Little India: When In Doubt, Just Order The Thali

I got stuck in a thunderstorm after hearing Scott McClellan speak last night. Had no umbrella, of course (poor girls don't own umbrellas, or at least they don't replace them when their old ones tear apart in the wind). Not to mention that I don't like staying outside when there's lightning.

So I crossed my fingers (to prevent getting electrocuted) and ran across the street to Little India, one of the three "all-in-a-row" Indian restaurants that are directly across from the Woodley Park-Zoo metro. I'd already been to Taste of India, the middle restaurant, and... well, let's just say that it made me ill. Twice. But I wasn't going to waste my dwindling cash reserves on the nearby McDonalds. If I was going to be stuck in a storm for two hours, and if I was going to wait it out over dinner, I might as well try and enjoy myself.

The server beat me to the front door, holding it open so I could hurl my drenched, jumping-at-every-sound-of-thunder self inside. He smiled, and I decided enjoying myself at this restaurant might be easier than I thought.

There were only two other patrons in the restaurant, which worried me a little (especially considering that the craptastic Taste of India was packed), so I decided to follow my self-imposed rule of when in doubt, just order the thali.

It turned out to be fantastic.
(BTW, that little glob of saag paneer on the plate wasn't the restaurant's fault; I knocked it off when I was arranging the dishes for photogenicity. I figured my phone photo resolution was so bad that it wouldn't show up in the image. Guess I figured wrong.)

I had three servers hovering around me at all times, but in the good way. (It was nice to get a chance to chat with people, even if it was only about the raging thunderstorm.) Afterwards one of them brought me a bowl of kheer, which I took one look at and thought "this is going to taste awful."
And it did.

But the thali was well worth the $20 I spent on dinner ($14.60 plus an overgenerous tip since the servers were so friendly), and I would totes go back after I get a for-real job.

So I'm suggesting y'all go visit too.