Ask Tom
Tom Talks Shop

Tom Sietsema
Washington Post Food Critic
Wednesday, May 28, 2008 11:00 AM

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, First Bite and the 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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Revelation: Tom - I think I've been overeating for a good portion of my life. I'm not heavy, and have always been "skinny" or height-weight proportional, but have recently begun to eat less because it's pretty clear that I (like many of us) can afford to forgo about 25-40% of the calories I might regularly ingest. I love food, still make myself ridiculously rich things to eat and enjoy food every bit as much as I used to, but I find myself eating half the sandwich more often, ordering more reasonable things at lunch, and avoiding unsatisfying, high fat and calorie foods like crappy french fries. While I may be eating "less," I feel like the mileage is better, and I feel much better. Surely you must face a need to economize given all of the eating involved in your job?

Tom Sietsema: Good for you! Restaurants portions tend to be outsized, and you're wise to consume only half of what you're offered.

I'm feeling kind of fat these days, in part because I'm starting to do research for the fall dining guide. My not-so-secret trick is to eat only two bites of something that's just OK, but to allow myself the occasional luxury of eating an entire slice/wedge/piece of something that's truly delicious when I encounter it. And drink lots of water!

Happy Wednesday, everyone. How was your holiday?

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Washington, D.C.: Glad to see you weren't among the newsroom buyout-takers! But let's say you did take a buyout and decided to move your critiquing gig to a new city. Where would you want to go?

Tom Sietsema: It's sad to see so much talent leaving the building, but I'm very excited about the future. The Post, and those employees who remain, have big challenges ahead of them, but the institution is up to the task.

There's truly no other American city I'd rather be working in right now, but San Francisco's food scene continues to excite me. And I sure wouldn't turn down a (temporary) stint writing about restaurants in Barcelona, which is one of the world's most fascinating food cities.

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Washington, D.C.: Hi Tom! Here's a question I haven't seen you answer in this forum -- what are some good "dive" places to go for lunch in D.C.?

Tom Sietsema: All the good dives seem to be disappearing, as downtown rents make it impossible for such joints to survive. An exception to that reality is Casa Blanco at 1014 Vermont Ave. NW, which serves a pretty good ceviche and papa rellana for not much money. The Peruvian-Mexican-Salvadoran storefront also has a few outdoor tables to recommend it.

Anyone else care to chime in with a favorite dive?

washingtonpost.com: The Weekly Dish: Casa Blanca

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Northern Virginia: Tom, with gas, grocery, etc. expenses increasing, and some recent emergency medical and home repairs, my husband and I find that eating out is the first things to stop. Last year we ate out at least twice a week. Now it's down to 2-3 times per month, probably less in the next few months.

As you are out and about town, can you tell a difference? Do restauranteurs tell you they have fewer customers or they are purchasing wine by the glass rather than a bottle or more? Curious what you are seeing/hearing from your perspective.

Tom Sietsema: The neighborhood spots seem to be busy. But some of the pricier restaurants appear to be struggling. Last night, at the stylish new (guess the restaurant's name), I was surrounded by a sea of empty tables. It was a sad sight.

What have *you* seen?

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Saying thank you too much: On the rare occasions when I eat out, I tend to thank the wait staff for everything they do for me. If they refill my water glass, replace the bread, give me and take my menu, check back with me, remove my plate, etc. I hope I do not sound condescending since my table mates do not typically say thank you each and every time. It is such a rare treat to be waited on that I am truly happy and thankful that I don't have to buy the food, cook the food set the table, serve, clean up, etc. I do leave a nice tip.

So to all the wait staff....THANK YOU!!!!

Tom Sietsema: Trust me, I'm sure the servers who wait on you appreciate your kind words (emphasized by your "nice" tip).

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NWDC: Hi Tom

The weather is getting nicer and we just got a new dog. At the risk of inducing an incendiary chat, what restaurants have outdoor space where we can have lunch or dinner and bring our well-behaved, non-barking dog?

Tom Sietsema: Can we hear from some dog lovers? Off the top of my head, I'm thinking the patios at 701, Johnny's Half Shell, Blue Duck Tavern, Hudson, Jaleo, Neyla and Palena might be able to come to your rescue.

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Arlington, Va.: Tom, my wife likes to ask the servers their names before the meal starts and continues to refer to them by their names throughout the meal. I find the practice intrusive. What are your thoughts?

Tom Sietsema: I'm in your camp, but I know some people enjoy bonding with their waiters.

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Dives: The Saloon on U Street has an excellent beer selection and decent food. Next door is Ben's Chili Bowl, classic dive-ish place right? I'm partial to Quarry House Tavern myself, though I know it's not in the city proper.

Tom Sietsema: I've never eaten at the Saloon. Ben's, for me, has always been more interesting from an historical point than a gastronic one. And those burgers at QHT are pretty good, albeit served in Silver Spring.

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NW D.C.: I was out with my wife at a well-known, hard-to-get-into place, this past weekend and overheard a conversation at another table. The diner was complaining at their table and the service and indicated that "He is a senior member of a well-known area food blog, at that the lack of service will be noted." Well, the waiter calmed him down and comped the person a full bottle of wine. I checked the blog (will not mention) and sure enough there was a entry, and there was a mention of the lack of service, but no mention of the comped wine. Do the boards hold that much sway over restaurants that they fearful of bad posts?

Tom Sietsema: It's a big, bad -- but never boring! -- world out there in the blogosphere. I think restaurants DO care what is posted about them online. And I think some online scribes are taking advantage of the fact.

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Washington, D.C.: Tom, did you see Christopher Hitchens' piece on pouring wine in restaurants in yesterday's Slate? What's your take -- do you like it when the waiter pours your wine without asking, or would you rather keep control of it yourself?

Tom Sietsema: I like it when the restaurant "reads" my table, to see how fast my guests and I are drinking our wine. I really resent it when servers fill the glasses too full in order to sell another bottle of wine. Not long ago, I watch, in frustration, as my waiter emptied a bottle of white wine into a mere four glasses. A GOOD server would have left a full glass or more in the bottle, and returned it to the table.

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Dogs: Helix has a dog happy hour every now and then. Not sure if it's once a month or every week. Bring your pup, sit outside and enjoy one of there yummy hamburgers.

Tom Sietsema: I wrote about that promotion a few years back. Nice to hear it's ongoing.

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Silver Spring, Md.: Do your disguises ever make it difficult for you to enjoy your time dining? Have there been times when you just wanted to get home, even from a wonderful meal, because of the disguise de jour? It goes without saying that I don't want to see you depart your job any time soon, but I have to say I -cannot wait- to hear some of the stories that you have mentioned in chat that you will one day write in a memoir!

Tom Sietsema: Let's see. I have a couple suits at home that I'd never wear in real life, they're so ugly or ill-fitting. But I'm comfortable enough in them that I can get through a meal wearing them. And I think I've mentioned here before the dinner where part of my disguise fell off my face and into a bowl of steaming soup?

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Washington, DC.:. So what do you do when you go to a restaurant specifically for their signature dish and they are out. I went to Boston and visited Neptune Oyster and of course they were out of the lobster roll at 8 o'clock. We ventured on and then the waiter once he brought our meals said he forgot to put in our fries and boom they were then out. I thought the oysters and so forth were good, but I just thought why did I even come to this place if the two reasons I came they were out of. I left 18 percent tip because the other waitress did such a good job, but overall I was severely disappointed.

Tom Sietsema: Look at the upside, though: There's the possibility of trying something new and different. In the case of Neptune in Boston, there would be many dishes I'd be happy to eat if the lobster roll and fries were unavailable.

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Dupont Circle: What is your favorite Turkish restaurant? Preferably in the city or in the close-in burbs.

Tom Sietsema: Divan, in Georgetown, was pretty good when I last reviewed the place. Has anyone been there recently? It's across from the Social Safeway on Wisconsin Ave.

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Re: dogs: The dog lover can come sit by me and our well-behaved dog. Places we've found accommodating have been Carlyle and Bistro Bistro and Cap City in Shirlington, Whitlows and Boulevard Woodgrill in Clarendon, Le Gaulois, Pat Troy's, Faccia Luna, Soutshide 815 and Evening Star in Alexandria. Some of these places ask that you tether the dog outside the patio, but that's never been a burden.

Tom Sietsema: A wealth of choices there. Fido, thanks you.

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Re bad blogger: Restaurants, like so many other places, rely on reputation. This chat has demonstrated that a bad reputation can devastate a restaurant. For a blogger to take advantage of that is despicable. The blogger in question should be outed. I for one would like to know who is blackmailing restaurants and I'm sure the restaurants would like to know who should no longer be considered a decent blogger.

Tom Sietsema: Ah, that's a sticky, sticky path! I think it's up to the monitors of the boards to police their chats and/or discussions. Here at the Post, for instance, reporters have editors -- a safety net for which I'm very grateful. I don't think the same can be said for many amateur food sites.

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Waiters' Names: Why do you feel that's intrusive? Isn't it better to call them by their names instead of "waiter" or "hey you"? Also if they do a great job or horrible job you can let their manager know how "Bob" was.

Tom Sietsema: Fair point. However, I'd probably settle for asking the waiter's name at meal's end in the event I wanted to pass along praise or a rant.

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D.C.: Social Safeway?

Tom Sietsema: Yep. Lots of socialites, boldface names and politicos happen to shop there (or did, over the years).

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10th and Penn, NW: Re: How restaurants are doing?

A couple of weeks ago, my spouse and I walked into the Prime Rib at 1 p.m., without a reservation, and were surprised that it was about 1/2 empty. We speculated that the lobbying business could be suffering. We had a fabulous lunch, though.

Tom Sietsema: Interesting. But restaurants can be empty for many reasons, depending on the weather (was it a nice day?), the day of the week and what kind of food is served (not everyone wants a slab of beef in the middle of the day).

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Upper Georgetown: Re: Turkish

Cafe Divan is still great.

Tom Sietsema: Good to know.

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D.C. Dive for lunch: The Market Inn, on C Street, Southwest. And they have free parking. Sit in the bar area and you can look at ancient pin-up photos, including the Marilyn Monroe calendar picture.

Tom Sietsema: Whoo-hoo! Thanks for the tip.

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Aspen Hill, Md.: Hi Tom -- Long-time lurker, first time chatter. Wanted to get your opinion on what a restaurant owner should do when they open for service with insufficient staff. A few weekends ago we were meeting out of town relatives for brunch in Alexandria and made a 11 a.m. reservation at 100 King. The owner greeted us and did mention that he was supposed to be off but had to come in and manage the brunch service unexpectedly. What he didn't tell us was that there was no chef, and evidently there were other staffing problems as well. To make a long, painful story short, we waited an hour before we even got bread, when our orders did come 5 out of 9 plates were wrong (missing omelet ingredients, dishes not as described on menu, wrong sides). When we brought this to the owner's attention, he told us about the chef getting there late, and that they recently changed menus, and a lot of other excuses, and then disappeared without doing anything to address any of the issues. We were so hungry that we ate our food, paid and left. My question is, should he have told us before seating us that there were multiple issues that would delay us and inevitably cause problems. Or is there a-show-must-go-on mentality. He did get paid, but no one in our party will ever go back.

Thanks for listening!

Tom Sietsema: My gut feeling is, the restaurant should not have opened without a chef and wait staff in place. It's just not worth the bad publicity (i.e. this online post) and the lost future business (you say you'll never return).

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Alexandria, Va.: And of course there is the original Old Town Doggie Happy Hour at the Hotel Monaco (same place, new name) every Tuesday and Thursday.

washingtonpost.com: Happy Hours, Happy Dogs

Tom Sietsema: WPNI to the rescue!

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Puzzled about the tip comment: Why did the person who was disappointed that the lobster roll was out (Boston) mention that she still left a good tip because of the good service? Why would one EVER punish the server for the kitchen being out of a particular dish?

Tom Sietsema: I should have caught that. You're right: the server can't be blamed for the kitchen running out of food.

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Isn't it better to call them by their names instead of "waiter" or "hey you"?: It implies a false intimacy or even superior/subordinate relationship. It's cheesy too. If you need your waiter, You say "excuse me," or ask the head waiter if he can call your waiter. You don't need to know his name becasue waiters are assigned by table, they know who your waiter was.

When the waiter tells me his name, he's intruding into my private dinner with my friends and currying for a bigger tip. I don't like it.

Tom Sietsema: Me either, although, to be fair, some waiters are encouraged by their bosses to introduce themselves.

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Glover Park: In the '70s, Social Safeway was referred to as "Single Safeway." All the good-looking co-eds and Georgetown types that were single and ready to mingle: pick up a gallon of milk... and a date!

Tom Sietsema: Ha!

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Washington, D.C.: I went to the Market Inn with my family (my mom is a huge Food Network fanatic and saw it featured on some travel special), and was sorely disappointed. This isn't a charming dive, but a seedy, past its prime, "I'm afraid how old the condiments are" dive. The crab cakes were tasteless, the service was terrible, and we were the only people in the restaurant, with good reason. Skip this place.

Tom Sietsema: One vote for, one against, the Market Inn.

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Washington, D.C.: The Social Safeway: For those who have not been in D.C. long, there was a time when the Safeway on Wisconsin, just above R Street, was the only supermarket in the area. You had to go all the way up to the tiny, cramped Giant on Macomb Street north of the Cathedral to find another. So unless you wanted to pay real "carriage trade" prices and have your food delivered by Neam's Market, the Safeway was your only choice. The place did so much business that they kept the old store open while building the current one in front of it, then tore the old one down overnight!

Tom Sietsema: Thanks for providing some context, Washington.

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Formal Wear: Hi Tom- where are a few places where formal wear would not be out of place? I'm talking tuxedo and long black dress type of fancy. Type of cuisine isn't so important. I just want my wife not to feel completely self-aware. Thanks for the assist.

Tom Sietsema: Well, both 1789 and the Prime Rib are among a handful of Washington restaurants that still require proper dress for gentlemen: suits and ties, at a minimum.

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Washington, D.C.: Tom -

For a special dinner, Restaurant Eve or Minibar? And more importantly, why?

Thanks.

Tom Sietsema: It depends on what your goal is: getting a magic show with your meal (Minibar) or remembering, and savoring, every bite of every course of one of the best American tasting menus around (Restaurant Eve).

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Washington, D.C.: What is the etiquette for dealing with a situation when a server has offered to comp a drink as acknowledgement for bad service but then it shows up on the bill? It feels wrong to say, "Hey, where's my free gift?". I wound up tipping closer to 10% because the service was really bad. (If she wasn't actually drunk, she had the misfortune of being the clumsiest, flightiest bartender in the world.) I might have tipped closer to standard if the drink hadn't been on the bill because at least the comp would have been an effort to provide good service. (And I didn't say anything to the manager about her behavior because I saw the two of them talking closely several times; if she had been drunk he would have known.)

Tom Sietsema: There's absolutely nothing wrong with being straightforward about the situation. A simple "I thought this cocktail was gratis?" would have sufficed.

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Alexandria, VA: Morning Tom-

Alexandria is quite dog-friendly. We've gone to Vaso's, Taqueria Poblano, Los Tios, Buzz and many places over in Shirlington including Carlysle and Guapos.

Buzz is particularly friendly to pooches, providing water and offers dog cookies for a minimal cost. My dog loves them.

Tom Sietsema: The list is growing . . . .

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Saying Thank You: What a sweet post -- THANK YOU for your thougtfulness!

As a server in D.C. I can say your obvious appreciation is a rare treat. Still, don't feel obligated to thank us for everything as we DO want you to relax into the "experience". On that note, please don't take offense if I don't say "you're welcome" each time because I worry about interupting the flow of the table. You can bet I'm over your shoulder smiling in response though!

Tom Sietsema: There you go, Mr. Manners. You've made a server's day.

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Social Safeway: I thought it was called the social Safeway because it was a huge pick-up spot!

Tom Sietsema: Hey, this is a G-rated chat!

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Re: 86 lobster roll and fries: Tom, regarding the tip question: It wasn't the server's fault that the lobster roll was out, but the server DID fail to put in the fries order before they were out. So the server was partly to blame and the tip should reflect that.

Tom Sietsema: Right-o. I read the post too quickly.

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Boulder, Colo.: I don't mind if a member of the waitstaff tells me their name, but I cringe when it's followed by, "and I'll be taking care of you tonight."

Tom Sietsema: As in, tucking me into bed and reading me a story, too?

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For the formal wear diner: I would think of Cafe Milano in Georgetown.

Tom Sietsema: I've seen people in everything - and also nothing! -- in that restaurant.

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Just a comment: I think everyone should be required to wait tables at least once in their life.

Tom Sietsema: Me too! (I did.)

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Washington, D.C.: I know you didn't write the pizza column today in the Food Section but I have to comment that I am so tired of the tunnel vision when it comes to pizza in this town! There is more than just Two Amys. And I have also never heard anyone rave about Comet Ping Pong's overpriced pies. Pete's Apizza in Columbia Heights at the metro is awesome and its about time food in Columbia Heights got its due. I also love Vace's!!

Tom Sietsema: Yes, there IS more than Two Amys to praise, and my Food section colleagues demonstrated just that, by highlighting the pies at Mia's in Bethesda, Moroni & Brothers on Georgia Ave., Pasta Plus in Laurel and more.

washingtonpost.com: First Bite: Pete's New Haven Style Apizza

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Request: Finally I get to ask Tom Sietsema for a restaurant recommendation. Saturday, late afternoon in the vicinity of the National Cathedral. Thanks!

Tom Sietsema: Dare I say ... Two Amys?

We're out of time, folks. Thanks for an entertaining 60 minutes. See you again next Wednesday.

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