Bob Levey (Barbara Tyroler)

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Q&A With Bob Levey
Washington Post Columnist
Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2002; Noon EDT

"Levey Live" appears Tuesdays at noon EDT. Your host is Washington Post columnist Bob Levey. This hour is your chance to talk directly to key Washington Post reporters and editors, local officials and people in the news.

Today, Bob’s guest is Tommy JacomoMaitre D’ at the Palm Restaurant.

Tommy Jacomo

In 28 years at the Palm Restaurant, Jacomo has dealt with political bigwig buddies like Vernon Jordan, Ambassador Robert Strauss and James Carville; it's no wonder why Jacomo is the most well known guy around town. A career highlight includes a sparring match in the restaurant with boxing great Mohammed Ali in the early 1970's. Jacomo has also entertained every president since Richard Nixon's administration.

Jacomo helped build the Palm restaurant in 1972 with his brother Ray and continues to be one of the Palm’s living legends.

The transcript follows.

Editor's Note: Washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control over Live Online discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions.

Bob Levey: Good afternoon, Mr. Jacomo and welcome to "Levey Live." You're the first person the greats and near-greats see when they walk into The Palm. How do you decide whom to sit where?

Tommy Jacomo: Most of my regulars come in two or three times a week have regular tables that they like to sit at. If I see a young family coming in, I try to put them in eye shot of where the action is in the restaurant.

Arlington, VA: Bob Levey often complains about how poor he is. What do you do to entice such people to spend large sums on discretionary meals at your restaurant?

Tommy Jacomo: The Palm is running a business lunch until October 11. It's a three-course for $17.50 per person. The Palm is always looking to be sensitive to the economic times.

Washington, D.C.: In all of your years of hob-knobbing with the rich and famous, who has surprised you the most, by just walking in for lunch or dinner?

Tommy Jacomo: One of the most exciting nights I've had in the past 30 years in The Palm Restaurant is when famed trial lawyer, Edward Bennet Williams, walked in with Joe Dimaggio, and the restaurant stood up and gave them a standing ovation spontaneously.

Bob Levey: A lot of people thought that no-smoking laws would put a serious dent in the bottom line of restaurants such as yours. What's the truth? Have they?

Tommy Jacomo: I also thought that it would affect the bottom line in a restaurant, but now that more and more people are not smoking, I don't have a smoking section. Only at the bar. And it's the best thing that happened. There are less complaints and less shuffling of tables.

Alexandria, Va.: Good afternoon, Mr. Jacomo, and thank you for joining host Levey and us chatters on this edition of Levey Live. Washington Post food critic Tom Sietsema has said that your restaurant is more about a place to be seen than it is about great food. Any comment?

Tommy Jacomo: Tom Sietsema said that why would you take a person to a steak house for a lobster. When, in fact, we serve more lobster than any other restaurant in the D.C. area. And, I might add, the best. My head chef has been with me for 28 years.

Washington, D.C.: Other than Washington celebritys like Bill Regardie and Jim Kimsey, who am I likely to see on a typical lunch at The Palm?

Tommy Jacomo: Bob Straus, Vernon Jordan, Gary Williams....We've also had Michael Jordan and the King of Jordan in on the same week.

14th & H Street NW: Is it true Muhammad Ali once ordered a SEVEN-pound lobster at your restaurant, and ate the whole thing? What is the largest lobster you've ever served?

Tommy Jacomo: Mr. Ali had a large lobster, but it wasn't seven pounds. I think it was more like six and a half pounds. If you watched Hollywood Squares back in the mid-70's, you'd know that the D.C. Palm served one of the largest lobsters in the country at that time. It was a 30 pounder!

Washington, DC: Who's mingling w/ all the VIP's while you are doing this chat?!?!?!

Tommy Jacomo: My trusty side-kick and assistant general manager, the infamous Jocelyn Zarr, of course.

Bob Levey: How do you explain the fact that the head chef at The Palm (an Italian restaurant) is from Thailand?

Tommy Jacomo: He's not from Thailand; Mr. Ek is from Cambodia. He trained with out executive corporate chef, Tony Tamerro. He is originally from Parma, Italy and raised in Little Italy in New York. Hows that for training?

Clifton, VA: I find that in many restaurants management is never seen by the customer.Doesn't matter if it Baja Fresh or Mccormick and Schmicks I dont see management interacting with customers to see how their experience was. I know the Palm is different. Back 20 some years ago when I waited tables the managers were always interacting with customers. What has changed?

Tommy Jacomo: Nothing. I can probably tell you the first names of 85% of the customers that walk through my door. And that goes for my staff and the customers that interact with them. How other restaurants do it is the way they operate their restaurants. That's what makes The Palm more distinct from my competition.

30 lb lobster???: Forgive me, but do you remember the dimensions and how do you cook it? Who wrestled the behemoth into the cooker? Did it take anyone with it?

Tommy Jacomo: It was a knock-down, drag-out battle. It took two chefs, a waiter, and a bus boy (and a partridge in a pear tree). But we finally prevailed.

Bob Levey: My favorite Palm story: My wife took a client to The Palm. The client had no idea what to order so she asked the waiter for advice. The waiter was very male and very Russian. "Eet's all beeg and eet's all goooooood," he said. Do you teach your staff to be this funny, or does it come naturally?

Tommy Jacomo: There are 10,000 comedians out of work. And I get waiters that want to do schtick.

Arlington, Va.: Just a brief note to Tommy: I've been coming in for years, and you always make me feel welcome. It's a nice feeling. Thanks.

Tommy Jacomo: Thanks for the compliment. People like you are why I have been enjoying my job for the past 30 years.

Bob Levey: Has President Bush been in to see you yet?

Tommy Jacomo: President Bush has not been in The Palm yet, but his father was a regular patron during his presidency. President Clinton came in during his term as every president has since Richard Nixon. Because of hightened security, I think President Bush has a lot of other things on his mind right now.

Bob Levey: You are about as New York-y as a guy can get--raised in Queens, still got the accent. Do you ever wish you were running the original Palm on Second Avenue in good ole NYC?

Tommy Jacomo: I did work there for a short time before coming to D.C. I didn't know you could hear my accent through the computer?

Herndon, Va.: Mr. Jacomo. Sir, two questions: Does Tony Kornheiser get a VIP table every time he shows up? And, since Bob is on a diet, what can you offer him from The Palm's menu?

Tommy Jacomo: Tony is a great friend and a great customer and one of the funniest guys I know. As far as Bob is concerned, he's now eating fish. Now if I could only get him to leave the potatoes alone, we might have something.

Bob Levey: On a recent visit to The Palm, I overheard a guy at the next table order a steak the siZe of Delaware. Then he asked for a bottle of A-1 sauce--and he proceeded to drown the steak in the sauce. What's your honest opinion of people like this?

Tommy Jacomo: People have the right to order their steak any way they would like it. Some like red. Some like well-done. Each customer is different, and we try to accomidate them all.

Wheaton, MD: If Steve Spurrier came in for dinner and asked you to recommend a full meal, what would you offer?

Tommy Jacomo: If he keeps us his winning ways, he can order anything off the menu, and I'll pick up the tab.

Washington, DC: I gotta ask: Who is your favorite customer? Okay, I'll spare the living ego's. Who was your favorite customer that is no longer with us?

Tommy Jacomo: My three favorite customers were sports writer Morri Segal, the late Jack Kent Cook, and famed trial lawyer Edward Bennet Williams.

Alexandria, VA: Is there only one branch of your restaurant -- the one downtown? Or are there more in the burbs? Any plans to open one in the burbs, like Sam & Harry's and Morton's did in Tysons Corner?

Tommy Jacomo: We have a Palm in Tyson's Corner adjacent to the Ritz Carlton.

Washington, D.C.: Although you have been at The Palm forever, what is your favorite meal there?

Tommy Jacomo: My favorite meal is Lamb Chops, creamed spinach, and lyonnaise potatoes.

Bob Levey: The Palm is known as The Place to see and be seen. But what about doing actual business there? If one diner came up to a lawyer at a nearby table and began to discuss business with him, would you step in and tell him to knock it off?

Tommy Jacomo: He can go up a lawyer and discuss business if he would like, as long as he's prepared to spend $400 and pick up the tab.

Bob Levey: Most restaurant people dread the senior prom crowd. But every May, like clockwork, I see dozens of dressed-to-kill kids at The Palm. What's your secret? Do you teach the boys how to tie a bow tie?

Tommy Jacomo: I look forward to the Prom season every year. The kids today are so much more mature and sophisticated than when I was a kid. They know the menu. Their parents have been bringing them there for years, and it's always a thrill for me to watch them grow up and watch them become young men and women. They are always welcome in our restaurant.

Bob Levey: One of the touches I look forward to at The Palm is the radishes that you serve before the meal. Yes, radishes, folks--whole ones, without the heads. They're great! But why is The Palm the only restaurant to do this? Don't the other guys know that radishes are healthy?

Tommy Jacomo: The pickle and radishes on the table at The Palm originated from the original Palm in New York.

Bob Levey: Mayor Williams made a big deal out of trying to lure the heavyweight championship fight to D.C. He argued that it would help local restaurants. Was he right?

Tommy Jacomo: I had mixed emotions about bringing the championship fight to D.C. Being a huge boxing fan and a former small-time promoter of fights, I was very close to the situation, and any time you have a major event in the city, I think the restaurants would have benefited.

Lobster Query: Some say don't order more than a certain size lobster as it will be tough. Some say the size doesn't matter it's how you cook it. What's your take? Also, what the best way to cook the lobster-steam, bake...?

Tommy Jacomo: The size of the lobster does not affect the taste. The secret is if they come from deep cold water, as ours do from Nova Scotia, they will be tender no matter what the size. Also, the preparation is up to the individual. My preference is steamed lobster, how over 95% of my lobsters are prepared.

Clifton, VA: If I want a dinner I will never forget what should I order appetizer, main course and sides and dessert? What wines to go with with it?

Tommy Jacomo: I would like to recommend: Gigi Salad, Clams Oreganato, a nice New York Strip with a side of creamed spinach or the asparagus fritti. And, our old stand by, half and half (cottage friest and onion rings). You can't forget our famous New York Cheesecake. And always be sure to ask your server for wine recommendations for food pairings.

Bob Levey: Washington is full of professionals who dream about chucking it all and opening a little French restaurant somewhere in the Blue Ridge Mountains. What advice would you give someone who threatens to do this?

Tommy Jacomo: Everybody has that dream of being a restauranteur. What people don't understand is the restaurant business is not a hobby, but a way of life. It's hard, hard work and very long hours if you want to be successful.

Bob Levey: At every other restaurant on the planet, when the waiters surround a table to sing "Happy Birthday" to someone, they're always terrible and always off key. But at The Palm, they can actually carry a tune. What's their secret?

Tommy Jacomo: Hours of choral rehearsals led by yours truly, who has a voice only a mother could love. And we sing in the skeleton key.

Bob Levey: The Palm has never been known as a Democratic restaurant or as a Republican one. How do you keep the place equally attractive to both kids of folks?

Tommy Jacomo: That's been a balancing act that I've been doing for the past 30 years. You cannot choose one party or another. When people ask me where I stand, my standard reply is Switzerland.

Bob Levey: Reservations--do you need one at The Palm? Can you get a table without one?

Tommy Jacomo: It's always good to call ahead. If you're patient and want to go to the bar and wait, I will be glad to work you in, in a reasonable time frame.

Bob Levey: Any time I want to start a sandstorm, I write a column about tipping. I say the going rate in classy places like The Palm is 18 percent these days. Am I high? Low? Right on the nose?

Tommy Jacomo: Depending on the service and the attentiveness of the wait person, the standard tipping procedure is between 15 and 20 percent. I, myself, always over tip.

McPherson Square: Levey recently wrote a column praising waitrons who can recite daily specials by rote. Is there any special training you give them to learn this skill?

Tommy Jacomo: We have a board in the kitchen that lists the specials of the day. The chef and I go over it every morning with the wait staff. Most of them have been with the restaurant for over 15 years. So it comes to them as second nature. I'm very fortunate to have such a great wait staff, with minimum turn over.

Bob Levey: Many thanks and a tip of the radish bowl to Tommy Jacomo of The Palm. Be sure to join us next Tuesday, Sept. 17, when our guest will be U.S. Rep. Connie Morella (R-Md.). Our discussion with her will begin at noon Eastern time.

washingtonpost.com:

That wraps up today's show. Thanks to everyone who joined the discussion.

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