Ask Tom

In a city loaded with diverse restaurants, from New American chic and upscale Italian to sandwich shops and burritos on the run, finding the best places to eat can be a real puzzle. Where's the best restaurant for a first date or an anniversary? Father's Day? What's the best burger joint? Who has the best service?

Ask Tom. Tom Sietsema, The Washington Post's food critic, is on hand Wednesdays at 11 a.m. ET to answer your questions, listen to your suggestions and even entertain your complaints about Washington dining. Sietsema, a veteran food writer, has sampled the wares and worked as a critic in Washington, Seattle, San Francisco and Milwaukee, and can talk restaurants with the best of 'em. You can access his Postcards from Tom to read his recommendations for other cities, read his dining column and the Weekly Dish or read transcripts of previous "Ask Tom" chats. Tom's Sunday magazine reviews, as well as his "Ask Tom" column, are available early on the Web.

The transcript follows.

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Venus: Hi Tom. A plea: no Valentine's Day questions on today's chat. I hate Valentine's Day, and would rather eat my own foot than dine out on this day. Surrounded by amateurs making forced googoo eyes at each other, overcrowded restaurants, ugh who needs it.

Venus

Tom Sietsema: I'm not a big fan of the holiday myself, but I don't think that's enough of a reason to ban ALL Valentine's Day questions here this morning.

Happy, happy news: The Majestic Cafe is not dead after all! For details, you'll have to read my Weekly Dish column in today's Food section.

Is the woman who complained about her server at Rasika (see last week's chat) around today? The restaurant manager has been trying, unsuccessfully, to contact you. Announce yourself (to me, via email) and I'll put you in touch with him so he can right the wrong.

I'm fortified this morning with four shots of espresso in my latte. Let's roll!

washingtonpost.com: The Weekly Dish on the Majestic Cafe.

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Mt Pleasant, Washington, D.C.: Morning Tom!

I have been checking out your postcards in anticipation of a trip to Portugal and didn't come across anything.

Do you have any suggestions? Other than don't expect to eat many vegetables?

Tom Sietsema: I've never been to Portugal. Maybe a chatter can help you out ...

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Washington, D.C.: Hi Tom,

Happy Valentine's Day! Georgetown U is closed, but I'm 'essential personnel' and at work dreaming of good food.

Asking your opinion, please of Mon Ami Gabi, in Bethesda? Good, okay, mediocre?

Thank you!

Tom Sietsema: Lucky you, being "essential." I haven't been back to the French restaurant since I reviewed the place. Can anyone with more recent experience chime in?

washingtonpost.com: Review of Mon Ami Gabi.

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McLean, Va.: Hi Tom...Hope you can help. A good friend of mine is a very accomplished amateur cook. he finds himself in the position of entertaining 2 of the top food writers in the US at a dinner party at his home and is a nervous wreck. Any advise for him? Have you ever had any real horror stories of eating at someone's private home??

Tom Sietsema: I bet those "top food writers" are simply happy to have been invited to someone's house for a home-cooked meal! I say, relax, do what you do best -- and have a glass of wine while your prepare dinner. No one expects -- or wants -- a restaurant experience in someone's home. Especially not someone who eats practically every meal away from home! Trust me on this.

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Burtonsville, Md.: Hi Tom: This from your response to a post in the January 31 chat: " I once had a well-known maitre d' tell me he put the best-looking diners at the best tables, and the window seat of a restaurant certainly qualifies as prime real estate, right?" I was just catching up on back posts, so I am just now freshly appalled at this admission. As a less-than-best-looking diner, I'm the one who never gets the "prime real estate" seating. Instead, I get the first seat that no one else will accept: the seat near the kitchen. The seat near the service stand. The seat all the way in back with the families with babies, with the 'minorities.. It has never failed; not once. I'm not an ogress--would gladly send a picture to demonstrate that while I am attractive, I am not usually dressed to the nines, and I am overweight. I also make $90,000/year, have an Ivy League education, and masters degree, excellent table manners, enjoy quiet conversation, and never tip less than 20%. I'm so tired of this seating discrimination I could scream. How I typically resolve it: I tell the maitre d' as we pass by other 'open' seating--"Would it be a problem if I sat here instead?"; or I tell them up front I don't want to be seated next to the kitchen, or if, once I'm seated, and a nicer table is open, my companion(s) and I just pick up our menus and move. This probably causes a great deal of consternation in the hosting staff, but believe me, my consternation is just as real. Please post this, and I dare, just dare any hosts, hostesses, and maitre d's out there to admit, once and for all, to this prejudice in seating policies. (Complaint letters to the restaurants get a response too, with the funny aside that I once went back to the Cheesecake factory with a $50 apology certificate for very shabby treatment--more than just seating-- and they immediately tried to seat my friend and me in the very back, same seat next to the kitchen--walking past several open tables along the way. I pointed out that they gave me $50 from the last time they did this, and if they didn't mind, I'd like to sit up front, PLEASE, like a real person. I got a seat with the 'good looking people' without another word.)

Tom Sietsema: Trust me, I was surprised by the manager's candor, too! Discrimination in any form is bad, and you are smart to request a table that is more to your liking (but, please, for the sake of everyone, don't just reseat yourself if you see a table that you like "open up." It can throw off a host's master seating chart.)

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Washington, D.C.: Wabeck and Slipp opening up shop together -- that place will be beyond impossible to get into for the first couple of months. Impossible!

Tom Sietsema: The poster is referring to John Wabeck, who is leaving Firefly, and Jarad Slipp - the host with da most at the great, late Nectar - who have long talked about doing a project together and now have the opportunity to do so. Only this time, Wabeck won't be the man manning the stove.

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Washington, D.C.: Looking for a fun place for brunch. Love Tabard Inn but would like something different.

Tom Sietsema: Colorado Kitchen is fun for brunch. As is Cashion's Eat Place.

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Worth repeating...: This is from "Ask Amy". I thought your readership might appreciate it (and/or be more particularly suited to see it)...

"Dear Amy:

This is in response to your reader who was annoyed by waiters asking if he or she needs change.

I'm a waiter, and I decided long ago that "Do you need change?" is kind of a lame question to ask a customer because (a) they could be paying with a credit card, or (b) the answer may be, "Yes, I would like some change for this $100 bill on a $14 check."

Indeed, when I go out, I find myself annoyed by this.

So a long time ago I came up with a line that works in every situation: "I'll be right back!"

If they don't need change, they say, "Keep it!"

Works like a charm."

Nice! I hope this catches on!

Tom Sietsema: What a smart and simple solution.

"Do you need change?" is one of those phrases -- right up there with "Hi, guys!" (when women are present), "No problem" (after a diner requests something) and "You still workin' on that food?" -- that seem to irk a lot of diners.

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Working From Home - Alexandria, Va.: Happy Valentines Day!

Tom Sietsema: Back at you! (Thanks.)

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K Street, Washington, D.C.: BLT Steak and other carnivorous restaurants - Tom please help me with a constant dilemma. I'm a vegetarian who works in an industry where networking meals are a constant. At one recent meal at BLT Steak (obviously not my choice) I was again disappointed to find one vegetarian option on the menu. I consistently find it offensive that restaurants feel it sufficient to offer its non-meat eating diners one, typically lousy, entree. I like my job and don't intend to change careers any time soon but in light of my eating-networking dilemma, what choices do I have? What would you do in my situation? Sincerely, Tired of Mushroom Risotto and Soggy Pasta Primavera

Tom Sietsema: Let's hope BLT Steak -- and every other restaurant that offers a lone meatless entree -- sees and acts on your complaint (which is a common gripe, I should add).

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Herndon, Va.: OK Tom, the flowers I ordered for my wife didn't arrive yesterday and surely won't today, she didn't like my card (I thought one with Clark Gable and Vivian Leigh on the cover that plays "Tara's Theme" when you open it was a great idea!), so . . . where do I take her for dinner TOMORROW night to make up for my failures?

Tom Sietsema: Want to look like a champ? The hottest ticket in town right now is a seat at Michel Richard Central on Pennsylvania Ave., but you better get on the phone, pronto, to see if there's an available table.

washingtonpost.com: The Weekly Dish on Central Michel Richard.

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Washington, D.C.: Tom,

Do you have a favorite cook book? Can you recommend a good book for a beginner?

Thanks!

Tom Sietsema: For a beginner interested in American cooking? You can't go wrong with "The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook" for solid information on techniques and recipes that always work.

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Washington, D.C.: Hi Tom, really craving good fried chicken on this wintry day, any suggestions? Thanks.

Tom Sietsema: Budget: Popeye's! But you knew I'd say that.

More glam: The bird at the aforementioned Central.

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Silver Spring, Md.: Tom: Where are you, and what are you having for lunch to keep warm?

Tom Sietsema: I'm in my office at the Post, eating an apple between posts.

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Laurel, Md.: Hi Tom--just wondering if you had tried out the new Red Sky Fish and Steakhouse in Laurel and how you think it stacks up compared to other decent PG County fare. We're pretty happy to finally have a "good" restaurant out here that isn't a chain.

Tom Sietsema: Details, give us details!

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Animal lover: What exactly is so unsanitary about pets in restaurants? You see them all the time in Europe (a lot of places have a "house cat" to take care of "little problems" if you know what I mean) - there can't be that many more people with allergies here than there. I just think it would be nice to have more places that allowed (quiet and well-trained) animals to sit with their people while they ate without having to be left outside.

Tom Sietsema: You know what? Animals don't bother me. People - people yakking on cell phones, people berating waiters, people getting sloppy drunk -- are a much more serious "problem" in my mind.

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Washington, D.C.: re: Vegetarian complaint

Really? You're complaining about a steak house having only one vegetarian option? Come now. I understand if it's a new American restaurant but you went to a place that has the word "steak" in the title.

Tom Sietsema: Right. But I don't think BLT was the poster's choice.

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Monrovia, Md.: Regarding "Need change" - I was a bartender/server 30 years ago in Ocean City, and we always said, "I will be right back." Now when a server says "Need change?" I immediately explain how annoying that is & suggest the other method. Trying to change the world, one server at a time......

Tom Sietsema: Good for you!

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Burtonsville, Md.: I don't know if I should be more offended that the above poster doesn't like being seated near families with babies or near minorities. Sorry, not a food question, but really. Maybe she should just stay home with her Ivy League education for company.

Tom Sietsema: By "minorities," I think she meant to include all of us who are less than ravishing. Or maybe I'm just being the optimist today.

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BLT for vegetarians: BLT has over 20 sides on their menu, vegetables, potatoes and mushrooms. there is plenty of choices for a vegetarian to choose from. What was the above poster looking at or thinking?

Tom Sietsema: Yes, but vegetarians don't particularly like having to assemble a meal from among side dishes.

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McLean Dinner Nerves: After college I had a couple friends who went to cooking school. They came over to my parents house for dinner one Sunday and my mother finally admitted mid-way through dinner how self-conscious she was to be cooking for cooking students. They assured her with a high degree of certainty that nothing beats a home-cooked meal.

Tom Sietsema: Right they are!

I'd suggest a Gewurtz with the Jell-O course and a syrah with the Spam meatloaf and ... JUST KIDDING!

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Washington, D.C.: Tom;

I wish I could say otherwise, but nothing is happening with the Slipp/Wabeck project as of right now.

Thanks for the support over the years,

John Wabeck

Tom Sietsema: I KNEW I should have reported that one out myself!

Thanks, John. Obviously you and Mr. Slipp have some hopeful fans out there.

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Alexandria, Va.: Any thoughts on Ricchi Restaurant near Dupont? Thanks.

Tom Sietsema: Over-priced.

Past its prime.

That enough?

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re: "Hi Guys!": This one doesn't bother me--"guys" is a perfectly acceptable

nongender plural noun. Merriam Webster's defines it as

"PERSON -- used in plural to refer to the members of a

group regardless of sex "

What really gets my goat? Delish. Are people really too busy

to omit the last syllable?

Tom Sietsema: I have a friend who uses delish (Hi, Dave!) and I cringe whenever I hear or see him use it. And I've banned "foodie" and "vino" from my columns, for those who might care.

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Footwear Etiquette: Hi Tom! Despite the scrooges out there, I wanted to wish you a happy Valentine's day. My boyfriend and I are going to Marcel's tonight and I've got an outfit all picked out but I'm hesitant to wear my fancy shoes in the snow. Unfortunately, the restaurant is a mere three blocks from his apartment so it's foolish to hail a cab. Would I be ridiculed for wearing more weather-resistant shoes to the restaurant and changing when I get there??

Tom Sietsema: A woman after my own heart! I do the same thing: cowboy boots to work and dress shoes once I slip into the office.

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Majestic question: Hi Tom -- Do you think Majestic will still honor gift certificates for Majestic Cafe when it reopens? We had a brunch gift cert we were planning to use the weekend after I saw your chat about Majestic closing a couple of weeks ago....think we have a shot at going still? Thanks

Tom Sietsema: Welllllllllllll, you have to ask the Armstrongs about that.

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Re: the vegetarian at a steakhouse: Without turning this into a referendum on vegetarianism, as a fellow vegetarian I would like to also plead with restaurants to offer at least 2 good vegetarian items (or even 1 fabulous dish), even if the restaurant is as seemingly at odds with vegetarianism as a steakhouse. The reason is, I'll happily accompany my husband or dining partner(s) if there's at least one good dish I can eat, but if there isn't, the restaurant loses two potential diners. As we say in my family, if the vegetarian ain't eating there, ain't nobody eating there. Thanks!

Tom Sietsema: LOL

Let me also add that even dedicated carnivores like a break from meat once in awhile, too.

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Tom & lunch...: Tom!

Where are you going to lunch after this chat?

Tom Sietsema: The National airport! I have a 2:30 flight to Miami, followed by an evening flight to Argentina. Wish me luck!

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RE: Pets: The problems with pets in a restaurant setting is not the animal, per se, but some of the owners. Everyone has different comfort levels when it comes to animals and their cleanliness, obedience, and temperament. I've seen neglected mangy mutts whose owners see no problem with the four-legged, mobile bacteria transport they call Kipper; people injured by dogs who 'wouldn't hurt a fly' and whose owners claim they were 'just playing', etc.

While I love pets, I think letting them join us in a restaurant is a bad idea.

Tom Sietsema: I hear you. Maybe European pets are better behaved than their American counterparts?

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Re: Dinner party nerves: I'm still new to doing dinner parties and have ranged from agonizing over it and killing myself to keep the food easy and home and the wines wonderful. I learned people were equally impressed/grateful and I was much less stressed and much better host.

Tom Sietsema: As long as you have a good guest list; decent (and plentiful!) wine; and at least one dish you've made yourself, there's nothing from stopping everyone from having fun.

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Re: Red Sky: Red Sky is a new place up in Laurel. It has a more casual Lounge area and a more formal dining room. Each space has its own menu. The food is ok but I think the kitchen needs to do a bit more work on uneven presentation. There is a lot of seafood on the menu. The salads are very nice. The crab stuffed flounder had a strange taste to me - could have been too much lemon. The sandwiches in the lounge are nice for a light bite after work. They're off to a good start and I hope they improve with experience.

Tom Sietsema: Ah, thanks for the additional info.

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Reston, Va.: Portugal - for a wonderful meal in a fabulous setting, eat at Queluz Pousada in Lisboa. All the pousadas (castles, mansions and monasteries remodeled into fine hotels) have good dining. In the roadside restaurants we found really good fish choices, also good sausages. Check out www.pousadasportugal.com for more info.

Tom Sietsema: Sounds promising.

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For K Street: I'll disclose right up front that I'm a vegetarian and have been for more than two decades. And I'm sympathetic to the difficulty in finding suitable options at some restaurants. But the situation you describe is not going out for a meal as a social occasion, when it would be perfectly reasonable to want a culinary "experience," but what is essentially a business meeting where food happens to be served. Under those circumstances, and if your clients or colleagues have chosen a restaurant like BLT, I don't think a restaurant that specializes in meals with meat is short-changing you by not having creative options for you. I do think it's good business for restaurants to recognize the growing vegetarian population, but only if it's consistent with their "mission" (for lack of a better word). Believe me, I'd like more options for vegetarians, too, but we really need to pick our battles and taking on a steak place used as a back drop to a business meeting is not a good use of time or effort.

Tom Sietsema: I love reasoned comments. Thank you. And more, more!

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Takoma Park, Md.: Tom, please tell me whether my pet peeve is insane. I'm not a finicky diner, don't care how the waiter addresses me or the exact timing of courses, etc. But it really bugs me to have to keep my fork between courses while the plates get replaced.

It's annoying to have to take my fork off the appetizer plate and put it directly on the table while I wait for the main course to arrive, and what if my app was sweet while the meal is savory, and the residue screws up the first few bites? Even nice-ish restaurants do this, but how hard can it be just to bring out a new fork with each course?

Tom Sietsema: Not that hard.

Your gripe is one shared by a lot of people I've been dining out with lately. Hopefully, offending restaurants will see -- and note -- your post here today.

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Washington, D.C.: We have friends coming to town on Saturday who would like to go to dinner at a place where live music is playing, even if it just a piano player in the background. Any suggestion?

Tom Sietsema: The Prime Rib features a piano and bass player; 701 has a jazz trio; and Bombay Club has someone tickling the ivories. And don't forget the singing waiters at Mimi's, which has changed ownership but retained its musical menu.

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Washington, D.C.: Hi Tom,

Would love to get your advice! I am graduating from Georgetown in May and my family (parents and two younger siblings) are all coming from the West Coast. I am trying to think (way ahead, I know) of a great restaurant to go to the night before my Senior Ball at Union Station. We will all be quite dressed up. No real price limit-- we want a delicious dinner in a comfortable but special atmosphere. Nowhere too out of the way. Any suggestions?? Thanks so much!

Tom Sietsema: You're smart to plan ahead! Your best bets near Union Station are Bistro Bis and Charlie Palmer Steak.

washingtonpost.com: Reviews of Bistro Bis and Charlie Palmer Steak.

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Washington, D.C.: Hi Tom,

Really hoping you can help me with this one. I have two friends visiting from Manhattan this weekend, and they both think NYC is the end all be all of good food, so I want to show them that they are wrong. Problem is, one friend is a vegetarian, and the other eats from only three food groups: meat, starch, and cheese. Any restaurant suggestions?

Thanks!

Tom Sietsema: I know I've mentioned this restaurant almost as much as (dare I say it again?) Zaytinya in Penn Quarter, but for what you're after -- something plant-based, something for the carnivore, all of it interesting -- Rasika is the place to head. And if it helps, I've taken several food friends from New York to this modern Indian restaurant, and they all left raving.

washingtonpost.com: Review of Rasika.

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Fairfax, Va.: My father in law is relentless in his judgment of key lime pies. Whether I make it or buy it, is just isn't very good. He'll be here in a few days and I need to find a kick butt key lime pie. Where can I get one that will finally shut him up!?!?!?

Tom Sietsema: I haven't seen a lot of that dessert lately, but I recall enjoying the versions served to me in recent years at the following restaurants: Ray's the Classics, Cafe 15 (in miniature form), Blacksalt, Urban Barbecue in Rockville, Bonefish Grill in Fairfax and the Prime Rib.

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more nonvegetarians pleading for veggie dishes: I'm not a vegetarian either, but a high proportion of my friends are and I totally agree that restaurants are losing more than just the vegetarian group when they don't offer good non-meat courses. I'm a red-meating eating, lots of wine drinking, rather high-spending restaurant customer....but when I go out with friends, we'll always chose the place that will happily accommodate the entire group. Consequently, I end up going to a lot more Indian restaurants than steakhouses, though I'd personally prefer the latter.

Tom Sietsema: Chefs, are you taking this in?

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Columbia Heights, D.C.: Tom,

Kind of an off the wall question - if you could celebrate a special occasion at any restaurant in the country (outside of DC), where would you go? My wife and I are celebrating a significant milestone this year, and want to mark the occasion with a weekend trip and a great meal. Right now, I'm thinking of the French Laundry, Per Se, Masa, or Alinea - out of those four wonderful meals, where would you go? Or is there some other restaurant I'm not thinking of that would be a great choice?

Tom Sietsema: Actually, on a wintry day like today, yours is a wonderful question. It's fun to daydream about eating a special meal with a special someone somewhere enchanting. All those ideas are good ones, and I'd add to the list Cyrus in Healdsburg, California; Frasca in Boulder, Colo., Vetri in Philadelphia; and L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon in New York. Let us know where you end up!

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Another perspective on pets: Pets leave dander all over and that could easily be a health issue over and beyond being an allergen that affects a significant portion of the population. Also, there are people who don't like pets (or cats, or dogs, or whatever). Is it really worth it to a restaurant owner to risk losing business to have a pet in house? It only takes one customer who doesn't like cats to start talking about having a bad experience at a restaurant (with no mention of said cat) to possibly start turning business around...

Tom Sietsema: Gotcha. Now let's move on to another topic ...

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Chicago, IL: Hello Tom,

What are the best sushi places in the DC area in your opinion? I'd like to try one for my next visit.

Thanks

Tom Sietsema: Makoto, Sushi-Ko and Kaz Sushi Bistro followed by Sushi-Taro. Reviews for all are online, btw.

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Portugal: Go for local specialties, and eat the olives and other nibbles they put out at the start of the meal.

Memorable meals there included anchovies (the big ones, not the teeny ones you see in jars here), garlic/egg soup, and many forms of octopus and squid. Their roasted chicken (frango) can be out of this world.

Lucky you!

Tom Sietsema: I'm getting hungrier by the secundo

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Chicago, IL: I am hungry! But, to the guy with no flowers...I am dining at PS7 tonight luckily due to a cancellation and the hostess who insisted I get on the waitlist "just in case", but before attaining the reservation, she told me that they are offering the vday menu thru the weekend in case I wanted to celebrate on another day. My 2 cents as another option.

Tom Sietsema: Smart restaurant, that PS7!

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Alexandria, Va.: Dear Tom,

I've recently become reacquainted with a longtime friend with whom I plan to marry soon, she loves Italian and I'm addicted to fine dining and the Penn Quarter, any suggestions? Georgetown maybe???

Tom Sietsema: Or maybe something closer to your favorite neighborhood, as in Tosca on F St. NW., where both of you can find something -- besides each other -- to appreciate. (Congrats, by the way.)

washingtonpost.com: Review of Ristorante Tosca.

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J. Paul's?: My big midwestern family is coming to visit in two weeks and I made a reservation for 15 at J.Paul's. Can you think of anywhere else for American food, $10-$20/entree, that can accommodate a crowd in Georgetown? We're planning on sending the guys to the bar at Pizzeria Paradiso while we shop and then all meet up for dinner afterwards.

Tom Sietsema: For your consideration: Old Glory on M St. NW. It's a warm-hearted barbecue joint that dishes up generous portions of decent-but-not-great vittles.

washingtonpost.com: Old Glory BBQ.

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Arlington, Va.: Tom, I just wanted to tell you, and other chatters, what different experiences I've had at Bebo and Central in the past month. Since both are similar trattoria restaurants from big name chefs the difference in service was astonishing. Me and my girlfriend have been to both on busy Saturdays nights about 4-6 weeks after they opened. At Bebo, we waited 45 minutes after our reservations to finally be seated. When we went to order I was told they were out of two different items. Both these items were later served to the table next to me, even though they ordered after my group. In addition, we were lacking silver ware for multiple parts of our meal, and service was slow bringing it after multiple requests. Total time from reservation to check was 3.5 hours, which pretty much killed the rest of the evening. Having been to Galileo before, during RW no less, I was stunned by the service. Central was a hugely different experience. We had valet parked at Central before the game at the Verizon center (6ish) even though our reservation wasn't till 9:45, with the Valet telling us to enjoy the game and make sure not to forget about dinner. After the game, we got there a few minutes before our reservation and were warmly greeted. Even though the place was packed, we were quickly taken to the only open table in the place. one which was right near the kitchen as I had asked for on my opentable reservation. The waiter came over about 2 minutes after our seating and apologized for being so slow to greet us, something neither of us had even thought of. He brought back a glass of wine my gf ordered and gave her what was basically a double pour "for keeping us waiting." We watched the kitchen work throughout the night and nothing out of the ordinary seemed to be happening, but noticing our interest in the kitchen the waiter told us that it was "in chaos" tonight and that they had actually stopped taking people in for the rest of the night. Again, nothing looked out of the ordinary and our food was quickly brought to us, perfectly cooked and all around delicious. Total time on the meal was a very reasonable 1.5 hours with perfect service. I know which of the two I will be returning too, and its not just because of the expertly cooked Fried Chicken, the creamiest polenta in the world, or the delicious Kit Kat dessert.

Tom Sietsema: Sounds as if Bebo should take some charm and etiquette classes from Central, doesn't it?

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Arlington, Va.: Hi Tom,

Thanks for your great columns and discussions! Have you noticed that the table-top pepper shakers in most restaurants produce little or no pepper? I'm guessing the humidity eventually clogs the holes. As a pepper lover, I almost always unscrew the top and liberally pour the pepper since it's usually a bit stale from having been stopped up. Just wondering whether you and the gallery have the same experience...

Tom Sietsema: I haven't noticed. But then, I'm partial to the fresh-cracked variety (and occasionally nod when the ubiquitous grinder is held aloft my plate by a server who inquires "Fresh pepper?")

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Washington, D.C.: Tom:

I got this in too late last week, but wanted to try and get it in this week. My partner and I had a great service experience at Hank's Oyster Bar. My partner ordered what looked on someone's else plate to be terrific, and it smelled great, but when he ordered it (marinated sablefish), he hated it - the texture and flavor were just not to his liking.

The waiter asked if everything was ok, and when my partner said the dish was fine, after some additional prompting from the waiter, admitted that he had ordered wrong; that the problem wasn't the restaurant's. He just didn't like it. The waiter insisted he order something else, which he did. The second entree was much more to his liking.

When the bill came, we weren't charged for the sablefish.

It was very nice and perceptive of the waiter and he tipped him accordingly. We will definitely go back.

Tom Sietsema: I love happy endings.

Here's to Hank's, here's to YOU, here's to seeing everyone back here next Wednesday. Ciao for now.

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