By Elisa Nader/washingtonpost.com

Washington Post food critic Phyllis C. Richman recently came to the Internet – live on Style Live!

In more than two decades of critiquing Washington restaurants – from the hautest temple of gastronomy to the most obscure off-the-beaten track discovery – Richman has become a household name for everyone in our area who loves to eat.

Every Thursday at noon, Phyllis will be on hand to answer your questions and field your comments about dining out in Washington. And, you can read Phyllis's Sunday reviews on Friday – only on the Web!

Phyllis mentions several restaurants during her discussions. If you are hungry to find out more – prices, location, hours, dress code, etc. – visit our restaurant front, go to the "Find Places & Events" search box, enter a restaurant name or category, select "Search StyleLive" and click "Search Now."

If you missed out in today's chat you can either join us next week or post your thoughts in our ongoing discussion area which Phyllis visits periodically.

Following is the transcript from this Thursday's chat.

washington, dc: I've heard for years about how great Germaine's is, but when I finally ate there about six months ago I found the food uninspired, the prices outrageous, and the atmosphere second rate. For my money, I'd much rather spend half the money on better food at neighboring Busara. Has Germaines star faded?

Phyllis Richman: Good afternoon. Once again, a lovely Thursday noontime. We've got an unbroken record.

Before we start, I want to make a suggestion. I get far more questions that I can answer (thanks) but I want to suggest that we don't get too much into particular restaurant recommendations. For example, I'd rather talk here about the restaurant business and news and types of restaurants than tell a partcular person where to dine next SAturday night.

In the meantime, first question:

Germaine's after a long and distinguished career, after having been the first elegant Vietnamese restaurant and being at the top of the heap for well over a decade, maybe two, has closed its doors. Rather, let's say it retired.

Washington, D.C.: Hi Phyllis:

Last night I stumbled upon your "Best Restaurants and Others" dining guide from 1985. As I was thumbing through it, I was shocked by the number of first-rate French restaurants that existed back then but which are gone (and in some instances long gone): Jean Louis, Le Pavillion, Le Lion D'Or, Jean-Pierre, Maison Blanche, Aux Beaux Champs, Dominique's. I know that in the past you've expressed the view (if I may paraphrase)"No big deal, restaurants come and go all the time," but wouldn't you agree that the D.C. area, much more than other big American cities, has suffered a near total loss of its best classic French restaurants? And do you think the day will ever come again when we'll have French restaurants of the same stature as the ones we've lost?

Phyllis Richman: All over the country, the grand French restaurants have been much reduced in number. We still have a few (L'Auberge Chez Francois is a lovely old-timer), but most have been replaced by newer--and often less grand, and more varied--restaurants. NO longer does a restaurant have to be French to be considered grand.

Washington, DC: Dear Phylis-

I was so pleased to see your positive review of New Heights last week that I ran right over and had dinner with some friends. I was so disapointed. I thought the food was awful and I could tell my friends were trying to be polite because it was my suggestion. I was very embaressed. Is this a case where they recognized you and gave you better food ect. or can a restaurant really vary that much from your review?

Phyllis Richman: My guess is that the restaurant was inundated and the kitchen lost its rhythm. The worst time to go to any restaurant is when it has just gotten a good review in a major newspaper.

Washington, DC: Do you current have, or are you planning, a book of restaurant reviews for other cities? When travelling, it is so hard to find a good restaurant that matches your needs!

Phyllis Richman: Oh, what a great and dreadful job that would be! When I go to other cites, I look for a book or an annual magazine guide by that city's best reviewer. The internet helps a lot with that.

Washington, DC: You recently visited BET on Jazz and I read the article in the Washington Post Sunday magazine. I thought you were pretty hard on the restaurant until I recently visited there myself. The service was an improvement from my first visit, but the server named five entrees that they were out of that evening. All I wanted was coffee and dessert. She then proceeded to tell me that the only desserts available were the creme brulee. Well, I immediately thought of your article. I do believe that alot of it comes from poor training of the servers, and chefs who are relatively new and young to the business. Do you see this a potential problem for the restauratn considering how much new competition that has arisen in the DC area?

Phyllis Richman: After that review, the owner called me and we had a long talk. He admitted that the restaurant was having service problems--restaurants nowadays have a hard time finding experienced servers, and training takes time and practice. But he said everyone tells him how great the food is. I suggested he bring back the woman who designed the menu and have her dine anonymously in the dining room and give him some unvarnished feedback. I'm sure he wants to run an excellent restaurant, and reliable feedback would help.

Washington, DC: Any word on the recently opened Italian Resaurant (the name escapes me)on Capitol Hill. It's on Pennsylvania Ave SE between 3rd and 4th. With the dearth of good eating places on the Hill, this could be a real asset. Hopefully

Phyllis Richman: Perhaps you mean BArolo, which I reviewed a couple months ago.

Alexandria, Va: Phyliss,
I'm a small restaurant operator in Alexandria (Mango Mike's) and wondering what's your process in selecting restaurants for reviews. The staff is anxious to show off their stuff - which has prompted this online question to you.

Mike

Phyllis Richman: I get suggestions from all over - publicity releases, friends, chefs, seeing them as I drive by. And I get to as many as I can. Some restaurants don't get reviewed because I try them and consider them not interesting enough or good enough to take up a column. I dont bother to write a negative review of an unknown restaurant unless it has something unusual or newsworthy about it.

Takoma Park, MD: Can you suggest some good dinner spots downtown for vegetarians? I've read many of your columns reviewing downtown restaurants, but rarely find information about how a restaurant rates on vegetarian offerings. Any chance I could persuade you to keep this in mind when writing future reviews?

Phyllis Richman: This is a topic frequently brought up on this chat line, and I do try to be conscious of it. I mention whatever vegetarian entrees are offered and usually try at least one. But often I don't specifically address the comments to vegetarians, so you might try reading between the lines--eg if I talk about an aspragus salad or a roasted portobello, you might ntoe for yourself that it's all=vegetable, and realize that you could put together two appetizers or a group of side disihes to create a vegeterian entree.

Arlington, VA: Phyllis,

Having been to Hong Kong and other parts of Asia, I noticed that the food served in Chinese restaurants, in particular, tends to be lighter, with less fat and less deep-frying. Do you think that Chinese-American restaurants are heading this way? Can you name any in the area that serve this kind of light fare?

Phyllis Richman: Chinese restaurants here are definitely trying to be more health conscious. A decade ago they demonstrated that by deleting msg from their dishes. Now they add lighter dishes to their menus. Hollywood East, for example, has wonderful high-fat roasted meats, but it also creates light daily specials such as stir fried chicken with mangoes or lichees. The Vegetable Garden is all vegetarian. Other restaurants, too, include a listing of light entrees. Still the old fashioned restaurants are used to cooking with a profligate amount of oil, and it will take time for them to adjust.

Washington DC: I think the person was referring to Bis Bistro on Capitol Hill

Phyllis Richman: Perhaps so, though Bis is French, not Italian. It has been open for two or three weeks.

Washington, D.C.: I know B. Smith's is popular for Southern cooking, but the menu is a little haute for me. Is there a place in town that serves fare with soul-food flavor, but that has more ambience than Florida Ave. Grill or the carryout places around town. I wonder if such a restaurant is in the offing for the U Street area. That would seem to be a nice fit.

Phyllis Richman: I agree, I agree. Georgia Brown has some Southern dishes that overlap with soul food, but I wouldn't say it's any less haute than B. Smith's.

Washington DC: well I appreciate your advice about New Heights but I know you will agree that at those prices they need to be a little bit more tip top. I don't expect to pay so much for people who become overwhelmed.

Phyllis Richman: Yes, I agree. But the reality is that when a review comes, the restaurant doesn't know whether it is going to be good or bad, and certainly doesn't know what dishes it will favor. So it is very hard for a restaurant to be ready for whatever comes. If a restaurant is ever given leeway for faltering, that should be the time. All the diner has to do is realize that dining there right after a review is like going after a hurricane or a flash flood. Just wait a few weeks, and then if it is not up to snuff, you have better raeson to complain.

Bethesda, MD: To return back to the question of light Chinese food. City Lights, even though there service has been questionable lately, has good light dishes. And they are normally very accomodating to steam dishes rather than fry them.

Phyllis Richman: That may be true, but I have found the stir=fried dishes especially oily lately.

Rosslyn, Va: Last night, I went to Bis on Capitol Hill and found the food excellent but the service extremely amateurish. I know that the place has just opened, but is it common to have servers who know little about the stuff they are serving? At the money, you'd expect the service to be as good as the food from day one.

Phyllis Richman: True, it should be ready. The problem is that with all the new restaurants--with all the old restaurants, too--the pool of experienced servers is thin. So this restaurant, like others, has had a hard time staffing its dining room with excellent waiters. And it's hard to train them without on-the-floor experience. So it should have better service, from what I hear, but I also hear that it is trying hard to get up to speed.That is not to excuse the restaurant, but it is in hopes of protecting diners from disappointment. Wait awhile.

Seattle, WA: I read "Feeding the Lunch Bunch" yesterday in the Washington Post, about Korean salad bars. It's great they give their customers really fresh food, but I was distressed to read that what they don't sell by the end of the day, they "throw away." Do any restauranteurs in DC box up the food they can't sell and deliver it to shelters, missions, etc.? If not, please encourage them to do so--it's criminal to waste food when so many people don't have enough.

Phyllis Richman: I noticed that, too. I was hoping it was metaphorical--that they really send the food to DC Central Kitchen. It might be, though, that it can't accept steamtable food.

On the other hand, I've done a little observing of salad bars, and I've found that they become pretty good at estimating their crowd, and after they hit their stride,they don't have a lot of leftovers. THey couldn't stay profitable if they did.

McLean, VA: It's an oldie -- but I have a dinner riding on it!

What year did the restaurant
on Columbia Rd in Adams Morgan -- I believe it was Cuban -- go out of business?
Also, was the name Omega?

Phyllis Richman: You've got the name right, but I have no idea when it went out of business (a long time ago, to be sure). Someone else out there will have to help out your bet.

Los Angeles, CA: What do you think is the best "eating city" in the United States?

Thanks! Lila

Phyllis Richman: These days, New York.

Arlington, VA: A question about tipping when ordering take out. On occasion I have stopped by a restaurant and ordered something to go from the bar. Am I expected to tip the bartender, if all I do is drink water and wait for my order? What if I call in my order?

Phyllis Richman: That's a tricky question, one that I often have myself. Anyone want to offer an opinion? any restaurateurs?

Traditionally, one didn't tip for carryout. But when the server goes to considerable trouble, particularly when the place it crowded, I usually add on a small tip. Up to 10 percent typcally.

Vienna, VA: I don't know if I can settle the bet, but I used to go to Omega frequently when I lived one block from there in '83-84. I think it was closed about 2 or 3 years later after they had a fire.

Phyllis Richman: If that doesn't earn you your dinner, you could search the Post archives on this site, which go back to '86.

Arlington, VA: My brother-in-law is a chef, and he told me that they can't send prepared foods for liability reasons. When he was in catering, they would send extra supplies, but not any prepared food.

Phyllis Richman: I'd be surprised it that were accurate, since I've seen DC Central Kitchen pick up cooked foods after a party. Maybe there are some kinds they can use - eg plain meats or salads. It's a technical question I'm not equipped to answer.

Annapolis, Maryland: Is Fondue a food of the past? It was only 10 years ago that I remember going to fondue parties and even restuarants. It was such a fun dining experience!!!

Phyllis Richman: I suspect that the fat content of cheese has been one reason that fondue has disappeared from the scene.

Rosslyn, VA: On the question of experienced waiters, how does one train to be a waiter? I know there are bartenders schools, so it would make sense to train people for waiting since it is a reasonably (with tips) good paying profession.

Phyllis Richman: Good question. I wish I knew a good answer. I know that NY has waiters' schools. And I'm sure a school such as L'Academy de Cuisine in Maryland could suggest some place to learn to be a waiter. Also, large companies such as Marriott have excellent training programs.

Washington, D.C.: Why, do you think, doesn't the Cheesecake Factory take reservations? How can the host/hostess tell party after party that there's a 2.5 hour wait with a straight face. What's the disadvantage of reservations? Couldn't they be held for 10 minutes, max, or be tied to a credit card?

Phyllis Richman: My question is why anybody would wait 10 minutes, much less 2 1/2 hours to dine at the Cheesecake Factory. But obviously I'm in a minority here. Obviously the restaurant doesn't take reservations because it doesn't have to. It can have every table full every minute. All those 10- or 20-minute lags while waiting for reservations to show add up to a substantion amount on a restaurant's bottom line. But I'm sure if the restaurant were half empty it would take reservations.

Ashburn, Va: If you're into fondue, try the Melting Pot in Reston, it's fun and delicious. But, reserve plenty of time for dinner. The desserts are excellent too!

Phyllis Richman: Thanks for the suggestion.

washington, DC: Which restaurant in the DC area, in your opinion, has the best, most ecclectic wine list? We've been frequenting Cashions but would like to branch out.

Phyllis Richman: Watch for a list of good wine lists in the fall dining guide, Oct. 18 (or is it the 19th?). Also, the food section of the Post is planning a big story on restaurant wine lists.

Reston, Va : I'm sure you have already been asked this question, but I was wondering what your radius of coverage in the DC area includes for restaurant review. Do you ever review Eastern Shore or Richmond restaurants?

Phyllis Richman: Only occasionally and if it is something special or timely.

Fairfax, Virginia: One time, and one time only, a server introduced herself in a way that my wife and I found pleasant and perhaps useful. This was at the Inn at Little Washington. Nowhere else have we enjoyed the standard "Hi, my name is Ron. I'll be your server this evening." We are there for a meal, for service, to enjoy the company of those seated with us, but NOT to enter into a personal relationship with our server. Yes, some servers are terrific, and we enjoy talking with them, but we would prefer not to start with their names. This ranks just below the perfunctory, "How is everything?" How do we get this approach deleted from the server's training manual?

Phyllis Richman: I wonder how the Inn's server accomplished that miracle. I think restaurants are getting the message that such introductions are usually gauche.

As a restaurant critic, I am often overwhelmed with too much service (How is everything? How was your first bite? HOw was your second bite?). Waiters are trying to be of service, but don't realize that interrupting a conversation for an inane question is not a service. I had one nervous waitress ask me, "How was your water?"

Washington, DC: For authentic soul food off U Street, Ginny French's at 11th and U is excellent: large portions, simple decor, very reasonably priced, much more homey and roomey than Florida Avenue Grill and better collards for my money.

Phyllis Richman: Thanks for bringing this to our attention. I haven't been there in years, and had forgotten about it.

Washington, DC: Phyllis, Do you have any thoughts on what seems to be a trend toward chain restaurants? I'm thinking of places like The Daily Grill, P.F. Chang's and The Rainforest Cafe.

Phyllis Richman: Yes, this is a trend in restaurants as it is in everything: hotels, clothing stores, movie theaters, book stores. Unless we support independents, the trend will only get stronger.

Washington, DC: I live around the corner from Lauriol Plaza, between Dupont and Adams Morgan, and go there often. It is one of my favorites in the city for quality, value, and service. They are building a huge new facility a block away, but I am afraid the menu and service will suffer and turn into another Cactus Cantina which the owners also run. Why does the expansion of a restaurant usually mean it will decline?

Phyllis Richman: Interesting question. It is just harder to run a big place, to cook for more people, to control a larger staff, to give a personal response to a greater number of people. I have the same fear.

Herndon: In my opinion the reason that no-reservation/long-wait restaurants (Cheesecake Factory and many others) make you wait is not only to keep tables full but so they can keep the bar full, where the high profit margin is.

Phyllis Richman: Good point.

Washington DC: My only choice for soul food is the take-out place on U Street called Webbs - especially if you like croaker.

Phyllis Richman: Thanks for the suggestion. I agree, it is a terrific bargain.

Arlington, VA: I was suprised to see that a server offering their name is now considered "gauche". My husband and I appreciate when they tell us their name, not only because we like the introduction, but also because it gives us a way to get a hold the server when we need their attention (instead of "hey you!")

Phyllis Richman: Glad to hear another opinion on the subject.

camp springs, md: in your opinion,who makes the best fast-food burger? your answer would be quite interesting as i, as well as everyone else in the metro area, all have our favorites.

Phyllis Richman: I have four answers: Big Mac for its tradition and familiaritiy, Burger King's big burger for all the sloppy gooey stuff on it which masks the meat itself, Wendy's for a certain fast-food purity, and Roy Rogers for nostalgia's sake, since it once make the alltime best fast-food burgers.

Washington D.C.: Phyllis,
I went to DC Coast on Monday night for a birthday dinner. While I was impressed with the design, style and overall offerings of the restaurant, the entire party commented on the poor service. A glass of water had to be specially ordered - and re-ordered when it was empty. Bad service seems to be a trend this week.

Phyllis Richman: It's those back-to-school blues, which chase us all our lives, even long after we're out of school.

Purcellville, VA: I'm new to western Loudoun and was wondering if you could suggest ANY decent restaurants in this area.

Phyllis Richman: Oh, would that I could.

Washington DC: We often hear about amazing chefs being trained abroad, or apprenticing with other masters, but I'm wondering about locally trained folks who've graduated from programs like that offered by L'Academi e de Cuisine and others. Are good cooks being trained locally to your knowledge? Is Washington turning out some future super stars?

Phyllis Richman: Yes, I think we are. Probably most of the school-trained chefs in this country come from the Culinary Institute of America, but local training programs such as L'Academie's also add to the local restaurant scene. Yes, we have some future superstars, though I can't exactly point them out yet.

Herndon, VA: For Purcellville, check out the Lightfoot Cafe in Leesburg. It's excellent!!!

Phyllis Richman: Ok, there's one.

Springfield VA: I notice a tendency of many restaurants in this area to try to try to fill their poorer table locations first. This puts the onus on the patron to ask for a different table. In this assertive age that may be a practical solution for the restaurant, but it is not a pleasant way to start an evening out. Where is the tradition of the patron as a guest (albeit a paying guest)? I have not found this to be so typical when travelling in Europe or Asia. Maybe this is more of a question or comment for Miss Manners?

Phyllis Richman: I did write a Turning Tables item about this, but it can never be said too often. Restaurants sometimes try to get rid of the worst tables first, figuring that if the diners complain it can move them (later, when the place is full, it can't offer an alternative to a diner who complains). So, the solution is: complain.

washington, dc: As a former waiter and bartender in New York and DC, I can tell you that I agree with Phyllis on the "less is more" theory of waiter interaction. If you eat out a lot like many urbanites do, you want to feel like you have the privacy you would at home. It's only people from the suburbs that go out once a week or once a month and enjoy that type of social interaction. They have higher expectations of their dining experience. It may be the only social outing they've had for a while. They are sick of the privacy of looking at each other over the same kitchen table every night. I also don't like hovering, overly friendly waiters because I feel like they are listening to my conversations and watching my every mood. I also feel obligated to "like them" when they try so hard to be so sickeningly sweet. I don't need that during a business lunch or a romantic dinner.

Phyllis Richman: I wouldn't agree with the suburban-urban distinction anymore, but I'm delighted to hear someone in the business chime with this. Thanks for adding you thoughts.

And I welcome other restaurant people to do so, too. I know some of you restaurateurs send in "anonymous" questions such as, "What do you think of (my restaurant)?" Come on, be bold. Contribute in your own name.

But not this week. Time's up. I'll see you here next week.

Alexandria, Va: Most restaurateurs would prefer to seat everyone as soon as possible and not have a wait, even with the greater profit margin at the bar. We look for gross sales that is only obtainable when you can serve someone a dinner and max out the check average - something that is hard to do at the bar. Regarding reservations, unless you can command a $50 - $75 check average, economics dictate that you keep all seats full, all of the time.

Mike

Phyllis Richman: Yes, MIke, that's what I'm looking for. Thanks for contributing to this discussion. Come back next week and let's discuss it some more.

'Bye.

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