Sietsemilla: Parsing the 2008 WaPo Dining Guide

October 10, 2008 by Alex Clifford  Send to a Friend

Tom Sietsema’s 2008 Dining Guide was released yesterday. It covers the 44 area restaurants Tom considers a “sound culinary investment” in these uncertain economic times. You can look for a hard copy in a Sunday WaPo near you,  but the online version is pretty slick, so don’t look too hard.

For those young, dumb, broke BYT readers, well, the overlap between Tom’s picks and our palates is pretty thin. If anyone cares to comment on the loss of Citronelle’s 4th Star due to “one of the sorriest service experiences” the esteemed Mr. Sietsema can remember, fire away.

Still, there is some overlap, so let’s take a tour of the inexpensive, district-based spots that Tom highlights.

Great Wall on 14th & Q: Tom digs on the sichuan peppercorn-based ma la dishes, and rightly so. They go right up to lava-hot, but it’s worth it for that unique flavor — I’ve read it described as tonguing a light socket, but to me it’s a blend of camphor, oily heat and, well, something else. The “ribbons of double-cooked pork that are equal parts meat and fat, tossed with salty black beans” are one of Tom’s favorites, and one of mine, too. For the chosen people, the Ma La Tofu is another solid choice.

Comet Ping-Pong: I can get pizza and beer in a lot of places, but I’ve got to haul my ass up to Connecticut and Nebraska to eat pizza, drink beer and play ping-pong. Tom talks up the  pies, the chicken wings and even the desserts. Spend an afternoon nerding out at Politics & Prose then forget it all over a couple pints and a pie.

Nando’s Peri-Peri: Haven’t checked this spot out, but Tom loves this quick-service chicken chain with an outpost in Columbia Heights on another coming to Dupont Circle. “The eating is sublime no matter your choice, since the chicken (available as wings, a quarter, a half or a whole) is fresh and first marinated in vinegar, lemon juice and olive oil,” he says, while also noting the “generous side dishes” and the “African and Portuguese rhythms” in the background. Gonna check it out.

Tacklebox: Eh, you know, I can’t say I’m totally with Tom concerning this Georgetown seafood shack. He admires “the joint’s frying and grilling skills, evinced in sweet, lightly breaded scallops and pleasantly smoky trout, respectively,” and i can’t argue with the taste, but I’d rather pay $23 for the overflowing lobster roll at Hank’s than $19 for Tacklebox’s skimpier take on the classic. The lauded $13 “Maine Meal” comes a little on the light side as well, but in that high-rent district I understand the neccesity. It’s fine if you find yourself on M St, but I don’t think it’s worth a drive.

TheWaPo online team has shot a little video segment featuring Michael Landrum’s “Hellburger” that, as a Landrum devotee, I was happy to watch. The $30 three-course  Sunday night deal at his flagship “Ray’s The Steaks” is one of about four reasons that you’ll catch me in Virginia, and I’ve got affection for anyone who casually references mid-90s hip-hop in conversations with customers. Moreover, he’s in the process of opening up a restaurant on Minnesota Ave and Benning RD. DC’s WARD 7 currently boasts a single sit-down eatery — Denny’s. For him to open up a restaurant there takes vision, guts and a remarkable sense of civic responsibility. So, in short, go eat Michael Landrum’s food.

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