Aatish on the Hill, Washington, D.C.

Had an interesting dinner last night on Capitol Hill. We went to Aatish on the Hill, a Pakistani cafe featuring foods cooked in a tandoor. A tandoor is a special type of clay oven used for the equivalent of barbecuing for many types of Indian and Pakistani foods. I've always found tandoori cuisine amusing, since the meats are marinated in yogurt and spices before cooking, and they always come out of the tandoor with a characteristic bright red color.

As soon as we sat down, I was offered a masala chai, which was a black Indian tea (tasted a bit like assam) with an assortment of spices, including cardamom, cloves, pepper, nutmeg, ginger, and I think just a hint of saffron. An assistant brought us some papad (those thin, crisp, torilla-sized wafers made of dal or lentil flour and then deep fried) and a couple of sauces, one the usual mint chutney, and the other an unusual chutney that reminded me of beans and cooked tomatoes.

We decided to eat from the tandoori selections, so we started with a lamb botti kebab and a chicken tikki for appetizers, accompanied by a bowl of raita (yogurt with cucumber and mint), then for the main course, we had a big lamb sheekh kebab and a shrimp kebab tandoori, plus a large dish of spinach and homemade cheese called palak paneer. The palak paneer was good and very traditional for northern Indian cuisine (and Pakistan is in the northwest part of the Indian subcontinent), but I've always prefered the southern version called saag paneer, which is basically the same dish with cream and yogurt in it (I know, the spicings are different, but I'm trying to express a broad, general concept). I didn't much care for the tandoori shrimp. They had been rolled in a very thick layer of spices heavy with paprika to the point that it almost felt breaded in the mouth. On the other hand, the lamb was delicious. The chunks were tender and flavorful, and the tomato, peppers, and onion used on the skewers between the meat while it cooked were included on the serving plate. I love how the meaty pieces of onion were sweet and tender and had taken on a bit of the smokiness of the tandoor.

The main course dishes came with decoratively garnished saffron rice, but I told the waiter not to bring me any. I'm trying to reduce my carbohydrate intake and I'm avoiding rice, pasta, potatoes, bread, etc. That's also why I didn't order any naan or other breads. The waiter didn't help my cause, though, cause after we were totally stuffed from eating dinner, he brought us a big bowl of kheer (rice pudding) on the house. So, in order to be polite, I had to eat my half. It was very good kheer, too, since it was thick and full of spices (I don't like the runny kind or the kind made from vermicelli you see at some other restaurants).

One Fish, Two Fish, Washington, D.C.

Dinner tonight was at One Fish Two Fish, a West End Asian restaurant on Pennsylvania just before the bridge leading into Georgetown. I had one fish, and Leo had two fish. I had a crispy whole fish (deep fried sea bass, as it turned out) and he had the sashimi, which came with just tuna and salmon. After dinner, he had a "bubble tea," which was a rather unusual drink with mango juice in it, but most odd because of the large, black beads of tapioca in the bottom. The drink came with an extra large straw, and it was funny watching him drink the "bubbles" and seeing them travel up the straw, and then down again when he stopped sucking.

It was an okay restaurant which I've seen recommended in several publications, but it really is just a notch above Chinese fast food. We'll probably be back, though, since it's very close to the condo.

Cafe des Artistes, Washington, D.C.

Lunched today at the Corcoran Gallery, where the service was abysmally and abominably slow.

Jaleo, Washington, D.C.

Jaleo, a Spanish tapas bar up the street from the street festival on 7th, gave Leo, Guy Bill, and me a wonderful mid-afternoon luncheon respite from the heat and the crowds. I had a very very interesting "white gazpacho," which was presented by the server in a large square glass bowl with green grapes and olive oil in the corners and a mound of crab meat in the middle, and then a carafe of the soup was poured into the bowl tableside. It had a very unique taste and texture which I still can't place.....it was almost potatoey, rather than white tomato, and had a distinct vinegar edge to it. Cold soups are always wonderful in the summer.

I also had a little omelette (I forget the Spanish name) with an unusual slice of Spanish sausage in the middle with some Spanish white cheese. Everyone made me have dessert, so I had the arroz con leche (rice pudding), with lots of whipped cream, toasted almond slices on top, and the essence of orange in the thin, rich pudding.

Guy Bill had an interesting shredded apple and cheese salad and the same omelette as me (which he hated), and Leo had a huge bowl of mussels, a plateful of fried squid, a broiled salmon plank, and an enormous flan with an "espuma" of airy whipped cream and Valencia oranges, plus two big sangrias (Guy Bill and I were just doing iced tea, being the Southern boys we are). I don't see how Leo can eat the way he does and still stay so thin. Must be one of the great mysteries of the Orient.