Tom Sietsema

Talk to Tom: How to Get a Reservation at Albi

Tom Sietsema — Thu, 29 Oct 2026 09:07:00 GMT

(Photo illustration by Kainaz Amaria/The Washington Sun)

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.

Now that everyone and their mother has glowingly reviewed Albi in Washington, how is a mere mortal supposed to get a reservation?

“Truth is,” texts William Simons, the director of operations and wine director, “it’s the same as it ever was, really. If people plan ahead and try when the reservations window opens, there are generally spots open.” For December, the window opens at midnight Nov. 1, for example.

The Palestinian restaurant, launched in the Navy Yard in 2020 by chef Michael Rafidi, was my No. 1 pick in my last annual dining guide for The Washington Post, a rating my successor gave the establishment earlier this month. In June, The New York Times awarded it four stars — its highest rating ever for an out-of-Manhattan review. Two years ago, Rafidi won the James Beard Award for outstanding chef in America.

Simons says that it “helps to be open to times out of the prime-time rush and non-weekends” and guides wanna-be diners to the notify list on Resy. “When we see cancellations, they’re generally two days prior to the date which will open the occasional last-minute spot.”

A friend who went twice recently says his second dinner was easier to access when a pal booked Albi’s (covered and heated) Garden Table, available for groups of 10 to 14, and promptly rounded up a posse to fill the seats. “Meal was fabulous,” reports my discerning friend. “They’re cooking beautifully.”

What now-shuttered D.C. restaurants do you miss the most?

I appreciate this question, and not simply because it offers a stroll down memory lane. Washington benefited greatly from dozens of restaurants that no longer exist but helped put the city on the national culinary map.

High on my list would be Komi in Dupont Circle, the starry modern Greek restaurant from chef Johnny Monis; Yanyu in Cleveland Park, to my taste the best source of Peking duck, carved tableside, ever in D.C. proper; Kinkead’s, the top-notch seafood purveyor from chef Bob Kinkead in Foggy Bottom, so popular it once had a dedicated telephone number just for people soliciting charitable donations; Michel Richard Citronelle in Georgetown, the glam underground oasis with visionary Michel Richard, a trained pastry chef, in the glass-fronted kitchen; Zuki Moon, the pan-Asian dining room within a ticket’s toss of the Kennedy Center and helmed by the forward-thinking Mary Richter; and Palena from former White House chef Frank Ruta, whose combination a la carte restaurant and tasting room in the rear addressed the different wishes of his fan club. (A lot of us considered Ruta’s hamburger and roast chicken to be best in class.)

Going back even further, there was Sichuan Garden on 19th St. NW, starring master chefs from China, and Red Sage, with its then-trendy Southwestern menu and simulated thunder and lightning design. (You read that right.)

I was too young and too poor to afford the Watergate Hotel's legendary Jean-Louis Restaurant, but my predecessor at The Washington Post, Phyllis C. Richman, told me the French chef Jean-Louis Palladin, whom she called "perhaps the most famous French chef in America," made her career in its heyday in the ’80s and ’90s.

You’re celebrating your 10th anniversary. Where do you go?

The 10th is a milestone, traditionally represented by tin or aluminum — symbols of resilience and strength.

I’d spring for a restaurant with some nice age on it. The well-regarded Centrolina and The Dabney represent the class of 2015 and offer Italian and Mid-Atlantic flavors, respectively. But they’re babies compared to some of the area’s longer-lived establishments: Obelisk in Dupont Circle, Perry’s in Adams Morgan, the Bombay Club near the White House, Il Pizzico in Rockville, La Ferme in Chevy Chase, L’Auberge Chez Francois in Great Falls and the fabled, nearly-50 Inn at Little Washington in Washington, Virginia.

The most senior of the bunch, though, is Old Ebbitt Grill, whose revolving door never seems to stop and whose hospitality remains something to emulate even at … 170 years.

Do you consult with anyone on food from cultures with which you’re not super-familiar?

One of the advantages of living in a world capital is access to a lot of smart, well-traveled, discerning residents. At this point in my career, I’ve been fortunate to travel widely around the world, but if I ever had a question about, say, the food in Singapore or Brazil, I know I could reach out to someone from an embassy, or a representative from the World Bank or the Peace Corps, for an answer. Also, there are knowledgeable chefs and cookbook authors, here and elsewhere, I might contact.

Even now, I like to invite people from different parts of the world to join me in a meal that might offer them a taste of home. And I never take a Lyft or Uber where I don’t ask anyone who says they’re from Ethiopia where they go for their native food. Their answers vary widely, which makes me frustrated, in a good way: I don’t think I’ll ever be able to try them all, much as I aim to. (I love Ethiopian cooking. Right now, Beteseb in Silver Spring is a favorite.)

My wife and I will spend three nights in Dublin next month. Do you have any favorites there?

My two, tried-and-true picks share literary connections. One is the casual, long-running Winding Stair, named after a Yeats poem and located above a bookshop. Picture (very good) Irish comfort food, a chalkboard menu and a cozy dining room whose windows overlook the River Liffey.

The other is the luxe, Georgian-style Chapter One, tucked in the lower level of the Writers Museum on Parnell Square. While the top chefs have switched since my last visit, Chapter One’s menu continues to highlight prime Irish ingredients — Clare Island salmon, Donegal lobster, roast pigeon — using French techniques. Don’t say good night before sampling the best Irish coffee anywhere. The signature drink is prepared tableside by a server who pours a spiced syrup into a hot pan, caramelizing the sweetener. Brazilian coffee, whiskey finished in beer barrels, and a finish of whipped Irish cream complete the dream.

I haven’t been, but food pals sing the praises of the historic, Art Deco gastropub Davy Byrnes and the refined Sole, acclaimed for its seafood.

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Talk to Tom: Wine Etiquette, Pre-Opera Dining and a Fancy Filet-O-Fish

Tom Sietsema — Thu, 22 Oct 2026 09:25:00 GMT

Baan Mae Chef Seng Luangrath's Fi-Lao O’Fish is served with a brioche bun, cilantro chile sauce and tofu mayonnaise. (Kainaz Amaria/The Washington Sun)

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Lots of chefs use squid ink in pasta and paella for color and flavor. Should I worry about staining my teeth?

I investigated your concern for another reader eons ago, turning to the guy to whom I trust my mouth: D.C. dentist Keith Progebin. “It depends upon how porous the teeth are,” he said at the time. Plastic dentures, for example, discolor easily. Tooth enamel and glazed porcelain “are not so easy to stain, and if they do, they’re polishable.” Progebin added that “duration and dose” also determine whether a food might tint teeth.

I had occasion to see my dentist recently (for a crown! After my tooth cracked in a restaurant!) and asked if I needed to update my response. “The science stands,” Progebin said. He reiterated that surface texture (tiny pits and such) and food quantity play a role in how much a food can stain teeth. Duly noted, says this daily coffee and berry consumer.

I’m a longtime reader from The Washington Post and now follow you at The Washington Sun. Since the Washington National Opera is performing at DAR Constitution Hall, I am looking for dining recommendations nearby.

Thanks for following me to my new home! Let me suggest you sup pre-performance at Rasika West End for modern Indian cooking, Old Ebbitt Grill near the Treasury Building for solid American fare (and great oysters) or Casa Teresa near Farragut Square for very good Spanish. The more rustic the dish at Casa Teresa, the more I’m inclined to try it. Go, then, for the coarse pork sausages with navy beans, and the golden chicken croquettes, based on the chef’s mother’s recipe.

The recommended venues are about 10, seven and five minutes away by car, respectively.

How do you choose restaurants to write about?

When I was reviewing full-time for The Post, where I wrote for a general audience and ate out as often as 10 meals a week, I aimed for a balance from week to week by mixing up new and old restaurants and city and suburban places. I was also mindful of covering different cuisine styles and price ranges.

It was important to me to throw in some surprises now and then, too. I was the first food critic to review the dining room atop the CIA in Virginia, for instance. And one of my more meaningful subjects was the nonprofit Miriam’s Kitchen, dedicated to ending homelessness in D.C. I visited the social services provider three times, as I would with any restaurant, and left marveling at the restaurant-quality food and genuine hospitality I encountered. Miriam’s Kitchen referred to those coming for free meals as “guests.”

My mission here at The Sun is a little different, and evolving. My first essay looked at the private Ned’s Club, and I followed that with roundups of my favorite budget dinners and breakfasts in the area. Restaurant news also appears in The Sun’s Metro newsletter. Did you catch my recent dispatches on the once-a-week a la carte dinners at Rose’s Luxury or how a popular D.C. restaurant is serving a controversial dish by other than its name? The Sun has plans to include more dining reviews on a regular basis. Stay tuned. I, for one, am very excited for readers.

I'm going to be in Tenerife in December. Do you have any suggestions for places to eat there?

For the curious, Tenerife, which is part of Spain, is the largest of the Canary Islands and sits off the northwest coast of Africa. My food-loving tipsters suggest La Mordita (“the nibble”) for lunch on the square for Spanish tapas; Kiki Restaurante for creative Japanese; Bodegón El Puntero for prime fish and seafood — fresh octopus, shrimp, sardines — in a rustic, no-reservations tavern; and Etéreo by Pedro Nel. The last offers modern fine dining — a fusion of Canarian and Latin flavors, with a focus on premium meats — from a Colombian-born chef. (All the establishments are in Santa Cruz, the capital of Tenerife.)

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Tom Sietsema’s 5 Favorite Breakfasts in the D.C. Area

Tom Sietsema — Tue, 20 Oct 2026 09:12:00 GMT

(Illustration by Kainaz Amaria; Tom Sietsema/The Washington Sun)

Like making your bed first thing in the morning, taking time for a sit-down breakfast is one of those gestures that instantly improves your day. No matter what lies ahead, you’ll come home to a straightened nest or go forth with fuel in your tank, respectively.

Breakfast is also the most democratic meal of the day, typically less expensive and performative than dinner, and a nice balance to the usual rush. I like to think of the morning meal as a satisfying act of resistance against a prepackaged protein bar at your desk or a container of yogurt knocked back in your car.

Those are among the lessons I learned as I spent the last month identifying some of the D.C. area’s best breakfasts away from home. As diverse as they are, each venue offers the bonus of a sense of community along with their menus — reason enough in my book to rise and shine.

La Tejana

Ana-Maria Jaramillo moved from Texas to D.C. for love eight years ago and promptly encountered heartbreak: Where were the breakfast tacos?

“I was very disappointed in the breakfast scene,” says Jaramillo, who missed her daily habit from back in McAllen, where she grew up, and Austin, where she went to college. Thus began a journey to fill the void, which started with Jaramillo peddling breakfast tacos from her stoop in Mt. Pleasant in 2019 and eventually opening a brick-and-mortar shop called La Tejana four years later.

Along the way, she also perfected the vessel for her tacos. To visit the storefront these days is to chomp into a flour tortilla that relies on vegetable shortening and olive oil for moisture and manages to be simultaneously thin, malleable, fluffy and tasty, even without a filling.

The fillings are fab, though. The best-seller is 956, the area code for McAllen. Inside the bundle await refried beans, custardy scrambled eggs, fried potatoes, cilantro and bacon — a lot to like. Make mine a 512, the area code for Austin and meaty with another D.C. favorite: chopped brisket from 2Fifty Texas BBQ. Very good meatless breakfast tacos, one with tomatoes and poblano, are offered as well.

You can buy a single taco, but most requests are for three or six. Everything is homemade, sauces included. The tangy crowd-pleaser blends Greek yogurt, cilantro, lime juice and more.

Honestly, I adore everything about La Tejana, save for the lines when I’m hangry. (The kitchen, headed up by Gus May, Jaramillo’s husband, turns out as many as 1,800 tacos on the weekend; a dedicated team of egg-crackers goes through an estimated 180 cases a month.) Rickety stairs lead to a spare, second-floor dining area dressed with blue tables and curtains for windows facing the street, a space available to rent for a gathering.

The name of the business and the faceless woman depicted on the packaging pay homage to the strong Latina women Jaramillo says inspired her back home. “It’s a symbol of what I want to represent,” says the entrepreneur, who gives away leftover tacos to her neighbors and has plans to expand. Without revealing too much, she teases that No. 2 will be in the District and open in “under a year.” I see more lines in her future.

3211 Mt. Pleasant St. NW
202-621-8509
latejanadc.com
Breakfast tacos $4.75 (for one) to $26 (for six)

The Market Lunch

If you want to know what distinguishes the eye openers at The Market Lunch inside Eastern Market from so many of its peers, just ask Tom Glasgow. “Everything we make is real,” says the owner of one of the most beloved institutions on Capitol Hill.

Sure enough, only fresh blueberries go into his signature, fluffy buckwheat pancakes, and never too soon to prevent the fruit from bursting on the griddle. Genuine maple syrup makes the best topper; coffee from Rise Up provides a potent chaser.

The crab cake platter with a choice of eggs shows off plenty of goodness, too. Eggs over easy are textbook definitions, and they’re served alongside potatoes that are boiled, chopped, deep-fried and tinted with (surprise!) Accent. The star of the plate, though, is the crab cake, shaped from jumbo lump crab from Cambridge, Md. Parsley, mayonnaise and mustard inform the mix, but mostly what you taste is local crab that’s brightened with a splash of fresh lemon juice at the end. A house-baked bun, crisped on the griddle, allows you to create your own breakfast sandwich.
Market_lunch.jpg (969x640, AR: 1.51)Another prize is the aptly-named “brick” that packs in a roll a choice of eggs, meat (go for the spicy sausage), fried potatoes and melted American cheese. Have extra napkins handy.

Customers join a line beneath a big chalkboard menu, give their order to a friendly face behind a counter, then wait for their names to be called. The process may take a few minutes; be patient. Sure, you can take your breakfast to go, but the better plan is to sit at Market Lunch’s long, worn, wood counter and soak up the scene as you eat. (The attraction unfolds in a Victorian building designed by Adolf Cluss, also responsible for the Smithsonian Arts and Industries Building.)

A sign on the wall, testament to the institution’s popularity, lays out some rules: “No saving seats” is one. “No reading of newspapers or laptops when we are crowded,” reads another.

Sound strict? It’s not. Glasgow, who’s watched over the place since 1978, turns out to be a softie who encourages tourists to try something they’re unfamiliar with (fried oysters, maybe) and shared that he shed a real tear the day the late civil rights activist and statesman John Lewis appeared in line.

“I enjoy what I do,” says the owner, 70, who adds that “the neatest people in the world” come through his place — and work there, I’d add.

225 7th St. SE (inside Eastern Market)
202-547-8444
marketlunchdc.com
Breakfast dishes $7.95 to $26.95

Parkway Deli & Restaurant

Breakfast for dinner is always an option at this popular Silver Spring storefront. So is dinner for breakfast. Which means one of you can be tackling eggs, pancakes and bacon during morning rush hour while another is slurping chicken soup, crammed with the obvious but also carrots, onions and egg noodles. Each spoonful goes down like a hug.

Launched in 1963, Parkway Deli, which opens with a food store, is in the hands of Danny Gurewitz, a third-generation owner. He reports an average of 300 diners visit each day. His recipe for success: “We have a large menu and people can pretty much get what they want.”

No problem if you want your bagel scooped out. The vibe is relaxed. A glance around the dining room — a sea of booths and bands of mirrors at eye level — finds lots of demographics, including kids sporting paper crowns and coloring with crayons provided by the restaurant.

For breakfast, I head for bronzed potato pancakes topped with eggs over easy and nova lox, or sometimes an omelet that’s a smidge smaller than an iPad, packed with green peppers, ham and melted cheese. Huge mugs of coffee make them feel bottomless.

Helping to keep the place busy are a popular pickle bar and a steady kitchen. Head chef Rene Santos has been a presence for 32 years. “He’ll never leave,” jokes his boss.

8317 Grubb Rd., Silver Spring
301-587-1427
theparkwaydeli.com
Breakfast dishes $10 to $18

Ruthie’s All-Day

Craving pancakes? You want the golden buttermilk saucers at this family-friendly dining room in Arlington Heights, where the order comes with a knob of butter that melts in the heat and a chunky apple compote lightly sweetened with maple syrup.

As much as the food, the sunny setting says “good morning,” thanks to green wainscoting, white subway tile, windows that look onto an umbrella-shaded patio, and an open kitchen. (Unlike at night, at breakfast you order at the counter, find your own seat, and pour your own water. Works for me!)

Ruthie’s list is just nine dishes long, but the treasures include one of the finest breakfast sandwiches in the area, scrambled eggs and herby pork sausage slipped between Ruthie’s craggy biscuits. Best to eat the construction with a knife and fork — and watch out for the warm rush of aioli. Prepare to cancel your lunch plans, too. Named for a long-ago food business at the same location, “Mr. W’s” biscuit amounts to a lot of fuel.

Speaking of generous, the $18 “big plate” brings together a palooza of two eggs, house-made bacon, beef sausage, chive-flecked hash browns and biscuits baked on site. Small wonder two diners often opt to split the largesse. That’s never an issue with the restaurant, which in the a.m. fills with parents (some with babies in tow), Pentagon types and the occasional critic in search of a meal deal. (Ruthie’s is where I sometimes direct mourners after services at Arlington National Cemetery, less than 10 minutes away.)

Good news for Fairfax: A spinoff, from chef Matt Hill and general manager Todd Salvadore, opened in April, giving locals fresh reason to rise and shine and the owners a chance to “make some new friends,” says Salvadore.

3411 5th St South, Arlington
703-888-2841
ruthiesallday.com
Breakfast dishes $8 to $18

Seasons

Here’s where bold-face names and power brokers like to start their day, and not just because the tables in the light-filled, carpet-softened dining room in the Four Seasons hotel are surrounded by pools of space. (One strains to eavesdrop, in other words.) There’s the warm reception at the host stand, a spread of newspapers for those who want their information from dead trees, and such niceties on the broad tables as fresh flowers and those tiny jars of marmalade that may or may not end up in a purse or pocket by meal’s end. I couldn’t help but smile when I looked up to see light fixtures framed in sunbursts.

Water and coffee come quickly – welcome touches when you might be getting billed by the hour by a tablemate.

Seasons’ menu checks all the breakfast boxes. What I appreciate is the unexpected ground the list also covers. A Turkish-inspired plate found a poached egg atop eggplant-tomato confit in a ring of sesame-seeded simit bread — an artful and delicious combination that transports you to Istanbul in every bite. When two of us were debating dishes, our attendant volunteered to split them both on our respective plates. And so it was that we both got tastes of finely minced corned beef hash and chorizo molletes (an open-faced Mexican sandwich with refried beans and Oaxacan cheese).

Watching your diet? Seek out the keto plate, bulked up with grilled halloumi, wagyu beef and sauerkraut, among other accompaniments. The purple-colored smoothie powered with berries, yogurt, soy milk and oat bran helps out, too.

As befits the Four Seasons, the service and extra touches are tops. Expect an elegant biscotti on your coffee saucer and a skewer of blueberries garnishing your smoothie. When I ordered a fruit plate in addition to another breakfast dish, my server talked me down to a half-portion, which was still generous for a solo diner. No fewer than eight different fruits arrived, beautifully arranged in their bowl. Leftovers were packed in a bag that included compostable utensils. “A sword for your hash,” said a server who set down a big carved knife for the corned beef hash. Seasons has a sense of humor to boot.

2800 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
202-342-0444
fourseasons.com
Breakfast entrees $24 to $72

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Talk to Tom: Why Do You Love Purple Patch So Much?

Tom Sietsema — Thu, 15 Oct 2026 09:05:00 GMT

Mama Alice's Lumpia and Lechon Kawali from Purple Patch in Mount Pleasant. (Kainaz Amaria/The Washington Sun)

purplepatch_101426_0244 copy.jpg (8020x5346, AR: 1.50)

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Patrice Cleary is a former Marine, single mom and caretaker to her mother (and cooking teacher), who’s known in the dining room as Lola — “grandmother” in Tagalog. Cleary is also a restaurateur who once told me she held tight to her dream for fear of “letting my people down” as an ambassador of her homeland’s cuisine in the nation’s capital. I admire her work mantra: Be firm, fair and consistent. She also sees needs and fills them. Witness the multiple popular Joia Burger shops she’s introduced in recent years.

Does a work ethic and a sense of mission make the owner’s chicken adobo and vinegar-and-chile-ignited sisig taste better at Purple Patch? I believe so. And Cleary’s bustling dining room backs me up.

How do you pronounce your last name?

Say SEET-suh-ma — and thank you for asking. It’s a Dutch surname from Friesland, in the northern Netherlands.

My wife’s boss is coming to town, and we’d like to take him somewhere special for dinner. He’s a former chef with a pretty discerning palate, and he’s also a pescatarian. We live in Vienna but are happy to go anywhere in NoVA or D.C.

If you want to stay close to home, book a table at the cozy Roberto’s Ristorante Italiano in Vienna, whose veteran chef, Roberto Donna, once presided over the top-tier Galileo in Washington. The sample menu provided online lists multiple fish and seafood options among the starters and main courses. In nearby Fairfax, I’ve been going to the family-run, Greek-themed Nostos for years. Usually, I spring for whole fish, often sweet-flesh branzino, fileted by a server with surgical precision and accompanied by roast potatoes seasoned with lemon and oregano and pleasantly bitter greens.

An ocean of options await in the city. Check out the chic Barbouzard on K Street Northwest for French-Mediterranean fare from the talented Cedric Maupillier, the petite Lutece in Georgetown for some of D.C.’s most artful French cooking or the swank, retro-looking supper club Occidental near the White House, where the goods embrace Dover sole meunière, Chilean sea bass and a sight gag in the form of a crab-filled avocado. (Sorry, no spoilers from me, but you have to try it.)

If you had the option to fly out to any U.S. city for a weekend to get lunch, dinner and breakfast/brunch before flying home, what city would it be and where would you eat?

Just one city, huh? That’s a challenge.

The strategy that first comes to mind, though, is San Francisco, where I worked for four years as a food reporter and restaurant reviewer for The San Francisco Chronicle.

For old time’s sake, the moment I landed, I’d take an Uber from SFO to Tadich Grill. Lunch is my favorite time to eat at the seafood staple by the bay, which opened during the gold rush in 1849 and has been operated by descendants from the Dalmatian Coast of Croatia ever since. The choice seats are the stools at the epic, 80-foot wood bar, where old-school servers in white jackets point out the grill’s classics: crab cakes shaped from Dungeness crab, the oyster-embedded frittata known as Hangtown Fry and definitely a bowl of cioppino that prompts a server to offer you a bib.

Dinner is a no-brainer: Zuni Café, whose wood-burning oven I can smell a block away on Market Street. No matter how many new places have opened since my last visit, I always make time for what I consider to be the most soulful restaurant in the city. Always, I’ll get a first course of house-cured anchovies with celery, Parmigiano-Reggiano and Taggiasca olives — truly one of my last-meal requests. If I’m with company, the roast chicken is a must. Splayed on a bed of dressed mixed greens tossed with currants, pine nuts and torn chunks of oven-crisped Acme bread, the bird is sublime.

Before (reluctantly) flying home the next day, I’d make a beeline for Ferry Plaza Farmers Market, which has more than 100 vendors and a rear plaza that looks over the water. I’d probably slurp some oysters from Hog Island Oyster Company — yep, well before noon — and browse the myriad shops and stalls for edible souvenirs to take home.

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Talk to Tom: Michelin Stars, Anniversary Recs and D.C.’s Best Thai

Tom Sietsema — Thu, 08 Oct 2026 09:10:00 GMT

Illustration by Kainaz Amaria; Rolf Vennenbernd/dpa via AP

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.

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.

Talk to Tom: A Legendary French Spot in Great Falls Gets New Owners

Tom Sietsema — Thu, 01 Oct 2026 09:09:00 GMT

L’Auberge Chez François owner Jacques Haeringer, 76, turned over his family-run dining destination to a new management group in late August. (Kainaz Amaria/The Washington Sun)

L’Auberge_Chez François_093026_0044b.jpg (7687x5125, AR: 1.50)

L’Auberge_Chez François_093026_0399b.jpg (6830x4554, AR: 1.50)You can see, then, why regulars might be concerned. Not to worry, says Ruben Paredes, managing director of Thompson Restaurants, who’s in charge of the transition. “Our big mission is not to change anything that makes L’Auberge Chez Francois an institution,” he says. “We have no intention of changing the food, service or ambience.” The acquisition is focused mainly on behind-the-scenes improvements, including purchasing power and technology, Paredes says. By way of example, the new owner is adding Starlink to improve -internet connections in the semirural area.

Haeringer jokes that there’s just one infrastructure detail to which the new steward of the institution isn’t committed: “They won’t be paying for my facelift.”

It is good to have you back! I am writing to ask for restaurant recommendations in Charleston, South Carolina. We have no price-point restrictions — anything from neighborhood spots to fine dining would do — and are open to any cuisine.

Count me a big fan of Charleston, which I ranked as one of America’s Top 10 food cities (in 2015, a designation that still holds). Some of my favorite restaurants back then — Fig, Leon’s Fine Poultry & Oysters and The Obstinate Daughter — are still around and still choice.

My go-to food guide in Charleston is Parker Milner, the food editor of The Post and Courier, to whom I put your question for a current take. He served up three recommendations:

“Chez Nous, which opened 12 years ago and comes from the owners of Michelin-starred Malagón, serves a daily changing offering, with two appetizers, two entrees and two desserts handwritten on paper menus in chef-owner Jill Mathias’ stylish script. The intriguing, invigorating food is reminiscent of what I’ve had in Paris with a Lowcountry twist.

Merci, a 24-seat spot in the Harleston Village neighborhood, is serving some of the most inspired plates in Charleston right now. Chef Michael Zentner (you may recognize the name from his days in D.C., when he cooked at Alta Strada) offers excellent house-made breads, produce-driven small plates, and entrees that range from the celebratory beef Wellington to poulet pressé with moutarde violette.

Lastly, The Restaurant at Zero George is my top fine-dining pick right now. Chef Vinson Petrillo works tirelessly to excite diners through a mix of innovative bites (edible ‘cigars’ with beef tartare and brown butter ‘ash,’ for instance) and premium ingredients. His tasting menu is served in a historic boutique hotel in the heart of the Charleston peninsula.”

How long should restaurants hold tables for late arrivals?

The general rule is about 15 minutes, sometimes with more flexibility for diners who inform the establishment they are behind schedule.

Ignorance is not bliss. Restaurants like to be informed when someone’s arrival is delayed, because it removes guesswork and helps with planning. Some restaurants have time limits for tables; latecomers may be informed of the fact when they show up. Also, high-end restaurants with tasting menus and multiple seatings might allow for less time, since a latecomer can throw off the pacing of the dinner.

When the tables are turned — when a diner’s reserved table isn’t ready — I think a similar grace period should apply. A thoughtful restaurant might sweeten the wait and throw in a gratis glass of wine or some small touch to thank a customer for their patience.

I’ll be going to Studio Theater soon. What’s quick and easy nearby?

How about quick, easy, delicious — and right across the street? Katsumi is all those things and more. The Japanese restaurant on 14th St. NW recently impressed me not just with the cooking, but with its hospitality. No sooner did I sit down on a plush seat than an attendant let me know I arrived in time to order from the happy hour menu, which is offered from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. daily and includes a couple of juicy grilled chicken skewers for $6, or half the regular cost. When a companion needed a moment to review the drinks list, the server said, “No rush. You’re the boss tonight,” as if we were the only customers on a busy Saturday.

Then the dishes from Masaaki “Uchi” Uchino started landing: a tuna roll, drizzled with spicy pink mayonnaise and ignited with wasabi seaweed. Fatty tuna nigiri that laid buttery, melt-on-the-tongue raw fish on a pad of well-seasoned rice. A crunchy heap of hot fried chicken kissed with honey miso. Katsumi is an ideal preshow spot, offering food that leaves you sated but won’t put you to sleep by the second act.

The signature drinks show skill, too. Some like it hot. For them, there’s Daimo Verde — tequila swirled with Alpine liqueur and a shishito cordial, among other enhancers, presented with a rectangle of ice and a ribbon of cucumber in a long glass.

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Talk to Tom: Where to Eat in Georgetown

Tom Sietsema — Thu, 24 Sep 2026 09:13:00 GMT

My Little Chamomile, from Turkish chef Cagla Onal-Urel, showcases small plates and a vegetable-driven menu tucked inside Georgetown. (Kainaz Amaria/The Washington Sun)

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MyLittleChamomile_092326_174.jpg (7795x5197, AR: 1.50)My most recent visits to Georgetown prompted me to put My Little Chamomile and L’Avant-Garde in my restaurant rotation. The former, from Turkish chef Cagla Onal-Urel, showcases small plates and a vegetable-driven menu. I like to go with a group to sample the lot. Double up on the Istanbul native’s sublime manti — sheer, beef-filled dumplings draped in tangy yogurt freckled with dried mint and sumac — and any new idea the chef picked up from her summer back home.

As for L’Avant-Garde, where Sébastien Giannini heads the kitchen, you can see where the owners poured $3 million to open several years ago. The low-ceiling bar and dining room are beauties. Picture ribs of wood stretching across the walls, cab-size semicircular booths, marble coasters for your drinks and lighting that flatters. The prized seats embrace a view of a crackling fire, an especially seductive touch as summer segues into fall. Among the standouts at dinner were a pastry-crowned lobster bouillabaisse and thin, golden veal cutlet finished with gribiche sauce and served with peerless french fries that nearly finished me. You can’t stop at one (or 10).

I want to try Ethiopian for the first time. Where should I go?

Silver Spring, Maryland. That’s where you’ll find Beteseb Restaurant and a physical menu shaped like a round of injera with colorful photos of some of the dishes you can order. (Injera, you’re about to discover, is both a sour, sponge-like flatbread and a utensil for wrapping around Ethiopian stews and salads.)

The 50-seat storefront is nicely dressed with walls in a shade of yellow lentils and a silver-toned silhouette of Addis Ababa. The signatures include a dynamite vegetarian sampler and kitfo, Ethiopia’s fiery answer to steak tartare, as well as a favorite dish of mine: boiled, ground beef tripe spiked with jalapeño, the spice blend mitmita and cardamom.

Beteseb translates from Amharic to “family,” which is pretty much how the staff makes you feel while dining there.

Hey Tom! I’m so glad to be able to enjoy your work again. Of the many server vocal tics we are enduring these days, the question “Are you still working on that?” particularly gets me steamed. It evokes such an awful image.

Copy that, servers? Consider this your PSA for the day.

There’s the option of simmering in silence, but if the question bothers you enough to write to me, you might consider (gently) correcting them with something that falls easier on your ears. As in, “Working sounds like a task, and this is joyful,” or, a cheekier approach: “Working is for field animals. But if you’re asking if I’m finished eating, yes, I am, thank you.” Said with a smile, the response serves as a playful correction.

There are plenty of polite ways for a server to ask if someone is done eating. “May I remove your plate?” is one. “May I take this out of your way?” and “Are you all set with this?” work better than “work,” too.

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Talk to Tom: A 'Hidden Gem' in D.C. and Stellar Chinese in Virginia

Tom Sietsema — Thu, 17 Sep 2026 09:15:00 GMT

The pabellón criollo, Venezuela’s national dish, at DC Al Toque, which opened earlier this year in Columbia Heights. (Kainaz Amaria/The Washington Sun)

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.

I’m trying to keep my phone off when I’m in restaurants and it annoys me when I see people working on their laptops. People, stop!

I hear you. Timing and situation are everything. I think I’m less bothered when I see laptops in, say, a casual setting during the day (and during nonpeak hours) versus an upscale restaurant at prime time at night. Personally, I don’t mind when the scenario involves a solo diner occupying a discrete part of the bar or dining room, either, since laptops have more or less become books for single diners — a companion of sorts.

The problem arises when laptop users don’t take fellow customers into consideration by not using ear phones or playing something that’s visually distracting. A lot of us go to restaurants to conduct business or simply relax; modern technology can interfere with those pursuits.

My message to possible offenders, then: Read the room before logging on. As a courtesy to your server, close your laptop when the food arrives. And think twice about using a laptop when others are at the table. Doing so says you’re not fully engaged.

Where do you go for Chinese that’s better than the average neighborhood joint?

My only regret about Mama Chang in Fairfax, Virginia, is that I don’t live closer to what I consider to be the best, most consistent idea from serial restaurateur Peter Chang. The restaurant is named for the women in Chang’s orbit, including his wife and fellow chef, Lisa Chang, and his mother, a former farmer in central China.

I appreciate the setting: 200 seats arranged in and around an airy dining room that considers groups, with multiple tables that seat as many as (hey, event planners!) 13 people. Acres of light wood and straw-colored banquettes beneath strands of rope make for a comfortable roost while you graze away.

I admire the servers, who are brisk and helpful in narrowing down the many choices on the several lists you’re handed.

Most of all, I applaud the cooking here. My last meal at Mama Chang was just last weekend, when I splurged on a jumble of strips of dried tofu and squiggles of pork, bright green stir-fried water spinach perfumed with slivers of garlic, and cumin fish that you smelled before you spotted. The golden slices of fried flounder weren’t the least bit greasy, and sparked with red chiles as well as the thrum of cumin.

I also learned about a great babysitter, in the form of the Changs’ signature balloon-like scallion pancake. Some parents at the neighboring table ordered one to the delight of their young charges. Pierce the blimp and it collapses into a flat, delicious, crowd-pleasing snack.

I’m responsible for finding a restaurant that will accommodate a diner with gluten sensitivity. What do you recommend?

Gluten is found in a lot of popular products, including wheat-based bread, pasta, baked items and sauces including soy and hoisin. Some calling around and web sleuthing turn up plenty of menus around the DMV that can handle gluten-free requests, however.

They include multiple local chains: Busboys and Poets, which offers something for everyone; Medium Rare, the prix fixe steak experience; vegetarian-friendly Chaia Tacos; branches of the Virginia-based Great American Restaurants group, which includes Artie’s, Randy’s and Patsy’s; Thompson Italian; plus Five Guys, which a discerning tipster says has “the best lettuce-wrapped burgers and gluten-free fries.”

On the upscale front, my same source reports eating well, sans gluten, at restaurants as diverse as Dōgon, Maru San, Moon Rabbit, Rooster & Owl and Rye Bunny, all in the District.

Thanks for your recent roundup of inexpensive dinner spots. It made me wonder if there are any hidden gems in your pocket.

Here’s the thing about critics: They’re not paid to keep secrets. Also, “hidden” gems don’t stay undisclosed for long, not in today’s online-obsessed world, where a good word about an under-the-radar eatery by anyone with a serious following can create lines within hours.

One relative sleeper I’ve enjoyed a couple times now is the family-run, bakery-inclusive DC Al Toque, which opened earlier this year in Columbia Heights and offers an uncommon taste of Venezuela. My usual order is pabellón criollo, considered Venezuela’s national dish (pabellón means flag) and gently priced at $19. The plate brings together shredded beef, inky black beans, sticky sweet plantains, some grated white cheese, a fan of creamy avocado, and a scoop of steamed rice that’s all but hidden by a fried egg on top. The strapping combination is as much a cultural lesson as fuel for the day, given that the different elements represent the African, Indigenous American and Spanish forces that have shaped Venezuela.
DC0A9328 copy.jpg (10261x5074, AR: 2.02)Looking for a great snack? The hefty, fried-to-order empanada formed from sweet corn dough and packed with juicy beef costs just $7 and gets cooled down with a creamy cilantro-garlic dip. And I love that happy hour at DC Al Toque stretches from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays.

My preference is to sit at a stool at the bar, chat up whoever makes my drink (love me a mezcal margarita) and soak up the convivial scene. On a dinner stop last month, the restaurant’s sound track was live, courtesy of some young musicians performing for a fundraiser in the cozy dining room, which formerly housed Sabor Latino.

The storefront’s name translates from Spanish to “right now,” which is my directive to bargain hunters: Check it out, pronto.

Servers should know it’s impolite to clear plates until everyone at the table is finished eating. How can we remind them of that?

Plate snatchers might be side-stepping etiquette rules at the prompt of their managers, since restaurants need to turn tables to turn a profit. Even so, clearing plates while others are eating can make slow eaters feel rushed. (A good host can control that by matching their pace.)

Diners can signal a pause in their meal by crossing their knife and fork on the plate. When they’re done eating for good, they can lay the utensils side by side, set in the 4 o’clock position.

Not every server knows the code, though, so it’s fine to announce your situation and remove any guesswork: “I’m set, thank you,” works just fine.

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Talk to Tom: Thoughts on Rye Bunny, Corkage Fees and Cramped Tables

Tom Sietsema — Thu, 10 Sep 2026 09:09:00 GMT

Rye Bunny's corn cappellacci with aji dulce peppers, roasted chanterelles and brown butter. (Kainaz Amaria/The Washington Sun)

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DC0A4331 copy.jpg (7369x4912, AR: 1.50)FYI: I’ve never been in line longer than 10 minutes, which goes by fast with a drink in hand, and I’ve enjoyed some engaging chats with neighbors in line. Per the restaurant’s FAQ, waits are shortest (five to 15 minutes) Sunday through Thursday, with often no wait after 8:30 p.m. The idea is working for the restaurant. Co-owner Jill Tyler tells me some guests, unknown to one another when they stroll in, end up sitting together based on their brief interactions in line.

Want to order another drink or more food once you’re seated? Proceed as you would at another upscale restaurant and ask your server. And make sure to order the anchovy toast and whatever pasta your server raves about, among the draws on Rye Bunny’s script.

I collect wine and like to bring it to restaurants on occasion. What’s a fair corkage fee? Some are so high!

Industry insiders tell me the answer depends on a number of factors, including the restaurant concept and the beverage program. An establishment with a small list might charge a lot less for corkage or waive it altogether as an incentive to customers. Places with larger, more curated lists might charge more — or forbid outside bottles completely.

“Sometimes they might not allow it because it can be difficult to deal with old bottles if you don’t have an Ah-So (a two-pronged wine opener that doesn’t break the cork) and an experienced sommelier,” says Brent Kroll, the owner of Maxwell Park Wine Bar and a veteran wine professional. “That and possibly that older bottles require time from the sommelier for minimal revenue.”

Jenistar Ruksirisopha created the wine lists for both Takara 14 and Raw Omakase in Logan Circle. At the casual Takara 14, where the wine and sake bottles typically cost between $20 and $80, she considered $50 per bottle a fair corkage fee; at the more refined Raw Omakase, where the bottles can range from $60 to $1,200, the restaurateur asked for $75 per bottle.

“The fee is not only opening and serving the bottle but also glassware, service, and the loss of beverage sales,” says Ruksirisopha, who is no longer involved with either restaurant but plans to open, with chef Johnny Yi, an upscale sushi venue sometime next year.

The corkage fee at the popular Reveler’s Hour in Adams Morgan is $50. Owner Bill Jensen says he has mixed feelings about diners bringing in their own wine. “I love the idea of enhancing a meal by sharing a special bottle of wine” from outside, he says, but “we go out of our way to curate a dynamic, expansive selection of wines to suit all sensibilities and budgets, and we want the opportunity to share it with our guests.”

Kroll allows corkage only for large parties where there’s a minimum spend. His rationale: “We have 50 wines by the glass and just under 1,000 by the bottle.” Outside his venue, he says, “I’m happy when I see $25 and think $50 (corkage fee) is OK.” Mark’s Duck House in Falls Church, Virginia, charges $20 a bottle, and the sibling D.C. restaurants Clyde’s and Old Ebbitt Grill charge $25. Some places don’t charge on certain days. For instance, Monday is the best time to bring a bottle from home at Belga Café on the Hill, which otherwise charges $25.

My two cents: The considerate wine consumer should know not to bring in a wine that’s on a restaurant’s list and to buy at least one bottle from the restaurant. Also, some restaurants have a limit on how many bottles you can bring in. It’s always best to call ahead and ask rather than be surprised upon arrival.

With the season about to change, I want to plan a road trip. Where would you go for a dining escape within a few hours of D.C.? (We already know about the Inn at Little Washington.)

In the exurbs of Virginia, I’m high on Three Blacksmiths in Sperryville. The drill is a single seating for up to 20 guests in a handsome dining room, and a seasonal, five-course menu prepared by chefs who double as your attendants by introducing the dishes to you. Orchestrated by owners Jake and Sara Addeo, the evening starts at 6:45 p.m. with a choice of cocktails (including a zero-proof option) made using local ingredients.

Then there’s Maude & the Bear in Staunton, which began life as a Montgomery Ward home kit more than a century ago, helmed by chef Ian Boden. He, too, offers a five-course list — along with nine- and 22-course tasting menus — that the chef says include “several little surprises.” My experience with Boden, who also owns The Shack nearby, is that he focuses on good ingredients left to speak for themselves.

In Maryland, I’m always happy to settle into the inviting, Old World interior at Bas Rouge in historic Easton. The restaurant is the crown jewel of Bluepoint Hospitality, a collection of 10 culinary draws created by energy mogul Paul Prager. The details at Bas Rouge are rich: Zalto stemware, Bernardaud china and an antique Lobmeyr crystal chandelier to illuminate the space. As for the cooking, Harley Peet won the Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic award from the James Beard Foundation two years ago. Peet, recently promoted to corporate executive chef, says his mission is to “continually elevate.” Some of the ingredients his team uses are plucked from the company’s fledgling Yamori Farm, 7 or so acres devoted to Japanese melons, radishes, leeks and more, watched over by Japanese farmers who fly in on a regular basis, says Peet.

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Talk to Tom: Where to Go for a Celebratory Dinner

Tom Sietsema — Thu, 03 Sep 2026 09:05:00 GMT

Chef Ricky Wang, left, of Omakase @ Barracks Row transports guests to Tokyo with two seatings per evening for a tasting of about 20 courses of mostly sushi. (Kainaz Amaria/NOTUS)

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.
","webImage.disableDefaultCaption":false,"webImage.disableDefaultCredit":false,"image":{"_ref":"000001a0-5fa3-d361-afed-5fe7dc2e0000","_type":"dcf917e9-e63e-3e6c-8255-38386454f78b"},"theme.bundle-default.:image:ImageEnhancement.hbs.enhancementAlignmentImage":null,"theme.bundle-default.:figure:Figure.hbs.creditParenthesisRemove":false,"theme.bundle-default.:figure:Figure.hbs._template":null,"theme.bundle-default.:image:ImageEnhancement.hbs._preset":null,"theme.bundle-default.:figure:Figure.hbs._preset":null,"_id":"000001a0-5fa3-d21c-a9a8-ffafd0710000","_type":"db9c5fe4-94f6-378f-bd08-51a74126a170"}">Omakase @ Barracks Row (7225x4817, AR: 1.50)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!)