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.
As we approach Restaurant Week in D.C., what restaurants (hidden gems or expensive splurges) would you recommend?
The goal of the popular promotion, run by the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington, is to get diners into restaurants at a time when they are traditionally slow, using good value as a carrot. From Aug. 24 through Aug. 30, the 200-plus participants will offer multicourse lunches and brunches between $25 and $35 and dinners in tiers of $40, $55 and $65, depending on the restaurants’ ambitions.
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I advise people to try places they have yet to splurge on, to reserve a table as early as possible, and go earlier in the week — because the choice restaurants book fast for weekends and service tends to be less rushed Sunday through Tuesday.
You’ll want to preview the menus, too. Smart restaurants create three-course lists that feature dishes they tend to regularly serve, not simply less pricey selections. And cool customers will tip like it’s a normal night out (and not ask for modifications).
My top recommendations this season span a world of flavors. For dinners, consider the lively Peruvian draw Amazonia in Blagden Alley ($65); the handsome Bombay Club near the White House ($55); Ceibo, a friendly source of Uruguayan fare in Adams Morgan ($65), where I never pass on the chorizo dumplings; Del Mar at the Wharf ($55) for a refined taste of Spain from the acclaimed chef Fabio Trabocchi; the typically serene Onggi offering sublime Korean in Dupont Circle (which offers three different tier-priced menus, from $40 to $65); and the alluring Dabney in Shaw for a survey of the Mid-Atlantic ($65).
Hidden gems don’t stay secrets the way they used to, alas, but if you’re looking for a fresh face in the crowd, there’s the modern Filipino storefront Kayu in Dupont Circle, where chef Paolo Dungca will be serving crab noodles, pork with peach barbecue sauce, and a vegetarian assembly of caraflex cabbage, summer squash and burnt coconut among his main course options ($65).
Increasingly, in mid- and top-tier restaurants alike, I find restaurants aren’t hiring or training front-of-the-house staff that understand they’re in the business of service, making customers feel welcome.
Restaurants tell me they’re still dealing with the aftermath of the pandemic, when so many skilled veterans left the industry and operators needed to replace their ranks, often with people who had no service experience.
In general, once diners are seated, they should expect within the first minute or two a menu, water, and a greeting, even a short one if the restaurant is busy: “Thanks for joining us. I’ll be with you in a moment.” (Anyone who flies a lot can tell you during a delay, they’d rather hear straight talk from a pilot than no update at all. Same goes for anyone who has to wait for a table in the entrance of a dining room.)
Veteran New York restaurateur Danny Meyer, whose restaurants within the Union Square Hospitality Group are revered for their attention to diners, calls hospitality a team sport. He looks for a handful of specific traits when he recruits: genuine warmth, a hunger to learn, strong work ethic, self-awareness, empathy and integrity. As for prior experience, “Resumes are the least important part of the hiring process,” he’s famously written. “I’m looking for a twinkle in the eye.” The best way to clear a table or withdraw a cork from a wine bottle can be learned, in other words. Natural warmth is more of a challenge.
I like to think hospitality is a two-way street, by the way, and that diners can make or break a good time. Not to get all Mr. Rogers, but it helps to enter a restaurant with a smile and the belief you’re going to have a positive experience. Invariably, staff respond accordingly.
I love a starry dining experience, but I want to load my Napa Valley trip with awesome foodie experiences outside of the Michelin guide. Your recommendations, please?
It’s been a minute since I’ve eaten widely in my former stomping grounds, but that just gave me an opportunity to check in with some chowhounds I trust, including a longtime reader of mine, Robert Mandel, who resides in Sonoma but eats out widely. His response was a mile long (thank you, sir!), so I pared down the lot to about a week’s worth of (solid, casual) choices, then mixed in picks from my Bay Area critic pals along with some fond dining memories of my own.
You want to check out:
Slanted Door in Napa: The original modern Vietnamese restaurant was an institution in San Francisco. Home in on the imperial rolls, chili-caramel chicken clay pot, and shaking beef.
Mustards Grill in Napa: Chef Cindy Pawlcyn’s decades-old roadhouse, featuring an on-site organic garden and a you’re-in-California script, is as beloved and bustling a restaurant as they come in wine country. Check out the signature Mongolian pork chop and lofty lemon-lime tart.
Ciccio in Yountville: Housed in a century-old former Italian grocery store, the edible draws include meatball-plumped peppers, gnocchi with cod and scallops, and pizzas from a wood-burning oven. The owners feature wines they produce themselves at Altamura Vineyards and Winery.
Oxbow Public Market in Napa: A grazer’s banquet, the 40,000 square foot food hall, located along the Napa River, includes goods from Ritual Coffee Roasters, Fatted Calf, and Hog Island Oyster Co. Make time for a seasonal pour-over, a muffuletta crammed with house-made meats, and a platter of locally harvested oysters.
Carabao in Napa: Set off with farmer hats suspended from the ceiling and named for a water buffalo recognized for its power, the snug Caraboa represents Napa Valley’s first Filipino eatery. Specialities include pork lumpia, kare-kare and, this being California, sisig tacos.
Tarla Mediterranean Bar + Grill in Napa: Tarla “is my favorite restaurant in the town of Napa. They bill themselves as a Mediterranean restaurant, and they are, but think the best Turkish and Lebanese,” says Mandel, my wine country tipster. Popular for its happy hour during the week, where diners get discounts on signature small plates — a trio of Greek dips with warm pita is $11 — and glasses of vino for $8. Pro tip: no corkage fee on Tuesdays.
Market in St. Helena: “Market is a wonderful spot to escape all the chi-chi Napa joints,” says Mandel. “It is comfort food defined.” Market has long been a watering hole for winemakers. “I once saw Robert Mondavi dining with a friend there,” says my correspondent.
Zuzu in Napa: The convivial, indoor-outdoor tapas retreat offers paella in addition to Spanish small plates: garlic soup with chorizo, salt cod drizzled with California olive oil, seared pork cheeks and braised tongue with persimmons and more. “José Andrés would be very happy here,” my guide writes.
Wilfred’s Lounge in Napa: What to drink with coconut shrimp, Spam musubi and poke bowls? Probably a bahama mama, among other attractions at Napa’s sole tiki bar, popular for its live music.
I’m not a big planner when I’m on the road. Short of Googling or asking Claude, what are your tips for eating well in unfamiliar places?
Knowing what to avoid is crucial. I tend to steer clear of restaurants with buses parked out front, almost always a sign of a tourist trap; posted reviews older than a year or two; dining rooms that smell off (say, with cleaning fluid) or devoid of any pleasant cooking aroma. I’ve been known to walk in, and right out of, restaurants where staff or diners or both look sullen. I also pass on places where someone is hawking menus outside (think South Beach) and lists are written in more than two languages.
Away from home, keep your eyes open for signs on the road flagging a fire station supper, a crab feast, or a Greek church bake sale. All the better if the signs are hand-written.
Pose the right question to the right local. “What’s the best restaurant around?” tends to get you a fancy (read: expensive or exclusive) response. “Where would you go if you were leaving town for a while?” generally elicits something beloved. Here in the U.S. and abroad, I’ve found some of the best tipsters working in book stores, antique shops and quality food markets.
Finally, following a memorable meal out, I invariably ask my server, sommelier, or chef where they would eat on their night off. Good knows good.
I need a place for the occasional “bite to eat.” Not a dive, but not fine dining, either.
My Goldilocks recommendation at the moment is The Grace, recently introduced by chef Sanjay Mandhaiya, the owner of Karravaan and Pappe in D.C., and the successor to the popular Passenger in Shaw. The attractive, two-story restaurant beckons with a menu of sandwiches and salads on the ground floor and a slightly elevated list upstairs, although a server informed us all the food is available throughout the space, which Mandhaiya calls “a modern tavern with elevated food.”
Wherever you land, you’ll want to start with some broiled oysters, swabbed with collard green butter, and crisp fried sweet-and-tangy cauliflower before moving on to bigger plates — maybe a burger, compact but flavorful, and paired with thick french fries dusted with Parmesan. Garlic-scented linguine with tender scallops, draped with a creamy wine sauce, would be better without chewy bites of lobster.
The name was chosen to highlight a feminine look — floral restrooms, velvet walls — and the kitchen is led by Courtney Evans, who comes to D.C. from Charlotte. (Fans of “Next Gen Chef” on Netflix might recognize her as a former contestant.)
Two of us recently sat at a wood counter shaped like the state of Minnesota on Zepbound (it’s skinny) on the second floor, in view of a dining room warmed with amber lights and local art, where we sipped a stinging, mezcal-fueled Pepper & Corn cocktail and basked in friendly attention. Night owls should know they have another place to eat late at night. The kitchen at Grace, while closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, otherwise stays open til 1:30 a.m., and alcohol flows till 2 a.m. weekdays and 3 a.m. weekends. Don’t be surprised to rub elbows with members of the industry after they get off their shifts.
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