Welcome to Talk to Tom, the dining-advice column that aims to point you toward good meals, steer you from the dross and solve your pressing restaurant queries. Look for a fresh Q&A every Thursday in this space.
Questions and comments can be submitted to TalkToTom@notus.com. Submissions may be edited for length and clarity.
My husband and I are going out to celebrate our 10th anniversary — without our two kids, for the first time in ages. Can you recommend some grown-up restaurants?
High on your list should be empire builder Stephen Starr’s tribute to old-school fine dining, the dashing, multistory Occidental near the White House, where servers in white jackets navigate the dining rooms, ferrying elegant pigs in a blanket, playful crab-stuffed avocado, fine steaks, and such oldies but goodies as ham with pineapple rings and pheasant under glass. Dessert is practically mandatory, especially anything prepared table-side and featuring fire.
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For Italian, look into the bustling L’Ardente, home to such whimsical dishes as the 40-layer lasagna and a menu that hews to owner David Deshaies’ “simple but elegant” mantra; for French, I adore the tiny Lutèce in Georgetown, which uses the old name for Paris and offers some of the most artful cooking this side of The Inn at Little Washington. If you want something that puts you on a trip to Tokyo, Omakase @ Barracks Row seats guests at a long marble counter, behind which the star of the show, chef Ricky Wang, creates wonders from raw fish while a service director narrates the performance.
Last but not least, there’s the intimate, 30-seat cocoon of a dining destination Elyse in Fairfax. There, chef-owner Jonathan Krinn serves a six-course menu that changes with the seasons and takes Krinn’s travels into consideration. I love that his father, Mal, continues to bake bread for him, never mind that dad is 86.
It’s so wonderful to have your insights once again on the D.C. food scene. You’re invaluable to our foodie community! What recommendations do you have for local restaurants that are cooking tasty dishes with invasive species or wonky produce to be better to our environment?
Few restaurants make me feel better about dining there than the plant-based Oyster Oyster in Shaw, whose chef Rob Rubba does everything he can to promote sustainability. Instead of using, say, almonds, which require a lot of water to produce, he relies on peanuts, pecans and black walnuts from around the mid-Atlantic. Where some people see pests, Rubba sees flavor. Among the greens he uses are dandelions, purslane, and cone-shaped pineapple weed, the last of which hints of the tropics on the tongue. Nothing goes to waste in his kitchen. In summer, potato peels are roasted and steeped in tomato water to create a vinaigrette.
Even things you don’t consume show care for the environment. The menu relies on recycled paper and soy ink, and used wine bottles are crushed and reborn as plates.
Elsewhere in town, a number of restaurants are promoting blue catfish. Local, inexpensive, abundant — and invasive in the Chesapeake region — the catch offers pleasantly mild flavor. One of the prized dishes in D.C. is the catfish slider served at The Dabney in Blagden Alley. Other promoters of the fish include Baan Mae in Shaw, Cowbell Seafood & Oyster at Union Market and the youthful Fish Shop, the last of which also serves invasive snakehead on occasion, a bycatch from line fishing. Liv Bell, the executive sous chef at Fish Shop, says the Wharf restaurant also takes from its farm sources unwanted or “damaged” vegetables and fruits, transforming them into sauces, jams and other things that can’t be displayed by themselves but otherwise taste just fine.
Please help me find a Bethesda restaurant close to the Hyatt Regency hotel and the Metro. There will be about 10 of us coming from our high school reunion — including our 98-year-old, ninth-grade teacher. We need someplace quiet and with accessibility for his wheelchair.
Is under two miles away close enough? Because La Ferme in Chevy Chase has the space, including a private room, and the relative peace you’re looking for, plus a Gallic menu with wide appeal. On the menu: trout almondine, loin of lamb with couscous, sweetbreads with caper sauce, and mushroom ravioli set off with fried Brussels sprouts, pecans and goat cheese. When I last took a sound check in the country French, decades-old dining room, it registered 61 decibels, which translates to “easy conversation.” Finally, to the left of the entrance is a ramp for wheelchair users.
I’m looking for a place in the District to explore the world of caviar that won’t break the bank or require too fancy attire.
Keeping in mind that the price of food, especially indulgences, is going up along with the price of everything else, Apéro in Georgetown would be my first pick. I can’t think of another place in town that features a “caviar hour” from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday. The fun starts at $53 for 10 grams of (sustainable) Black River osetra caviar and two flutes of blanc de blancs or brut rose, and climbs along with your budget and appetite. The regular list showcases Siberian sturgeon, kaluga and beluga hybrids and more — for more money. The ultimate splurges on the list are Black River Imperial caviar farmed in Uruguay and Petrossian Acipentris caviar farmed in Madagascar for $285 for 50 grams.
Another option is Le Diplomate on 14th Street Northwest, where $105 buys you 30 grams of bold-and-briny Royal Baika caviar and trimmings. Happy popping.
There’s money laying on your answer to my question: What do you do with your napkin when you leave the table?
It depends on your reason for leaving the table.
If you’re going but plan to return, place your napkin on your chair. Along with pushing your seat in, it’s a signal to the server you’ll be back. If you’re exiting for good, set the napkin to the left of your plate, loosely folded to hide any stains. No need to restore the napkin to its original shape, by the way. Just never place a used napkin on top of your plate.
(Here’s hoping you’re on the winning side of the etiquette dilemma!)
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