Or maybe you\u2019re a senior staffer for Steve Scalise, the second-ranking Republican in the House. The aide usually pings his usual server for one of his usual perches: table 10 in the main dining room. It\u2019s the corner booth with a privacy curtain\u2014the \u201crock-star table,\u201d ever since Bono sat there. Only tonight he\u2019d prefer a booth in the bar area. Trouble is it\u2019s packed.<\/p>\n
Not to worry. \u201cA ma\u00eetre d\u2019 always has a table in his back pocket,\u201d [Michael] Arnaud says. He adds the Hill staffer to the reservation system, and a bar booth with a reserved placard is his.<\/p>\n
For these diners and the other VIPs on the books this evening\u2014a congressman from Kentucky, a former media exec, a concierge from the W Hotel, a smattering of cherished regulars\u2014the restaurant is extra-accommodating. Its ma\u00eetre d\u2019s spot their special customers instantly, greet them by name, and immediately whisk them to their tables. Good cop, good cop\u2026<\/p>\n
First, the hierarchy. Because this is Washington, many restaurants naturally have a pecking order for their top clientele.<\/strong> All VIPs of Le Diplomate, the French brasserie in Logan Circle, are dubbed \u201cPPX\u201d\u2014personnes particuli\u00e8rement extraordinaires<\/em>\u2014and tracked in real time on a kitchen whiteboard as they dine. But some, such as a neighborhood regular, are classified as \u201cTTA,\u201d for Try to Accommodate. Others are \u201cMA,\u201d for Must Accommodate, including Jill Biden; G\u00e9rard Araud, the outgoing French ambassador; and Jim Abdo, the developer who basically rebuilt 14th Street. An MA commands a table, stat.<\/p>\n
At Rare Steakhouse in downtown DC, former managing director Justin Abad categorized semiregular VIPs as \u201csoign\u00e9<\/em>,\u201d French for \u201chandled with care,\u201d and those who came in three to five times a week or held multiple functions at the restaurant throughout the year as \u201csuper soign\u00e9<\/em>.\u201d The lower tier would often be treated to a complimentary Prosecco, while those handled with extra care\u2014select media figures and lawyers, for instance\u2014might be given a free shellfish platter on occasion.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n