Sietsema's Favorite Affordable Luxuries; Boardwalk Pizza At The Dough Roller

In the Washington Post Magazine, Tom Sietsema identifies affordably priced luxuries to try around town. Cocktails and dumplings at Copycat Co., fried chicken at Jackie's, soup at Westend Bistro, a three-course dinner at Villa Mozart and a snowman-shaped dessert at Central all make the list. [WaPo]

For First Bite, Sietsema delivers a burn at the end of his review of Cafe Deluxe in the West End:

Beyond the potpie and maybe a pot of steamed mussels, the cooking here will make you wish you were taking lunch or dinner across the street, at the vastly superior Westend Bistro. As at the other restaurants in the local collection, this one offers something for everyone, as long as everyone isn’t fussy. Deluxe? Hardly. [WaPo]

Tyler Cowen says Diya in Tysons Corner serves "above-average Indian food with a slightly limited and uneven menu," but it's worth trying for those in the neighborhood. "For me this is a notable restaurant because they serve the best keema matar in the area, ground lamb with peas on rice, ask for it spicy," he writes. [TC]

Carole Sugarman of Bethesda magazine tries Rockville's The Dough Roller, an outpost of the Ocean City beach-y pizza and pancake chain. Sugarman makes clear that this is boardwalk food, and should be evaluated as such. She writes:

Using that as a benchmark, the Dough Roller "original" pie I tried was big, inexpensive and fine for basic fuel, with a medium-thick crust, slightly sweet sauce and not too much cheese. I’d put the quality a notch or two above the large pizza chains. [Bethesda]

Warren Rojas at Roll Call tries Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s go-to dish at Indigo in Northeast, and is unimpressed. "The keema favored by Sotomayor promises fireworks, but seemed more like a dud. Each portion features the crumbled lamb, accented with peas and onions, on one side, while a companion scoop of cooked chickpeas pools at the other end. Neither side is exceptionally spicy; lamb elicits a promising tingle the longer it’s left on the tongue, but fails to conjure any substantive heat," he writes. Rojas loves the bone-in goat stew and the chicken tikka though:

The chicken tikka is impressive. Each bite of seductive bird is impregnated by traces of slowly simmered garlic, onions and peppers. The well-balanced construct does not rocket through the sinuses like some daredevil curry; instead, each forkful delivers a richly layered brew bolstered by thrilling flashes of attention-holding spice. [RC]

THE BLOGS: DC Dining brunches at Bayou...Bitches Who Brunch gives an A- to Medium Rare... Johnna Knows Good Food goes to Ovvio Osteria.