Tuesday, May 4 at 11 AM

OK.

Duly noted.

Restauranting on that scale, as you put it, may be a brutally hard business, but it happens in many different pockets of this vast area. I am convinced it can be done in Prince George's.

The question is, will it be done?

And I'm not terribly optimistic on that score. It will take pioneering people — true pioneers, not those who flatter themselves for their vision by setting up shop on the edge of already "sprung" neighborhoods. And it will take real and active support from local officials, support in the form of tax breaks and other incentives. Without both, together, it's just not going to happen.

And I don't see nearly enough of both of these things.

I think there are not enough visionaries in the restaurant community — people who are fortunate enough and brave enough to look beyond the bottom line. There are a number of good local chains, and yet how many of these chains do you see venture into Prince George's?

The restaurateurs and developers talk about population density, but I can't imagine that a.) race and b.) class don't also play a part. Though class is tricky in this case, because there's money in the county. Which leaves us with …

I also think the county's politicos are too content to bring in name chains and are not nearly aggressive enough in trying to encourage meaningful development. It's unimaginative leadership.

We are also talking, here, about a majority African-American county, and as I said last week — DC is a majority African-American city, and yet how many people of color do you see when you go out to lunch and dinner in the most prominent restaurants?

There's a deep, deep cultural disconnect.

Best I've had in the area are at Surfside, in Glover Park. They really do come pretty close to the Baja ideal.

Pretty good ones, also, at The General Store, in Silver Spring. 

As to a third — I'm not coming up with anything at the moment, sorry …

Bill, thanks for finding your way to these chats. And welcome aboard …

I'm glad to hear you had such a good meal at Milano, but also a little surprised — since I've never had what I would consider a top-notch meal there. I remain open to the possibility, though, and hope it will knock my socks off sometime in the future, but so far, at least, I have to agree with that first line of yours — a place to see and be seen.

Glamor it may have, but I think there are better places to drop that kind of money. I also think there are a lot more places that put out a better, more exciting meal.

Paul, the piece — an adapted excerpt of my new book — has just gone up online

And incidentally, the book, THE WILD VINE, is officially out today. I hope all of you, my passionate and devoted readers, will do me the great honor of giving it a look. 

It hasn't fallen off the list — it's just not in rotation at the moment, is all. I like the list to reflect my current enthusiasms, and I try to spread the love from week to week, month to month, if I can.

I think La Caraqueña is terrific — as you say, a delightful and consistent place.

As for Taqueria La Placita, I think it has the best tacos in the area right now. 20 kinds, including pork lip and pork cheek. The tortillas are made fresh and griddled until toasty and warm before being stuffed — or overstuffed, actually — with meat. The salsas are superb, and I love the fact you can get pickled onions on the table to add a final, brilliant garnish.

My favorites are the pork leg taco and the al pastor. The latter is a massive hunk of pressed, barbecued pork, sliced thin from a vertical spit a la gyro meat — it's a dish that resulted from the arrival of Lebanese immigrants into Mexico. The thin, sliced pork is mixed with shavings of pineapple and chopped onion. It's an amazing taco.

I also love the atmosphere of the place, and especially the row of stuffed, mounted deer heads that line the main wall.

The problem is the $30 cap per person.

At the level I think you're thinking of, you're just not going to find a whole lot good food and good drink for that kind of money in this area — and particularly in that part of the area. Almost a third of that goes to tip and tax, which means you're left with approximately $20 for a meal and a drink.

That's TGIFriday's prices. 

One place I can think of that you might want to look into is Maggiano's, in Friendship Heights, but it's not too distinctive, and the food is decent but not great.  

Anybody else have any suggestions–? 

Congratulations on little Alexander, Cheverly. I'm thrilled for you and your husband! What a joyous, frenetic, unreal time this must be. Savor it.

And I agree with everything you say here. The value is remarkable, even for a Ray's restaurant, and for such a new place, it manages, already, to feel of its place and time.

The chicken is, yes, excellent. Excellent and original. And whoa — the return of the $5 glass of wine! And the return of the slew of sides!

This kind of restaurant — simply prepared American food, at a very good price, in unpretentious surroundings, and with no loss of care or detail for being so much a bargain — simply doesn't exist in the DC area. The closest is the chains, and they're soul-killing and (eventually, over time) body-destroying.

I hope people in the industry are watching and learning.

Thanks for writing in.

It's interesting, isn't it, that in this kind of a forum, at least, you seldom read about a diner just deciding to write a restaurant off after a bad experience.

I guess for a lot of people, a forum like this exists as a means of airing a grievance, and as a mean of redress. 

Same thing I heard, too.

And they're going to be taping this afternoon at Oohhs & Aahhs, too.

These programs are great. They scour our magazine and website for great and novel tips, and don't bother to give credit.

Of course, a lot of the time they don't bother to read the magazine and website, and that's when you see these mystifyingly out-of-it programs, where the host visits Clyde's and strolls the streets of that restaurant mecca, Adams Morgan.

I really like Michael's Genuine Food and Drink and Sra. Martinez, both in the Design District.

As for Cuban, there are a slew of places, all roughly at the same level, and you really should make a point of eating as much of it as you can since it's so hard to find good Cuban cooking around here. By the way: are you a fan of cafe con leche? Tinta y Cafe on Calle Ocho makes about the best cafe con leche I've had. Good sandwiches, too.

Stunned at what?

Stunned that I would talk about my book on my weekly chat? Um, am I missing something here? 

How is that even remotely in the same ballpark as when a publicist sneaks on and anonymously posts about a great dish at a great place?

The analogy, if there is one — is you and your fellow restaurateurs and chefs talking about your spinoff restaurant on your website.

I think you might need to loosen that apron string …

I'm not feeding into that stereotype — you need to track the larger conversation. In fact, last week I said that if Prince George's were in Iowa, or Ohio, or anywhere else, it would be regarded as vital and affluent. Here, in this area, with Montgomery, Arlington, Fairfax and Loudoun counties, it's widely regarded (by the money men) as poor and lacking.

You make a good point about homegrown interests. But although you see homegrown restaurants in MoCo and Arlington and Fairfax, etc., you also see restaurants from chefs and/or restaurateurs with outside interests. Both are needed.

Andy Shallal, whose Busboys & Poets is coming to Hyattsville (probably in early 2011), is a good example of the latter. But Andy is unusual. He cares more than just about money, and doesn't make excuses or trot out the usual canards. 

Good calls.

I think they're both worth a long look. Thanks for the assist! 

The closest — though not close — is Oyamel, in Penn Quarter.

It just so happens that it's one of Michelle Obama's favorite DC restaurants. She's into the "salt-air" margaritas. The Obamas, in case you didn't know, are big fans of Topolobampo.)

Really? I wasn't too crazy about them the last time I had them.

The Hill. Love the Hill.

But no, Potenza's not like those restaurants. DC really doesn't have any place that's like those places. Potenza is closer to that model than most, and I enjoy it, but I think you'll go in with unreasonable expectations if you're asking it to function for you in the same way a trattoria in the Hill functions for you.

You might think about hitting Little Italy, in Baltimore. 

Just to clear up any confusion — Michael Downey is the name of the distributor, not the chatter.

Thanks for the great tasting notes, Colesville. Some terrific-sounding recommendations there. 

I don't. I wish I did.

My inability to offer a recommendation is not a comment on my lack of knowledge of the scene there, but a common on the scene itself.

Michael Harr, who was recently brought in to run the show at Old Hickory Steakhouse and Moon Bay Coastal Cuisine, could change that. We'll see. Harr was the chef at the Butterfield 9, and he was putting out some of the most exciting (and underappreciated) cooking in the city at the time of the restaurant's demise.

Third week of May.

And newcomers make up a quarter of the current edition of the list.

It's a great question — great questions, I guess I should say.

What do you do? I say, eat what you like. I mean, really. Life's too short.

What you might think about doing is gradually incorporating these more courage-requiring dishes — say, one per meal.

My guess is, the reason you all didn't enjoy the more authentic dishes as much is not because you're wusses, but because you didn't start with the right ones. As in everything else, there are right introductions and wrong introductions.

Keep trying, but slowly, gradually. You'll eventually find two or three that you like.

As to craving Asian food when it's raining … I've never thought about it before in that way. I tend to crave it when I've had too steady a diet of blandly generic (if quality) cooking, or too many overrich meals.

Thank you. 

Can't recommend a sushi spot, because I don't have a can't-fail restaurant. Sushi Sono in Columbia is excellent, though, and it's on the way.

As for the new additions …

I think Pueblo Viejo is one of the best Salvadoran restaurants around, and really minds the details — knock-out salsa made from roasted veggies, a wonderful fruit drink with chopped fresh fruit, good saucing on the enchiladas, a good tortilla soup, a very good version of tamal de elote, superb homemade flan. 

And Bluegrass Tavern is doing what a lot of places are trying to do now, but doing it just a little bit better than most. A commitment to local sourcing, a creative but rooted menu, detailed, careful cooking, fair prices and a warm, unpretentious vibe. I like it. And it's easy to get to from DC, since it's right near the stadia. 

That's it for this week, everyone — I'm going to go grab a quick lunch and then get right back to a pile of work I need to tackle.

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

[missing you, TEK … today, especially … ] 

>>Submit your question in advance for next week's chat.