The Monocle, with its dependably good American cooking, remains the most popular stop for those who want to catch a glance of Washington's political celebrities. Enzo Fargione has brought a new standard of Italian cooking to the Hill with Barolo. There also is an increasing number of fine, inexpensive ethnic restaurants, including the Turkish Anatolia at 633 Pennsylvania Avenue, Southeast, and in the same block, Aatish, a Pakistani restaurant that holds its own with the area's best. Even though Aatish calls itself Pakistani, there's not much on the menu to distinguish it from other restaurants that call themselves Indian. Even though tandoori cooking has its origin in the northwest part of the subcontinent, it is now almost universal in Indian and Pakistani restaurants.
Indian restaurants are more alike than they are different.
What distinguishes Aatish from the competition is not that its food is distinctive but that it is cooked very well. Don't order the chicken tikka or the chicken kebab. While they might save you the trouble of cutting the chicken off the bone, they cannot compare in flavor to the bone-in bird. Lamb is also beautifully cooked in the tandoor. The basket of assorted breads will probably be too much for two people, but three can finish it off handily.