Mehak Indian Cuisine

Mehak‘s a bit of an oddity, being a steadfast Indian restaurant in the heart of DC’s Chinatown.  Well, at least, that might have at least once been the case when the businesses of Chinatown were actually Chinese establishments, and not business chains such as Starbucks with just the name out front in Chinese.

So maybe then, it’s not so bad.  Maybe an independent business that’s outlasted just about every other store and survived the waves of ever increasing rent is worth checking into.  So that’s exactly what Jen and I did.  Mehak is just north of the bright jumbotron lights, a two floor establishment that’s cheerfully painted and decorated with a worn in feel.  The wait staff is friendly and have timing down to a science, knowing exactly when to step in.  We were treated to at least three different servers, all who were wearing Santa hats in celebration of sweet, sweet, six pound, seven ounce baby Jebus.

We started off with the Veggie Samosas.  Two super deep fried twinkies turnovers stuffed with potatoes and green peas.  Not really the most amazing dish, but not terrible, either.  The skin is thick as your grandmother’s feet, and just slightly better tasting after you dunk it in the accompanying sauce.  I’m not altogether too familiar with Indian sauces, but after a quick Googlification of the subject, it’s most likely the cilantro based Hari Chutney.  Any takers on if I’m wrong?  It most definitely comes slathered on slabs of salmon at Indian eat-o-ramas, but it was interesting to see it served up on its own.

Veggie Samosas

The naan breads here definitely make up for the slack.  Who doesn’t like the taste of vicious refined carbohydrates?  We ordered the triple threat combo: Poori (fried whole wheat), Onion Kulcha (baked and stuffed with spicy chopped onions) and the basic naan.  I was a little sad that we didn’t get any of the Roti in with the order, but after sobbing hysterically in the bathroom for a few minutes, all was well.  The bathrooms, by the way, are upstairs, which is completely shuttered during dinner hours.  The heat is turned off in the winter, and the A/C is likely nixed for the summer, all cost cutting measures that have obviously kept this place going strong and not turning into another Starbucks.

Drinks* here are great.  The mango lassi tastes amazing.  Both the mango and the lassi really stand out in this drink, but I’d say more the former than the latter.

If anything, it might be the best drink there. At one point, Jen pointed out to me that they even had Franzia on the wine list.

Me: Oh, you mean the one listed as a Rosé?
Jen: I didn’t even see that one. Wait! There’s another!
Me: Three Franzias on the wine list?
Jen: Wow. That’s STRONG.

I can’t tell you how great it is when my girl says something like that to me.

Jen ordered the Masala Chana, a traditional Indian dish of chickpeas cooked in onion, tomato, and various spices.  She commented that this one had a much meatier taste to the sauce, which was great!

Masala Chana

I ordered the Malai Chicken Tikka, which is chicken marinated in yogurt and spiced, and then baked in a traditional Tandoor clay oven, with sexy results.  And this order was nothing short of sexy.  The chicken was succulent, perfectly spiced, and arrived in enormous two to three inch chunks.  Obviously a dish to be shared by a normal eating couple, I managed to finish it without feeling overwhelmingly ill.

Malai Chicken Tikka

The dining experience at Mehak isn’t an extravagant one, but still, remains a very satisfying one.  Service is good, the quality is good, and the portions are good.

Recommended for:

• Casual dinner night
• Paleoheads
• Vegetarians
• Indian cuisine aficionados

Not Recommended for:

• Formal events
• Wine snobs
• Awkward first dates
• Impressing out of town guests
• Last meal before hopping on a transatlantic flight

* Non-alcoholic drinks.

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