Tuesday, July 27 at 11 AM

My Indian recs are not strong recs. Bombay Bistro is probably the one I feel strongest about. Memsahib is decent, and fun. India Grill has its moments but is not consistent enough for me.

You're right about the preponderance of Northern Chinese restaurants. Not much in the way of Cantonese, or not much in the way of good Cantonese. Bob's Noodle 66 is a break from the pack, in that it's Taiwanese. I think it's a terrific spot. Go for the ginger chicken, the Taiwanese hamburger, the soups, and the volcano of shaved ice for dessert. 

I don't have any inside info, but I did speak with a couple of folks in the neighborhood not long ago, and they tell me that Miss Charlotte's is planning on a return. I hope so. It was a good, honest lunch at a good price. Also, a reminder that crabcakes need not be upscale to be good.

"It actually amortizes." That is a good one to tell your wife or girlfriend! Beats a lot of other things you can say in your defense.

Thanks for chiming in with the tip. 

Sounds expensive to me, still, for something you may only do every so often. What do you mean by — a lot of art involved?

I'm with you on this — I've been very disappointed in the pizzas I've had there for the last year or so.

So why are they in the list at the top of this chat? Because everything else has been brilliant.

I think you really have to think of 2 Amys, now, as an Italian restaurant. If you do that, you'll focus on the small plates and the wines and the desserts, and you'll have great meals. The small plates I've had in the past year have been really, really good, with some tremendous highs and — remarkable, if you think about it — not one out-and-out dud or disappointment that I can remember in the bunch. I also like the selection of wines by the glass; there are some great, and affordable, complements to the food on the list. Desserts are simple and good — the ice creams are some of the best in the city, and I've always loved the almond cake.

For pizza, for just pizza, I would do what you do — I would hit Pete's. I think it's the best pizza going in the city right now. With Moroni and Brother's trailing, in second.

I think, first of all, that Komi makes its own decisions, it doesn't follow the pack, and I don't think you could call this a trend.

I can respect the decision, even if I can understand your rationale of wanting a kind of photographic keepsake of a great meal.

If I were the chef of a restaurant like this, I would not want diners posting pictures of my food on the internet. That may not have been your intention, but it's not out of the realm of possibility that they wind up there. 

I would want diners to have as unmediated an experience as possible. That's not what a lot of restaurants want, particularly restaurants with PR operations behind them. The idea is to mediate as much as possible, so that blogs and publications are flooded with info and diners arrive knowing the chef's philosophy, his inspirations, his sources, and the restaurant's reason for being.

Komi doesn't tout. There's no PR operation, there's barely a website, there are no pictures floating on the internet, and for such a highly praised restaurant it remains, by contrast with most of the other big-name spots in town, something of a mystery still.

I like that, and I would want that if I were the chef of a restaurant at that level. It allows you to come to it, to discover what it is and is not, what it has to offer and what it doesn't. 

I'm glad you asked. It does require a little strategy.

Here's what I would do.

I would build around the sushi and sashimi; that's your anchor.

If you're in a mood to splurge, give serious consideration to the extra menu you get at the beginning, a list of specials for the day. On it, you'll find some interesting choices. Last time I was in, it was fresh uni prized from its shell. Expensive, but since it's so rare, kind of worth it. It was fantastic. I've also seen yellowtail belly on there, and a number of varieties of fish that are seldom seen on sushi menus around here.

If something catches your eye, and you can afford it, get it.

On the regular sushi menu, I'd also be sure to order the bari chirashi, one of the best presentations of chirashi I've seen. It's a good selection, beautifully offered.

So: a selection or two from the daily special list, an order of bari chirashi and then maybe a half-dozen to a dozen pieces of sushi or sashimi.

The sushi is presented more classically than some places, so the pieces are smaller and more delicate than some would prefer. But the balance, here — between fish and rice, and in the rice between sugar and vinegar — is excellent. 

Now, with sushi as your anchor, you can think about grilled items and small plates. I'd consider any of the following: the meatballs, the Japanese potato salad, the duck thigh, the skewered foie gras, the stuffed quail.

My drink of choice: Hitachino Japanese white ale. 

And don't forget dessert: I like the meyer lemon-and-shochu sorbet, and I like to mix the Valrhona chocolate ice cream and the salt ice cream.

Have a great time, and let me know next week how it turns out … 

Yeah, two years is excessive, even in this industry where delays are the norm for openings.

I walked by that site just last week, and saw what you saw; if work has been done, if this thing is progressing, it's really hard to tell. I don't hear much about the project these days; and what I hear is idle speculation and innuendo, which we don't need to get into here.

From everything I know, and from the way things are going, I have to say — I just don't think this thing is going to happen. I could be wrong, but that's what I think right now.

As for essays — you tell me, what would you like to see explored? What would you like to read? 

There are.

I think Sushi Sono is excellent, and also worth a 30-40 minute drive. One of the things I love there is the sashimi presentation of mackerel. The flesh is rendered into delicate bands of sashimi, which are served alongside a bowed, skewered carcass, itself transformed into a kind of fishing boat. When you're done, a waitress asks if you'd like the carcass to be fried. Say yes. The result is oddly addictive, crunchy and salty and pleasantly fishy.

If you go, make sure to get the restaurant's version of shrimp balls, coated in panko, fried, and then dusted with Old Bay. The daily specials nearly always include either chu-toro or oh-toro, and unlike the majority of tuna in the region, it's seldom if ever mealy.

I also really like Jesse Wong's Asean (that's not a typo) Bistro. The menu is pan-Asian, but most of the dishes — and most of the best dishes — I think would fall under the heading of Chinese (tea-smoked duck with steamed buns, minced chicken in lettuce wraps, wontons in chili oil). Stirfrys are notably cleaner and lighter than elsewhere. The presentation is grand, even at times over the top, but this emphasis on style is not meant to distract you from the lack of substance in the cooking. 

Some friends of mine in nearby Savage, Md., have been talking excitedly of an Indian place in Columbia, Royal Taj. I've yet to go, but on the basis of their recommendations am eager to begin exploring the menu. 

I'm being told that there are some "bizarre" technical problems going on with the site today.

The producer just emailed to say only 2 questions and answers have been posted — 2 out of the 10 I have submitted.

I can tell you that the problem is being worked on — although I don't know that that matters a great deal at this point, since none of you, I take it, are going to read what I just typed …

No, they'd probably never know. But what's the point? Unless the restaurant "wrongs" you, somehow, why spurn the request to not snap a picture? And especially if that request was made in a reasonable, non-snotty way?

Haven't been for karaoke, no — and in fact, have never done karaoke. Not that I can remember, anyway. ; )

Can't offer any guidance, here — sorry. But I can tell you that the sushi is generally pretty bad. I'd drink heavily, then eat. 

I'd add Komi and Citronelle to that list.

And I'd narrow my decision to Komi, Citronelle, 2941 and The Source. 

You know, it's a really good question you ask, and I say that because now that I think about it — no, there's nothing I'd recommend; nothing that really qualifies to me as really great Chinese take-out.

Banana Leaves, just north of Dupont Circle, isn't exclusively Chinese — it's a mix of Asian styles — but I think they do a pretty good job of carryout. Mr. Chen's Organic Chinese in Woodley Park is fine in a pinch. Great Wall Szechuan is also fine in a pinch.

Nothing wonderful, though.

Unless I'm forgetting something … Any place you think deserves to be added to the not-so-illustrious list I've compiled?

I don't know if it's a problem with "portion control"; I think people just like to bitch. ; )

I do think that there's a way to order here, and a way to not order here. I also think that some people are so used to the nigiri you get in a lot of mid-level places — thickly cut and sometimes massively sized — that they're inclined to look at the classical presentation of nigiri at Kushi and think: Hm. Stingy.

You say that it almost becomes a value. I think that's a stretch. But I don't think that's a problem in this case, because Kushi doesn't present itself as a value. It is what it is.

Well, I'm grateful for your devotion; thanks for saying that, and thanks also for taking part today.

Komi is, yes, all degustazione, all the time. 

And Taro shouldn't be a problem at all; there's not much that's meat in the omakase option, and by letting the chef know in advance, as you did, you've protected your friend from anything offending. I would make a point of bringing this up again when you sit down, being sure to emphasize that although one of you can't eat meat, one of you can (and that, moreover, you'd welcome, say, a delicate slice of kobe if it should find its way into the selection for the night).

You're so right about the Iphone; I forgot about that.

Picture-taking on the thing is pretty lousy as it is; the BlackBerry is significantly better. I miss the BlackBerry for that reason; and of course now my iPhone doesn't ring now when a call comes in. I hate having become dependent on a piece of technology, don't you? An undependable piece of technology, at that. I hate what it's done to us.

As for the oh-toro and the pork belly — yes, absolutely. Must-gets. And a seat at the bar is fun, if you can snag a seat.

I knew I was forgetting something.

They're decent; occasionally, better than decent. If you go back a ways in the city, however, you would remember that City Lights was once one of the best Chinese restaurants in DC. In the early '90s, it was THE destination for take-out and for sit-down, too. Always crammed, and almost always delicious. It's slipped a good bit since then.

That's all for this week, everyone.

I'm off to go check in on my mom, who since Sunday has been without power. She's handling it remarkably well, all things considered. It helps that she hates A/C, and has an extremely high tolerance for heat and humidity. 95 degree days don't faze her.

Still, a good lunch is in order, a nice little respite from going without any radio or TV or computer. Just books, her trusty standby (she reads about two a week) …

Be well, everyone, eat well, stay cool! — and let's do it again next week at 11 …

[missing you, TEK … ]

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