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@washingtonsun.com. Submissions may be edited for length and clarity.
We are coming up on 10 years of D.C. receiving its first Michelin stars. What do you think of the award?
Hey, if I were a chef, I might aspire to recognition from the French guide, too. It’s the most famous culinary award someone can receive, and the guide’s been around since 1900.
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My short answer to your timely question: The Michelin guide is best used in France, where it originated. I’ve not had similar luck with the publication in other European countries, or in the U.S., for that matter.
It got off to a bumpy start in D.C. when it rolled out in October 2016. A decade ago, I was critical of its many blind spots, including the omission of such first-rate restaurants as the late (Greek) Komi and the modern Indian Rasika. Last year, Michelin demoted the Inn at Little Washington from three stars, its highest rating, to two stars. Yet the Virginia dining destination has never been better. (I say that having eaten there almost 30 times.)
There’s a lot of mystery surrounding Michelin’s anonymous inspectors. I tend to place my trust in local reviewers vetted by their publications. Whether you agree with them or not, at least you can view their body of work and bios online. My respected peers in the industry tend to visit restaurants multiple times and have sufficient budgets to support the effort. That’s not necessarily the case with Michelin, which has created in some American markets a pay-for-play situation. See: Denver and Orlando, among other cities whose tourism organizations contributed financial support to the guide.
In the U.S. and abroad, I’ve been to plenty of Michelin-ranked restaurants. I’ve found the guides’ one-star establishments appeal to me most, while some of the “more stars” tend to feel the same, regardless of where they are in the world, probably because they’re chasing Michelin standards.
Bottom line: At the end of the day, Michelin is a tire factory doling out stars (or not). I realize we’re all plants that need a little H20 — and awards are nice — but chefs should understand there’s plenty of honor and value in cooking to please the general public.
There are a million Thai places in D.C. Do you have a favorite?
Let me preface my answer by sharing that the original Donsak Thai in Woodley Park is so close to my home that I can walk there in two minutes. So that’s where I tend to go when I’m in the mood for, say, chicken meatball skewers, shrimp dumplings, bamboo shoot salad, and green curry, among other prizes.
Elsewhere in the city, I love a seat at the bar at Baan Mae in Shaw, where monkey characters on the wall and parasols on the ceiling make a fanciful backdrop to the cooking of chef Seng Luangrath, who also owns the excellent Padaek dining rooms in Arlington and Falls Church. Her summer rolls alone add up to a party.
I haven’t eaten at them recently, but the attractive Baan Siam in Mount Vernon Triangle and Soi 38 downtown have both offered memorable meals in recent years.
I’d love to hear which Thai restaurants you and other readers frequent. Send me your picks, please.
How do you do this job without gaining a ton of weight?
One of the first things I did when I became food critic of The Washington Post in 2000 was hire a trainer, which might sound like a yuppie affectation until you consider that the job involves constant eating out, and no matter how careful you are, a steady stream of fried food, rich sauces, cocktails, meat, bread (gotta sample the bread baskets!) and desserts add up. I viewed exercise as insurance. Plus, you just feel better, mentally and physically, when you move more than your utensils from hand to mouth.
Here at The Washington Sun, I’m still eating out as often as five or six meals a week. So at home, I eat pretty clean — fresh fruit and cottage cheese for breakfast is a near-daily habit. In restaurants, I rarely finish a dish, preferring to let others at the table do that or take home leftovers. (I hate wasting food, but I don’t necessarily want it in my fridge.) At this point, for instance, I can judge a steak in about three bites. And if it’s just two of us, I’ll order wine by the glass versus a bottle. Alice Waters of Chez Panisse fame once shared that her simple trick for losing weight was cutting out alcohol.
Restraint sounds boring, but that’s my mantra — unless, of course, I’m in front of a plate of french fries at Et Voila! in the Palisades or a tavern-style pizza at La Merna in Dupont Circle. “Moderation in moderation” is another rule I follow.
Can you give me a recommendation for a wedding anniversary dinner under $200 total?
You don’t say how many years you’re celebrating, where you live, what your food preferences are, or whether you drink (the more details, the better I can assist), so I’m going to throw out a few different scenarios and hope one fits.
In the District, I’m a big fan of the L’Ardente and the whimsical Italian script from chef David Deshaies. His open kitchen is the source of such extreme pleasures as a lemony, goat cheese-filled ravioli and (sharable) flaming tiramisu, priced at $24 and $20 respectively, everything served beneath wooden beams and Murano glass chandeliers.
On the more relaxed, but still excellent, side, there’s the walk-in Bar Del Monte in Mount Pleasant, where I generally fill up on appetizers washed back with something from owner Oliver Pastan’s thoughtful wine list. The Italian-leaning small plates — grilled lamb skewers, a fritto misto whose batter any Japanese tempura master would envy — range from $17 to $24, “with tip included,” Pastan says, referencing the fact the gratuity is built into the cost of the food. (Sweet. No math for me!)
In Northern Virginia, I’d head to the always-hospitable Ada’s on the River in Alexandria, the neighborly Maple Room in Vienna, or the convivial Mama Chang in Fairfax. In closer-in Maryland, I’d gravitate to Melina for good Greek in a stylish environment in North Bethesda and Lime & Cilantro in Silver Spring, where chef Danny Chavez slips lots of “wow” moments into his modern Latin cooking. I love his takes on hummus (made with corn), short ribs (ennobled with mole), and his mom’s tamales, which he once took off the menu to so much protest that he brought them back in a matter of weeks. Now? “They aren’t going anywhere,” says the El Salvador native.
What is an unfilled spot in the D.C. restaurant scene? What do you wish we had here?
First, allow me to address some holes that have been filled in the city. Among the welcome changes since I became a stomach for hire are the rise of a bunch of new restaurant zones — Shaw, Union Market, and the Navy Yard come to mind — and what a lot of us call “neighborhood” spots, meaning places where you can go once a week or so when you want a break from your own kitchen but don’t want to go the carryout route. I’m thinking of venues where you can sit down at a table and enjoy a nice roast chicken, plate of pasta, some curry, dumplings or steak frites and the check won’t resemble anything close to your monthly condo fee.
Now to your question: The District could use more Nordic representation, better regional Chinese, and a serious delicatessen along the lines of what the Big Apple offers. Oh, and more (and more refined) desserts. I can practically count the city’s top pastry chefs on one hand, a problem the pandemic only made worse. When push comes to shove, most restaurants are going to hire a dishwasher or a line cook instead of a dedicated sweets maker. Which is why we see a sea of creme brûlée, tiramisu and (yawn) sorbets on menus.
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