Who were the most anxious Washingtonians last night? Those in the restaurant business.
Why? Because Tim and Nina Zagat — yes, those Zagats, founders of the all-important Zagat dining surveys — made a surprise whirlwind tour of 20-plus Washington restaurants in order to get a sense of our city’s culinary choices. Stops included Cork, CityZen, Zatinya, Rasika, The Source, Fogo de Chao, Komi and, yes, Ben’s Chili Bowl (“We’ve never been!” they said).
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But lest you worry that they would explode from all that food, fear not: The couple didn’t eat much, opting instead to just spend five minutes at each place.
“You can tell a lot about a place in just five minutes,” Tim Zagat told Yeas & Nays. “You can get a sense of its smell, its people, its service, its menu, its prices. Most of what you need to know you can figure out rather quickly.”
On Tuesday night, you could have found the Zagats at Central, where they bumped into House Democratic Caucus Chairman Rahm Emanuel. “He was very charming,” Tim said. “And we didn’t hear him use foul language once!” (Emanuel is famous for his fierce tongue).
On Wednesday, the couple dined at the West End Bistro for lunch (first-time visit), and couldn’t avoid the local topic du jour: politics. The talk drifted from President Bush (“He’s done a lot of damage in the past eight years”) to their old pal, Rep. Barney Frank (“I used to try to get him to date my sister and always wondered why he wouldn’t”) to New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg (“We lovehim!”), to the Obama fist-bump (“We had no idea what fist-bumping was or that it was so popular!”).
You may actually see more of the Zagats — or at least their guides — if they have their way: They indicated that they’d like to put a Zagat guide to area restaurants in every congressional office, so that visitors would know exactly where to go after meeting with their congressman. And the couple are looking for interested parties to buy and distribute their guides at both the Republican and Democratic conventions.
But Tim also shared his newest dining rule — “I actually think that men should order first; it takes the pressure off the women” — and his admiration for the Washington area’s most famous restaurant: The romantic Inn at Little Washington. “I think they deserve extra points just for the inn’s beds — and what they get used for!”
“Oh, behave,” Nina said.
