[img]61|left|||no_popup[/img]Akasha in downtown
opened Tuesday night, and my friends and I checked it out. The space is huge.
Watseka and
with a large communal bench and old panoramic photos of downtown
City
side is the large dining room and bar. It is a modern, sleek space while maintaining a
comfortable warmth. I particularly liked the glow emanating from the mobiles
dangling overhead. We sat at the bar, right in front of the chalkboard wine
and cocktail lists.
They have a few house
cocktails, made with fresh juices and organic liquors. I tasted the Red Velvet
Margarita, made with 4 Copas organic tequila, lime juice, blood orange juice
and agave nectar. It was very refreshing, and the blood orange juice made for a
beautiful appearance.
made with kiwifruit vodka, cucumber juice and Thai basil elixir. It was good —
not too sweet, but the foggy mossy color was most unappealing.
service was pretty good, and the food was well executed. Wait times were
appropriate, and employee nerves seemed calm.
sampled and ordered.
stools weigh a ton. Forget about dismounting gracefully in front of your date.
bartender tried to remove our unfinished plate. I was able to stop her in time,
but the other bartender whisked it away when I wasn't looking. If there is
still food on the plate, please ask before you take.
We tried some appetizers
and sides. My favorite was the wild mushroom and goat cheese tart with arugula
on the side. The crust was thick and flaky. It must have been made with whole
wheat flour, which gave it a nice nutty flavor and pleasantly chewy texture.
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Now About That Price
The onions rings were
battered in rice flour, which fries up to a sharp crisp. The highlight was the
smoked paprika dipping sauce (which we were trying to deconstruct. Our guess:
mayo, mustard, lemon and smoked paprika), which we also requested with our
fries. The rings weren't cheap: $7 for six.
Portions were small, which
is nice when you want to try many dishes, like we do.
They offer a selection of
pizzas, and ours was our least favorite item of the night. It had a crisp, thin
crust that was just a bit too hard. It was topped with “Orgonzola” cheese (yes,
it’s gorgonzola from
arugula($15). I love all those flavors, but just didn't dig the crust. We still
ate it, of course.
Pescatarians Welcome, Too
ingredients. It is divided into “small plates”(examples include: mushroom tart, hummus with truffle salt, and albacore
lettuce wraps) “pizza” (including a traditional Margarita, and the less traditional
shiitake with eggplant and squash), “bowls” (Punjabi mung beans with rice, and
red quinoa and edamame), “big plates” (Asian style braised short ribs, South
Indian style salmon, organic turkey burger and Heritage pork chop) and “sides”
(onion rings, French fries, mac and cheese, and roasted curried cauliflower).
There were several items on the menu my pescatarian, dairy-free friend could
enjoy, and plenty of meat and cheese for the rest of us.
that night, and I look forward to returning and sampling more of the menu.
I am still so excited over
downtown
concentration of fine dining establishments and wine bars all within walking
distance of each other. Now, let's get the city to work on the conspicuous lack
of taxis…
310.845.1700
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