Rasika is Tom Sietsema's Favorite Restaurant

Tom Sietsema's favorite restaurant is Rasika, D.C.'s groundbreaking modern Indian restaurant.

The Washington Post critic has been counting down his top 10 favorite places to eat right now, in anticipation of the release of the 2014 Fall Dining Guide. On Twitter, he called Rasika Penn Quarter (there is also a location in the West End) "the restaurant I could eat in every day." From the review:

At no other Indian restaurant of my acquaintance are the rices as fragrant, the breads as delicious, the desserts as compelling. I’ve probably had the signature palak chaat 20 times...Cost and convenience aren’t the only reasons I make time for Rasika, even when it’s not about work. I’m also there for the most fabulous Indian cooking in the country."

The restaurant earned four stars. The list is designed to be Sietsema's favorites, rather than a "best of" list, so some restaurants with higher star rankings are ranked lower on the list (for example, The Inn at Little Washington at #5). Here are the top 10:

1. Rasika Penn Quarter

2. Mintwood Place

3. Rose's Luxury

4. Red Hen

5. The Inn at Little Washington

6. Little Serow

7. Fiola Mare

8. The Partisan

9. Le Diplomate

10. Boss Shepherd's