377682 Mon Mar 05 12:26:24 -0800 2007 2 14 Washington DC & Baltimore Area 0 2354496 Went to Rasika on Friday night with my wife, my sister-in-law and her boyfriend. We're all 30-somethings. Street parking in that area was non-existent so we ended up using the valet parking for $6. The restaurant itself is beautiful. Very chic with an open kitchen in the rear. Nice bar area as well that seemed like a good place to hang out for a few drinks. We had reservations for 8:30 and were promptly seated when we arrived. Restaurant seemed busy although there were a handful of open tables. Noise level is pretty high but not too bad. On to the food... We ordered 3 appetizers. We got the Palak Chaat, which is a flash fried spinach, mixed with yogurt. I thought it was excellent. The spinach was lightly fried; could not detect any batter on it or anything. The yogurt was kind of infused into the dish for a pleasant taste and texture. We were told that this is one of their signature dishes. We also ordered the Calamari Balchao. Sauteed calamari in a slightly sweet-spicy tomato-chili sauce. The calamari were cooked perfectly. Tender with no rubberiness at all. The sauce was OK but a little bit too close to a traditional marinara IMO. Could have used a little more spice. The third appetizer was the Meen Pollichathu, which was probably the best dish of the night. It's a tilapia filet with a nice chili paste wrapped in a banana leaf. It was just delicious. Nice level of spice without being too hot. For main courses, my wife and sister-in-law both got the Black Cod. This was very good (moist, flavorful with dill and honey), but didn't seem "Indian" to us. Nice sized portion of fish though. I got the Lamb Korma. Tender chunks of lamb in a cream sauce with almonds. I thought the lamb was good but the sauce didn't do much for me. I only ordered it because I was told it was one of the mildest lamb dishes (I can't handle too much heat). Next time I'll probably order something with a little more spice. It didn't look like anything was too hot. Service was OK. There were a few glitches (i.e. asked for bread basket with appetizer but it wasn't brought until part way through our entrees; took too long to bring second bottle of wine), but nothing that had an adverse effect on the meal. I recall reading that they have a sommelier but surprisingly wasn't offered his services when we asked for wine recommendations. Overall, I think Rasika is a great addition. The food is very inventive and generally very tasty. Will definitely try to go back. Mon Mar 05 12:26:24 -0800 2007 56703 jaydreb 1 2355266 I tend to agree with you that the lamb korma doesn't deliver, though on the face of it, sounds very enticing. I go with their butter chicken, not the most original dish to order, but reliably fantastic. For a lamb dish, the biryani is hard to beat, the presentation is nice, a copper bowl sealed with bread. Mon Mar 05 14:47:49 -0800 2007 2354496 13631 NoVaDog 1 2357031 I had the spinach appetizer and the cod when I went, and left feeling that I'd just had a wonderful meal. Glad you enjoyed it. Tue Mar 06 06:38:52 -0800 2007 2354496 56762 LulusMom