Indique: It’s Indian, and it’s unique!

Our holiday in May in the US was very special for a number of reasons: One, it was a celebration of our twenty fifth wedding anniversary with special dinners and get-togethers where ever we went; Second, I was able to take my wife and daughter to all the places I had longed to show them; and third, it was a time when we were able to meet with friends we had not met in some twenty years or more. The last reason was an especially sweet one, for it brought home the value of relationships, and how the vastness of time seems to make no difference at all when you do meet.

One such friend was KN Vinod, a class mate from the Institute of Hotel Management in Taramani in Chennai from which we both had passed out. I went on to become a Management Trainee in ITC’s hotel’s division, while he joined ITDC as a Chef Trainee. The last I met Vinod was at Chennai airport nearly twenty years ago when we chanced to bump into each other waiting for our respective flights. I knew then that he had a restaurant in Washington, and that he was still there, but did not know how to contact him. On this visit, when I landed in Washington, I called Francis, another classmate who is the Executive Chef of one of the well known hotels in down town New York, and he gave me Vinod’s number and urged me to call him.

I hesitated because we had not spoken to each other in so many years! But after all my meetings were over and I had checked out, I left my luggage in the hotel and went for a walk to Lafayette Park opposite the White House, strolled around a bit, then sat down on a park bench and called Vinod. His familiar voice came on the line, and suddenly all those years seemed to melt away. When I told him I was in Washington, his next question was, “Where are you?” “Lafayette Park”, I answered, and told him that I had time up to three PM before leaving to catch my flight to Boston. It was then that he told me about Indique, his very successful Indian restaurant chain that now has two outlets, one on Connecticut Avenue and the other at Friendship Heights at Chevy Chase, Maryland. He was at the restaurant at Connecticut Avenue and asked me to come there.

Off, I went, and as I walked into the restaurant, there he was, looking much the same but for a little grey in his moustache! We embraced, and he ushered me into the spacious restaurant and showed me around. We sat upstairs at a secluded table where we could catch up with each other, while we had lunch. His chef appeared at the table and Vinod asked for a whole variety of starters and main courses! I protested, but he wanted me to taste the food and not worry about finishing it. He also ordered white wine after learning of my preference for a drink. There we sat and chatted, as one delicious dish after other appeared before us that I tasted and commented on. The food was uniformly good, well spiced and flavored. For once, they were authentic in taste and not watered down for local tastes. He also had signature fusion dishes that were very good! Starters included Mini Oothappams and Mini Dosas! Check out the restaurant and the menu.

He also called his General Manager Operations for his restaurants (there are also two Bombay Bistros), Ranbir Bhatia from the Indique in Chevy Chase to join us. Ranbir, popularly know as ‘Bhats’, had been both a colleague and friend at ITC Hotel’s years ago of both my wife and I whom we had lost touch with! When Bhat’s did turn up, I had a hard time recognizing him but for those twinkling eyes! He showed me a photograph from those days of a smiling, young, handsome, bearded Sikh, and all the memories came flooding back! I told them that I would be in Washington a week or two later, and we exchanged numbers so that they could meet the family. When my cousin Zmarak heard about this old classmate of mine, he invited Vinod and his family to a get together he arranged when we visited him, so we managed to meet Vinod in a social setting with his young son.

On our last day in Washington, we decided to take Zmarak and his charming wife Esa, out for lunch. As they stayed in Bethesda, next door to Chevy Chase, we decided to take them to Indique Heights, Vinod’s signature restaurant in the area. This is a much larger, more elegant format restaurant, located in the area right above the Friendship Heights metro station. We had a fantastic meal accompanied by Venezuelan red wine, with Vinod and Bhats once again playing the hosts with one delicious dish after the other. It was such a fabulous way to end our Washington sojourn with good food and wine, family and friends! Vinod has clearly used his abilities as a gifted chef to create restaurants that are making their mark in a highly competitive market. Indique on Connecticut Avenue, for example, is a favorite of Hillary Clinton. Check out Indique Heights here. By the way, the dashing, young man in the right foreground is Vinod. Bhats is in the burgundy shirt towards the far end.

If ever you are in Washington, and want to have authentic Indian food, as well as Indian fusion food at its best, now you know where to go!