Happy to oblige, although i have my own online forum for reader questions and I can't camp out here for long. (Deadlines are calling.)

I love it when I can shine a light on the work of other than white males. See: my reviews of Centrolina, Smoked & Stacked, Himitsu, etc. Who behind a review-sorthy place (new or otherwise newsworthy) am I missing?

Anonymous wrote:Jaleo, le diplomate, roses luxury, arroz, and rasika. All on repeat.

Uh



You must not read me carefully or recently. I haven't mentioned RL in a long time. And the others probably fit a reader question best. I try to mix in new names as often as possible. Hundreds )yes hundreds_ of people send me feedback every week. They tend to be thrilled about Rasika, among other suggestions. Just saying. Plus, I keep tabs on places myself; if a place slips, I have no qualms about saying so. There are no sacred cows in my book.

Hey, falafel fan, you do know I get hundreds of submission to my chat and I'm reading most of them in real time and adding links to stories and .... I can't address EVERY SINGLE COMMENT. (i was warned not to weigh in here, and I can see why.)

Try La Casita in Silver Spring.


(Happy to address food-related questions during my weekly chat, 11 a.m. every Wednesday. (i came on here initially to address questions about my process, etc.)

I liked Le Diplomate very much at one point, but that's not to say my opinion can't change. I haven't been since my last review -- too many new restaurants to check out, and old restaurants to monitor -- and I'll be curious to see what I find. In the past, I've been impressed how a restaurant that seats almost 300 at full tilt cooks so much food at such a high level. (I've been at least a dozen times since it opened.)

Did you read my rebuttal, above? I am NOT friends with Jose! I'm not friends with the people I cover. With one exception, and I address that as it comes up. My experience with Jaleo has been positive. But really, let's move on to another topic. We can agree to disagree about individual restaurants.

I actually wrote a preview of the new place when it opened. Ive been twice, and I like kit, too. nice addition to a neighborhood that could use more (and better) restaurants,

Ha! That was a mistake there. i meant to log in as myself, but come on, it was obvious, right?

I'm curious why so few people log in as themselves. Honestly, the site loses credibility when people don't identify themselves. Real names = credibility (and responsibility).

Actually, I address a mix of reader questions and comments in my weekly chat -- including from readers who don't agree with me. I think it's only fair. If you follow me with any regularity, you'll see that although there are a lot of "Where should I go for my 30th birthday?" type questions, i intersperse those with travel, etiquette and other dining advice.

The incident regarding Commissary was a long time ago. You seem stuck on it for some reason. Why the curiosity? I briefly dated someone who had a stake in it, we ended the brief relationship amicably, but another party chose to turn the issue into something it was not. We all make mistakes. I apologized. Life goes on!

I tend to pay in cash or use a credit card with a name other than my own.

If I told you, I'd be telling the world. not gong there!

Making three or more visits to places, unannounced and under a different name, certainly helps me evaluation service, as I get to be waited on by different servers and experience different parts of a restaurant. I also occasionally go in disguise to restaurants where I know I'm known, although it takes a considerable amount of time to look not like myself. Trusted friends also share service stories with me.

om Sietsema here! Just weighing in to address a few comments from some posters here:

1) I'm not friends with Jose Andres. But I think he's a talented chef with great ideas that address a number of diner needs.

2) Yes, the Post pays for my meals, but I never leave a restaurant without asking myself if it was worth the expense or if I'd spend my own money there. (The Post also pays for White house reporters to fly on Air force One and sports scribes to cover the Olympics. Just saying.)

3) Between my First Bite previews and my Dining column in the Magazine -- not to mention my two annual dining guides -- I cover more ground than some of you think I do.

4) It's easy to criticize someone when you can post anonymously. Why hide?


Happy to take additional questions here, but I don't want to crash the party uninvited.