Joe Yonan, editor of the Washington Post's Food section, contacted me earlier today to clear up the paper's position on future reviews of EatWell DC restaurants, which include The Heights, Grillfish, and the Commissary. David Winer, a partner with EatWell DC, had earlier sent a letter to his mailing list, saying that the Post had agreed never to review his restaurants again following critic Tom Sietsema's hard, pipe-hitting First Bite commentary on the Commissary, which the Post has since retracted and pulled from its Web site. (The review is still available here.)

Says Yonan: "There is no agreement not to cover any of the Commissary owners' other businesses." The only agreement is that Sietsema will not handle any of the Post's future coverage of EatWell DC's restaurants.

So why did Winer think the Post had agreed never to review his places again? I don't know. But I have a call into him. More as I know it.

UPDATE (2:14 P.M.): Winer called back to say he wasn't interested in continuing the war of words. Here's what he would allow: "I never spoke to Joe Yonan, and that's the fact of the matter." Winer also said that, from the beginning, he had only one issue with the Post: "My sole problem in all of this is a conflict of interest," Winer said, "nothing more."

Three weeks ago, as we were preparing the latest installment of Dishing Expedition, I was all ready to offer up a one-paragraph summation of my lone visit to the Commissary in Logan Circle, but at the last minute, the item got cut due to space limitations. Given the ongoing flap over Washington Post restaurant critic Tom Sietsema's now-retracted First Bite review of the eatery, it seems a fitting moment to resurrect the commentary:

Scorn in the U.S.A.

I have only one comment after picking at an overcooked cheeseburger, a limp croque-monsieur, and a dry, flavor-challenged margherita pizza at the Commissary, the new flag-waving haunt in the old Merkado Kitchen space at 1443 P St. NW (202-299-0018): The economy's gonna have to get a lot worse before I dine regularly at this cheap-eats spot.

I specifically want to highlight the time frame of my original jab at the Commissary---mid-October, well before Sietsema's piece. Earlier today, EatWell DC partner David Winer, one of the owners of the Commissary, said he fears retribution from the "covey of restaurant food critics" who, for all he knows, may "have coffee together." Winer may well view this posting as a sympathetic pat on the back to Sietsema, but I offer it up as evidence that a conflict of interest does not inherently mean that the original criticism was unfounded. I understand Winer's frustration, but I'd encourage him to look at his food as much as the critic reviewing it.

Don Rockwell, founder of the online foodie board donrockwell.com, has come to Tom Sietsema's defense after the Washington Post retracted the restaurant critic's First Bite review of the Commissary in Logan Circle. Writes Rockwell:

This is a tough standard, and I stand solidly behind Tom on this one (while at the same time understanding the Post's decision). Perhaps he should have mentioned a disclaimer, but from what I know about Tom Sietsema, he is professional enough to remain objective, regardless of any potential conflicts of interest, actual or perceived. He's done it in the past with Breadline, Stoney's, etc., and from where I view things, he's maintained extremely high integrity, year after year. I'll come right out and say that I've dined with Tom in the past where he is recognized (and fawned over), and it did not affect his reviews in any way that I could see. Ever since I became forum host at eGullet, I've used aspects of his approach as models for my own behavior, and these remain in place to this very day.

Your turn: What do you think about Sietsema's mini-review and the Post's retraction?