October’s issue of Gourmet magazine asks six restaurant critics how they would spend a theoretical $1,000 on a meal for two in their home town. Tom Sietsema of the Washington Post is their go-to guy for the District. The spirit of the challenge would seem to be concocting a decadent meal or series of eating experiences that can fit into a reasonable evening and a reasonable stomach. Reasonably large, anyway. As do his peers, Sietsema takes liberties with the task, taking his theoretical companion—and readers—on a culinary tour of the city. more ›

>> Ruth Reichl, editor-in-chief of Gourmet Magazine and former food critic at The New York Times, comes to Politics and Prose to discuss "Garlic & Sapphires," a memoir of her times as a food critic. 7 p.m. Check out an interesting interview with her here, from back in 1996. more ›