Tuesday, March 16 at 11 AM

Thanks for reading, and thanks for writing in.

It's interesting what you bring up. I didn't get into that issue because the scope of the piece was not about the environment and healthful eating. 

And actually, I haven't read anything anywhere on the subject of plastics in cooking. It might make for something interesting. Or not; I would imagine the CS scientists have looked into the ways that plastic does or doesn't affect the food. 

Nothing in particular I'm looking forward to, no.

I imagine what's coming — the quality of the places — is going to be pretty similar to what's already there. And what's already there is — okay. Interesting. Unfailingly interesting. But not all that wonderful.

Granville Moore trailed off, Sticky Rice never was very good to begin with, H Street is a gimmick, and Taylor ought to be better than it is.

I had the roast pork, broccoli rabe and provolone sandwich there recently, and couldn't finish it — it was like biting into layers and layers of fat. The rabe was the woody stems, and the provolone was portioned out in unsatisfying pieces — not the nice, long blanket of cheese. I loved my first few bites, the flavor was right on, but the fat turned my stomach and I felt bloated and couldn't go on. And I didn't eat again for 7 hours after. 

And the sausage on a sausage and pepper sandwich was overcooked.

I applaud Taylor for bulking up its sandwiches, and for moving them closer to the zesty, generous ideal, but there's still work to be done.

I'll look into it, but for the moment, no, I know nothing about it.

Thanks for reading the Ox Am piece, and thanks for the compliment; I appreciate it. It's a great issue, generally — I encourage you and anyone else to look for it and pick it up. Some great reading in there … 

TC,

Thanks for the heads-up. I like muesli. And — just taking a look now at The Google, as my good friend Matt calls it — it appears the company is big into eco-consciousness, or at least — a kind of corporate eco-consciousness — and local farms, etc., etc. Good.

And this is neat — "if you bring us your own bowl, we will gladly wash it and fill it with your meal." A feel-good eco-friendly policy, I suppose, but why wash what I bring you? Are my belongings not clean enough?

They also promise to bike or walk all deliveries.

Interesting. But — weird, too, don't you think? 

All this, of course, is nice mission talk, and it will surely get them a lot of pub — just like, uh, now — but of course doing good and thinking good thoughts is not the same as tasting good and being good. And restaurants nowadays who endeavor to be green and local would do well to remember this.

I am thinking of the very disappointing Mixt Greens, on 19th St., in D.C. 

Don't know enough about Dallas at the moment to offer a rec. Can anybody else chime in with a suggestion?

And I'm so glad to hear Fig and Charleston Grille were so good. I think they're terrific spots. I don't know about Muse; what can you tell me about it?

Thank you, Enzo.

And good luck to you on your next restaurant. 

Meskerem is not just as good.

If you're looking for another Ethiopian restaurant in the city, I'd recommend Madjet, on U St. It's not as good as Etete, either — the cooking tends to be heavier — but it's good, and a fantastic experience in addition because of the tight quarters and the lively atmosphere. Service is more approachable and personable, too, than Etete.

I also like Axum, one of the stalwarts of DC's Ethiopian dining scene. Axum has been around a long, long time.  

Steve, good to have you back on this morning …

I've been to Grace Garden several times, and eaten my way through much of the standing menu — I've never called ahead for the advance-notice dishes. I like the place, but I've never been able to work up the same enthusiasm for it as some of its great loyalists. And I don't think chef Li is in the same discussion as Chang, from what I've seen.

The big problem on my visits has been the oil. I think it's a case of — he doesn't change it enough, he tends to use too much of it, or he doesn't have hot enough burners to get the temperature to the right level, and so the oil clings. I notice this with stir fry dishes and fried dishes both. I've had dishes that would have been terrific, if not for being too oily. I also suspect that he's frying both poultry and fish in the same oil.

For me, the standout remains the fish noodles, which I've had on two of my three visits. A great, great dish. Despite the residual oiliness. 

This reminds me of when I was a kid, a latchkey kid, I guess you would say — although I never thought anything of it at the time, and still don't; is it really that strange for a kid not to have his mommy at home when he returns home from school? So anyway, I would come home and immediately get on the phone and call my mom at work. The question was always the same: "What should I have for my snack?"

And my mom would run down every choice in the house, from the fridge to the pantry, great leftovers, remains of homemade cakes, etc., and invariably I would reject the first six or seven or so — like a pitcher shaking off a signal from the catcher. All these riches, and yet I couldn't find something that I wanted to eat at that exact moment.

Anyway. How about Delhi Club?

Or Pho 75?

Or maybe — although getting slightly up there in price for some dishes — Harry's Tap Room?

No scoop.

I would guess they'll be doing some shooting at Whole Foods locations, and I would guess the 14th St. stop is something the producers will zero in on.

From all I've read, and all I've heard, people seem pretty excited about this.

You know what I'd probably do? I'd make a point of hitting PS 7's for its lounge menu.

The food is wonderful, fun and refined, and it's both more inexpensive and more lively than the dining room. Tuna sliders, a mini (and marvelous) version of the famous Primanti Bros. sandwich from Pittsburgh, some good flatbreads (I wish they'd bring back the terrific Buffalo Chicken wing), a superb burger …

And it's not far at all from the Convention Center.

Go, have a good time, and be sure to come back on next week and let us know how things went … 

Thank you, for writing in and letting me know.

As for the Kobe, I've had it. It's insanely costly, just so you know — $130 for a five ounce portion. Is it good? It is. It's very good. But you need at least one glass of wine to go with it, and more likely two — not so much to cut the insistent richness of the thing as to get it all down, to keep going.

And all that wine, and all that lushness, after eating, say, a popover and pate and an appetizer may send you very, very swiftly into a food coma, as it did me. Just a warning. Not the feeling you want, I don't think, after paying $130. Order carefully.

What can I say? I think they handled this really badly.

I would bet that a lot of this was motivated by a desire on the part of Goldoni to play it coy as the kitchen changeover was in process, but still …

I also think you would be wrong to draw a larger message about the dining scene in this city from this drawn-out, poorly handled episode.

Here are some good options for you — places in your designated areas with good food and communal tables, both.

Many thanks to Eileen Daly, a graduate student who's working on a master's degree, for what follows. Eileen interviewed me a couple of weeks ago for my thoughts on the communal table — as symbol, as substance — and kindly sent along her list of the spots in the area that have 'em. What a timely conversation ..

I've winnowed that list to meet your needs, and also to make sure I'm recommending places I can stand by. I've also added the number of seats that each restaurant says its communal table seats.

Black's Bar & Kitchen (10)

Blue Duck Tavern (12-16)

Buck's Fishing & Camping (20)

Circle Bistro (12)

Dino (6-10)

Masa 14 (16)

Sou'Wester (10)

Zaytinya (18)

Zentan (12)

Thanks for chiming in on this.

I'm with you.

And I think this is where you really have to hand it to Chipotle, because the quality — for fast-food — is high and the prices are cheap.

Of course, Chipotle is a massive chain. That means enormous buying power, which means lower prices across the board. The smaller outfits just can't match that, unfortunately.

I contend that the way to make this revolution more mainstream — and it needs to become more mainstream if it is going to change the way we eat and live — is for companies, whether new or existing, to figure out ways to serve good, wholesome, fresh food for cheap.

(Among those ways is involving the government, and putting pressure on it to subsidize the growing of much more produce than it currently does.)

Obviously there are people who are dying for good, wholesome food to be more widely available. And people who don't know that it would be a great thing for them, for their minds and bodies, for their communities — I think they would very quickly get on board, so long as they could have this stuff cheaply.

Asking people to spend more on food, or asking them to support farmers and farms and a concept of local — that's not going to change things. Or not change them enough. That's feel-goodism, and only the comfortable can afford to practice feel good-ism.

Make good, fresh food, and make it cheap.

It's inching closer to lunch time, and now, of course, I'm ravenous …

Thanks for writing back. Curious to hear what you ate at Charleston Grille — though I know it'll only make things worse.

I think Bob Waggoner, the chef there, is a major talent. 

If it's all about scarfing, then let it be all about scafing.

Both places I can think of that would be "better," you and your friends would probably dismiss as too expensive and/or too formal. Poste is one. It serves a great brunch, one of the best in the city. The other is Cafe du Parc.  

Cedar is in line with these two. I think it does a good brunch, too. But again — too expensive and too formal.

Just go to Clyde's and have a good time and don't worry too much about it.

I'd hang around all the places that expensive people do.

So –The Four Seasons, The Ritz-Carlton, Cafe Milano, the streets of Georgetown (out-of-towners still think of it as hip), etc. I imagine you'll hear reports of sightings of cast members at places like Proof and Westend Bistro and The Source, etc, etc.

Interesting.

I've never heard, or read, about an "exquisite palate," but food world people talk all the time of having a "good palate." And yes, like you, I don't think it has all that much to do with amateur vs. professional. I think a lot of it is intrinsic. 

I think there are food world people without a good palate, but if you take someone with a good palate and add in a work ethic, and brains, and imagination, then I think you have a person who is capable of doing big things.

You see a lot of young, very young, sommeliers these days, and why is that? I think it's because a good palate is, as I said, largely intrinsic. The depth and breadth of knowledge isn't there, and can't be, with someone 24 or 25. The experience, the travel — not likely to be there, either. But the good palate can be. Some people are born with a very acute sense of smell, and can identify and distinguish among a whole host of aromas and fragrances, etc., and taste and smell are very closely related, as we all know.

Anyway … That's it for today, everyone — thank you for all the questions and the good give-and-take. I'm off to lunch.

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

Submit your question in advance to Todd's chat next week.

[missing you, TEK … ]