Tuesday, June 2 at 11 AM

I love the tacos at La Sirenita, in Little Mexico.

The salty beef tacos, especially. You get a two-ply corn tortilla filled with lots of meat and chopped cilantro, with radish to garnish it with and two kinds of sauce — one green, one red, both delicious.

The goat is good, too, and I also like the carnitas and the barbacoa.

To me, these are the best tacos in the area, and I go back for them again and again.

There are also good tacos at El Tapatio, also in Little Mexico, and at La Fondita, in Hyattsville, which occupies a tiny white house not far from the railroad trucks.

A couple of weeks ago, I had a fabulous little meal at La Fondita. I ordered a plate of slow-cooked lamb, and got a big portion of soft, tender meat and a pile of fresh-made corn tortillas. I shredded the meat (it wasn't hard), folded it within the tortilla, spooned on some of the excellent salsa verde, and voila! A terrific taco.

You also get good rice and good beans. A helluva meal for eight bucks. 

Temari Cafe in Rockville has ramen, but it's not what you'd call real ramen.

Sorry. I wish there were — just as I wish there was real soba being made here. It can be a fabulous thing. 

What else are we missing? 

And I mean both what don't we have a lot of, and what don't we have at all that we ought to.

Personally, I wish I saw places serving lemon meringue pie. Or just pie. What's wrong with pie? Not a tart. Not a twist on pie. No: a slice of pie. 

I wish there were more places making good soups.

What else?

My feeling is, I don't think you should criticize a restaurant for not permitting you to take a picture.

I don't have a problem with people taking pictures in restaurants. And most restaurants apparently don't, either.

Since we're talking about peeves … My peeve, these days, is with people who seem to have no idea that when you go out to a restaurant you might be seated near — sometimes very near, what with the way tables are squeezed together in some new and new-ish places — other people.

And that sitting so close to another table, that table may be tempted to talk to you or engage with you at some point. Not for long. Maybe not at all. But the possibility exists. You don't bring a bubble with you when you go out to eat. You don't dine in a cone of silence. It's not a hermetic seal around you.

If you want that hermetic seal, you go to the Inn at LW, or you request a table out of the way and in the corner. 

In the city, as in the city limits? And best, as in best, most memorable food?

I don't think there's any place better than Thai X-ing, which isn't really a restaurant. It's only got a couple of tables, and is meant ideally for carryout. 

If we're talking about the entire area, then we're talking about Nava Thai. I've gotten emails from readers for a couple of months now about how the restaurant isn't what it was, and some of you on the chat have weighed in too about this point.

I was there not long ago, though, and had a terrific meal. It could have been the time of day — lunch, late, during the week. But everything was dead-on.

I will say that I don't enjoy the space as much. The old black-and-white framed photos, like the one of Elvis in Thailand, are lost among all those rooms. And it very much has the feel of a restaurant that has taken over for another, and not yet made an old place its own.

Thanks for writing.

In Maryland, I really like Han Ah Reum in Wheaton. In Virginia, I like the several Grand Marts I've been to. Both are beloved by the area's Asian cooks.

I always find that shopping for produce at these places is far better than shopping for produce at places like Giant and Whole Foods. I know that will be blasphemous to all those Whole Foods devotees who are certain that the products they are paying top dollar for are the best, the choicest, in the entire area.

Well, 'taint so.

You walk down the aisles at Grand Mart, and you can actually smell the stuff, the way you can at a farmer's market. I never get a smell at Whole Foods.

And the selection is fantastic. There are things there you simply won't know what to do with. I always come home with something I've never seen before.

And the prices. They're extremely reasonable. They're what prices should be.

I have.

It's very decent. The atmosphere is old-school Ethiopian, much more like the kinds of places I used to go to back in the '80s.

The cooking isn't as refined as Etete's, isn't as vivid, but that doesn't mean it's not a decent option for a meal. 

There isn't any, sorry to say.

And I wouldn't get my hopes up just because Obama's here, either. He prefers thin-crust to deep dish. 

It's called Bo Nuong Xa, and no restaurants here do it as far as I know.

The new Four Sisters, in Merrifield, does, however, serve its beef-filled grape leaves this way. A lot of fun to eat, and it's a delicious dish, besides.

I'll have to get down to Mekong … Thanks for the tip. 

Well, the gross bathrooms evidently didn't bother Emeril and his posse. They ate at Captain Pell's twice in one week  last summer while filming nearby.

Let's see — out that way? Have you tried Quarterdeck?

My favorites are the places down in Pope's Creek, Robertson's and Billy's, and Cantler's, in Annapolis.

You said "it doesn't have to be fancy." A good crab place shouldn't be fancy. It should be simple and clean, that's all. And, of course, it should have lots of fresh crabs on hand, and lots of cold beer, and a couple of fiercely competent and sassy waitresses.

Great tip re: ramen. But are they making their own at Matuba? Or just serving packaged ramen? It's a lot of work to make your own.

Why do you dislike in particular about Grand Mart? I've had great success at several.

Yes, Lotte. Also good. Thanks for reminding me. I'll have to get out to the one in Chantilly.  

Good ones.

You know, I was watching the Adam Richman show the other night, what's it called? — Man vs. Food? Anyway, it occurred to me while I was watching two episodes back to back that what we don't have, here, is exactly the kinds of places he goes to. 

What kinds of places does he go to? Fun places.

And for the most part, we don't have 'em.

We have some places that make the right moves to be fun, but are so calculated, that fun eludes them.

We have a few high-concept places that look fun, that ought to be fun — that practically scream fun — but are too uptight, in the end, to actually be fun.

And I'm not saying that a place has to have some kind of eating challenge on the menu to be fun. Although it couldn't hurt.

I'm saying a fun place. A come-as-you-are place. A place with crazy, distinctive food. A place that is a conversation piece. A place that has been a legend for decades, that exudes character in its crazy, distinctive decor and details.

I can think of only a handful. 

Oh, yeah. I think that Wegman's is the best grocery store in the area.

But although it's many things, it's not an Asian market, and doesn't have some of the things they do.

Thanks for writing in.

But executives? Sharing food?

I would sooner expect to see an executive begging for change on the street to pay the valet.

Remember, the fact that food can be shared, doesn't mean it will be shared. I've been to many steakhouses, and I've seen many a well-dressed man order a plate of food that was big enough to feed a small village. And I have never, ever seen that man share.

Heck, only rarely have I seen that man ask for a doggie bag to take home what he doesn't finish.

Sharing, doggie bags = unmanly.

It's a good suggestion, and as I said last week, we'll consider making this addition for next year.

I can tell you, though, that not very many of the places missed the cut because of their prices. If they missed the cut, it was because they were not good enough, or consistent enough, or because something else came along that was both of these things and knocked them out.

Well, I like both the Sterling and Centreville Grand Marts a lot.

And the Alexandria store is pretty good, too, even with that smell. I've never bought fish from the counter there. But the frozen stuff is good, and there's a huge selection.

Good to know about the chef at Matuba. Thanks. I'll be sure to give the ramen a spin, soon. 

One, the name's not Tom, and B, I've eaten at four or five taquerias in Manassas. All decent, but nothing that really stood out for me.

What's your place called? Or have you never actually gone there?

In northern Virginia, probably the best taco you can get is at El Charrito Caminante, in Arlington. 

Nothing that I'd consider a hidden gem, no.

Murasaki is good for sushi. It's on Wisconsin Ave. in Tenleytown. Cafe Ole, a meze and tapas place, is tasty, and, for the city, pretty affordable. Also on Wisconsin.

Sushi Sushi, across from 2 Amys, is also good for sushi, though sometimes uneven (something that never happened when it was a smaller operation, in Bethesda). I really like their eel. Maybe the best broiled eel in the area, when it's on. 

Calvert Liquors, a terrific wine shop, is definitely worth getting to know. It's on Connecticut, not far from the Van Ness metro.

It is, it's fabulous.

And at that price, and with that degree of care and attention, it amounts to giving away food. 

No, haven't been. Thanks for the tip.

I don't normally do buffets, either — except Indian buffets, which are generally as good and rewarding as their American counterparts are not. 

You've definitely piqued my curiosity, though.

A chef still has to produce good dishes, and good ingredients are no guarantee of that. 

Can they help? Of course they can.

But sometimes, the quality of ingredients becomes a substitute for imagination, for really cooking with passion and verve and transforming the raw material into something sublime and memorable.

You're right about local beef. But I would say that if you liked the taste, but not the texture, then that is the fault of the chef. It's his or her job to take that great raw ingredient and make it into a delicious dish. 

I'd wait until August, when a lot of "official" Washington flees town.

As for BBQ, I'd head to KBQ for the ribs and beef brisket, or to Johnny Boy's in La Plata for the pulled pork sandwich with Mama Sophie's tangy sweet red sauce and coleslaw.

Man, I could go for one of those right about now …

Good thought. 

And certainly worth a try … Thanks for thinking of this … 

All right, Mekong is a must-do this summer.

And the apple pie at Blue Duck … really? I was never that high on it to begin with. 

Another great tip.

You all are full of tips today. I really appreciate it. You've given me some fresh leads.

Lunch calls, so I'm going to wrap this up and get going … Of course, now I've got the image of the Johnny Boy's pulled pork sandwich in my head and I have the feeling that nothing else is quite going to measure up to that! 

Be well, everyone, eat well, and let's do it again next Tuesday at 11 …