DMV Dining

We have to admit, the amount of content on DMV Dining has diminished quite a bit since we moved to Silver Spring. Between chasing after a toddler and moving to a new house, our dining adventures these past few months have mostly been relegated to delivery and takeout. But rest assured, that’s not a bad thing.

You see, the move has also given us a chance to explore the abundance of excellent ethnic eateries up the road in Wheaton and Silver Spring. And let me tell you, there’s a plethora of options to choose from. The best part is that all of them are affordable if not downright inexpensive.  We’ve mostly stuck to Wheaton, but have checked out a few places in Silver Spring and know we’ve only barely scratched the surface in terms of cheap eats.

Having said that, Rachel and I have composed a breakdown of all the places we have visited thus far.

El Pollo Rico

It’s no secret than I’m a huge fan of Polla a la Brasa, so when I found out we would be moving less than a couple of miles away from one of the most highly-acclaimed Peruvian chicken restaurants in the area, this place was at the top of my list. And let me tell you, the chicken at El Pollo Rico is as good as it gets. Wonderfully crisp and delightfully moist, it is right up there with Sardi’s as one of my favorites. While most of the sides are an afterthought, the sweet corn tamales are highly recommended (they’re cooked to order so I would call ahead if you plan on doing takeout). The Wheaton location also offers delivery, too. – Brett

2517 University Blvd W
Wheaton, MD 20902
(301) 942-4419

Goldberg’s New York Bagels

Being walking distance to Goldberg’s, who in my opinion make some of the best New York style bagels in the area, is quite the perk come Sunday morning. Our new Sunday tradition involves running a few miles around the neighborhood and finishing at Goldberg’s with a bagel and a schmear. – Brett

9328 Georgia Ave.
Silver Spring, MD 20910
(240)-450-4177

Hollywood East Café

While we have written about Hollywood East Café in the past, now we have even more reason to frequent their terrific dim sum given that we’re that much closer to them. – Brett

11160 Veirs Mill Rd
Wheaton, MD 20902
(240) 290-9988

Ghar-E-Kabab

This past rainy Saturday, we were staying in after failed babysitter attempts and had a hankering for Indian food. We looked for places that would deliver and came upon Ghar-E-Kabab. After a long but expected wait for our food, the payoff was worth it. We choose traditional (boring) items of Chicken Tikka Masala, Palak Paneer, and of course Naan. It certainly hit the spot and we’ll plan to order different dishes for variety the next time we crave Indian cuisine. – Rachel

944 Wayne Ave
Silver Spring, MD 20910
(301) 588-6656

La Casita Pupuseria & Market

We knew the Silver Spring/Wheaton area was full of fantastic pupuserias and Salvadorian restaurants, it was just a matter of which one we wanted to try first. We opted for La Casita based on its popular Yelp reviews, and judging by the crowded dining room at 5:30pm on a Sunday, we clearly chose the right place. We tried one of nearly each type of pupusa offered, and they were some of the best we’ve ever had. Our son ate them up too, in addition to the delicious mango smoothie. Next time we’ll have to try some of the other dishes on the menu, but you definitely can’t go wrong with any of the pupusas here. – Rachel

8214 Piney Branch Rd
Silver Spring, MD 20910
(301) 588-6656

Marchone’s Italian Delicatessen

A void needed to be filled once we left Bethesda and could no longer walk to Vace, which used to be our local Italian grocery. Thankfully Marchone’s has filled that emptiness with their delicious Italian cold cut subs. A family-owned business since 1954 and housed next door to Moby Dick Sushi, do yourself a favor and order a Panino and top it off with one of the many Italian pastries on display at the front of the house. They even sell cannoli from Vacarro’s! We have also heard great things about Santucci’s Italian Deli too, so that’s up on our list to try and then compare the two. – Brett

11224 Triangle Lane
Wheaton, MD 20902
 (301) 949-4150

Max’s Kosher Deli

After living in this area for well over a decade, I’m embarrassed to admit that I had never frequented Max’s until a few months ago. Rachel, on the other hand, last visited when she was an undergrad at the University of Maryland. Needless to say we’ll be making plenty more trips after devouring their schawarma and falafel when we stopped by last month. The matzo ball soup is as authentic as it gets, too. – Brett

2319 University Blvd W
Wheaton, MD 20902
(301) 949-6297

Moby Dick Sushi

This quaint sushi shop seems unassuming at first but in reality serves up some high quality fish at a very affordable price point. Their spicy crunchy tuna roll is arguably the best I have come across in this area, not only because of the quality but also how they prepare it – instead of being dusted with tempura flakes it is instead embedded in it, basically tempura style. The result is a satisfyingly crisp roll that is always included in each and every one of our takeout orders. – Brett

11220 Triangle Lane
Wheaton, MD 20902
(301) 949-3910

Nava Thai

First of all, not only are we a short drive to one of the best Thai restaurants in the area, we’re a short drive to three of the best Thai restaurants in the area (Ruan Thai and Thai Taste by Kob being the other two, all within a few blocks from one another). Nava Thai just happens to deliver, so we tried that one first. In fact, this was officially our first meal at our new house after an utterly exhausting day of moving. The Floating Market Soup is extraordinary, both in spice and overall flavor, and in my opinion is a quintessential must-try Thai dish. Even traditional items such as Pad Thai and Pad See Ew are refreshingly composed in a manner that makes you want to toss out all those old Thai takeout menus. The steamed dumplings stuffed with ground pork, shrimp, crabmeat, and water chestnuts are a real treat, too. On on a recent delivery order they convinced us to order the mango sticky rice dessert, which was a delicious summer treat that our son loved as well. – Brett

11301 Fern Street
Wheaton, MD 20902
(240) 430-0495

Ren’s Ramen

While Rachel and I have still never been to Toki Underground, we’re both perfectly content getting a piping hot bowl of ramen up the street instead of waiting outside for an inordinate amount of time on H Street for the same exact thing. And trust me, I’m not dogging Toki here, it just so happens that Ren’s is conveniently located a couple miles from us and serves up some tremendous ramen without the long queue and hip interior. Yes, parking can be difficult and they only accept cash, but these are small quibbles for a place that makes some outrageously good ramen. With a bowl large enough for leftovers (though I always finish mine) starting at $10, it’s a guarantee our visits will exponentially increase once the weather starts getting cooler. – Brett

11403 Amherst Ave
Wheaton, MD 20902
(301) 693-0806

Thai Taste by Kob

Tucked literally in between Nava Thai and Ruan Thai, Thai Taste by Kob stands out in that it offers an array of Thai street food in addition to more traditional fare. We stuck with items like Pad See Ew and Chicken with Chinese Broccoli, nothing too adventurous but delicious nonetheless. We discovered Thai Taste also delivers, and with its extensive menu we now have our pick of amazing Thai food to choose from. Thai Taste was recently given a favorable review by Todd Kliman in the May issue of Washingtonian, and we can definitely see why. – Rachel

11315 Fern St
Wheaton, MD 20902
(301) 942-0288

Let me preface by saying that Rachel and I are both dim sum noobs, so a trip to one of the area’s most popular dim sum restaurants was long overdue. With our friends Keith and Casey, we drove out to Wheaton Plaza for a New Years lunch at Hollywood East Cafe.

As soon as we were seated, the carts came rolling by. The first cart contained an assortment of steamed plates, so we went with an order of shrimp and pork dumplings to kick off our meal. I particularly enjoyed the steamed beef balls. With a slightly different texture than your typical meatball, the beef balls were full of flavor yet light and airy.

An order of their baked roast pork buns was a hit amongst our table. The buns were not piping hot when we got them from the cart, but regardless, they provided a nice combination of sweet and salty.

As the carts rolled on, our plates stacked higher and higher. The steamed spare ribs with black bean sauce was one of the heartier dishes of the day while the baby bok choy was deliciously garlicky.

One dish that really stood out was the shrimp rice noodle crepes. This was my first encounter with rice noodle rolls, and given that my dexterity with chopsticks is minimal at best, my tablemates had a blast observing my futile attempts.

Just when we though we were full, the dessert cart came around, so we decided to get a plate of deep fried sesame balls with lotus paste. This is clearly an acquired taste as I wasn’t that big a fan of the pastry, though I was more than happy with everything else we ordered.

Speaking of which, considering everything we got, the bill was rather reasonable. The total was around $60 before tip, or $15 per person. Not too shabby especially since I’m fairly confident that I didn’t mention every single dish we ordered that day. The service was friendly as well — everyone was very helpful explaining each item in the carts.

All and all, Hollywood East Café was a great introduction to dim sum. Between this and Ping Pong, there’s simply no comparison: Hollywood is legit dim sum in terms of both food and atmosphere, I actually left full (something that never happens at the latter), and it wasn’t overpriced. Bottom line, if I’m going for dim sum, I’d rather make the drive to Wheaton.