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8407 Kitchen Bar, Silver Spring Metro - Chef Oscar Jimenez Moves Up From Sous Chef - Closed in Oct, 2017


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I see furniture in the new place, at 8407 Ramsey. Looks like it is coming along. Any idea when it will open?

Opening Wednesday March 24.

Restaurant to be called 8407.

Bar, lounge with sofas, dining room, and private function room.

Looking forward to this one!

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Restaurant to be called 8407.

Tim Carman on South by Southwest here.

Seriously, why not just call this restaurant "Random Four-Digit Number?"

"Because it's 8407 Ramsey Street, Don."

"Ah, yes - Ramsey Street, that important Silver Spring boulevard. How could I forget?"

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Mistakenly, I was able to peak in last weekend, the front door was open, as they were training the wait staff.

The interior looks great and the all day menu looks good. They have duck fat fries so interested in tasting them.

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Tim Carman on South by Southwest here.

Seriously, why not just call this restaurant "Random Four-Digit Number?"

"Because it's 8407 Ramsey Street, Don."

"Ah, yes - Ramsey Street, that important Silver Spring boulevard. How could I forget?"

Apparently it's officially "8407 Kitchen Bar." I'm considering dropping in tonight to check it out.

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The duck fat fries and the salad with rabbit confit were great! We went Friday night and tried these things because they were new to us, but we also had some standbys from the old Nicarro days, the lamb bolognese and the grilled waluu with fennel. Wish I had saved some of my bread to dip in the sauce that came with it.

The place had high ceilings so I would be surprised if it were as noisy as Nicarro. There was a bar on the first floor with a lot of people there for Happy Hour and scoping out the place. We were seated upstairs where there is another bar and a side room for group gatherings. Familiar faces among the wait staff.

I don't know what the Luau place looked like, but this was comfortable and modern looking. Two big parking garages very close by, on Bonifant and Dixon.

I look forward to trying the charcuterie plate, the cheese plate, and the andouille and seafood gumbo (from the lunch menu)!

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The duck fat fries and the salad with rabbit confit were great! We went Friday night and tried these things because they were new to us, but we also had some standbys from the old Nicarro days, the lamb bolognese and the grilled waluu with fennel. Wish I had saved some of my bread to dip in the sauce that came with it.

The place had high ceilings so I would be surprised if it were as noisy as Nicarro. There was a bar on the first floor with a lot of people there for Happy Hour and scoping out the place. We were seated upstairs where there is another bar and a side room for group gatherings. Familiar faces among the wait staff.

I don't know what the Luau place looked like, but this was comfortable and modern looking. Two big parking garages very close by, on Bonifant and Dixon.

I look forward to trying the charcuterie plate, the cheese plate, and the andouille and seafood gumbo (from the lunch menu)!

Nice to hear! I'll have to stop by soon.

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We had an excellent dinner at 8407 last night and we are so pleased to have Chef Matamoros back in action. We've missed Nicaro but 8407 is going to be so much better. FIrst off, the dining room is handsome and comfortable. Tables are nicely spaced and I believe folks won't have to lean in to hear their dining mates even when the room is full. We weren't adventurous in our food choices but were exceedingly pleased with the dishes we ordered. I had the classic Caesar and the SO had field greens with tarragon mustard vinaigrette -- both really good. SO had gnocchi, previously on the menu at Nicaro, and reported that they were every bit as wonderful as when she'd had them before. I had the mushroom-encrusted halibut -- took one bite and had to set my fork down in amazement. It was the best prepared piece of fish I'd eaten in a long while, and I eat a lot of fish. Service was friendly and efficient. I don't recall the name of the young man who waited on us, but he was friendly, engaging and at the same time non-intrusive. We were also glad to see that the charismatic and entertaining Richard is waiting tables here. We'll be regulars at 8407.

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I am a frequent visitor, but not a regular a poster as I should be, but I wanted to share my thoughts on 8407 with you.

The addition of 8407 Kitchen Bar to my rotation of spots for dinner at the bar has been an outstanding in my opinion. I have made two stops in two weeks and had another nice dinner experience tonight. The space is a great repurposing of several different establishments over the last 25 years, and I for one hope that 8407 sticks around for awhile.

My first visit last Tuesday was spent at the street level bar. The room has a great upscale and cozy club feel. The bar staff of two (one lead and one bar back, it seemed) were friendly and engaging, but tentative with the new cocktail list and menu. Both made me feel welcome as a lone diner and the overall happy hour/early dinner hour vibe was nice with the windows open, fresh air flowing in, and an outstanding sunset over the ditch across the street that will someday be the new transit mecca. The bar seats about 12-14.

I ordered off of the daily menu insert, and started out with the Sardines. A stretch for my taste, but I was glad that I took the plunge for most part. I was not sure if the grainy crunch in most bites was cornmeal, or scales from the tiny little, whole sardines, or sand, but it was not a deal breaker. The flavor was nice with an added couple of squirts of lemon wedge, but the mayonnaise served with the app was pretty plain. I noticed tonight that the dip has been changed to a viniagrette. The Bibb Lettuce Salad was very nice. Simple, clean and great balanced flavors, this salad was a nice middle course and set up the Ravioli stuffed with Short Ribs that was a special for the evening. The sauce and and veggie ragout that accompanied the delicate ravioli was very tasty and will make a great fall dish as well. I ended my evening with a very nice, spring rendition of Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler and a glass of Pinot Noir. The Cobbler was topped with a nice homemade ice cream scoop that was melting over the warm dessert. I had a good time.

Tonight, I came back for seconds. This time at the upstairs bar. The early onslaught of summer made the downstairs room uncomfortable because of the combination of afternoon sun streaming in, and the AC not working properly down there. Upstairs the air was running just fine, and the staff were again very nice, friendly hosts. I tried a few of the concoctions from the cocktail list, and the 8407 Pimms was a very nice 90 degree day drink. Who am I kidding, I would have this cocktail again just about anytime.

I started again off of the daily menu insert and the Grilled Asparagus Salad was like a spring breakfast plate. Very fresh tasting, with the grilled asparagus topped with a mixed frisee and greens, and a nicely poached egg sitting on top of the greens. I liked it. I then tried the Gnocchi, which has been reviewed earlier and it was very flavorful. The Gnocchi were very delicate and were slightly browned on two sides which added a subtle crispness to the orbs of potato dough. I love mushrooms, so the sauce of butter and wild mushrooms added great flavor to the dish. I was very satisfied.

I ended my dinner with the Chocolate Tart that again comes with a small scoop of ice cream. This little tart is melt in your mouth fantastic. Great, dark, semi-sweet chocolate depth with a dusting of cocoa powder on top. The ice cream was a smooth and tasty addition to the end of the evening that I paired with a glass of Joel Gott zin, that went well with dessert.

I live close by and look forward to many stops at 8407 along with my other rotation regulars.

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My first visit last Tuesday was spent at the street level bar. The room has a great upscale and cozy club feel. The bar staff of two (one lead and one bar back, it seemed) were friendly and engaging, but tentative with the new cocktail list and menu. Both made me feel welcome as a lone diner and the overall happy hour/early dinner hour vibe was nice with the windows open, fresh air flowing in, and an outstanding sunset over the ditch across the street that will someday be the new transit mecca. The bar seats about 12-14.

I started again off of the daily menu insert and the Grilled Asparagus Salad was like a spring breakfast plate. Very fresh tasting, with the grilled asparagus topped with a mixed frisee and greens, and a nicely poached egg sitting on top of the greens. I liked it.

Believe it or not, I last had a meal in this building over thirty years ago, when it was the old Luau Hut. Despite all the "Pu Pu Platters" I enjoyed as a youth (and my generally teetotaling parents would even splurge for a "Suffering Bastard"), I don't have a good recollection of what the restaurant looked like (*). The upstairs dining room seems like a remarkable renovation, but I took my meal at the downstairs bar.

The first thing I noticed when I sat down is the selection of beers, or lack thereof. Out of 13 different beers (9 in bottle, 4 on tap), the only one I could find that was remotely of interest was a draught of Smithwicks ($5). I understand this is Montgomery County, and that's certainly reflected in the beers, the wines by the glass, and the liquors behind the bar. Are we supposed to grade every single Montgomery County restaurant on a curve? Perhaps.

I ordered the Pickled Shrimp which was 86'd, so instead I went with a homemade charcuterie platter of Chef's Terrine and Mortadella ($11 for two selections) which came out beautifully presented on a board, accompanied with some wonderful homemade rhubarb jam, and some coarse mustard with cornichons. As good as the terrine looked, it left me disappointed - triple-wrapped in parts, the dark, rosy color belied a blandness that was turned upside-down by the occasional unintegrated blast of what seemed to be straight chicken-liver puree. But forget the terrine, because the mortadella was fantastic, with bold slivers of fat, and pistachio and peppercorn that complemented this wonderful meat. Get the mortadella!

Like Maxfli, I also got the Grilled Asparagus Salad ($9) off the seasonal menu, and enjoyed it. It's served with bacon and wild-ramp vinaigrette, and a poached egg that was runny on the outside, but had a solid yolk (in salads such as this, I prefer a runny yolk, but I can live without one). It would have been nice to have a slice of bread with this, but I didn't ask (and am not sure they serve anything but the perennially boring toasted, crouton-like slices I got with my charcuterie and cheese course).

The cheese course. I stayed local and got the Grayson, Monocacy Ash, and Cave Aged Chapelle ($13 for 3 selections). My bartender warned me that the Grayson is "the stinkiest cheese I've ever met," and that got me wondering whether it was ammoniated. It wasn't; all three cheeses were in great shape, served in generous portions, and thankfully came with some more of that rhubarb jam. My complaint is that they were served too cold, and the Grayson, for example, had the chewiness of a Snickers bar. I'd been enjoying a Les Lauzeraises Tavel Rosé ($10) with my final two courses, and noticed that the red wines were stored (as they often are) on top of the bar. In the summertime, with the windows open to the outside, this is going to be a problem - 8407 may want to consider storing their cheeses where their red wines are, and storing their red wines where their cheeses are.

In all, it was a pleasant meal, with all three courses having both strengths and flaws within the same plate.

Cheers,

Rocks

(*) The one thing I do remember, plain as day (and I thought certain I'd mentioned this here before) was the time I was there for my 10th, maybe 11th or 12th, birthday. The waiter, a stately, well-dressed, middle-aged Asian gentleman, walked out with a huge tray of plates for at least five people. It tilted, and the whole thing smashed to the ground as he blurted out, "Shit!"

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The first thing I noticed when I sat down is the selection of beers, or lack thereof. Out of 13 different beers (9 in bottle, 4 on tap), the only one I could find that was remotely of interest was a draught of Smithwicks ($5). I understand this is Montgomery County, and that's certainly reflected in the beers, the wines by the glass, and the liquors behind the bar. Are we supposed to grade every single Montgomery County restaurant on a curve? Perhaps.

That might be an excuse if not a few blocks away you can find a respectable beer and whiskey list at Quarry House.

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I went with a homemade charcuterie platter of Chef's Terrine and Mortadella ($11 for two selections) which came out beautifully presented on a board, accompanied with some wonderful homemade rhubarb jam, and some coarse mustard with cornichons. As good as the terrine looked, it left me disappointed - triple-wrapped in parts, the dark, rosy color belied a blandness that was turned upside-down by the occasional unintegrated blast of what seemed to be straight chicken-liver puree. But forget the terrine, because the mortadella was fantastic, with bold slivers of fat, and pistachio and peppercorn that complemented this wonderful meat. Get the mortadella!

...

It would have been nice to have a slice of bread with this, but I didn't ask (and am not sure they serve anything but the perennially boring toasted, crouton-like slices I got with my charcuterie and cheese course).

We were at the eight thousand, four hundred and seven last Friday and thought the terrine was really flavorful! We always get it. This time it came with pepper jelly and fennel. Had the hard salami, but it sounds like we should have tried the mortadella.

Their bread comes from Upper Crust bakery, up New Hampshire Avenue in Colesville. We especially enjoy the one with sun-dried tomatoes and parmesan.

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We went last night with a group of friends with the intention of just having a drink, but the menu drew me in and I had to order some charcuterie. We also had the chef's terrine and it was a fairly homogeneous bland block of....stuff. At first, I thought I was being spoiled by the products turned out by Jamie Stachowski, Dean Gold and Haidar Karoum, but then I realized even my home made attempts were (IMHO) superior. And the cornichons tasted like.... anything other than cornichons. The plate of cheeses we got was quite nice though more bread would have been nice (especially when you're charging $13 for 3 small pieces). Cocktails were excellent and the space is gorgeous.

I'm certainly not going to judge 8407 based on a couple of apps late on a Friday night. We'll come back and hit the place for a proper dinner.

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Had lunch here today and tried the 8407 reuben which comes with the fries. The bread was great and had just the right amount of butter on the outside, however I wouldn't necessarily say it was such a great reuben that I would go out of my way to go back for that specifically. The rosemary on the fries was great - my only complaint was the ratio of tasty crispy "bits" was rather high compared to actual fries; while I do like them mixed in, it seemed like the quantity of the bits was too high.

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Stopped by on way home for a light snack. Really love the bar ares, quite spectacular all and ceiling treatment, but I would love to ahve a ltittle less white than both the back bar and the bar itself both. Comfy area though.

Ordered a charcuterie board and a pasta with lamb. Chicken liver mousse was spetacular. Mortadella was a little strongly flavored for my taste but well done otherwise. The crostini served with it excellent, but there were two pieces of what tasted like supermarket heat & serve garlic bread which was really strange. The tagliatelle were good and the lamb sauce good but it was hard even with mixing to get the sauce to stick to the pasta. Minor quibble. A glass of Stone's Arrogant Bastard {how nice of Stone's to name a beer after me} and the bill was a hair under $35.

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I made my first visit on Wednesday night with a friend & we had a great time snacking and catching up. We shared the rillettes and a crudo appetizer, then I had a pear & goat cheese salad and the Cuban sandwich while my friend chose the duck proscuitto salad and the spatzle. Everything was good to very good, and it's a great space to wind down and have a glass of wine after work. I'll be back soon - possibly even tonight.

The best surprise of the night was recognizing Raina (formerly of Vidalia) tending bar. She and Harper are back in town, and it was delightful to chat and get caught up on them and hear that Harper is working with RJ on Rogue 24.

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I made my first visit on Wednesday night

Oh, my. Knowing that you live close by, I'm surprised that you hadn't visited 8407 until recently. We had a wonderful dinner there last night. I must witness for the salads this time. Salad is usually an afterthought for me. If I'm ordering a main that's low on the plant matter quotient, I feel compelled to have greens as an app. But the salads at 8407 have consistently been a pleasure unto themselves. Last night, I had the arugula with blue cheese, apple, walnuts, and duck prosciutto -- fantastic. All the flavors combined into a savory harmony that I could not have imagined. My companion was equally enamored with her salad of field greens, feta cheese and pomegranate.

The mains were very good too -- duck confit for me and the crab cake for her.

We also enjoyed Black Ankle Vineyards (of Mount Airy, MD) 2008 Rolling Hills. It was round, smooth, just short of lush, not overly fruit-forward. I believe Fenwick Beer & Wine carries it. I'll be looking for it next time I'm in the store. We are both old enough to remember when MD wines were jammy, coat-your-teeth, over-priced disasters. This wine was astonishingly good.

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We also enjoyed Black Ankle Vineyards (of Mount Airy, MD) 2008 Rolling Hills. It was round, smooth, just short of lush, not overly fruit-forward. I believe Fenwick Beer & Wine carries it. I'll be looking for it next time I'm in the store. We are both old enough to remember when MD wines were jammy, coat-your-teeth, over-priced disasters. This wine was astonishingly good.

Thanks for posting this. :) Very happy to see Black Ankle get some praise on this site. FYI, you can find a full list of stores and restaurants that carry Black Ankle wines on the website. If you see the 2007 Leaf-Stone syrah or Crumbling Rock while you're there, pick up a bottle of that as well and prepare to be further astonished. :)

Or even better, come for a visit. If you decide to come, PM me first and if I'm not working, I'll give the staff a heads up that you're coming in. But if you're planning to come by, I would recommend waiting until early March when our '08 reserve syrah and our "port" will have also been released.

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Went for my first visit 2 nights ago to 8407. I will admit, I went in with pretty low expectations based on earlier mixed reviews here, followed by radio silence, along with the fact that the only meal I had an Nicaro was very hit or miss (although granted that was when Nicaro was coming to its end). But, I went hoping to be pleasantly surprised and to say I was would be an understatement.

My friend and I had decided to just go and sit at the bar and make a meal out of some appetizers in an effort not to overeat (fat chance). After placing our first order, I walked upstairs just to see the space and immediately regretted our decision. I actually love the exposed brick and wood beams in the bar area, but the bar seating and the unfortunate view out to the taxi stand area leave a little something to be desired, while the upstairs dining area is warm and full of a healthy chatter, with a few select half moon shaped booths that seem like the prize seating. We considered moving, but decided we'd just have to come back to eat upstairs and in the end were perfectly happy with our decision. On to the food!

We started with the deviled eggs, the pork belly-truffle rillette, and the lamb lomo and the duck liver mousse from the charcuterie selection. I'm not a big fan of lamb, but the flavor in the lomo was subtle so I enjoyed. It reminded me a bit of bresaolas I've had in the past though I've no idea if that's an apt comparison. The duck liver mousse was so delicate, in both flavor and texture, I've never had such a silky mousse. It was served as almost a quenelle on the board and came with a few pickled ramps. The deviled eggs were excellent, a nice filling that wasn't overly mayonnaise-y and had a nice tang at the end, topped with bits of smoky bacon and chives. I consider myself something of a deviled egg officianado if I do say so myself B) and these were excellent, but the star of this course was definitely the pork belly rillette. Oh man, I could sit down with a large vat of that and a big pile of crostini and eat myself into oblivion. It was smoky, fatty, and salty while still being delicate and creamy. By far the best rillette I've had, served with too few pieces of pickled cauliflower. The bread it came with was mostly crostini, but we did get 2 pieces of what is basically garlic bread with the mousse, which like Dean I found a bit strange.

Off to a good start, we moved on to our next "course", which we intended to be raw oysters and the duck prosciutto, arugula, and apple salad, but the bartender mentioned that they only had 2 fried oysters left, something which were about to be taken off of the menu. I've given up on raw oysters, but fried oysters I love so it was an easy choice, we'd take the last 2. Little did we know this was a dish, not an a la carte thing like the raw (which makes sense in retrospect) so *thankfully* we each got our own plate of 5 fried oysters each, served with a bit of greens and a pickled ramp remoulade. I loved this dish - juicy oysters with a light crisp breading (the bartender said it was some sort of wheat based meal, but I forget the details) that were perfectly cooked and the remoulade was great, lots of tang and chunks of hard-boiled egg in it. And I thought it was more than fairly priced at $10 when each raw oyster was $2 a piece. The salad was fine, but nothing to write home about in my opinion, with the caveat that I don't normally care to order salads in restaurants and only did so because they received good reviews here so that is partially my fault. Absolutely nothing wrong with it, it was dressed nicely and had a good balance of flavors (aside from the general absence of much apple), it just didn't wow me in any way. My friend did also have 2 raw oysters, but I can't comment on those as I didn't eat them. :D

At this point we were growing quite full, but I was going to have that positively reviewed asparagus salad while it was still in season if it killed me, and my friend really wanted to try the side of potato croquettes with smoked gouda, bacon, and shitake. The asparagus salad lived up to the hype certainly, although as mentioned above the yolk comes out only slightly runny if you care much about that sort of thing. This dish is a perfect example of simple, flavorful ingredients coming together in an exciting way. Which leaves the potato croquettes, 4 golf ball sized bites, the smell of which were amazing as they arrived at the table. The flavor lived up to the aroma, a nice present, but not overpowering smoky flavor alongside the potato and bacon with a wonderfully crispy exterior. My one nitpick is that I found the filling to be a bit gummy, which was tough when they were already so rich. My friend did not have the same complaint though and I do have to take into consideration that at this point we were quite full. They were certainly tasty enough that I would order them again.

Throughout the evening we each had 3 drinks (I had 3 glasses of wine, my friend had a cocktail, a glass of wine, and a draft beer), we left stuffed and our bill still came to a reasonable $132.50 (after tax, before tip).

One last comment about drinks. As I said, I went in with rather low expectations and part of that was the alcohol having read Don's comment about the beer selection and just generally knowing the problems you can run into with Mo Co beer and wine. I'm not sure if our tastes differ, or if 8407 has improved their selection, but I was interested in quite a few of the beers offered. It is still only 4 draft and now 17 bottles, but I liked the selection (the list online appears to be up to date so you can decide for yourself). And I did enjoy the wines I had, the rose from Tavel, the sparkling rose from Italy, and the sauvignon blanc from France, in that order and thought they paired well (I'm inclined to give myself a pat on the back for that one, but I have to credit them for the wines all being food friendly at least :) ).

All in all, I found our meal outstanding, service from the bartender was very friendly and for the most part efficient, and I found all of the prices to be quite fair. As a supporter of the local food movement, I am so thrilled that this is a place I will want to go back to repeatedly and I'm happy to have it in my neck of the woods.

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My wife and I had dinner there last week and loved it. Nice room, airy and light. Service was friendly and efficient. We started with the fried green tomatoes stuffed with goat cheese. Good, but not great. A charcuterie plate of the house made pate and the duck prosciutto was quite good. The breads that came with the meal were fantastic.

My wife had the salmon, perfectly cooked and served with sauteed Swiss chard and mushrooms (and ginger) that she thought was fantastic. I had what had to be one of the best bouillabaisse I've ever had. The bottle of Taval we had with dinner went very well. The wine list is not large, but well represented and for MoCo, fairly well priced. We will definitely be adding this restaurant to our rotation.

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I finally made it to 8407 Kitchen Bar and am so glad that I did. I started with a carrot ginger soup with a beet coulis. The beet coulis really added a nice dimension of flavor to the soup. I had wild Alaskan sockeye salmon for an entree served with jasmine rice, gingered swiss chard, and yuze-sake glaze. I thought the fish was beautifully prepared with a nice blend of sweet and a touch of heat. I also had tastes of the beets and goat cheese salad which was enhanced by grapefruit and a beautiful heirloom tomato salad.

I was not a big fan of Nicaro- I found it over-priced for what it was. The prices at 8407 Kitchen Bar are probably similar but I thought the delivery was much better and as a result didn't mind the price tag.

I'll be back- they have these cool half-moon booths that look really cozy and my husband wants to go back for more ginger cheesecake. Plus for me, the location is close to home and that's a nice bonus.

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Late dinner at the bar on Monday with xcanuck & the missus. I started with a Pimm's concoction that included calvados & ginger beer - tasty if a little on the sweet side for me. I went on to the fried oysters (very nice), caesar salad with boquerones (huge portion), and wild mushroom gnocchi (needed salt). Monday is half-priced wine night, and I picked the '05 Domaine Campaucels, a sassy Syrah-Grenache blend that cut through the richness of the gnocchi pretty well but didn't overwhelm the flavors - and didn't break the bank at $24.

I really like this place, and would probably go more often if the food was a tiny bit less expensive.

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We made the early NYE seating prior to an epic evening of cosmic duckpin bowling. Neither we nor the friends we went with had been to 8407 before, which is kind of embarrassing for me because it's literally a 15-minute walk from my house. All of us enjoyed our experience quite a lot: friendly, knowledgeable service, a comfortable dining space upstairs, and delicious food and drink.

We made a good tour of the first course options in our four-course prix fixe menu. Two of us had the lobster bisque (Madeira, lobster pate a choux), which was lovely, ruddy, and thick, with a subtle lobster flavor. Azami had the foie gras (fig kumquat jam, toast points, sea salt), which he raved about, and our fourth had the asparagus and parmesan fritter (I can't remember what she said about it).

We each had one of the four options for the second course. I had wagyu carpaccio (arugula, lemon oil, grana padano, micro fennel) on toasted baguette. This was delicious: thinly sliced, tender, subtly flavored meat combined nicely with the lemon oil and grana. The other bisque eater from Course One loved his Rappahannock River oyster stew (salsify, Old Bay essence, sea salt cracker, Madeira); Azami thoroughly enjoyed the house dry-cured ham (herb biscuit, quail eggs, apple gastrique), and our fourth was pleased with her baby spinach salad (Bulgarian feta, caramelized onions, pomegranate seeds, almonds, pomegranate-balsamic vinaigrette).

Moving on to the third course, we again sampled three of the four offerings: soup-loving friend and I both had the pan-roasted local rockfish (black trumpet, bacon, Swiss chard, and smoked gouda potato galette, razor clam-champagne fricassee), which was a nice thick slab of perfectly cooked rockfish over a delightful, slightly lemony, set of accompaniments. Azami had the grilled beer brined pork loin and bratwurst (house-made sauerkraut, sauteed Granny Smith apple, jus), and our fourth had the wild mushroom and dried fruit risotto (herbs, grana padano, wild mushroom-sage oil). I think Azami wants to just go there and eat the house-cured meat now, from what he's said about the ham biscuit and the brat.

Chocolate reigned for the dessert course: Azami, our fourth, and I all ordered the dark chocolate cheesecake (coffee sauce, almond toffee), which was more like a ganache truffle with just a hint of cream cheese in both the flavor and the texture. Soup-loving friend had the black currant sorbet (moscato granita, lemon shortbread), which he said was "just okay." I recall that being the only lukewarm comment of the evening.

We skipped the wine pairings in favor of cockails (bitter Manhattan, ginger-lime martini, and a tequila/sparkling wine drink), wine by the glass, and beers as desired. We also loved the bread basket, which consisted of a great baguette, a sundried tomato white loaf, and a dried cherry and pecan sourdough, all sourced from Upper Crust Baker. Altogether, we were very pleased with the evening, and will go back to 8407 again.

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A friend recently mentioned having dinner here and I found myself asking why I hadn't been back recently given it's convenient location so off we went on Sunday night. I have a tendency to go overboard when I eat out so this time we tried to keep it simple. We started with the deviled eggs and the rabbit rillette with pickled salsify. The deviled eggs were very good, but the bacon wasn't as smoky as we remembered it from last time. Still delicious and worth ordering if you're a deviled egg fan. Looking back at my previous review I've decided these guys just know how to do rillette and wished we had each ordered our own rather than sharing (it's a small "snack" portion, priced accordingly).

For my entree I had the prosciutto wrapped monkfish with lentils, beets, caperberries, and lobster butter sauce. I'm into lentils and beets right now for some reason so this dish really hit the spot, the fish was cooked perfectly and was a nice sized portion and the flavors all melded together really well. The pool of lobster butter sauce did catch me off guard a bit, I think my only nitpick would have been to have a little less of it. The rose on the by the glass list was a perfect pairing for this dish btw. My friend got the cassoulet with merguez and venison sausage and rabbit confit salad. The cassoulet was very hearty and meat heavy, but the rabbit confit was served cold on the salad so it seemed like a bit of an odd pairing.

Other than that, we each had a cocktail before dinner (they were participating in a Yelp promotion so we got a margarita like cocktail with lavendar salt for $5 each) and my friend also had a glass of red wine with his entree. Total bill with tax and tip was about $110, success!

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Dined at 8407 for the first time. The place was fairly busy for a Thursday night.

For the first course we shared potato gnocchi with mushrooms. The gnocchi were light and airy, well executed. They also were sauteed so they were slightly browned so that the caramelization of the gnocchi and mushrooms combined for a tasty flavor, which was a nice touch.

For the next course had seared scallops with beluga lentils and greens. The scallops were sweet and cooked just right. Also had rockfish with asparagus, marcona almonds, and a bit of grapefruit sauce. The rockfish was cooked perfectly and the sauce left behind was worthy of being mopped up with bread.

For desert, a napolean with passion fruit zabalgione and a few raspberries, which was delicious, especially if you like the taste of passion fruit. The pastry in the napolean seemed a bit different than the usual. It was very light and it worked. I was surprised to see a sottocenere on the cheese list, so I was drawn to order it. Sottocenere is an Italian cheese flavroed with truffles. The rind is ash covered, hence its name, which means "under ashes." Highly recommended, especially if you like truffle flavor. It was served with some crusty bread and a smear of raspberry jam, which didn't add or detract much as an accompaniment to this cheese.

The meal we had this particular evening would compare favorably to many of the better restaurants downtown.

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From the Dining Guide, where 8407 ranks second for Silver Spring in italics but not bold

Literally a stone's throw from Silver Spring Metro, thoughtful sourcing, friendly staff, don't forget the evil duck fat fries

Can't argue with the location. Is where it is. And definitely friendly sourcing and friendly staff. I did forget to get duck fat fries (probably a good if unintended decision). I do wonder whether 8407 is a tad overrated (thinking more generally here than just donrockwell.com).

First the caveats. I was there for lunch earlier in the week so not a full or fair test. All the more unfair in that it was my first time there so the below isn't based on multiple visits. By now, it might sound like I didn't like 8407 but that's not my intention. I enjoyed it. Anyway, on with it....

SERVICE

Our waitress was great. Sincere, very nice, friendly and good at her job. They do use the team model I love to see in restaurants. This is where roles are defined but everyone also does everything to ensure good service is delivered consistently. Nothing bugs me more than restaurants where waiters are laser-focused only on their own tables with noone else rotating to close gaps. 8407 does this well. When we first arrived, it wasn't busy but by the time we left, the place was maybe 3/4 full and the service didn't at all suffer.

FOOD

I did really appreciate the thoughtful sourcing and the associated transparency. I'm always with positive bias toward restaurants that tell us the provenance of their ingredients. Extra points for those that really trumpet them (Dino and Woodberry Kitchen come to mind among recent visits for this quality). All said, the lunch for me was a meal of perfectly fine but somewhat forgettable food.

Deviled Eggs ($3): It's hard to really innovate with deviled eggs. But there are the better ones which are readily recognizeable from those that aren't. These are those. Not over mayo-ed. A bit of appreciated seasoning. Aesthetic elements (a run of paprika down the long white plate holding the three halves of egg and two bits of dill inserted cross-wise like swords into each egg half) don't add much to the flavor but are eye-catching visually. All well and good. I'll remember the version at Mintwood much longer than I will these though nothing at all wrong with the 8407 version.

Classic Caesar ($8): Like the eggs, fresh, good and competently made. A fresh anchovy. The one thing that really did stand about this salad was the portion size--very generous. This with a soup would probably be fine for many people.

Lamb Bolognaise ($14): This was disappointing. I know it's one of their signature dishes and many people love it. My main gripe was the sauce. It looked more or less right. I could readily see the bits of carrot, onion, meat, some cream and tomato integrated into the sauce. No doubt it had been slow cooked as it's supposed to be. Cutting to the chase though, not a lot of flavor. A good, authentic, labor-intensive bolognaise normally explodes with complex flavor. This one not so much. Also, this version might violate weinoo's rule about pasta-to-sauce ratios (it had a lot of sauce--no "condiment" here) but I didn't care so much about that. I think this sauce might have been a bit blander than I'm used to for one or more of the following reasons: maybe a bit too much cream or milk, the use of the specific type of lamb (Fields of Athenry) which may just be more mildly flavored, under seasoning or too-short cooking time. It wasn't at all terrible; just disappointing given 8407's positioning and the expectations with which I went in. The pasta itself, made in house, was excellent. Perfect texture and bite with nice flavor.

BOTTOM LINE

I need to go back for a real dinner and try more dishes. I want to like 8407 a lot but this was more a befudddling tease. Pricing seemed fair/fine for lunch at around $27/person pre tax and tip with no beer or wine.

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Overall a favorable impression for a first time dinner at 8407. Loved the space, warehouse/lofty with lots of wood. Makes you forget that you are dining in the middle of Silver Spring surrounded by Metro, a construction site, and parking garages.

Some of the winning dishes:

Buttermilk Fried Calamari - The world has suffered through many terrible plates of fried calamari. 8407 makes you remember why people love fried squid. Batter barely clings on, the squid is lovely and tender. I would definitely order this again.

Bluefish rilletes - The charcuterie plate was a lovely presentation. The bluefish rilletes were great, smokey and rich, perfect for spreading on the little crostini. Unfortunately the chefs terrine was bland and the house pepperoni had no kick.

Rainbow trout wrapped in prosciutto - Lovely cooked piece of fish. Was expecting a little more salt and bite from the prosciutto. The butter sauce could have used a touch of lemon/acid to bring everything together. But a very nice dish.

Berry tart with homemade vanilla ice cream - Pretty much everything you would want in a summery berry dessert. Really good ice cream.

If 8407 was closer, I would certainly put it into the rotation.

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Really good dinner at the eight thousand four hundred seven last night. We stuck with starter dishes: salmon tartare with a lot of ginger, scallop ceviche, roasted corn fritters, duck prosciutto wrapped dates. Honey/nectarine sorbet for dessert. Love the desserts here in the summertime! Helpful service by David. It's great to have this place downtown Silver Spring!

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My aunt was staying in what seems to be fairly a no-mans land of dining in the Silver Spring area for a work related event. I drove up to take her out and spend some time with her. Wanted to go to Fishnet, but they weren't open Sunday evening from what I could see on the net. Popped opentable up on my iphone to do a search nearby. 8407 wasn't too too far away, so off we went.

Had a nice little dinner in the bar area. I started with a green salad, which was a good portion of greens, nicely dressed. I then had the lamb bolognese, which was very homey and good, the lamb wasn't really pungent, but added a nice flavor. It was a nice place to sit with some good food a glass of wine and family. The service was really stellar with a very nice bartender who made nice recommendations for us and got us everything we could possibly want very quickly. Would definitely go back!

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My aunt was staying in what seems to be fairly a no-mans land of dining in the Silver Spring area for a work related event. I drove up to take her out and spend some time with her. Wanted to go to Fishnet, but they weren't open Sunday evening from what I could see on the net. Popped opentable up on my iphone to do a search nearby. 8407 wasn't too too far away, so off we went.

Had a nice little dinner in the bar area. I started with a green salad, which was a good portion of greens, nicely dressed. I then had the lamb bolognese, which was very homey and good, the lamb wasn't really pungent, but added a nice flavor. It was a nice place to sit with some good food a glass of wine and family. The service was really stellar with a very nice bartender who made nice recommendations for us and got us everything we could possibly want very quickly. Would definitely go back!

They have (and encourage) WiFi in the bar area there, too.

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The service was really stellar with a very nice bartender who made nice recommendations for us and got us everything we could possibly want very quickly.

This is really, really, really what sets 8407 apart from the rest of Silver Spring. The service is light years ahead of any other place in the downtown area.

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This is really, really, really what sets 8407 apart from the rest of Silver Spring. The service is light years ahead of any other place in the downtown area.

I love Pedro and Nancy, but I have to say that you're not setting the bar very high here. :lol:

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We made a late dinner reservation last night at 8407, having never been there before. A really nice meal. The charcuterie board was a great start, with a classic pork terrine, some nice slices of VA ham, and a flavorful (if perhaps a touch dry) smoked bluefish rillette. The pickled bowl that we ordered to accompany it was fantastic, with a variety of vegetables and (so far as we can tell) a lot of different flavors used in the various pickling mixes. This was great, and we would order again in a heartbeat.

The mains were quite good. I ordered the duck breast, an ample portion of perfectly cooked duck, nicely red, over some unbelievable delicious sauteed greens (I could have eaten a huge bowl of nothing but these) and some polenta cakes. My wife had the crab cake, surrounded by a very large amount of old bay foam (perhaps a bit overkill), and served on top of a bacon/brussels sprouts blend that was delicious. While our crab cake and duck were very worthwhile, the stars on our plates were clearly the vegetable dishes.

We finished with the pumpkin cheesecake, and had no complaints. Service was smooth and friendly, and we look forward to going back.

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Wow. I don't want to get too far ahead of myself, but my gut says this doesn't bode well. :(

I dunno about that. I took my brother there for his annual birthday lunch on the 16th and I found the food to be quite fine. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary for that place. It's just so darn convenient for this, since my brother works in the building just above the Metro stop. He got the lamb tacos because, while he loves lamb, his wife doesn't, so he only gets to eat it in a restaurant. I'm just going to keep my fingers crossed.

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I agree with Barbara. We went for dinner tonight and I don't think anyone should be put off by the chef's departure. I've enjoyed Pedro's food and I'm sorry to see him go. But the kitchen staff is perfectly capable of executing the menu items for which 8407 is known. We had the baby greens salad, soup of the day (vegetarian lentil), bronzino and duck breast (see the menu on their web site for details). Everything was very good -- no disappointments. Going forward, i wonder how the restaurant will evolve under a new chef but, for now, everything is copacetic. After all, you still have Nancy, Richard, and an solid wait and bar staff taking care of business.

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I dunno about that. I took my brother there for his annual birthday lunch on the 16th and I found the food to be quite fine. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary for that place. It's just so darn convenient for this, since my brother works in the building just above the Metro stop. He got the lamb tacos because, while he loves lamb, his wife doesn't, so he only gets to eat it in a restaurant. I'm just going to keep my fingers crossed.

I agree with Barbara. We went for dinner tonight and I don't think anyone should be put off by the chef's departure. I've enjoyed Pedro's food and I'm sorry to see him go. But the kitchen staff is perfectly capable of executing the menu items for which 8407 is known. We had the baby greens salad, soup of the day (vegetarian lentil), bronzino and duck breast (see the menu on their web site for details). Everything was very good -- no disappointments. Going forward, i wonder how the restaurant will evolve under a new chef but, for now, everything is copacetic. After all, you still have Nancy, Richard, and an solid wait and bar staff taking care of business.

[Tentatively downgraded it to Plain (from Italic) in the Dining Guide based strictly on conservatism. You two are making me rethink this. Thanks for your posts.]

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Going forward, i wonder how the restaurant will evolve under a new chef but, for now, everything is copacetic.

This is my concern. I'm sure the remaining staff is capable of continuing to execute the current menu, but how long can that last, especially in a restaurant that was focused on locally sourced (ie. seasonal) ingredients.

I'm of course not going to judge until we see what happens and who is brought in in his place, but this place was a rare gem for those of us who live off of 95 or 295 in MD and I would hate to see it lose anything.

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