Tapori. 600 H St., NE
Daru is known for its “Indian-ish” approach to food and drink, whether it’s black daal paired with burrata or a turmeric-tinted mezcal cocktail. Owners Suresh Sundas and Dante Datta, both alums of Rasika, are bringing a similar playfulness to Indian street foods at their sequel restaurant, Tapori, opening on H Street Northeast on Friday, March 7.
The menu draws from the southern coast of Kerala to Mumbai to the Himalayan border region and Nepal, chef Sundas’s native country. From the latter, Sundas is preparing bison momo, or dumplings, with chili/garlic oil, as well as other popular Nepalese street foods such as spicy and slightly sweet buffalo chili and keema chow mein with housemade noodles and minced meat.
One Mumbai favorite, vada pav, will be served in an “authentic way,” Sundas says, with spiced potato patties and mint chutney stuffed inside fluffy buns. There’s also a traditional fermented rice/lentil dosa that will be served with a seasonal vegetable stew finished with butter and gunpowder masala, plus coconut and tomato chutneys. Meanwhile, pav bhaji, a mashed vegetable dish with with bread, might incorporate veal brain as a special, when the chef can get it.
The restaurant will dedicate a section of the menu to dishes from the tandoor, including lamb and herb-and-green-chili-marinated mahi-mahi kebabs. A kulcha flatbread will be topped with duck, sour cherry sauce, sweet yogurt, and trout caviar. While most of the menu is in small plate format, Sundas says he’d like to eventually launch a tasting menu as well.
The Indian-inspired cocktail menu has a bit of a tropical vibe. A mai tai variation channels the flavors of an Indian dessert called gajar halwa—a sweet shaved-carrot pudding with nuts and condensed milk—by incorporating spiced carrot juice and a cashew orgeat. A frozen blended tiki drink riffing on a jungle bird uses jackfruit and ginger instead of pineapple. And the restaurant’s namesake Tapori cocktail, a take on a boulevardier, combines a tamarind-infused and spiced Indian single-malt whiskey with sweet vermouth, Campari, and banana liqueur.
The name Tapori means “rowdy” or “vagabond,” but it’s also a subculture in Mumbai. “They’re vey energetic, fun. They’re portrayed in the late ’90s pretty heavily in Bollywood films,” says Datta. “They’re sort of like the anti-hero, but they’re very colorful with their clothing.”
Tapori, the restaurant, aims to capture that colorful vibe in its 80ish-seat dining room, which features a hand-painted mural of Tapori characters from the 1995 film Rangeela. The bar top is covered in colorful patchwork vintage tiles, and retro diner-style booths sit next to a 20-person communal table (they’re back!).
Jessica Sidman covers the people and trends behind D.C.’s food and drink scene. Before joining Washingtonian in July 2016, she was Food Editor and Young & Hungry columnist at Washington City Paper. She is a Colorado native and University of Pennsylvania grad.
