Great Date Spot - Indebleu

Being single, it turns out, has some great advantages. The quality of restaurant that a date will take you to is far superior to the restaurants a long-term boyfriend will spring for on a random Thursday (or even on say ... a random four year anniversary).

Last Thursday I had the pleasure of dining at Indebleu. The French-Indian fusion restaurant lived up to its distinguished reputation. I expected the decor to be a lot more mysterious but the main dining area was par for the course with safe artwork and mellow tones. I think there are some more intimate tables in the back area but i didn't see those. The upstairs bar was really beautiful. There is a bench seat right next to the big window that looks out onto the Chinatown/Verizon Center area. Its a nice little people watching perch. No idea what wine i had but the house sauv blanc at the bar was yummy.

Then onto dinner.... Indebleu extended their restaurant week menu for the entire month (check dcfoodies.com to make sure). The entire menu is available, although if you were choosing the RW prices you could only order small plates under $11 and entrees under $26. These limitations didn't affect my ideal choices too much luckily ... although on my next visit i would like to try the scallops and the tuna & salmon.

We shared two small plates - the Wild Mushroom Dosa and the Curried Mussels. Dosa is a lentil crepe essentially. The mix of mushrooms was satisfying but i was left wishing it was a tiny bit more rich or exotic. The mussels were fantastic. Very spicy, especially if you dipped the meat into the broth, with a sweet aioli sauce draped beautifully over the shells. I find that mussels are a great date food. They provide a little humor since nobody can ever seem to eat them without flinging something across the table but they aren't too messy or tough to talk between bites. Anyways, they are a nice choice.

For the entrees Mr. Date choose the Pork Loin. This isn't my favorite meal ... even more so because he ordered it medium (big mistake... order it medium rare or rare! Medium was way too chewy). The pineapple slaw that accompanied the meat was incredibly interesting. Almost like a palette cleansing sorbet but not desert.

I choose the Yellow Fin Tuna and am still ecstatic about my choice. The tuna was seared and sliced to about a half inch thickness and presented on top of a roasted corn and avocado salad. I hated finishing this dish and made the runner come back two times before I would relinquish my plate. I would suggest this to anyone who enjoys seared tuna and/or light summer corn salads. Together they are paradise and a wonderful beginning to a great date. If food can be likened to sex, this dish was incredible foreplay.