Happy Diwali!

Diwali is a Hindu festival that celebrates the new year. It is also known as the "festival of lights" because lamps and candles are lit to represent good over evil. It is the time of year where I feel the most homesick because I always spend several days with my family - praying and feasting together. 

My adorable roommate is aware of how I feel during Diwali so she decided to boost my spirits by taking me out to dinner to an elegant Indian restaurant called, The Bombay Club, located on 815 Connecticut Ave NW. 

The way I imagined India to have looked like when the British rule is how I would describe the interior of this restaurant. There was a classical yet colonial vibe that distinguished it from all the Indian restaurants I've been to in DC.

There were western decorations fused with Indian fabrics, designs and patterns. For example, there was a long gold railing on the side of the dark wood bar top which had golden elephant heads carved on it. 

The food was superb -  authentic while using high quality ingredients. We started off with the crispy arugula-spinach chaat ($9). It was amazing. My roommate who finds the taste of vegetables to be putrid enjoyed this dish as well... which truly says something! The dish consisted of crispy, fried shreds of arugula, spinach and tomatoes with a date-tamarind chutney and yogurt sauce drizzled on top that added a sweet and bitter tinge to it.  

For our main course we shared the dal makhni  ($10.95) - a high fiber dish made mostly from lentils. It has a thick and creamy texture with multiple different flavors. Each bite is different - one was sweet from the tomato paste, the other was fiery from the masalas.  I thought it was delicious, except just a tad bit too spicy for me!  

In fact, I kept on having to stuff my face with garlic naan ($3.50) in between each bite to soak up all the spice and help soothe my tongue!

We also ordered the dahi ka baingan ($12.95) which is charcoal roasted eggplant mixed with spices and yogurt. It was comforting and reminded me of home because when I was a kid, my mom used to find different ways to get me to eat my vegetables and making it in pureed style always worked! She used to alter the recipe to use other vegetables, which taste equally as good. 

Because Indian food is extremely rich we found one appetizer and two main dishes enough for the both of us. I really enjoyed my experience at this restaurant, but find it a bit too expensive for the portions that are served. Each dish is served in a small bowl or plate and is not accompanied with rice or bread. Everything is a la carte so we had to order two portions of garlic naan ($3.50 each) and one portion of rice ($3). So...if you plan to go here, make sure sure your parents are in town!