B Eats: Thai X-Ing

Friday night Steve and I went to dinner with a couple of our friends at Thai X-ing, in DC's Shaw neighborhood. Thai X-ing is kind of a one-man show, with one chef, no menu, and only a few tables in a dimly lit townhouse.

While that might not sound like the most rousing endorsement, it is a REALLY fun way to spend an evening and it's some of the most delicious Thai food you'll ever have.

(Oh, and it's BYOB. There's nothing like showing up to a restaurant juggling three bottles of wine to make your Friday night complete. Score.)

Everyone pays a flat fee ($40 on the weekends, $30 on the weekdays) for a nine course meal. The only catch is that you eat whatever they put in front of you - there's no menus, and within minutes of being seated enormous portions of Thai food start coming to your table. Which is fine with me, because everything is amazing.

***WARNING: Terrible phone photography ahead.***

 

Spicy Pumpkin Curry...my favorite

That's an entire fish. It was delicious and only vaguely reminiscent of Flounder from The Little Mermaid.

Homemade drunken noodles

Dessert - Mango Sticky Rice (my personal fave)

There was also a lemongrass soup, a  papaya salad, and THREE OTHER COURSES (beef salad, chicken stir fry, and barbecued pork) that I simply couldn't photograph because food was coming out so quickly. (Okay, some of it I ate before I remembered to take a picture.)

All in all, if you're looking for a fun night out in DC, I highly recommend Thai Xing. You won't regret it!

xoxo,
b

Rasika Review

Last Christmas, Steve's dad gave me a homemade coupon for one dinner anywhere in DC on him. I finally cashed it in Tuesday night at Rasika -- yes, it took me nearly a year to use it.

For those of you not from DC: "The name "Rasika" is derived from Sanskrit language meaning "flavors". Rasika is a modern Indian restaurant which takes its inspiration from an age old approach to dining. This approach allows you to choose a variety of appetizers and entrees to share with your dining companions."

For those of you from DC (and if you like Indian food): Run, do not walk, to eat dinner here.

(I apologize in advance for the less-than-stellar phone photos...my one criticism of Rasika would be that it was a little too dark for my liking. Shh. If you listen closely, you can hear me turning into my father.)

We started with seared scallops and the crispy spinach appetizer. I'd heard from almost everyone that the spinach was the dish to get, and they didn't disappoint me. I wish I could describe it for you all, but I have absolutely no idea what they did to that spinach to make it taste that way.My guess is that it's fried (which is never a bad thing IMO.)

Scallops in spicy broth

Crispy Spinach (the star of the menu)

For our main course, Steve ordered lamb rogan josh and I got tandoori lobster. This was another unique dish - I would never think of lobster as Indian cuisine, and yet it was a completely delicious surprise. We also got a mixed bread basket with regular naan, onion and sage naan, and a bread with mint that neither of us had had before.

Near: Tandoori Lobster, Mixed Bread Basket
Far: Lamb Rogan Josh

I normally don't order dessert in restaurants -- I'm usually full by the end of dinner, and most places have totally over-the-top decadent desserts that are just too much for me. But since it was a special dinner we each went for a dessert.

Date and Toffee Pudding
Chocolate Samosa

I ordered the date and toffee pudding -- unfortunately I realized a little too late that they were using 'pudding' in the British sense, and it was really more like a cake. No matter - it was still completely delicious, and not so heavy that I felt overly full. Steve ordered the chocolate samosa, which reminded me of a really decadent French pastry -- stuffed full of gooey melted chocolate with light pastry around it.

The wine and service were also impeccable. It can be hard to get a reservation to Rasika - we waited over two weeks -- but it's absolutely worth the wait.

xoxo,

little b