FOOD

ROBERT WIEDMAIER, executive chef, May 8, 2003
CZIKOWSKY: I walk into Marcel’s. What is the one dish you would like me to try, and why?
WIEDMAIER: The one dish would be my boudin blanc. It’s one of the signature dishes at Marcel’s and it’s gotten a lot of great raves by food critics in town. I’ve been doing it for years now and sometimes I want to take it off the menu, but I can’t. It’s fabulous, though. It stands out as one of our signature dishes.

KAZ OKOCHI, chef, May 15, 2003
CZIKOWSKY: I walk into Kaz Sushi Bistro. What is the one dish you would like me to try, and why?
OKOCHI: There are so many original dishes here that it is hard to recommend a particular dish. I am sure you will find something interesting from our original menu. We are always happy to make recommendations when you are here based on your preferences.

CESARE LANFRANCONI, chef, May 23, 2003
CZIKOWSKY: I walk into Ristorante Tosca. What is the one dish you would like me to try, and why?
LANFRANCONI: I think you should try one of my tasting menus, because they are the synthesis of my personal style of cooking.
There are different formats where you can find contemporary cuisine as well as traditional Italian, with different course options and pricing. We also offer wine flights to go along with each course.

JEFF TUNKS, chef, May 29, 2003
CZIKOWSKY: I walk into DC Coast. What is the one dish you would like me to try, and why? TUNKS: That depends on the season, but my philosophy is using the freshest ingredients available. On a day like today it would include soft shell crabs, morel mushrooms, fava beans, ramps, English peas. This is one of my favorite times of the year.

GENE WEINGARTER, Washington Post Staff Writer, October 28, 2003
CZIKOWSKY: Great actual name: Fu King Chinese Restaurant. It closed a few years ago. It served as the basis for Apu on the Seinfeld show because the real life Kramer tried to explain to Mr. King the difficulties of using his name on his restaurant. Of course, NBC and copyright laws wouldn’t allow the episode to use the name “Fu King”. Yet, whenever you wanted some Fu King Chinese, people in New York used to know where to go.
WEINGARTER: I didn’t know this, but I like it.

JOEL ACHENBACH, Washington Post Staff Writer, February 13, 2004
CZIKOWSKY: There’s just one point your article (on Coyote Ugly) missed. So, how’s the food?
ACHENBACH: I’m sure it’s just scrumptious. But my impression is that the place doesn’t want you to consume anything that would damper the effect of the alcohol.

DAVID GEORGE GORDON, author, April 16, 2004
CZIKOWSKY: If I were to boil cicadas and must them together to make a sandwich, about how many cicadas would I need for a normal, average sized sandwich?
GORDON: Hey, let’s have lunch together! My guess: about a dozen cicadas.

JOSE ANDRES, executive chef, May 13, 2004
CZIKOWSKY: I walk into Café Atlantico, Jaleo, and Zaytinya. What is the dish you would most like to try in each establishment, and why would you like me to try that?
ANDRES: Zaytinya…Avgotaraho…Unique fish roe.
Jaleo…Olives stuffed with anchovies.
Café Atlantico…Foie Gras doup.
Minibar…The whole experience.

FABIO TRABOCCHI, Maestro Restaurant Chef de Cuisine, May 20, 2004
CZIKOWSKY: I walk into Maestro. What is the one dish you would most wish me to try, and why?
TRABOCCHI: If you need specific answers then I would recommend the Sea Urchins, the Carpaccio, Lobster Ravioli, Goat, Turbot, Koe Short Ribs…my God I am so in love with my menu that I could go on and on.
CZIKOWSKY: I have never had sea urchins. How often do you offer this dish? Are they prepared just one way, or do I have a choice in how to order them?
TRABOCCHI: We offer them on the same day they get shipped alive to us. I usually come up with the preparation of one single dish based on sea urchins but if you like sea urchins we can make an entire tasting menu.

ROBERTO DONNA, Galileo Restaurant Co-Owner, May 27, 2004
CZIKOWSKY: I walk into Galileo. What is the one dish you wish for me to order, and why?
DONNA: Right now on the menu of Galileo my preferred dish is Ravioli filled with buffalo ricotta, ham, and mozzarella in meat ragu cooked in milk or roasted rack of lamb served with morel mushroom and potato tart with black olive sauce. The menu changes daily so if you’re not coming in for a few weeks call first to let us know you want these dishes and we will make sure to have the ingredients on hand for you. Please note morels are only available for a few more weeks,

RIS LACOSTE, 1789 Restaurant Chef, June 1, 2005
CZIKOWSKY: I walk into the 1789 Restaurant. Which one dish would ou most wish for me to try, and why?
LACOSTE: The scallop margarita.

KATIE HAGAN-WHELCHEL AUTUMN MADDOX and SARAH LAWSON, “Cooking Under Fire” PBS show finalists, July 11, 2005
CZIKOWSKY: I walk into your restaurant. All I want is a grilled cheese. What would each of you offer me that unique and good, or would any of you refuse to serve me?
HAGAN-WELCHEL: I would totally hook you up and add some fresh bread and amp; killer cheese and maybe some truffle oil!
MADDOX: Hey, first I would find some beautiful heirloom tomatoes, sliced thinly, lightly seasoned, and tossed with evoo and some salt and pepper. My choice of cheese would be some St. Andre Triple Crème on some lightly toasted Brioche!
LAWSON: Of course I would serve you. I’d just give you the grilled cheese, but offer you a variety of cheeses…truffle cheese? Provolone? Or god quality Sharp Cheddar?

STEVEN A. SHAW, author, September 13, 2005
CZIKOWSKY: When someone writes a restaurant review, how does one compensate for the reality that the chef, service, and perhaps even the menu may be different by the time I, the reader, tries a restaurant? I have found a wide range of service and quality at the same restaurant on different nights. How can we truly judge restaurants?
SHAW: If you’re looking for certainty in dining, your best bet is McDonald’s. Restaurants are by their nature organic and they evolve (or devolve) in exactly the ways you’re saying. It’s a part of the process. So there’s no way to guarantee that, as they say in the world of mutual funds, past performance will predict future gains.
Critics, however, can try to be a little smarter about this than they generally are. Listing a bunch of dishes and saying this one is good, this one is bad, not only makes for boring reading but is also unhelpful to the person who visits the restaurant after a menu change. Rather, the critic should be focusing on the restaurant’s style, its general strengths and weaknesses, so that a reader can make an intelligent menu selection by reading between the lines. And of course a critic should, if budget allows, make multiple visits—this provides a large sample size, which is at least better if not anything near scientific.

JACK KLUGMAN, actor, February 1, 2006
CZIKOWSKY: I used to go to your store and get your flavored popcorn. What happened? I guess nothing last forever.
KLUGMAN: I went partners in a popcorn business in Philly, my hometown. I went out of business.

K.C. SUMMERS, Washington Post Travel Section Flight Crew, April 17, 2006
CZIKOWSKY: One of my favorite tipping stories is, when a Chinese delegation came to the D.C. area in the 1970s, they must have had some guideline somewhere that stated Americans left 13 ½ per cent tips. The delegation always carefully calculated 13 ½ per cent tips down to the exact penny and left that for a tip.
SUMMERS: Funny! I wish I could be that precise when I calculate tips, but I usually just end up way over-tipping to compensate for my poor math skills.

BILL BUFORD, former New Yorker Editor, June 20, 2006
CZIKOWSKY: I walk into Babbo. What would you most want me to order, and why should I order it?
BUFORD: The pasta. The best thing in the restaurant. The best, I suspect, in America. (Italy, of course, is another story.) Split plates with the others at the table (you can split them three ways) and sample as much as you can.

ROBERT POPPENGA, University of California at Davis Clinical Veterinary and Diagnostic Toxicology Professor, May 8, 2007
CZIKOWSKY: I was told by expert at the Agriculture Department that it is impossible to test for most toxins in the food supply, and that the only way these toxins could be identified is to wait for someone, be it people or animals, to get sick and then use the symptoms of their illness to reduce the search criteria. They then conduct the search to discover which toxin caused the illness. Does this sound correct to you, or are they passing off responsibility on what information prior testing could yield?
POPPENGA: The problem is that there is no simple, single method for detecting every possible chemical. However, there is likely to be heightened surveillance as a result of this (adulterated pet food) incident.

LAURA MOSER, Slate Staff Writer, August 23, 2007
CZIKOWSKY: Isn’t a lot of bottled water really just tap water? MOSER: You’re absolutely right—about a third of all bottled water comes straight from our municipal water facilities. You may have read something about the Aquafina stink last month—Pepsi has agreed to labor its top-selling water more clearly, so that consumers know exactly what they’re buying. Often, but not always, the repackaged tap goes through additional purification.

KARI LYDERSEN, Washington Post Staff Writer, September 24, 2007
CZIKOWSKY: Are sea lampreys safe to eat? If so, why did the King die from eating them?
LYDERSEN: As they say, everything in moderation. It sounds like it was the “surfeit” that did him in. Yes, sounds like they are totally safe to eat. Though like most fish, chances are the ones in the Great Lakes accumulate mercury in their tissue…

CARY FOWLER, Global Crop Diversity Trust Executive Director, February 26, 2008
CZIKOWSKY: Who is funding this (doomsday seed vault in Svalbard, Norway) project? It sounds like a great idea and I wish you all the best.
FOWLER: The Norwegian government has paid the entire cost for constructing t and the Global Crop Diversity Trust. It’s an international organization which has as its mandate devising and funding a global system to ensure the conservation of crop diversity in perpetuity. We are structured as an endowment fund for this purpose. The crop trust will be funding the operational costs of the seed vault here and we are also financing the shipment of seeds from developing countries to the seed vault. We received a grant from the Gates Foundation for that particular purpose.

GREG KITSOCK, Beer Madness panelist, March 10, 2008
CZIKOWSKY: What is your opinion of where the best beer is brewed? I know some speak highly of Belgium. Where are the best of the brewers?
KITSOCK: Actually, I’d say the best beer brewed is in America. We’ve been able to duplicate almost every style brewed in Germany, England, or Belgium, and our brewers have added a few twists of their own, inventing styles like steam beer and imperial IPA. What other country produces such a wide spectrum of beers ranging from 3.8% alcohol light lagers to the 27% alcohol Sam Adams Utopias?

RICK WEISS, Washington Post staff writer, March 10, 2008
CZIKOWSKY: Smell has a large impact on how we taste things. What happens to our abilities to taste when we lose our ability to smell?
WEISS: You are right. I’ve seen some estimates that as much as 80 percent of what we think of as “taste” is actually the contribution from the nose. Without smell, many things taste alike (apples and raw potatoes, for example.) My wife, also a science writer, has a theory that this is not the worst affect of losing your sense of smell though, She says smell is also an integral part of what it takes to fall in love. Without it, it can be difficult to wholly bond to a mate. Anyone out there with little or no sense of smell and tales of woe (or otherwise) on the love front, please write in and add some data points to this idea.

HUNG HUYNH, “Top Chef” TV show season three winner, and GAIL SIMMONS, “Top Chef” panelist, March 12, 2008
CZIKOWSKY: Would you please provide us with this hint: what are some of the most common mistakes, or perhaps something that most Americans do not realize, when they cook at home? What can most of us do at home to best become better chefs?
SIMMONS: Seasoning is the most basic thing. Washing your food properly, really cleaning lettuce and mushrooms, buying the best ingredients, tasting at every step. Don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty, that’s how you learn. Don’t make it fussy, the simpler the better.
HUYNH: Don’t be afraid to use salt!

DAMIAN MOSELEY, The Root Contributor, August 13, 2008
CZIKOWSKY: There may be much fault to the Los Angeles ban on new fast food places, but do you see some good? While it does not totally stop their number or eliminate them, doesn’t it prevent a continued sprawling growth of fast food places within neighborhoods? Wouldn’t it be better that more grocery stores that offer healthy foods be able to find more spaces instead of having more and more fast food places taking many of the new spaces?
MOSELEY: I agree. There is some good in the ban if grocery stores (or other food retailers) have been vying for the same real estate. In this case, maybe the moratorium gives those other food retailers the space in which to operate. But what will be done in conjunction with the ban to 1.) attract alternative food retailers and 2.) encourage people who typically patronize fast food outlets to instead patronize the new places? There seems to be an implicit assumption that if the options are there, please will use the, and community health will necessarily improve. I’m just not sure it’s so simple.

PAUL ROBERTS, journalist, August 19, 2008
` CZIKOWSKY: The population today is approximately equal to all who lived in the past 2,000 years before. We have found ways, with major faults, to attempt to feed as many people today as lived over the past 2,000 years. How are you going to continue to make such demands upon our food supply, especially since the population boom is growing, and doing so rapidly?
ROBERTS: That’s the trillion dollar question. Feeding a world that wants not simply more bulk calories but more “resource intensive” foods, such as meat and dairy, in safer and more convenient forms, all dramatically reducing the food industry’s use of energy, water, and fertilizers, its production of waste, and its degradation of soils, forests, and other natural system.