Tuesday, December 30 at 11 AM

Thanks. It's one ridiculously good risotto. Very, very hard to find a risotto that's that soupy and yet also has all the grains slightly firm and intact, too.

A great fish soup in town? Nothing leaps to mind, on the Hill or otherwise.

I really like the bouillabaisse at Restaurant Eve, but that's not in town.

As for Barolo — no, before my time. 

I hear you.

But I think that you're not considering something here, and that's that steakhouses and bistros are (relatively) easy to replicate. If you're going to expand, you're not going to expand by taking on new projects and untested ideas.

The glaring exception in all this is The Source — not a steakhouse, not a bistro, and a place that stands with the best of what Puck has done.

Ouch.

You're just itching for a spanking on that self-hyped blog of his that nobody reads.

Incidentally, the rumor is, Galileo is going to rise from the ashes and move into the space vacated by Butterfield 9. Stay tuned.

I'm not sure I understand what the problem with service was here.

You wanted the rouille — a sort of rough paste of garlic, olive oil, breadcrumbs and chilis — on the side, not on the fish. The manager swung by, said that isn't how the chef does it at Eve, and — what? Didn't offer to have it redone? Didn't take it away and replace it with another dish?

"Disconcerting" isn't the same as "isn't edible." Or — "isn't delicious." And since when are chefs obligated to cook according to the book? 

What's funny, here, is that the bouillabaisse is a very straightforward preparation — very classic, very wonderful.

I have nothing to say about the mail; that's just odd. 

I think it should be soon.

I enjoyed it on a trip to London, too. Good coffee, good sandwiches. Overpriced? Probably. I don't remember — everything in London was overpriced.

I did try.

A clever little dish, and a very good dish, too. And of course — that killer risotto. And a dish of seared, salty-skinned duck breast with a superb dark olive sauce. And textbook stuffed agnolotti … The chef, Enzo Fargione, is doing terrific work. 

I'm a lot less enamored of the tired circus theme. And the bad Euro disco soundtrack. And the staff can fall into a kind of slick obsequiousness.

But it has the beat, the energy, of a restaurant that is really clicking right now.

How come? Because — and I'm not really exaggerating when I say this — they're nothing without their recipes. 

You wouldn't expect a mechanic to give you detailed instructions on how to do the little simple jobs that keep your car up and running. The little simple jobs that cost $400 every time you go in, but a mechanic can do in a jif.

And think about it.

If you can replicate the dishes at home, why would you choose to go back and drop your hard-earned money to have him make them? 

I don't think it's inappropriate to ask for them — not at all. I think any chef would be flattered. At the same time, I don't think you should be surprised if the answer comes back: no.

And feel very, very lucky if you should happen to snag something.

One, Santa doesn't bring the Jews anything. And B, I already have a GPS. 

I've been to Pietanza. I like it. Great? No. But pretty good.

Best Italian in the DC area is out that way? I don't think so. You're talking, no doubt, about Girasole or Panino. They're good neighborhood restaurants. Don't burden them with "best" talk.

There's one thing we agree on, and that's that Donna has a real front-of-the-house problem, one that has dogged him for years. 

I like New Fortune, though you're right — it's like eating in a cavernous conference room.

I don't like it as much as Hollywood East Cafe on the Blvd. for dim sum, but then, not much compares. HEContheB, I think, is the best in the area for dim sum. I've been twice in just the past week. (I get on these dim sum runs, it's really odd.)

I wish I could advise you, quickly, on how to become a food writer or critic. There are many different paths you can take. People tend to fall into this, like I did.

The big thing, the thing that a lot of people forget — including some food writers — is that it's a writing job. The writing is more important than anything else. More important than the eating, than the discerning, etc. You can take cooking classes and work in kitchens, but you have to be able to write.

Find something you want to write about — something that really interests you — and write it. Then revise it. Then revise it some more. Finally, try sending it out to a publication. And keep doing that, until you get published. It may take a while. Maybe a long, long while. It might not happen with that piece. But the writing and rewriting will help you. And your ability to withstand waiting and rejection will be a good test: do you have the fortitude to do something you love but that doesn't immediately love you back?

Persistence counts for a lot. The ability to self-criticize. These things matter almost as much as talent.

And remember: Once you have a published piece, it's a little easier to get the second one accepted.

Thanks for the laugh, D in CV.

(At least, I think I was supposed to laugh.) 

Nothing recently, no.

The immediate challenge for Gillian Clark and Robin Smith is getting the Takoma Park place, Avenue Oven, open and running.

And we haven't even heard yet from the Chog Nazi …

Never been to Pistone's. But yeah, there are a lot of places like that around here.  

There's Italian Inn on Annapolis Rd., in Landover Hills, that has the heaviest pizza I've ever eaten. One slice, and you'd swear you'd downed an entire Deep Dish pie.

There's Vicino, in Silver Spring. Dreary atmosphere, dreadful food.

It's funny, I ate at one of these old-school, faded, red-sauce joints recently with a friend, and I came away thinking that bad-to-mediocre Italian is just dispiriting.

So is bad-to-mediocre Chinese.

If it has to be bad-to-mediocre, give me Tex-Mex. Or Salvadoran. Or Vietnamese.

What about the rest of you? 

"Pretend I'm single again" — I call that The Most Dangerous Game in the World. ; )

Um, let's see …

Cafe du Parc. Cork. Veritas. Poste. Etete. 

All close to Metro, all comfortable spots. Good food, good atmosphere.

Food is very important on a first date, it serves as a gauge of the person's attitude toward life. I always chose my first-date spots very, very carefully. And I always had a good idea of where I stood, after.

I think ethnic restaurants are good in this regard, at least for me. Because I wouldn't want to spend time with someone who is tentative or squeamish or standoffish. Or someone who expects to be lavished with riches and comforts out of the box. I would want someone who has a sense of adventure, someone who puts a premium on trying things — on experiences. Someone who is comfortable right away with a simple, unpretentious place is someone who is likely, I think, to not sit back and wait for the other person to make a grand statement, to flourish a gesture — to be wined and dined. 

Yes. You make a very, very good point, Alexandria.

And it's one reason that I think so many cookbooks are disappointing. Because without the powerful range, without the well-trained hands, without the sense of timing learned from years and years, it's really, really difficult to create some of these dishes.

Cooking is sometimes about the smallest of things — twenty seconds too long on the stove, and what was exceptional, becomes merely good. 

Not yet, no.

Really? 

I thought he was looking for help in how to get that hot, fragrant bowl of pho into his system — without injecting it into his veins.

Nava's returning.

The owners, the Srigatesooks, are hauling their woks across the parking lot to the space vacated by the suddenly-shuttered Taverna Kefi.

It's a big space, about five or six times as big as the old Nava space, and they're going to have to learn to handle the crowds. And the increased expectations.

I hope they can stick to their mission of cook-to-order street food. It takes about ten minutes, for instance, to prepare the papaya salad from scratch. And even the soups are made only when you order them. Most places just make these things ahead of time. It'll be an interesting challenge.

As for The Source … yeah, those are really high mark-ups, even for a place like The Source. But you know, if a place is charging $16 for four miniburgers, and $40 for a crispy whole fish, you've got to expect that the wines are going to be consistent with that.

I haven't heard anything that tells me that those plans are not going forward.

And no, I don't think the area is too saturated with butcher shops. Can there be too many butchers and gourmet shops? I don't think so.

I'd like to see more small markets, not less.

Happy new year to you, too — and all the rest of you out there. I hope you have a wonderful and safe — and tasty — New Year's Eve. 

Eat well, drink well, 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, January 6 at 11 AM.