good. It was a nice balance to finish the meal, and a way to justify eating a dessert. Hey carrots are good for you right? Amy ordered the Gulab Jamun, which is similiar to little donut balls soaked in a sugary sauce, and it came with a cardamon ice cream. I really liked the ice cream, the spice just jumps out right at you.



Overall, I'd say Rasika almost matched up to the hype. One thing I did not appreciate was that the waiter dropped the check right in front of us while we weren't even half way through our dessert. That should be a big no no, especially in a nice restaurant like that. Then it took him forever to take my credit card once we were finally finished.
It is now 6:40pm, and I am still full from my lunch!