gumbrinus's Profile
Your 10 favorite DC Metro restaurants
In no particular order:
Sabai Sabai Simply Thai (Germantown)
2 Amys
Chix (U Street Corridor)
Mama Ayesha's (Woodley Park/Adam's Morgan)
Julia's Empanadas (Adams-Morgan)
Volt (Frederick)
Selam (Eritrean cuisine, U Street)
Al Crostino (U Street)
Urban BBQ (Rockville)
Dogfish Head Brewpub (Gaithersburg)
exceptional restaurant(s) in/near Frederick MD
My top four in Frederick in order of their exceptional qualities:
1) Volt for food, atmosphere, and ambience. This is not only the best restaurant in Frederick, it is competing for honors of the best dining experience in Maryland. In this case, it's more about pleasing the palette than stuffing the stomach.
2) The Tasting Room for service, food ,and for people watching through the pane glass windows that overlook Market Street. Yes, it does get noisy on the weekends ... not nearly as bad during the week. But they have a small private dining room where they will seat a party of four or more if you request in advance when you make your reservation.
3) Monocacy Crossing for food. This is a solid choice and a definite local's favorite. The country inn decor has never appealed to me as much as the more modern atmosphere of the choices above, but the food rarely disappoints. Service is good but not memorable.
4) G Hunter's for seafood. Owned by the same group that owns the Tasting Room Brewer's Alley, and Isabella's. Service is adequate, the menu is limited, and atmosphere is hotel/country club. But the seafood is wonderfully prepared, always fresh, and a solid value.
Other honorable mentions include Acacia for Sunday brunch, Brewer's Alley for beer, and Cafe Nola for coffee and lunch. Isabella's is fun, especially if you sit at the bar, but the tapas do not compare to the best of DC. I have tried the Orchard twice and while I appreciate the vegetarian options, I simply don't get the excitement about this place.
Germantown and Gaithersburg Dinners
As one who entertains customers and business colleagues from our base in Germantown, my personal favorite local chowhound places for dinner are as follows:
Agrodolce serves an excellent variety of northern and southern italian dishes with a nouveau twist. Great wine list and well withinh your budget. There is outside dining if the weather stays as superb as it has been.
O'Donnell's in Kentlands/Gaithersburg is the best area spot for local seafood. My favorite dish here is the Rockfish stuffed with crab. Two local delicacies all rolled into one.
More casual and laid-back is the Dogfish Head Brewpub in Gaithersburg (link below is WRONG location, so ignore), which serves excellent upscale pub fare and some of the best (if not the best) local brews in all of Maryland. They also distill their own liquor. I'm actually taking a large group (50+) there on Wednesday night, so look for us upstairs and ask for Rob!
In Germantown, other worthwhile places to look up and not already mentioned include Johnny's Kabob (the best of the local kabob places), Mi Rancho (above average Tex-Mex), and Peking Palace for very good Chinese-American and authentic Hunan-style "homestyle" cuisine (ask for the Chinese menu, if you dare). Tandoori Nights in Kentlands/Gaithersburg is non-traditional Indian fare with a kick and a modern atmosphere and is also recommended.
Have a great trip!
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Agrodolce
21030 Frederick Rd Ste J, Germantown, MD 20876
Dogfish Head Alehouse
6363 Seven Corners Ctr, Falls Church, VA 22044
Peking Palace
12937 Wisteria Dr, Germantown, MD 20874
Arlington-Falls Church Rotisserie Chicken
Further north of DC on E Diamond Ave in old town Gaithersburg is Junior's Chicken (301-977-7919). They use a closed oven, so the chicken is not quite as crispy as El Pollo Rico, but they use bigger birds and also make the best homemade aji sauce (the yellow spicy mayo sauce) of all the Peruvian joints I've tried. BIG bonus points for that sauce alone, which comes both mild and spicy. They also make an extremely good potato salad, plus they feature a rotating menu of other Peruvian specialties including tripe and flank steak. And I'm pretty sure they have yucca. I'd rank Junior's an 8/10, but only because I wish it were crispier.
Someone in another post mentioned the Guatamalan bakery across the street, so after your $15 dinner for 2-4 at Junior's, you can cross the street and grab fresh dessert for 50 cents. They make a flaky pastry with cream frosting, sort of a poor man's napolean, that is quite good. Plus you can grab a loaf of fresh bread to take home.
PS: I know this is not Falls Church - Arlington, but I used to drive from Germantown to Silver Spring for Peruvian chicken. So a jaunt to Gaithersburg from Falls Church sounds reasonable to me ;-)
