DMV Dining

Tucked away from the bustling activity of downtown Silver Spring, Quarry House Tavern offers an escape from suburbia. It’s hard to imagine that a bar filled with such charm and character is mere blocks from the commercialization of nearby City Place, yet Quarry House Tavern is the dive you’ve always been looking for.

It’s not the easiest place to find, but once you walk down the flight of stairs, it’s hard not to leave. Not only does the bar host over a hundred beers and whiskeys, but they also feature three varieties of tater tots. Need I say more?

Restaurateur Jackie Greenbaum, who also operates nearby Sidebar and Jackie’s, has given her establishments an identity that is hard to replicate. Combine that with the fact that she is able to stock the bar with a variety of craft beer while dealing with Montgomery County’s arcane liquor laws is a success in its own right.

The bar features a selection of draft beers that change throughout the day in addition to an enormous bottle selection that consumes the majority of the menu. Rachel and I ordered a couple of beers before splitting an order of fried pickles, because let’s face it, how could you not order fried pickles?

The spears were surrounded by so much thick, crunchy batter that it was hard to decipher if there were pickles under there or not. Nonetheless, we wasted no time finishing them off, even though we had to scrape away some of the breading.

The main event, however, was the burger. Quarry House Tavern is known for serving up some of the best patties in Silver Spring, and after we polished ours off, we can wholeheartedly agree. We ordered our burger medium, topped with American cheese, grilled mushrooms, lettuce, tomato, and raw onion.

Served with a side of tots, it’s arguably one of the best meals to pair a beer with while listening to The Smiths blaring on the jukebox. The beef was juicy, well-seasoned, and cooked exactly the way we asked. The tots are great as well, though I would have needed a side of Coumadin if we got them topped with bacon and cheese.

Overall, Quarry House Tavern is a diamond in the rough in Montgomery County. Between the fantastic beer selection, great bar food, and divey atmosphere, it’s one of our favorite watering holes in the area.

With Passover concluding tonight, what better way to celebrate than discussing a return to carbs, and more importantly, pasta!

While we adore Olazzo in downtown Bethesda, we have never been to its nearby location in Silver Spring. As it turns out, Rachel inadvertently bought a BuyWithMe certificate for the Italian restaurant without realizing it was for the latter as opposed with the intention of buying it for the former.

Thanks to Rachel’s slight oversight, it gave us an opportunity to try their sister location, and especially in my case, their great meatballs.

One huge pro about their Silver Spring location is that they accept reservations, something that isn’t a practice at their Bethesda restaurant. Our table was ready as soon as we arrived, but given that it was a Thursday night instead of a weekend, this was anticipated.

Another noticeable difference between the two venues is that Silver Spring has a much larger dining area. The front of the house features an extensive bar area while Bethesda’s is essentially non-existent save for a few barstools. There were also several booths lined up opposite the bar that made for a cozy pub atmosphere.

Meanwhile, we were seated in the backroom which was just slightly smaller than their entire Bethesda dining room, but with higher ceilings and, even better, less noise. Then again, our reservation was around 9pm, so that probably helped in regards to the decibel levels.

Our waitress soon came by and asked for our drink orders while one of the busboys brought out their trademark warm, fresh bread with freshly-poured olive oil. Needless to say, I went through the whole loaf.

I ordered the Chicken Cardinale while Rachel got the Pasta Primavera. And of course, we shared a meatball.

Rachel got one of her go-to dishes here, the Pasta Primavera. The description lists the dish with olive oil and garlic, but like Brett, she loves her marinara sauce. However, she didn’t think that took away from her dish, and while it wasn’t amazing or completely unique, it was a very satisfying and heaping portion of penne pasta with an array of vegetables and a zesty sauce.

Being a huge fan of marinara, I foolishly opted for that over the tomato cream sauce that came with the Cardinale. I should have stuck with the original recipe as the red sauce’s texture wasn’t optimal for the dish, but despite the substitution, I was rather disappointed with the quality of the chicken.  It was dry, stringy, and downright unflavorful.

The meatball, on the other hand, was terrific as always. Almost the size of a softball, this (along with their excellent cannolis) is one of their signature items and is a must-order if you’re dining at Olazzo. I’m honestly annoyed at myself for not ordering a plate of spaghetti and meatballs for dinner instead, but I digress.

Our bill came out to a little less than $50, and given that our BuyWithMe offer cost $20 for $40 worth of food, an inexpensive dinner turned out to be even more economical. It’s not often you receive a check for two entrees, two glasses of wine, and a side dish that comes out to $10 (excluding tip)!

Outside of the Chicken Cardinale, some of which was my fault as well as the kitchen’s, it was another great tonight at was is typically a very reliable establishment. Given that we’re walking distance to their Bethesda location, I sense I’ll have plenty more opportunities to get my cherished spaghetti and meatballs.

While I certainly love all the lunch options I have by working in Bethesda, there are times when it’s good to mix it up. One of my former co-workers now works in Silver Spring, so a few of us decided to meet at Nando’s Peri-Peri in the downtown area.

The neighborhood is like their own version of Bethesda Row, with Lebanese Taverna, Potbelly’s, Panera Bread, and Macaroni Grill as options, just to name a few. I have always heard good things about Nando’s and have wanted to try their food, but since I don’t work in downtown DC, it’s obviously not that convenient for me. I didn’t even realize that there was a Silver Spring location until today, so I was excited to try it out.

At first glance, Nando’s looks like a typical Peruvian chicken joint, however, that is not the case. The food chain’s origins are in South Africa, where the original restaurant opened based on cooking flame-grilled chicken with a Peri-Peri spice taught to Portuguese settlers long ago by Africans in Mozambique.

Their grilled chicken is marinated for 24 hours in the Peri-Peri sauce, and then basted before serving with a sauce of your choosing based on the level of spiciness. You can get anything from a whole, half, or quarter chicken with sides, or choose between various sandwiches and salads.

For those of you who don’t love chicken, they also offer veggie burgers, a steak sandwich, and a portabella sandwich. You can also order any salad without the chicken.

I decided to get the butternut squash and couscous salad, with red onion, olives, grilled corn, and the famous chicken on a bed of greens. I choose the mild lemon and herb sauce, and then topped the salad with additional sauces at the table.

One unique feature to Nando’s is the sauces, which come in tall bottles with metal spouts that can be brought to your table. You can add as much spice and flavor to your dishes as you like. I mixed in some medium spicy sauce, garlic, and wild mushroom, and they all added a nice flavor to the salad.

While Nando’s is a fast casual chain, the staff was very friendly and greeted us at the door with menus and led us to a table. We ordered at the counter and the process seemed very smooth, until two of us got our order while our friend had to wait an additional 10 minutes for hers.

It was odd, since she ordered the same exact thing as my other friend – a grilled chicken wrap with yogurt sauce and two sides. When it finally arrived, the waiter explained that the macho peas side takes longer to prepare. In the end it was fine, but it is never fun to wait for someone’s dish while we all awkwardly look towards the kitchen.

I’m glad we discovered the Silver Spring location of Nando’s, and we will definitely be back soon. It’s a nice option for an easy meal that is also healthy and very satisfying.

Nando’s Peri-Peri is located at 924 Ellsworth Drive in downtown Silver Spring.

The store plans on opening two more locations in Bethesda and Gaithersburg, according to their website.