If at First You Don't Succeed . . .

Tom takes your questions, suggestions and gripes

A periodic peek at the Post food critic's e-mail, inbox, voice mail and other communications.

Daniel Running has a theory about my reviews: "The best dish to order at a place after you've reviewed it is probably the one you slammed the hardest," suggests the Brookland reader via e-mail. "I say this because it's the dish that the cook would rework and make better, addressing each of your complaints." Running wants to know if there's "any merit to the theory, or do cooks stick to their culinary guns?"

To answer his question, I went straight to some of the chefs whose food I've criticized (I did so a bit uncomfortably, I'll admit, given the self-serving possibilities). One of the subjects, Rusty Holman of the new Eatonville, said he changed the type of potato and shortened the blanching time for his french fries, which are made there but had reminded me of the commercial variety. As for the chef's shrimp etouffee, which I likened to a swamp, Holman tells me he has "spiced it up a bit," added more rice and seafood, and changed the amount of broth he was using.

Westend Bistro by Eric Ripert continues to serve, as it always has, the skate with brown butter and caramelized endive that I had found tasted fine but looked unappealingly beige. Chef Joe Palma says it's a classic dish and a strong seller. But after I was critical of salt in a panini, he made a mental note to watch the amount of salt his kitchen is using in other dishes. "Chefs build up a tolerance" for the seasoning, he says.

One of the highlights of a meal at Cava in Rockville is the chance someone might order saganaki, the breaded, brandy-splashed cheese that is ignited in the dining room and produces a fireball worthy of an action-adventure film. When the owners opened a second Greek restaurant on Capitol Hill, the cheese dish was served without the special effect; they were concerned that the leather ceiling might catch fire, a detail I pointed out in a Food section preview. In this case, consumer knowledge was power: Even diners who had never been to the original Cava wanted to catch the fireworks show, having heard about it. So owner Dimitri Moshovitis found a less-explosive brandy for his saganaki and began serving it, with smaller flames, last month in Washington. "It adds a little something to the dining room," Moshovitis reports. "The fun is back."

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Nancy Moses said in an e-mail that she loved almost everything about a recent Saturday dinner at Et Voila! in Washington except for the speed with which it took place and the way she, her husband and a friend were sent into the night after paying the bill. Eighty minutes after they were seated, when the meal was over and paid for, the maitre d' asked the group, "Could you leave the table, as we have a long wait [for seats]?" The Potomac reader says she and her tablemates were "shocked" by the abrupt farewell.

When I ran the incident by the restaurant's maitre d' and general manager, Gael Sandoz, he told me he didn't recall being rude. But with just 52 seats in the dining room and a crowded foyer (it was also raining on the night in question), Sandoz says he had little choice but to ask Moses and company to free up their table. Inviting the trio to a drink in the bar -- one way restaurateurs sometimes make room for waiting diners -- wasn't an option, since the counter at Et Voila! has a mere four seats. "I was trying to do my best," the maitre d' says.

I called Moses and asked if Sandoz had actually been disrespectful. "The idea was rude," she said. "I would have worded it differently."

Although I wasn't there to witness the scene, having interviewed both sides, I was left with the impression that a little honey from Sandoz ("I'm so sorry to ask you this, and I do look forward to seeing you again, but ...") would have sweetened the ending for Moses and her companions. "I'm in sales," she said with a laugh. "Just [charm] me a little."

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Responding to a recent column about taking leftovers home from restaurants, Roz Seidenstein wanted me to share her plea with businesses: "Ask them to switch to eco-friendly containers!" Red Dog Cafe in Silver Spring, the reader suggests, is a good example. (The restaurant uses containers made from corn and sugar cane.)