If the crowds at the two editions of Chef Geoff’s are any indication, namesake owner/chef Geoff Tracy knows how to make elegant but simple and tasty food accessible to people who want to eat well without getting attitude. So when we visited LIA’S — Tracy’s new Chevy Chase restaurant — we expected nothing less, even if it was the restaurant’s first day of business.

Although LIA’S (yes, it’s all caps) is Tracy’s third foray into the D.C. area restaurant scene, it’s technically his first restaurant in the ‘burbs. It’s just north of the District line on Willard Avenue off of upper Wisconsin Avenue and across from Hecht’s-Macy’s. Tracy — who’s married to beautiful MSNBC Chief Washington Correspondent Norah O’Donnell — had hoped to open LIA’S this spring, but inevitable delays caused him to hold off until yesterday.

The verdict? It’s amazing what a sweet and nervous waiter who winks like he’s on a first date can do to smooth over tiny service hiccups on the first day a restaurant opens to the public. And the food was terrific, which helps too.