“Excuse me, but what delicious thing did you order?” I asked the innocent women unwittingly seated next to me at Kramer Books and Afterwords Cafe. The plate of beauty had three little mounds of grain: farro, cracked wheat and quinoa, surrounded by slow cooked chicken and slices of deep purple heirloom tomato. I ordered it immediately with the recommended white wine and it was exactly what I needed on a hot and steamy night.

Farro is staging a resurgence in restaurants all over the country. It can be used in almost any recipe calling for barley or spelt (its closest sibling) but the cooking time must be adjusted. Usually, I think of farro as a savory item, but as noted in Cook & Eat, making farrow pudding is an outstanding concept. I like the looks of this epicurious recipe: Farro Salad with Peas, Asparagus and Feta.

June 18, 2008: Co-Workers Do Lunch!
Wednesday’s lunch bill was on CSPI, so I abandoned my hummus sandwich and adventured with two co-workers to Raku, a sushi and pan-Asian restaurant in DuPont Circle. They do it right: tapa-style dishes to share at really reasonable prices.

The food was delicious. I could have eaten five plates of the green salad appetizer and called it a day! Tender lettuces were adorned with thinly sliced carrot, red onion and big chunks of crunchy cucumber dressed lightly with miso and ginger. Refreshing on a hot day.

Then the octopus descended. Oh man, oh man! I happened to love this chewy little guy, but the Asian-style BBQ gave each piece a caramelized char—awesome depth of flavor and the zingy mango-thai pepper salsa perfectly cut the slight earthy sweetness of the BBQ.

The Tofu Skewers with Peanut sauce also deserve praise. The outside was grilled and savory, while the interior boasted the lightest, softest tofu. These five big skewers would appeal even to meat lovers. Lastly, the sushi: the Seoul Train Specialty role—Tuna and kimchee was quite creative, I liked the heat it brought into my mouth: the kimchee would spike my palate with a blast of fire and the unctuous tuna would quell the blaze; truly a sensual experience. The nigiri was decent, but there is better fish to be had elsewhere. I would venture back to this joint, I didn’t even dent the array of options, the five or six bento box options would be great for a work-day lunch.

Raku, Dupont Circle
1900 Q St. NW
Washington, DC 20008
Phone: 202.265.7258