The Washington Post - 13.03.2020

the washington post

.

friday, march 13, 2020

Pg

12

menus better show off the

cuisine.

Q: oyamel will generally let you

stand at the cart and watch them

make the guac even though it

isn’t tableside. (It’s a great

distraction with little kids who

can be trusted not to touch.)

obviously don’t stop the flow of

traffic, and things may be

different with the current

situation, but the poster’s mom

will still be able to watch for a

few moments.

a: Gracias for the idea.

Q: We’d like to host a group of 20

(including little ones) for dinner

and cocktails after our

courthouse wedding on a

saturday. Do you know of any

lists of places that have a private

room that you can reserve for

three hours? Ideally it would be

in northern Virginia, but D.C. is

good, too.

a: off the top of my head, the

creative American 2941 in Falls

Church and Clarity and the

Greek-themed Nostos, both in

Vienna, offer private dining

areas.

Q: I’ll be meeting with a visiting

colleague from new York for

lunch on Wednesday. Can you

suggest a venue in D.C.? Good

food, middling price range — I

was thinking along the lines of

succotash (if the recent reviews

were better) or America eats (if

it were open for lunch).

Preferably on the quiet side (so

see ask tom on 13

Q: My mom will be in town

(from Minnesota! nobles County

represent!) and I think she

would love tableside guacamole

— plus a strong margarita with

lots of salt. Where can I take her

that can deliver, but is not so

spendy that she will open the

menu and refuse to order

anything? (I’m in northern

Virginia, with easy access to D.C.)

a: Guacamole is made tableside

at Rosa mexicano in Gallery

Place, but it’s not the best

Mexican restaurant overall. Tr y

instead oyamel in Penn Quarter

or mi Vida at the Wharf, whose

a: Thanks for the public service

reminder: sanitizers are no

substitute for soap, water and

vigorous washing. I hope the

current situation sees the end of

servers collecting water and

other glasses by their tops rather

than their bases.

Q: I snagged a reservation for

annabelle next week. Any must-

have dishes?

a: Consommé!

Roast chicken!

Pavlova!

(Did you read my initial

preview?)

pinch, and that you should wash

your hands if hand washing

facilities are available.

norovirus, a nasty stomach bug,

is resilient to hand sanitizer.

Really, I’m curious how the

restaurant staff are handling

new hygiene guidelines. Will we

stop seeing waiters bus a table

and then bring us drinks or food

with unwashed hands? I’d really

like to see there be a buffer from

people that touch used table

settings (even to refill water

cups) and process payments, and

the people that bring us our food

and drinks.

Q: Will covid-19 force

restaurants to finally place

diners’ tables at least three feet

apart?

a: I’m going to continue to eat

out for the immediate future and

I hope to note any changes, small

or large, in this and other

forums. I had brunch at

mintwood Place on sunday and

noticed several diners whipping

out Purell from their handbags

and putting bottles on their

tables — little reminders, no

doubt, to sanitize hands after

greeting companions or

touching any tables (door

handles, etc.).

speaking of Mintwood Place,

the Adams Morgan restaurant

has tapped a new chef, Harper

McClure. A familiar name to

local diners, he was briefly at

Pembroke in Dupont Circle (“not

the right fit”) but better-known

for his time at Le Diplomate,

where he served as chef de

cuisine, and before that, Brabo

in old To wn and the late Vidalia

in Washington.

Down the line, customers can

look forward to more seafood

and, given the change of seasons,

some lighter dishes, although

McClure plans to retain his new

employer’s French American

outlook. The chef follows

Matthew Cockrell, who recently

went to work for Brasserie

Liberte in Georgetown.

Q: You mentioned that you

noticed an uptick in sanitizer

use. Just a reminder that hand

sanitizer is only to be used in a

Ask Tom

excerpts from Post Food Critic

tom sietsema’s online discussion

deb Lindsey For the Washington Post

the roast chicken at annabelle is a must-have dish, and the Pavlova and consommé are also delicious.

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