Monday, October 09, 2006

Trying to Stay Gold…Adventure in DC

The past month and a half has been crazy busy. However, I decided to use part of my three-day weekend and take a trip to one of my favorite places, Washington, DC. Upon arrival after work on Friday, I was very hungry (shocking…I know;)). I tried Raku http://www.washingtonian.com/Dining/Profiles/raku.html, considered one of the best bargain restaurants in DC. The restaurant in located by Dupont Circle.

The restaurant is busy, and while I have only been once, I think it is likely that people usually wait in order to get a table. Because the restaurant is so trendy, people tend to go to the bar and order drinks after giving their name. We left and took a little stroll around the block, and when we came back we stood awkwardly near the door and waited for our table (the door space is cramped). I am not 100% sure, but I think we were seated before people who gave their name earlier and went to the bar, because the space is crowded and we were there as soon as they were looking for someone to seat. I can’t say that this trick always works, but it can be helpful.

Anyway, on to the food...We ordered salmon and avocado rolls, vegetable dumplings, tuna tartar and a ginger vegetable stir-fry. The restaurant is designed to be Asian tapas, so everything can be shared, and this appeared to be the common practice. However, they also have big plates that can be ordered to eat alone. We choose to share everything. All of the food was yummy. The tuna tartar was a food highlight: creamy raw tuna with spicy wasabi sauce to be eaten on lightly toasted baguette bread with a light tangy salad on the side. The vegetable dumplings were well prepared, but I didn’t like the dipping sauce. It was a strange spicy bitter concoction that was simply not well done. I did really enjoy the ginger stir-fry sauce (I even dipped the dumplings into it). I was particularly impressed with the speed and friendliness of the service and the freshness of the food. If I lived in DC, I would definitely go back to this place.