Tuesday, May 19 at 11 AM

Too bad.

This isn't an age of menu mainstays. Things come and go (talking of Michelangelo … )

I think restaurants ought to rethink this preoccupation with new, new, new. With change, change, change. Variety is great, and if you want to cultivate a customer base that comes often, I guess it's necessary. But sure things are hard to come by in this world.

It's one reason why people go to vacation spots again and again.

Or why they love certain pizza joints and burger shops and certain ethnic restaurants. Because those places are known quantities, and they nail those two or three dishes every single time.

Cowgirl's it, in the city.

Unless you want to consider Dean and Deluca, which I would. And Whole Foods, which I also would. Both have good selections.

Butchers … In the city, again — nothing. You have to venture out. I like two in particular.

There's My Butcher and More, in Gambrills, for the big, meaty pork chops and the marrow bones and the old-fashioned welcome from thick-fingered butcher Mike Smollen. Let's Meet on the Avenue, in Del Ray, Stephen Gatward's shop, has a terrific selection of meat and poultry and game, including local bison and free-range chickens.

Ha. Sure.

Wouldn't it be fun, though, if they referred to the gig that way — dining dude? I guess that would've made Ruth Reichl the dining dudette. 

Huh. Interesting …

Tavira's a place I want to like, especially since I love Portuguese cooking and there's so little of it around in this area, but I've generally been disappointed by my meals there.

Thanks for the report. 

Chin up. Seriously. There's good eating to be had in Fairfax.

Actually, if you want to know something — better, cheaper and more varied eating than you ever had in Dupont.

I like Cuzco for Peruvian, Bombay Garden, Woodlands and Jaipur for Indian, Artie's for good ol' American, China Star for Szechuan, Blue Ocean for sushi, and Cheogajip for spicy Korean fried chicken.

All, as in all in Maryland, too? Have you tried Let's Meet on the Avenue?

Haven't been to The Organic Butcher — but they're on my list now. Thanks for the tip.

I think a lot of what we decide as best has to do with what we value in a butcher. I either want a butcher shop that has an old-time sensibility, where you can talk to the people and they're eager to get you the cuts you want and the vibe is right. Or I want a place that has a really terrific selection of things — marrow bones, bison, etc. Things you can't find anywhere else. 

I'm with you.

It's why I say that The Source is putting out the best Chinese cooking in DC proper.

I'd love to see someone from, say, San Francisco come out here and open up the kind of bold and exciting place you're talking about — a non-pan Asian place — and establish a new standard for the city.

Here's the thing, though:

That place, if it ever materializes, will be a big-deal place, an assuming place, an expensive place. 

It might be great, but it won't create a culture, because places like that never do.

And unfortunately, you don't arrive at what you're talking about — a pocket of ferment, with lots of restaurants all competing to be the best and pushing one another — without a culture.

I didn't go to either, no.

Chains? What's up with that? Chains have nothing to do with a community. And with all the restaurants in Arlington that there are to choose among–?

Anyone out there take in Taste of Wheaton? 

You know, I'd like to know, myself.

There's a Penzey's in Rockville, on the Pike, and I know a lot of people swear by them, but a lot of what the company sells are spice blends and rubs. Okay in a pinch, I guess, but I like whole spices, so that I can grind my own and make my own blends and rubs. And whole spices hold onto their flavor a lot longer, too.

The ethnic markets — and there are a slew of them in the area — sell spices, often whole, and at a fraction of what you'd pay at a Whole Foods or other grocery store. The only drawback, I find, is that if you're conversant in the kitchen with a wide variety of cuisines, you're going to have to hop from store to store to store to get what you need. And that's a pain.

I always forget that they've got some cheeses on hand — in addition to, let me add, a very good array of wines.

Thanks for chiming in.

Aiyiyi.

The organizers of these events should simply say: open only to local businesses.

It's the right thing to do. 

Which means it'll never happen.

I also think — on a slightly different topic — that high schools should forbid corporations from coming in and selling pizza and burgers, etc.

Instead, with every new year, the corporations gain a greater foothold, because the schools say they need the money — they're desperate for money.

It's not just that the food is lacking in nutrition — empty calories. It's also the fact that schools, which are there, one would hope, to teach young people to think, are actively discouraging critical thinking by allowing these corporations to market, sell and perpetuate their businesses.

Why? Because the question, unless I misunderstood, was: cheese shops in DC, not cheese shops in "the area."

And Farrah Olivia has postponed its closing, and is, so far as I know, still open for business.

I like the sound of that, a dad and daughter night out.

It's really hard to beat Ray's for that kind of value, at that level. I'm glad the chat helped you out. 

Haven't tried 'em yet.

But boy, they sure did look terrific.

Quite a bit, actually.

Among the sushi and sashimi, you don't want to miss the lobster tempura roll, the sea urchin nigiri (I'd ask when it came in, first), and the fatty yellowtail sashimi.

When it comes to choosing among the selection of small plates, I'd go for the sweet-shrimp with sake jelly and the arctic char with lemon and salt, and the Asian pork "tacos." This last, I know, sounds like a disaster, but it's not — they're actually pretty darn rewarding.

Huh?

Who said I was fascinated with Twitter? Where are you getting that?

And what's with the hostility?

I will say, and have said before, that I don't see why Twitter is regarded by some as such a silly and trivial thing, when there are goofy blogs and angry blogs and pointless blogs by the hundreds of thousands.  

You're lucky to be looking for these things in Wheaton.

For the pho, you've got Pho Hiep Hoa, just down from Full Key. And for pretty good banh mi, An-Binh, on Georgia Ave., a small deli.

It's true. Having dinner in the capable hands of a good, gracious, enthusiastic staff can really make a pretty good meal feel special.

I like a lot of what I've seen from Potenza so far. Particularly the fact that in a city where the best Italian spots are of the expense-account variety, it seems to get the idea that you don't have to aim high to be good.

I know a lot of foodies who sneer at red-checkered tablecloth Italian and revere regional and micro-regional Italian cooking, but there's not much more satisfying and happy-making than Italian-American done right. Which is to say: done lustily, in a spirit of love and plenty.

Enjoy the Fall-like day, everyone, and say a little pray for our beloved Wizards, who need all the help they can get at tonight's draft lottery in Secaucus. Win it, and we'll have a contender for the next 10 years. Lose it, and, ah, well — I don't want to think about it; it's too painful …

Anyway, as always — eat well, be well, and let's do it again next week at 11 … 

(thinking of you, TEK)

An-Binh is gone? That's a shame. That was one of the few places for decent banh mi that's not in Virginia.

Your homework, Silver Spring: to bring us back the name of the Aspen Hill spot for next week. 

Didn't get your question answered? Submit in advance to Todd's chat next Tuesday, May 26 at 11 AM.