The Washington Post - 23.08.2019

9

EZ

THE WASHINGTON POST

.

FRIDAY, AUGUST 23, 2019

she made a reservation at Maum,

the Michelin-starrred Korean res-

taurant, the Tock reservation sys-

tem automatically added a 20 per-

cent “service charge.” She didn’t

mind. She says millennials under-

stand the need to tip.

“On a whole, our generation

has worked in the service econo-

my extensively,” says Ho. “I think

people are pretty aware of what it

takes to do the job.”

Eddie Wu, owner of Cook St.

Paul in St. Paul, Minn., says tip-

ping is ingrained restaurant cul-

ture, no matter how much a server

makes. But, he adds, once custom-

ers understand they are not re-

sponsible for a server’s salary,

they tend to reward good hospi-

tality, the behaviors beyond job

basics such as taking orders and

refilling water glasses.

“The reason you get tipped is

the hospitality,” Wu says. Bartend-

ers, for example, don’t get tipped

because “they’re giving you a

whiskey. It’s because they listen to

you and how terrible your day

was.”

[email protected]

wage for tipped workers. Diners

still tip generously, they all told

me. “I still tip, and I think most

people do too,” emails Andrew

Zimmern, chef, television host

and Minnesota’s most famous eat-

er.

Sometimes diners don’t even

have a say in the matter. Soleil Ho,

restaurant critic for the San Fran-

cisco Chronicle, says that when

could go a long way toward retain-

ing skilled workers in an industry

with a notoriously shallow talent

pool. Pooling tips also could help

back-of-the-house employees

make ends meet in big cities

where living expenses are rising

faster than wages.

Out of curiosity, I contacted a

few people in states in which they

don’t have a separate minimum

to contribute to their salary?

Plus, there’s another factor to

consider: Restaurant servers, par-

ticularly in fine-dining establish-

ments, are professionals, even

though diners sometimes treat

them as little more than pets

trained to fetch whatever they

desire. The best servers devote

themselves to the study of wine,

cuisine, hospitality, history and

more. They may even learn Span-

ish to better communicate with

the Central American cooks in the

kitchen. These employees deserve

your tips and patronage, if only to

reinforce the idea that restaurant

service is a profession, not a way

station to a better job.

But here’s another reason to

continue to tip: Because when

there is no sub-minimum wage

for tipped workers, when owners

can no longer claim a tip credit to

cover part of a server’s income,

restaurants may be free to pool

tips and split them with employ-

ees in the kitchen. Sharing tips

with line cooks and dishwashers

CASUAL FROM 8

LAURA CHASE DE FORMIGNY FOR THE WASHINGTON POST

Though some bartenders, like Bombay Velvet’s Arun Malik, above,

serve drinks with flair, it is often the back-and-forth conversations

with their customers that earn them the biggest tips.

Ask Tom

Excerpts from Post Food Critic

Tom Sietsema’s online discussion

Q: My boss is on vacation and

the office is slow this week, so I

wanted to treat myself to a long

lunch, preferably somewhere

that dinner would be out of my

price range. What do you think

are the best lunch deals in D.C.?

I’m in Dupont but could travel if

necessary. Thanks!

A: One place I’m high on right

now is the Oval Room. The

modern American dining room

extended Restaurant Week into

this week and it offers some

interesting midday choices:

watercress soup with melon,

chicken liver mousse, skate wing

as a main course and on. Nice!

Q: Where in northern Virginia

would you recommend for

mussels?

A: The recently reviewed

Evening Star Cafe in Alexandria

features the pedigreed bivalves

from Hollander & De Koning, a

purveyor in Maine owned by a

fifth-generation Dutch mussel

grower. I’d start there.

Q: My friends and I want to have

one last dinner together before

we all split for our freshman year

of college. We’re looking to do

something nicer than we

normally do (&pizza) but not

break the bank. Any

suggestions?

A: Gather around the communal

table at the cozy La Betty in

Mount Vernon Triangle. The

kitchen excels at homey

American comfort food —

chicken schnitzel, roast beef

with red cabbage. In CityCenter,

I’m a big fan of the buzzy dining

room and Asian small plates

from chef Tae Strain at

Momofuku.

Q: My mother-in-law is coming

to town next week, and I would

like to take her out to lunch at a

restaurant with a view of either

the water or downtown D.C. Do

you have any recommendations?

A: Kith and Kin at the Wharf

faces the water and offers a rare

(and luscious) taste of West

African-inspired cooking, from

chef and memoirist Kwame

Onwuachi. There’s also Osteria

Morini on Water Street SE for

seafood stew, spaghetti

pomodoro and chicken Milanese.

Q: We come into town quite often

with a daughter at GW. But I

always strike out finding a great

place for lunch and an afternoon

drink or two in Georgetown.

We’re coming in to drop her off

and she wants to hang out in

Georgetown on Friday afternoon.

Any recommendations, is Cut up

and running and good for a casual

lunch?

A: Yes, Wolfgang Puck’s new, not-

just-a-place-for-steak is open for

business, and for three meals a

day. Could be fun. But if you’re

looking for something that’s

tried and true (a restaurant that

has a few years on it), try the

cozy Chez Billy Sud for French

bistro fare or, splurgier yet, Fiola

Mare for Italian seafood.

Q: I’m trying to decide where to

go for my birthday (41, ouch)

next week. It will most likely be

me and a companion, but I may

just go solo after work. I’d like to

try a new spot and was thinking

of Rooster and Owl or one of the

places in the Line hotel. I can’t

eat shellfish and not looking to

quite do a Pineapple and Pearls

level splurge but I’m open to all

cuisines. Am I on the right track

or would you steer me in another

direction?

A: Ah, 41! I remember it well.

Hopefully you’ve got your health,

some wealth and a good

metabolism. If you’re looking for

something new, Seven Reasons

on 14th Street NW is among the

fairest of them all: great space,

smart service, intriguing Latin

American cooking from a

Venezuelan chef.

Q: I’m thinking about going to

Little Havana tonight and it

doesn’t look like it takes

reservations. Should I expect line

like at Roses et al.? Also, if you

could recommend one can’t miss

dish and/or drink, what would it

be?

A: I don’t think you’ll encounter a

problem getting a seat at Little

Havana. Not on a hot midweek

night in August. It’s hard to go

wrong on the menu, but some of

my favorite dishes include the

stuffed red pepper, seafood stew,

black bean soup and slow-roasted

pork.

 Tom Sietsema hosts a weekly

Q&A on Wednesdays at 11 a.m. at

live.washingtonpost.com.

DEB LINDSEY FOR THE WASHINGTON POST

It’s fairly easy to get into Little Havana for a little seafood stew without a reservation during the week.

WAIT WAIT... DON’T TELL ME!

AUG 29 + 30

UB40

FEATURING ALI CAMPBELL & ASTRO

SHAGGY

NKULA

SEP 1

ON SALE NOW!

FARRUKO

LARY OVER

AUG 23

SING-A-LONG

SOUND OF MUSIC

AUG 24

THE BEACH BOYS

AUG 25

TONIGHT!

TOMORROW!

SUNDAY MATINEE!