What to eat at Afghani restaurant in McLean Virginia, - Aracosia

I first had Afghani cuisine after immigrating to the United States. Since then, I have mostly 

Lamb shank with rice cooked with lentils

associated the cuisine with kebabs. Then I was introduced to Panjshir, a fine dining restaurant in Falls Church, VA where I was first introduced to Afghani curries. They are very similar to Indian curries, but watered-down with respect to spice levels. Then came Aracosia, a fine-dining restaurant (also reasonably priced) with two locations in Washington DC and Mclean, VA. It has become my culinary home when it comes to Afghani cuisine.

Aracosia has a pretty large menu, which includes appetizers prepared with vegetables like roasted eggplant and squash, potato and leek turnovers or sambosas, dumplings with veggies and/or meat, and lots of kebab platters. But the dishes I crave the most are the aforementioned curries or stews (Kormas) and the chutneys/sauces that they serve complementary with bread. Of the latter, I prefer the avocado and mango chutneys. 

Squash sambosas

  The meat-based entrees will leave you a feeling of being satiated yet wanting more. Some of my favorites are lamb shank, chicken Lawan, and Rumi's chicken. The meats are cooked well and served with greens or veggies like eggplant and served on a bed of basmati rice and served in reasonable portions. On their lunch menu, they even have a lamb shank served with rice cooked with lentils, kidney beans and chickpeas, akin to a khichadi. They not only have several vegetarian options for vegans but also several preparations made from veal and beef. 

Finally, I also enjoy the overall ambience due to the comfortable seating, light music, and outstanding service. 

If you are in the DVA and in mood for South Asian cuisine, this is a must-try!! 

Mexico, mi amor

One way to fall in love with a new city is through its food, which is how it worked in our case with Mexico City when we visited it last Spring. We especially enjoyed the street food, specifically the tacos and chilaquiles, which excelled both in terms of flavor and price. 

Chicken in Mole sauce at Villa Maria

The most memorable fine-dining experience was at Villa Maria, which is where I tried mole chicken (chocolate-based sauce) for the first time while watching a Mariachi band. While somewhat touristy for my taste, it was worth it, for mostly the live music. The food wasn't terrible.   

Enchiladas in verde salsa

Flan

Some of the fancier neighborhoods like Polanco or La Condesa boast high-end, yuppie restaurants that you might want to treat yourself to at some point during your trip. We tried multiple such places for brunch and dinner, including Madre Cafe and a Latin-Asian fusion restaurant whose name escapes me, where I had a delicious baos with crunchy crab, along with dumplings with mole sauce, and a whole crispy red snapper in a sweet and sour sauce. All dishes were well executed, and we loved the flavors. 

Another of my favorite meals in the city were the enchiladas. Enchiladas, a traditional dish, are stuffed corn tortillas, mostly with a protein and served in copious amount of a savory sauce of your choice (red/roja or green/verde) with grated cheese on top. To my palate, this dish resembled an Indian curry due to the salsa. We had it several times during our short visit.   

Finally, owing to not having a much of a sweet tooth, I am usually not very curious about desserts. But I did try Mexican flan, mostly because it resembled caramel pudding, one of my favorite Indian dishes along with guava pastries. The flan didn't disappoint me with respect to taste (well sugar never does!) although I preferred it in street shops more than dine-in restaurants. 

All in all, this trip was worth it for the food alone.