I don’t go to DC to eat. Why would I? I live in NY. But when I’m there, I have to fill up my stomach so I try to find places that are inventive but are also in locales that are close to people we’re visiting. Is this a fair sampling of DC eateries? No, but to be frank, I’m not into eating my way around the Beltway.

First stop was Indique in Cleveland Park which isn’t supposed to be as good as the Chevy Chase outpost, and in my experience, this is absolutely correct. We had a rushed dinner–not their fault. We were on our way to Kol Nidre services at a nearby synagogue and needed a pre-fast meal. Not your typical one, I grant you, but what’s so sacrosanct about roast chicken and kugel as a pre-Yom Kippur repast?

My hubby ordered the pre-theater special which came with an undistinguished somosa. You could also get mulligatawny soup, a green salad, and a few other appetizers. Then came an overflowing plate of tamilnad fish curry, fish fillets cooked with fenugreek, onions, tomato and tamarind. I chose tandoori king shrimps, charcoal grilled jumbo shrimp marinated with lemon juice, ginger, garlic, and “ajwain”(carom seeds). They were extremely flavorful but someone left them on the grill too long; the shrimp were dried out.

Service was very attentive and the place did everything in its power to get us out on time.

A couple of days later, we stopped at the Bethesda branch of Jaleo in Bethesda. The food here can’t hold a candle to the quality of the fare served in the downtown DC location. Mussels were fairly tasteless but lomo de buey con pimiento verde y salsa Cabrales, grilled beef loin with roasted green pepper and ‘Cabrales’ cheese sauce, was tender and delicious. Trigueros con salsa de romesco, grilled asparagus with Catalan ‘romesco’ was pretty uninspired.

Jaleo
7271 Woodmont Avenue
Bethesda, MD 20814
301 913 0003

Indique
3512 -14 Connecticut Ave, N.W.
Washington D.C
202 244 6600

Related posts:

1. DC Doldrums
2. Central Park: Calling All Foragers
3. Upper East Side: Park Avenue Autumn, The Leaves Are Fading