Rasika -- 3 1/2 Stars

Yesterday was Katy's birthday. We had dinner with her son, Mike and our daughter in law, Debbie at Rasika's in DC. Once again, the dinner was a home run. Rasika is an Indian restaurant that uses a more nouvelle fusion style for its food. You just couldn't have beaten it with a stick!

The appetizers were wonderful: Katy and Mike both had the Wild Mushroom Uttapam (a pancake) with coconut chutney. Debbie went for the Mango tandoori shrimp and Paul had the most unusual fig & lentil combination with marscapone cream. Each dish had the "zing" of India, but put together in a totally new way.

The entrees were even better. Debbie says that her Tandori lamb chops were "exquisite." Tender and succulent with just the right level of spice. Add some paneer cheese over the rice and she was in 7th heaven. Mike had the mixed grill and was especially pleased with the tandori salmon. Katy had a goa fish curry that made the steam come out of her ears -- to her great pleasure. And Paul had a lamb roganjosh that was just the right degree of spicy.

Of course we also had the traditional accompaniments of Naan and Roti breads, but this time with the homemade chutneys -- one tomato; one mango; and one eggplant. These are MUST try taste sensations.

We owe a special thanks to the sommellier. We asked for a good fruit-forward wine that would stand up to all the tastes and spices. He brought us a wonderful gewirtzendaner (I can never spell that right) from Germany that had just the right touch of orange and berry in it to make a statement but not overwhelm the spices of the tandori and curry. If you go, and don't know what you want, you can safely put yourself in his hands.

Dinner was followed with deserts that went to the next level. Katy had the chocolate samosa -- the chocoholic's delight. Mike and Deb both had the apple jalebi (essentially a begniet) with cardomon ice cream. And Paul had a Nougat Kulfi with brandy sauce that tasted like a cross between caramel ice cream and fine liqour.

We leave tomorrow for Chicago, where we hope to have similar gastronomic pleasure with our other kids. This was, however, a nice way to leave DC and we'll remember the meal fondly.

Kaz Sushi -- 3 1/2 Stars

We go to Kaz Sushi fairly often. Its an avant garde sushi place that tries to combine traditional tastes with new ones. And it just keeps getting better every time we go. This time around Katy had a yellowtail ceviche that was a uniquely Japanese take on the Spanish classic. Paul started with a traditional hijiki salad that was just perfect in texture.

As always the sushi selections ranged from the typical (California roll and eel) to the sublimely different. We had one of Kaz's signature dishes -- salmon with a dollop of mango on it -- that we always enjoy. But the surprises were in some of the other, equally wonderful novelties. We shared a seared scallop sushi covered in lemon salt that was just the right combination of salty and charred. Paul had the super-fatty tuna, that had more marbling than we've ever seen on a fish. And Katy had a side dish of shaved brussell sprouts, seared with onion and some kind of sauce we couldn't identify that was as good a veggie dish as we've had in a long time. To top it off, Katy had a wonderful New Zealand savignon blanc that was fresh on the tongue and a great match for the quiet tastes of the sushi.

Nora's -- 3 1/2 Stars

Last night we had a wonderful dinner out at Nora's. Nora's is self=titled the "first certified organic restaurant" in America. Whatever the truth of that claim, it is certainly true that Nora's does fantastic food. It's been roughly 2 years since last we went and our pleasure this time was enhanced by the fact that our daughter-in-law, Natalia, joined us. Natalia is in town for a couple of days on business and this seemed a good chance to share a great meal with her.

And it was great. For appetizers, Katy had a beet salad that was a wonderful medley of fresh tastes. Natalia had a Dungeness crab & avocado salad that looked scrumptious and Paul had a black trumpet mushroom and goat cheese tart that simply sang with sparkling on the tongue. We accompanied the meal with a Freeman Pinot Noir from Sonoma, that was very reasonably priced and had just the right level of fruit, without too much push to it. Delightful.

Main courses also hit the mark: Katy had an Amish Veal Roast with fennel; Natalia had Divers Scallops with cauliflower puree; and Paul had a fillet mignon with carmelized onion mashed potatoes and some bone marrow. Yum. We finished the meal with Chocolate mousse cake; pear & cranberry crisp; and Katy's traditional sorbet.

Nora's never fails to make good on its promise of good food, in a cozy and friendly atmosphere. Our servers were pleasant and helpful. Perhaps best of all, they make their own sparkling water, so the water was free! Talk about great deals.

A Chicago Quickie

We went back and forth to Chicago by car over the weekend. 24 hours of driving in 65 hours! Ugh. But we made it there and back and took possession of our new temporary apartment in Evanston. We'll be living there for 6 months while Paul has a Fellowship at Northwestern. We took out the first load of stuff in the car and spent a mad day buying "junk" to make it home (bath mats and paper towel holders; etc.).

We head out for good on 27 February. Should be fun. And the best part is we get to spend the time with two granddaughters who live there!