2005 Zagat Survey for DC & Baltimore

[mr food]

I recently received my copy of the latest Zagat survey for this area. I'm not commenting on the Baltimore section as I haven't dined there enough recently to give an opinion. My initial impression of the DC area section was less than enthusiastic given too many overly high ratings and regional bias (ignoring several MD restaurants and going far afield in Virginia) . One example was the omission of Sergios in Silver Spring and Lupos in College Park; these venues have been reviewed in the Post, certainly they should have been included. Another question I have regards the editor of the DC section. She is a lawyer named Olga Boikess. I don't recall seeing her name anywhere in foodie circles but please correct me as I am a relative newbie here and may have missed postings. How do others here feel about the accuracy of Zagat in DC? Full disclosure: I rated a few restaurants and received a free copy.

[JPW]

Zagat's = popularity contest, not accurate ratings of restaurants.

Since anyone can send in a rating, the raters may be dedicated and thoughtful gourmets or they may be everything out of the microwave yahoos who are in it only to get a free book.

Stick with the reviews in the Post. They are all online and in my opinion, the Post doesn't suck up to restaurants the way Washingtonian does. Learn how your tastes line up with the reviewers. I generally agree with just about everything Sietsma writes except that our tastes in mediterranean food seem to differ. For example, he has given Bacchus in Bethesda good reviews and recommends it often in his chats. My experiences there have been relatively disappointing by comparison.

PS - Tom, thanks for doing such a great job, we're lucky to have you. But please get a finer gradation in your star system, too many two-stars!!!

Edited August 12, 2004 by JPW (log)

[Mark Sommelier]

Keep the book. It is handy for phone numbers and addresses.

[DonRocks]

Keep the book. It is handy for phone numbers and addresses.

There's actually a lot of truth to this statement.

But you might as well buy Tom Sietsema's Dining Guide instead - one thing people fail to mention about Tom is how militantly attentive he is to detail in his work, and I have literally worn out the cover of last year's dining guide, keeping it in my car for not only his reviews, but also for phone numbers and hours of operation.

[bilrus]

I was "flipping through" Zagat's "the other day" and I "seemed to agree" more with the "comments" than I did with the "ratings"

Edited August 12, 2004 by bilrus (log)

[DonRocks]

Oh my goodness.

[morela]

Oh my goodness.

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Please turn on your $84 Texas Instrument graphing calcuators now.

[giuinha]

Another question I have regards the editor of the DC section. She is a lawyer named Olga Boikess. I don't recall seeing her name anywhere in foodie circles but please correct me as I am a relative newbie here and may have missed postings. 

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she's the ethics czar at the NIH.