Tuesday, August 5 at 11 AM

Well, I did give a number of recos, mostly on the lower end …

Fine dining, though … the best is Espuma, far and away. That's as fine as it gets, of the fine dining spots.

Of course, it's the beach, so fine dining is not the same as it is in the city. I wouldn't call them fine, but the group of restaurants from the Fish On! crew are good: Besides Fish On! in Lewes, there's Northeast Seafood Kitchen (lobster rolls, Ipswich clams and a wonderful chocolate cake and warmed chocolate sauce) and Blue Coast in Bethany. 

What else? The veteran Cultured Pearl, with a new location (and rooftop dining), for sushi and teriyaki. 

And Dish, for retro comfort food. 

What, just because you disagree with my opinion on the war everything I have to say about food and restaurants is somehow invalidated?

What about what Scott Fitzgerald said, that the sign of a mature mind is the ability to hold two competing ideas in your mind at the same time.

Or wait, is that simply an elitist liberal out, one that unwittingly aids and abets the terrorists?

And now, back to food …

I'd look into Dino, in Cleveland Park.

I'd never been enamored of the cooking, but the kitchen is showing well these days, as a recent visit proved. There's an excellent Caprese salad, with good, ripe tomatoes, the housemade meatballs are just a trace off the mark of a talented grandma's, the pastas have really improved, and I love a roast baby pig they're doing — slow cooked on the rotisserie, and sauced with a rosemary jus.

The backbone of the place has always been it's wines and cheeses, and remains so. You can get a "taste" — a three-ounce pour — of a good number of Italian whites and reds, which makes it possible to drink well and widely without spending a lot of dough. 

Can't say I'm surprised. Tosca has been one of my RW picks for many years running now, and the Oval Room has emerged as one of the Top 20 restaurants in the city.

I think you'll enjoy Poste, though. There's a reason I have it down on my list of favorites: fun atmosphere, interesting and surprisingly detailed cooking, and laudable consistency. Check back in again next week and let us know how dinner (or lunch) turned out. 

That goes for the rest of you, too — I'd love to hear your reports from the RW field. 

And managers, waiters, restaurateurs — I'd be interested in hearing your dispatches from The Other Side … 

You've got to read more carefully, Shirlington. That was Cynthia Hacinli's review. I was the editor of that review; I didn't write it.

But to your point … A whole star difference looks big, I know. But if you go back and read it, that 2 1/2 star review reads like a 3. So it's not THAT big of a difference. 

Generally speaking, though, I think it's good to have these kinds of differences in reviews. It's all a perspective, folks — an informed perspective, but still … And no review is a guarantee. It's an educated guess based on a handful of experiences.

Re: Obelisk. To me, the best thing about eating here comes early: the wonderful antipasti. The antipasti and the superlative service, relaxed and knowledgeable and remarkably attentive.

I hear you, Vienna, loud and clear. You make some excellent points.

The temptations are tough: you're out and you think, oh, what the hell, and bam, there goes the deal.

It's one reason why I think it's important to zero in on the right restaurant or restaurants. If you really want to have a blow-out meal, for instance, I think the Vidalia offer — five courses for $50.08 — is a good one. Not cheap, but cheaper. And given the quality of the cooking, a good value.

But that's only for those who want a chance to settle in for a long, leisurely night of supping.

I think the other places I chose are also good deals. Bear in mind, though, that what you're doing is, you're turning what might have been a $170 night into a $120 night.

By the way, about those temptations. I remember many, many years ago, when my wife and I went to Red Sage one year for RW, back when Morou was cooking and the place was in its prime. We looked at the RW menu, saw chicken breast among the options, then looked at the regular menu, thought, oh, what the hell, and splurged on the regular menu. It was a costly night.

Absolutely, good on them.

It's something that they'd make you something that involved, that took that much forethought and attention. It sounds like a terrific sandwich.

As for the burgers, yeah. What your husband said. (With the exception, as I wrote a couple of weeks ago, of the Boulud burger. Which also costs about three of four times as much.) As I also wrote a couple of weeks ago, the patty wars are over. This is it, folks. Nothing else out there — and there's a lot that's out there — comes close. And the price is eye-popping.

I suspect Ray's Hell Burger is going to Ray's the Prices in about six months or so, because right now, a 10-ounce burger of trimmed prime beef for $6.95 amounts almost to a give-away. We'll see.

That's true, it's a good deal. It's not, however, as good a deal as the ones I pinpointed up top.

A really good restaurant that gives you pretty much the run of the regular menu provides a much better value.

As for comparisons … Fogo is the more exciting atmosphere, and the meats are a little better too.

The biggest must-eat is The Charleston Grille. Bob Waggoner is the chef, and his menu is a straight-up fusion of classic French cooking and Lowcountry ingredients — so, for instance, you can expect to find things like huge fried oysters atop a rich fennel gratin, a rabbit crepinette with spoonbread, or, one of my favorites, country-fried foie gras — a lobe of foie gras, battered and fried like a country-fried steak.

Fig is also a definite, and not far from The Charleston Grille. (A nice change of pace after the richness and complexity of Waggoner's cuisine, too.) And The Hominy Grille — especially for brunch and dessert (five-inch high layer cakes, the kind you can only get in the South.)

Some others that you have to try: Boulevard Diner (for simple Lowcountry cooking) in Mt. Pleasant; also in Mt. Pleasant — Jack's Cosmic Dogs, for great corn dogs and moon pie sundaes.

I also like Cru Cafe (duck confit salad and orange creamsicle cake), and Miss Kitty's House of Fine Foods — the food is tasty, and you won't find anywhere else in this racially divided city that gives you this mix of black and white.

Exact? I believe it was 7900 Wisconsin Ave.

I loved the place when I was a kid — I used to call it Fish Thompson's. I loved the rum buns, loved the idea of eating dessert before dinner.

I still remember, pretty vividly, in fact, the night when we had a big family gathering, and right in the middle of dinner, the restaurant got robbed. I can still see uncles slipping watches from their wrists and dumping wallets into a bag, aunts unclasping necklaces … Everybody was spooked.

Hard to eat after that, as you might imagine.

Nobody was hurt, though, and the whole thing, from my eyes, was, well — kind of exciting. And it surely ranks as one of the most memorable meals I've ever had. 

Aldo's. Wow. That's been ages for me.

In town, though, I'd look into Tosca, Obelisk, and Dino.

Komi is only slightly outside the budget you've set (I'd just mind the drinking). But it's worth it, Spartan decor or no — the best restaurant in the city right now. Also the most intimate, the most soulful and the most personal.

I'd also take a look at Palena. A table up front, in the cafe (no reservations, unfortunately) allows you to eat from both menus, the cafe menu and the regular menu. Why do I advise that? Because then you can choose a few things from the former (like the truffled cheeseburger, like the roast chicken) and then split a three- or four-course dinner from the latter. Keeps costs down and gives you a great opportunity to try a lot of tasty things.

BLT Steak, sure. But I'd put Restaurant Eve ahead on my list of priorities. And minibar, too — although I doubt you'd get a reservation at this late a date.

Anyway, hope that helps. And check in and let us know which way you decide to turn — and how things turned out … 

I think you might mean Buzz –?

It's in Alexandria, on the edge of Old Town — a slick-looking bakery/coffeehouse/lounge. It's not a full-service restaurant, however, if that's what you were thinking. But yeah, the cupcakes are terrific. 

Ah, I overlooked Circle Bistro!

I don't know that I'd put in the top tier, but it's a very strong choice for RW, and has traditionally been one of the better performers — going back even to the time before the current chef, Brendan Cox, was there.

You got me. Sorry.

I love it, though — oldies week at Kliman Online …  

What other defunct spots to people remember — or, better yet, remember and miss? 

Mine is Henkel's, near Rte. 32, a former bordello-turned-bar/restaurant (I'm guessing now; but it was situated hard by a railroad track and had a saloon downstairs and upstairs offices). Henkel's was the home of the pound-of-meat sandwich. My parents used to take me there all the time when I was a little kid, eight, nine, ten years old — much to the dismay, I should add, of my paternal grandmother, who lamented the idea that her sweet grandson was consorting with strangers in a dark, dingy bar.

It was dark and dingy, but the food was fun, and I loved going there on a Saturday night and watching ACC basketball on the tube and eating a Chenkelburger (their version of a cheeseburger) or a ham "through the garden" (ham with lettuce, tomato and onion). And I loved sitting at the bar, on a bar stool, my legs dangling, and talking to the men as they downed their cold Buds and eyed the game.

I guess you can blame my parents, if you think I spend too much of my time rooting around in holes in the wall and mom 'n' pops. They bred me that way.

I hear you, Silver Spring.

Thanks for chiming in with another perspective on things.  

Holiday dinner? Whoa!

I could use your hyper-advance planning in my life … 😉

You don't mention dining out on a holiday, so I'm going to assume you mean "in the season." I also don't see Palena on your list, or Kinkead's, or Restaurant Eve, or Citronelle, or Marcel's. I think all would make for a great time at the table. 

Well, then, I think this is the time to give your love to the mom 'n' pops, small independents, and ethnic spots — the places that offer great value ALL YEAR ROUND, not just for a pre-determined week or two.

In DC, you're looking at: Oohhs & Aahhs, Etete, Queen Makeda, Granville Moore's, Malaysia Kopitiam, Pete's Apizza, Straits of Malaya, Thai X-ing, etc.

Also take note: Palena Cafe is exempt from RW. So it's a fine time to go and revel in some of the best (and most affordable) cooking in the city.

Enjoy the eating this week, everyone, wherever you wind up, and be sure to check back and let me know how things with RW are going.

Be well, and let's do it again next week at 11 …

Didn't get your question answered in this chat? Submit it in advance to Todd's chat next Tuesday, August 12 at 11 AM.