In article , [email removed] (Friend ) wrote: > Hello people: > > I am new to this group so excuse me please if what I am about to ask is a > FAQ. I live in the Philadelphia area. The first week of this November, I > will be visiting Rockville, MD for business that whole week. I will be staying > at the Double Tree. Does anyone have any recommendations for decent places > to eat dinner in the Rockville area? I will have a car with me so I don't > mind driving a bit, but I want to avoid going into Washington if I can only > because I have already been there many times. I am looking for moderately > priced or inexpensive restaurants which serve either Italian, Jewish Deli, > Chinese, or good old American type food. Any suggestions will be appreciated. > Restaurants with a quiet atmosphere where I can sit and read a newspaper are > preferred. The Double Tree is between MD Rt. 355, a.k.a Rockville Pike or just "The Pike" and the Twinbrook Metro station, so your options are considerable. Working your way north (actually northwest) along the Pike on the same side as the hotel you will find: ->Copelands, a yuppified N'Orleens seafood place [my rating: hohum and a tad pricey]; ->Phineas, a steak-and-chicken-and seafood joint with a decent salad bar [reasonable]; ->Chicken Out, a local chain roasted chicken-n-trimmings place that I happen to like pretty well - lots of excellent sides, too [quite reasonable]; ->a kebab place and noodle joint in a strip mall perpendicular to the Pike just north of Chicken Out (no opinion, haven't tried them); ->skipping over Subway, the Golden Arches, and TacoStuff, you get to Sam Woo's and El Pollo Primo, another grilled chicken place (no opinion on Sam's, but I thought the chicken a bit dry the single time I tried Primo); ->Across the street and a bit north you have Shelby's Woodroast, a place some say is good, but I've been less than wowwed the couple of times I've been there. Then there's Hooter's, a macho hangout, just a block up the Pike from there. ->Going south, there's a decent family-style Greek place, the Ambrosia - no great shakes for atmosphere but it regularly gets good marks for the food. I've only eaten there once, though, but I think it is quite reasonably priced. ->Not quite so far south but back into the Congressional Plaza mall access road is the Woodside Deli, your typical greasy spoon deli, in the same building as a carry-out only Armand's Pizzeria ("Chicago-style"); ->NOW, for my favorites: up the Pike to the right in a small strip mall just past College Plaza on the left you will find Il Pizzico, a great little Italian place that is reasonable and delicious; ->On the way to Il Pizzico, you passed the Rickshaw in a strip mall on your left (look for Best Buy on your right and then the green sign for the Rickshaw on the left past the golf course entrance) - my favorite for 20 years! [not cheap but reasonable] ->Going south down the Pike, look on the other side of the street for Houston's in a small strip mall next to the Mattress Warehouse - it's all good, if not great (the ribs are outta sight) [just a tad pricey but generally worth it]. ->Just a bit past Houston's is the building that houses The Original Pancake House, which is just what you think it is (besides having the best waffles and pancakes around) - entrance in the rear, no sign yet, and open only until 3PM, but good solid stick-to-your ribs fare. I could go on and on, but hey! it's the hunt that's part of the fun. Bon appetit! > Since I will be done work each day at around 5:00 PM, I am also curious > what there is to do around Rockville during weekday evenings? I have never > been there before so I am unfamiliar with the area. Are there any museums > that are opened at night or even just some big shopping malls where I can > get in some walking or maybe a nice park in which I can do some hiking on > a lighted trail? The nearest mall is Montgomery Mall, which is off the westbound spur of I-270 (Democracy Blvd. exit). If you really want to get adventurous, take the subway to Pentagon City Mall - the mall is right outside the station entrance.
Washington, DC
Dining tips in Rockville
Friend wrote: I's like to add a recommendation for La Madelaine, a Country French restaurant that down Rockville Pike a few blocks, and on the right. Actually it's at the north end of a shopping center that has a Toys R Us and a Bally's health club. La Madelaine is *very* inexpensive -- top dinner is about $10.00 -- and wonderful food. They also have great coffee (I like the French Roast) and a selection of breads and jams/jellies on a help-yourslef basis. The restaurant is set up cafeteria style, but don't mistake that for "cheesy"; the ambience is great. It would be a perfect place to sip coffee and read the newspaper. BTW, Congressional Plaza, which is across the street from the Doubletree, includes a Boston Market and a Tower Records. The closest mall (despite what another respondent said) is White Flint, which is a couple of miles down Rockville Pike, on the left. White Flint has a Cheesecake Factory (try them for lunch, when the crowds aren't quite so bad) and a large Borders Books and Music. Leo
In article , [email removed] (Leo Scanlon) wrote: > Friend wrote: > I's like to add a recommendation for La Madelaine, a Country French > restaurant that down Rockville Pike a few blocks, and on the right. > Actually it's at the north end of a shopping center that has a Toys R > Us and a Bally's health club. > > La Madelaine is *very* inexpensive -- top dinner is about $10.00 -- > and wonderful food. They also have great coffee (I like the French > Roast) and a selection of breads and jams/jellies on a help-yourslef > basis. The restaurant is set up cafeteria style, but don't mistake > that for "cheesy"; the ambience is great. It would be a perfect place > to sip coffee and read the newspaper. > > BTW, Congressional Plaza, which is across the street from the > Doubletree, includes a Boston Market and a Tower Records. The > closest mall (despite what another respondent said) is White Flint, > which is a couple of miles down Rockville Pike, on the left. White > Flint has a Cheesecake Factory (try them for lunch, when the crowds > aren't quite so bad) and a large Borders Books and Music. > > Leo Thanks, Leo, for the additions - my brain had dumped before I got that far down the Pike, but I'll have to second the Cheesecake Factory - an incredible range of HUGE entrees at reasonable prices (my fav is the Orange Chicken). If you can get there by about 4:30 to 5PM you MAY only have to wait a short while. Of course, if the wait is going to be more than about 10-15 mins, you can slip up the escalator to Border's Books for a while....:-) La Madelaine is pretty good, too, but some of the entrees are a bit on the greasy side. The onion soup is always excellent and the pastries are yummy. Also, this particular restaurant usually has a few interesting wines available. Beware the Mill Room, though, unless you don't plan to converse with anyone.
Someone wrote:
>A dissent on La Madeleine. I don't like it AT ALL.
I disagree. I think it is great! Tasty food, quickly prepared, and at least ten orders of magnitude above anything else you can get in less than five minutes.
The salads are fresh and made to order. The tomato-basil soup is a dream. The breads are all home made and good. The entrees and sandwiches are also quite good. I'm particularly partial to the chicken in olive sauce. Bread and most drink refills are free, and the deserts are tasty too. And to top it off, it is very reasonably priced.
FYI, this is a small chain. They also have restaurants in Tysons Corner and Alexandria (and maybe elsewhere).Bill W. wrote: >A belated contribution to this thread: Let's not forget that Rockville >sports a branch of the wonderful Hard Times Cafe. > >Those who don't think it's wonderful are probably the ones who made the >mistake of ordering the Texas (hamburger and grease) chili rather than >the exquisite Cincinnati variety. Try the four-way, with spaghetti, >onions and cheddar (but not beans). > I've been to Hard Times a couple-a-times. I absolutely agree about the Texas chili. There was a chili parlor in Austin I used to go to that made chili with chopped beef (or perhaps it was shredded? It's been a while.) and I was expecting Hard Times to be that way becuase of all of the rave reviews. I was sorely dissapointed. The XXX chili at the Austin place was so hot, you'd put jalepenos on it to calm it down. (I usually ordered X or XX. I want to eat, not strangle.) I'm not sure there's any place around here like that. Another place I was very dissapointed with was Cielito Lindo on Kenilworth (this is Bladensburg) that got rave rave reviews from PR. The service was great, the owner very friendly, but the chili rellenos-- soaked in a thin and soupy sauce. The chkn enchililadas were so mushy as to be airspun. (rather interesting in a way.)...I admit I haven't tried their tacos or fully explored the menu (although it seemed you only had one choice for sauce on the enchilada). There was an appetizer called a chalupita that I ordered because I thought it might be like these things I used to get at a really cheap small place called gorditas. They were fine. The staples like rice and beans were ok. I've had better chips and salsa but they were passable. I went twice, the second time becuase I liked the people there. The owner, who was very happy the first time I visited seemed down cast on my second visit. He talked a little about how no one had taste for real Mexican food because of places like Chili's and how, in Mexico City, a dinner like this would be very expensive. I wonder if he'd move to a better location if he'd have more people? Even with what I said about the food, it's geometrically better than Taco Bell and just as convenient and inexpensive. It seems he should be doing better. Oh...as a texmex/mex metric: I used to go to Rio Grande in Bethesda a lot, but got bored with it. I like Austin Grill on north Wisc. and the restaurant (can't remember the name) in Laurel (next to the steak place behind one of those malls off rt1) is boring but will do in a pinch (if you're in the neighborhood)...I wonder if I'd like Rio Grande more if I ordered from the expensive domain of menu choices. sh