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."

Following is the transcript from this Thursday's chat.

Washington, D.C.: Last week, someone asked about where to find a wide selection of hot sauces.

The best selection I've found is at California Tortilla in Bethesda. They've got about 50 or so, in varying degrees of spiciness, and all are available for sale.

(And the food's darn good too.)

Phyllis Richman: Hello, everyone, and welcome once again to our non-exercising, not-eating, just-talking Thursday lunch hour.

Thanks for the hot-sauce info. I haven't been to California Tortilla, but it sounds as if its hot-sauce collection is right up there with Rocklands, which I discussed last week.

Downtown DC: Just wanted to let you (and other people who work near 15th and K) know that the burrito cart at the corner of 15th and K is *great*. It's a good lunch option for about $4-5, the service is friendly (although not necessarily fast when there's a big line), and the burritos are excellent.

Phyllis Richman: If I weren't working at home today, I'd try it at 1:15.

Bethesda MD: My dining experiences are greatly enhanced by a good sommelier. (I tend to spend more on wine than otherwise, but am happier about it!) Are more restaurants moving toward this? Also, is it appropriate to give sommelier $5-10 extra in cash vs. increasing overall tip?

Phyllis Richman: Yes, more and more restaurants are adding sommeliers to their staffs, and others are at least educating their waiters about the wines, conducting tastings for them and training their palates. As for tipping, in some places the sommelier gets a percentage of each bottle he or she sells, but I'm sure a separate tip would always be welcome--and appropriate when the sommelier has given you special attention.Increasing the tip on the overall bill would go to the entire waitstaff rather than simply to the sommelier.

Forestville, Maryland: Hi! I really enjoy your column. Being new to the area, it is a very helpful tool when I need to find a good place to eat or a great special cuisine. Unfortunately, I am not having any success finding a restuarant that specializes in buffalo wings. Not just the hot variety, but also a wide variety of flavors. There is a restaurant on Hilton Head Island in South Carolina named the Wild Wing Cafe that serves about 20 different flavors of buffalo wings and about 6 different degrees of hot wings. That is the kind of place that I am searching for. If you, or anybody out there, knows of any such establishment anywhere near the metro area, please direct me to it. Thanks, and keep up the good work.

Phyllis Richman: Yesterday's food section had a big story on where to get Buffalo wings locally. You surely can still find it on this site.

Arlington, VA: I lived several years in Paris, where I became quite fond of the baguettes. Even the worst local bakery (not to mention the Monoprix) seemed to have better bread than what I'm able to find here. A friend told me that the flour is different so it's impossible to duplicate them here. Is that true? Is there a place in the Washington area where I could find one?

Phyllis Richman: Washington now has more good baguettes than almost any city in the U.S., and you can find those to equal Paris'. That said, let me warn you that Americans tend to prefer less crusty and less sour baguettes than the French, so you'll find excellent bakeries producing what are called sweet baguettes as well as sourdough ones. Try the Bread Line, Firehook, Uptown Bakery and Marvelous Market.

Laurel, MD: I've noticed that a number of restaurant reviews that appear in the post (Good Eats, from the PG Extra, for example), tend to talk about the atmosphere of the restaurant, maybe a little story about it, and list items on the menu. They do not, however, actually talk about how the food tastes, and I wonder if they've tried any of the dishes. I like that your reviews say which menu items are good and which are forgettable.

Could you comment on this trend in reviewing?

Phyllis Richman: There is a difference between a restaurant feature and a restaurant review. A feature--or profile--talks about the restaurant, its owner, the origin of it and such. It tells the story of the restaurant. It would be a conflict to critique it--that's generally done anonymously--and to profile it at the same story. What I write are critiques or reviews. For these I make reservations in another name so the restaurateur doesn't know I'm coming, and I dine there several times so I can get a sense of the consistency as well as sample most or all of the dishes. I do not consult with the staff to find out the background of the restaurant (though sometimes I happen to know something about it), and I do not discuss my meals with anyone on the staff. I pay my check--again, anonymously unless I am already recognized--and go on my way to write up my notes at home.

Thus, most of the stories about restaurants in the Post are not reviews or critiques, and it would be inappropriate to evaluate the food it those stories. What I do in the magazine are actual reviews.

Does that clarify the situation? Feel free to ask more if it doesn't.

Washington, dc: Hi Phyllis - thanks for doing this every week - I love it!
A few weeks ago someone asked you if knew about the new restaurant / shop on Connecticut Ave. called Viareggios. I have some info - it used to be a grocery and deli over in Brookland, near Catholic U., that made great italian hoagies with very fresh ingredients and good bread. I am excited to see that they have plans to reopen, even though it seems to be taking a little time. Just thought you'd like to know!

Phyllis Richman: Thanks for the information. I'll watch for it. A good sub sounds like something Conn. Ave. needs.

Washington, DC: Where are some decent restaurants in PG county? I am open to all varieties. Thank you.

Phyllis Richman: That's a tough question, but surely you'll get more ideas as you read the new PG Weeklies, which will include a feature about a PG restaurant each week.

The CAfe de Paris in Laurel is said to be an awfully nice and highly competent FRench restaurant. Mare and Monte is a pretty good seafood restaurant. Fratelli in Landover is a pleasant and friendly Italian restaurant. Cielito Lindo in Hyattsville or Bladensburg is an authentic down-home Mexican restaurant, and I'm a fan of the old original Ledo on Unniversity Blvd.

Washington, dc: I'm just curious, what health standards do the vendor carts around town have to follow? Do you know if regular inspections are conducted?

Phyllis Richman: First, my apologies - the server is slow today, so my answers are coming belatedly.

As for vendor carts, DC has very, very strict rules. No cooking can be done on the cart, for example, and the food must be kept at certain temperatures. THere are many more rules but I don't know them all. In contrast, New York allows cooking on carts (which is why NY's vendor food is so terrific). I think inspections are frequent and rigid, but I can't be sure.

DC: Regarding sommeliers, the outstanding meals we've recently had at Citronelle and Lespinasse (sat nite after your on-line review) to be greatly enhanced by the informative, friendly, and non-condescending sommelier.

Phyllis Richman: I agree. These are two outstanding sommeliers and two restaurants with extremely interesting wine lists.

washington D.C: Dear Phyllis,
I have heard of restauranteurs or chefs going to New York to prepare food for the James Beard foundation.How does this work?Can you throw some light on it?

Phyllis Richman: The James Beard Foundation invites chefs from all over the country to prepare meals there. It is an expensive proposition for the chef-who brings staff, food, etc, and bears the cost of the travel. But theoretically it brings attention to the chef, who often publicizes the visit, and welcomes the chance to show his or her talent to a NY audience. As for who eats the dinner, these are open to the public--at a price, of course. It is, like visiting chef dinners in other cities, a way for chefs to spread their names around and to give people elsewhere a chance to try their food. Anyone wanting to attend one of these dinners in NY can call the James Beard House for a monthly schedule.

Washington, DC: How do you pronounce sommelier?

Phyllis Richman: I'm not good at this, but I'll try: sum-mahl-YAY. How's that? Practice at home. And let me know if you come up with a better way to explain this.

Washington, DC: The Post prints a list of
restaurants that have been
closed by the health department. One of the reasons for closure sometimes cited is failure to someone with some kind of certification on duty. Is this a paper requirement (that I wouldn't allow to influence my willingness to go to the establishment) or a harbinger or far worse things which are most easily expressed as "no certified person on site"?

Phyllis Richman: It's hard to say what this means in practical terms to a diner, but I'd be uncomfortable with no certified person on site. The certification means that someone in the place has taken the government's sanitation course and know about food safety. Maybe there are people on site who know without taking the course, but the restaurant is breaking the law by not having the certification and there is no way for the public to know how competent the staff is about keeping food clean and safe.

Washington DC: Phyllis, just read about New York Times critic Ruth Reichl is leaving for Gourmet. Any thoughts?

Phyllis Richman: Oh, yes, lots of thoughts. Ruth Reichl is a wonderful critic and a marvelous writer. I don't know a better critic. So her leaving the NY Times is a severe loss for that paper. On the other hand, running Gourmet is a great job for her. She'll be only the third editor of that venerable magazine (the current one has been there for about 34 years). WHen Ruth was food editor of the LA Times, her section was the best in the business; she is creative and serious about food and imparts a great sense of fun as well. I'm eagerly renewing my subscription to Gourmet.

Laurel, MD: Are there any new DC restaurants that merit inclusion on our short list of "must try" places... perhaps places that you have not reviewed yet in print but look worth a try ...

Phyllis Richman: There is a myth that critics save the best places for their secret lists. Not true. All the good place I know, I've written about in the Post. Of course it takes nearly 4 weeks for my reviews to get into print, so there is a lag time. And I wouldn't want to scoop myself.

LAUREL, MD: A comment about good restaurants in PG County. Pasta Plus in Laurel is EXCELLENT. It's in a small shopping center at Rt. 198 and Rt. 1 -- doesn't look nice from the outside, but the pizza and pasta are delicious. Expect a wait , they don't take reservations.

Phyllis Richman: Thanks. I've heard other good reports about this, too.

washington D.C: Going back to the question of the James Beard Foundation, are you in any way associated with the foundation?

Phyllis Richman: Yes, I am associated with it. I am one of the committee members of the James Beard Restaurant Awards. THat means that I and about 16 other critics from around the country meet several times a year and establish the rules and oversee the conduct of the awards. The public makes nominations, and we add our nominations and winnow them down to 20 in each of about a dozen categories. Then a panel of judges - about 20 from each region of the country and some other people including previous winners--vote on that list of 20. Lists of the top five vote-getters in each category are sent out again, and again those hundreds of people vote. The winners are announced at the James Beard Gala on the first Monday of May.

washington D.C: What are your favorite food magazines ?

Phyllis Richman: I expect Gourmet will be. I'm very impressed with Saveur, and I enjoy Food & Wine, Bon Appetit, and Cook's. I was sorry to see Eating Well close down. I've probably forgotten a few in this list.

Dupont Circle, DC: Have you heard any rumors about the new restaurant/club 1223 (the actual name is written in Roman Numerals). The Washingtonian mentioned it and a cooworker of mine said the food is pretty good. As I am a resident of the area, I'm wondering if I should give it a try? Thanks.

Phyllis Richman: I haven't been there yet, but it is a very chic-looking place. Just brush up on your Roman numerals, since that's how the prices are presented. It's at 1223 Conn. Ave.

Washington, D.C.: Ms. Richman, on your last review of Lespinasse, you didn't tell us anything about the five course vegetable menu. It's nice to know there's an option to the meat and seafood selections, and that you don't necessarily have to try to piece together a vegetarian meal on your own from the a la carte menu, but I'd like to know what you though of it.

Best Regards

Phyllis Richman: I did mention in the review that there is a five-course vegetable menu, and I described several vegetable appetizers and entrees in the review. Look again. I think it's wonderful that all-vegetable prix-fixe menus are increasingly available. The Inn at Little Washington, for example, has long offered this possibility.

Arlington, VA: I noticed that people were asking about Valentines Day in Old Town Alexandria. I hope they won't forget the Stardust! They're now open for dinner's on Sunday. In addition, they are having a special menu that day. Any of the readers here can look at www.stardustrestaurant.com to see the menu.
I enjoy this weekly discussion and am sorry that I couldn't have mentioned it when it was brought up.

Phyllis Richman: Oh, yes, it's that time again. By now many of you must know what I think about trying to dine out on Valentine's Day (Overpriced, overcrowded and too often underwhelming). I'd rather go out another night and call it my private Valentine's Day. When you make any reservations for that evening, be sure to ask whether you'll be required to order a set menu, what the price is, what it will include, etc. And expect--I'm not suggesting at Stardust--tables to be overbooked,staff to be too busy and the kitchen to be not at its best.

DC: Do you notice a quality difference (food, service) in certain restaurants depending on time (pre-theatre, peak, late)? Do you vary reservation times when you review?

Phyllis Richman: Yes. I try to hit restaurants at different days and different times. It is only reasonable to expect that the busiest days and times (eg, Saturday night at 8 p.m.) will be more hassled and thus more prone to error. And late dinners sometimes mean that the kitchen has run out of things, lingering diners make late reservations even later, and the staff will be more tired and eager to finish. That's not always case, but the risk is greater. By the same token, pre-theater dinners around the theaters (eg at the Kennedy Center) will be the most crowded times and thus the staff will be more pressured.

DC: Hi Phyllis, this is Mark from Citronelle. Thanks for the compliment. I have always found that I sell more wine by being friendly and non-threatening. Years ago I trained with a guy who taught me all the worst things you can do to a customer.. I strive to do the opposite of what he taught me!Thanks again

Phyllis Richman: Thanks for chiming in, Mark. You fell into a very tough but effective way of learning a job.

Washington DC: I don't understand the difference between a la carte, and prix fixe, and what makes one better than the other

Phyllis Richman: That's a complicated and interesting question. It's not that one is automatically better. But chefs often like to be able to orchestrate their dinners--to team appropriate first courses with appropriate main courses, for example--and to show off the dishes that make them most proud. So they design fixed-price dinners. Or they create tasting dinners to show off small portions of their best dishes. On the other hand, sometimes a restaurnt simply wants to make sure the diners will order a full dinner rather than just a main course or an appetizer or two. In my experience, though, fixed price dinners are generally the chef's best. I order a la carte when there are dishes on that menu I particulary want to taste, but usually a fixed-price dinner is a better value.

wasington,dc: Since City Lights on Connecticut Avenue has changed hands I have noticed a few changes including the discontinuation of 10% discount on carryout orders that are picked up. I don't think Larry would have done this. Did the new owners pay too much for the restaurant.
Do you think the food quality has declined.
Thanks!!

Phyllis Richman: The management changed more than a year ago, and I have heard complaints about food, service and mostly about discontinuing policies such as you mention. In my visits, though, I didn't find the food was distinctly less good. At least when I tried City Lights, my favorite dishes were still fine.

Oops. I've gone over the time. Got carried away. More next week. Dine well...

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