Gumbo lover leaves $2,000 tip on $93 bill

A Washington man shocked the staff of a neighborhood restaurant earlier this week by leaving a $2,000 for a meal of beer and gumbo he shared with a friend, the proprietor said on Wednesday.

The man, described by Blue 44's owner Chris Nardelli as a gumbo-loving regular who lives nearby, left the tip on a $93 bill on Monday night.

"Thank you for the gumbo!" he wrote on the bill after indulging his taste for the Louisiana Creole dish, a specialty of the house.

"It was pretty shocking to say the least," said Nardelli, who also is a chef and bartender at the four-year-old restaurant in the Chevy Chase neighbourhood. "It made everybody do a triple take."

The customer, who was not identified, asked on the bill that $1,000 go to chef James Turner and $500 each for Nardelli and waitress Laura Dally.