Why? Because Tim and Nina Zagat — yes, those Zagats, founders of the all-important Zagat dining surveys — made a surprise whirlwind tour of 20-plus Washington restaurants in order to get a sense of our city’s culinary choices. Stops included Cork, CityZen, Zatinya, Rasika, The Source, Fogo de Chao, Komi and, yes, Ben’s Chili Bowl (“We’ve never been!” they said).

But lest you worry that they would explode from all that food, fear not: The couple didn’t eat much, opting instead to just spend five minutes at each place.

“You can tell a lot about a place in just five minutes,” Tim Zagat told Yeas & Nays. “You can get a sense of its smell, its people, its service, its menu, its prices. Most of what you need to know you can figure out rather quickly.”

On Tuesday night, you could have found the Zagats at Central, where they bumped into House Democratic Caucus Chairman Rahm Emanuel. “He was very charming,” Tim said. “And we didn’t hear him use foul language once!” (Emanuel is famous for his fierce tongue).

On Wednesday, the couple dined at the West End Bistro for lunch (first-time visit), and couldn’t avoid the local topic du jour: politics. The talk drifted from President Bush (“He’s done a lot of damage in the past eight years”) to their old pal, Rep. Barney Frank (“I used to try to get him to date my sister and always wondered why he wouldn’t”) to New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg (“We love him!”), to the Obama fist-bump (“We had no idea what fist-bumping was or that it was so popular!”).

You may actually see more of the Zagats — or at least their guides — if they have their way: They indicated that they’d like to put a Zagat guide to area restaurants in every congressional office, so that visitors would know exactly where to go after meeting with their congressman. And the couple are looking for interested parties to buy and distribute their guides at both the Republican and Democratic conventions.

But Tim also shared his newest dining rule — “I actually think that men should order first; it takes the pressure off the women” — and his admiration for the Washington area’s most famous restaurant: The romantic Inn at Little Washington. “I think they deserve extra points just for the inn’s beds — and what they get used for!”

“Oh, behave,” Nina said.

Well, get ready for a bacchanalia of Reaganalia, as the House on Tuesday passed the Ronald Reagan Centennial Commission Act to prepare for the Great Communicator’s 100th birthday in 2011. The 11-member body, funded with $1 million, will plan and execute Reagan-minded activities. The act also authorizes a Reagan postage stamp and a $1 coin.

“It sounds like a good time to re-start the conversation about getting  Reagan on the $10 bill,” Norquist said. “I don’t know why the Bush administration has dropped the ball on this.”

Also approved Tuesday: a measure to support “the goals and ideals of National Carriage Driving Month.” Why, you ask? Well, the “Carriage Association of America has, for almost 50 years, fostered and organized efforts to preserve and recognize the significant contributions that animal-drawn vehicles have made to American culture [and] it is now almost 100 years since the rapid change from animal-drawn vehicles to machine-powered vehicles.”

Well, with $4 gas. …

When asked about the possibility that the 30 percent decrease in home runs this year is due to the league’s crackdown on steroid use, Bucky Dent (who never hit many home runs himself, save that one that really counted in 1978) told Yeas & Nays that it could be due to that or better pitching. “You never know what happens with home runs,” the Yankee great said.

Legendary reliever Bruce Sutter, who wore a Cubs hat, said he does not know anything about steroids, but that the cause of the home run drought could be better pitching or the cold weather over the year.

And Oscar Gamble, sporting an Indians hat, protested that it’s only halfway through the season. “In summertime I think they fly up a little more than they do when they first start out,” Gamble said. “It seems like lately they’ve been picking up.”
 

“It’s actually more nerve-racking to speak than it is to sing,” Bolton said.

Bolton had no reason to worry, though, as the mostly female audience was cheering for him before he even opened his mouth.

Later in the evening, Bolton returned to his comfort zone to sing “Happy Birthday” to his personal assistant Ronnie Milo. Milo called it the “best birthday I’ve ever had.”

So it was on Tuesday night when Rosario Dawson, in town for her Voto Latino organization, brought along her beau, French DJ Mathieu Schreyer.

The bearded Schreyer, known as “Mr. French” in DJ circles, stayed mostly quiet while Dawson worked the room. When she took the podium, she emphasized that she’s not using her involvement to advance a particular party or agenda. “I would feel terrible if I used this platform to tell people what they should do with their voices,” she said.

She then presented Michael Monrroy, who won a contest to cover the Republican convention for the Si TV channel. “I can’t believe Rosario Dawson just introduced me!” he exclaimed.

Equally enamored with the company was Rep. Joe Baca, D-Calif., who was none too pleased to depart when the bell rang to signal votes on the House floor. “I’d like to stay with all these lovely ladies, but duty calls,” he said.

Above, Phil Mickelson shows Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings how to putt. (Photo: Carrie Devorah)

During an interview in May with The Politico’s Mike Allen, President Bush confessed that he had suspended his golf hobby as the war in Iraq continues. “I think playing golf during a war just sends the wrong signal,” Bush said.

Phil Mickelson begs to differ. The two-time Masters winner hopped around Washington on Tuesday with Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings in order to emphasize the value of math and science in golf to students.

Mickelson told Yeas & Nays that golf helps him relieve stress and said he was sad to hear that Bush had suspended his golf game.
“I think, for me personally, some of the best times I have ever had to think and to get refreshed is when I go out and play golf in the evening by myself or with my dad or with my friends,” Mickelson said. “I don’t know if that is the same case with him, but I am sorry he had to suspend it. I know for me some of the best times for thinking, for relaxing, has been on the golf course.”

Mickelson told students that his caddie once wrote a message to his teacher during a math final: “If you give me at least a D, I will never use math again.” His caddie got his D and graduated, but Mickelson added that a few years back, “a nut comes running out on the golf course screaming, ‘You lied to me! You lied to me!’ ” Turns out it was that old teacher. “I thought he was yelling at me, but it turns out he was yelling at [his caddie] Bones as he was adding up the yardage. So you do actually need it in your everyday life.”

“Democrats believe in government; they tend to stick around forever,” Boehner told an American Spectator luncheon crowd. “Republicans tend to leave more quickly.”

Boehner admitted that even he didn’t come to Washington to be a career politician. “I didn’t come here to be a congressman. I came here to fight for a smaller, more accountable federal government.” (Never mind that he’s been here for nearly two decades.)
Boehner also had a message for any disaffected Republicans who are considering voting for Libertarian Bob Barr in the presidential election.

“It would be like voting for Barack Obama,” he said. “If you want to throw your vote away, that’s fine. But that’s what it would be.”

Courtesy Jess Lander

Christian Lander may not be a household name. But his blog, Stuff White People Like, is getting there.

Lander is at Politics & Prose today to promote the book version of the blog, “The Definitive Guide to Stuff White People Like: The Unique Taste of Millions.” So we couldn’t resist asking him: How white are you?

“I wrote the book on it,” he said. “I’m pretty up there. I ride a bike. I own a Prius.”

He said about the only categories in which he wouldn’t qualify are that he doesn’t like “expensive strollers” or “outdoor performance gear.”

He conceded, his identification of “white people” is really a misnomer; it really lampoons white urban liberals. He said when he was growing up in Toronto, Canada, upper-class yuppies pushed out the working class, so the white people he describes in his blog “were the only white people I knew growing up.” And yes, he says, “Left-wing Americans and Canadians are pretty much the same people.”

Here, he added, they’re known as Barack Obama voters. He said for his next project, he’d like to have readers send him pictures of their Priuses with Obama stickers on the back. He’d then create one of those images where all the tiny Prius photos make a larger collage of Obama’s head.

White people will surely love it.
 

“That’s kind of like Obi-Wan Kenobi, Han Solo, Luke Skywalker — and your final speaker will be R2-D2,” Pence joked.

Not to be outdone, Kristol joked about being the sole conservative faculty member at Harvard when he taught there. “They like to have one,” Kristol said. “It’s useful for the students to know what one looks like, especially when they go out for job interviews.”

After the panel discussion, the diminutive Bauer admitted that Barack Obama would definitely beat him in a basketball game.

“I’d prefer chess,” Bauer said.