100 Very Best 2014The star of Ashok Bajaj’s impressive restaurant portfolio has
long been this glittering Penn Quarter Indian hot spot, done up in the
warm tones of a spice market. So when he set out to open a spinoff in a
West End condo building, it wouldn’t have been surprising if he cloned the
original. Instead, the new sibling has its own personality—all cool blues
and quirky design touches (ask for a seat in one of the carriage-like
booths).
The restaurants have different chefs, but both excel at deeply
fragrant curries and creative tweaks on samosas and breads. Stick to the
familiar and you’ll encounter a gold-standard chicken tikka
masala, or branch out and discover, say, tender duck roasted with
honey and ginger. If only the desserts lived up to the rest of the
meal.Don’t miss: Ragda patties (spicy potato
with chutneys); palak chaat—fried spinach with yogurt and
tamarind; mango shrimp; avocado-and-banana chaat;scallops with
honey and ginger; black cod with honey and dill; chicken makhani;
shrimp masala; goat-cheese-stuffed kulcha; garlic
naan. Open: Monday through Friday for lunch and dinner, Saturday
for dinner. Expensive.
Ann Limpert joined Washingtonian in late 2003. She was previously an editorial assistant at Entertainment Weekly and a cook in New York restaurant kitchens, and she is a graduate of the Institute of Culinary Education. She lives in Petworth.
