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Owen's Ordinary, Beer Garden Concept from Neighborhood Restaurant Group - in Pike & Rose, North Bethesda


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From Bethesda magazine: opening in later summer.  I am pretty jazzed about this opening.  Hopefully it will live up to other NRG spots.  Will be interesting to see how they deal with Montgomery County liquor controls (although selection in Montgomery has gotten much better in the last year as far as beer in concerned).

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On 6/7/2016 at 5:03 PM, pras said:

From Bethesda magazine: opening in later summer.  I am pretty jazzed about this opening.  Hopefully it will live up to other NRG spots.  Will be interesting to see how they deal with Montgomery County liquor controls (although selection in Montgomery has gotten much better in the last year as far as beer in concerned).

Screenshot 2016-08-07 at 21.11.05.png

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This place is open by the way. We stopped in on Thursday, they were very busy up front but there was a bunch of empty tables in the back. Got a whole lot of good beers and the Berkshire Pork, and a deep dish cookie for dessert.

Food was very good, beer selection was excellent, service was excellent. The director Greg came out to our table personally and gave us a bottle of a favorite beer of his. Pretty cool!

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21 hours ago, chinarider said:

Went there Friday for lunch - fantastic beer selection, and the food was very good, if not exceptional.

Agree, probably the best beer selection in Montgomery County.  The burger is really really good.  Also tried the crispy shrimp sliders, which are highly recommended.  This is a good addition to the area.  I hope they do well.

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Sorry for the lateness on this, but they have a lot of special events and deals going on here so if you like this place you should probably keep a close eye on their twitter. They did a 4 course beer dinner pair with Waradeca beers, 50$ including tax&tip, tickets in advance and limited to something like 40 people. I unfortunately could not find anyone who could go with me so I missed it, so hopefully they do more events like that in the near future.They also do stuff like discounts on burgers during football games and such.

Also, they have brunch here on the weekend with a different menu, including fried chicken and waffles (which were awesome). You can also get a bottomless buffet (which is actually pretty good, and includes omelets and waffles of course), and/or bottomless brunch mixed drinks. So again if you love the normal menu it's worth checking out the brunch as well for a few new things.

Need to try those chicken wings myself next time!

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On ‎1‎/‎23‎/‎2017 at 11:42 AM, Koozebanian Fazoob said:

Also, they have brunch here on the weekend with a different menu, including fried chicken and waffles (which were awesome). You can also get a bottomless buffet (which is actually pretty good, and includes omelets and waffles of course), and/or bottomless brunch mixed drinks. So again if you love the normal menu it's worth checking out the brunch as well for a few new things.

The weekend brunch buffet is relatively new. It's $25 and includes Red Apron charcuterie, a cheese and dried fruit plate, and smoked salmon. The bottomless drinks were $15 and included four variations on mimosas, white sangria, and Old Bay Bloody Marys. However, there's no equivalent beer offer. I appreciate they're trying to find what works for the area. Each of our brunch-time visits had a dining room with families including toddlers and strollers, but no kids in the front area with the elevated booths. I'm not sure why, but the dining room is still quieter than 2 Amys. The buffet and omelet station looked appealing and seems like a good value. We usually get a flat bread while settling in and reading the beer menu.

I applaud the work done to get Montgomery County to deliver their special order beers. The rare beers being offered over the next few weeks were ordered in September and just recently delivered. Their Churchkey order was put in at the same time and delivered six weeks ago (in DC). This weekend, they had two beers from Prairie (Oklahoma) including a saison: Praire Vouz-Francais. The White Russian coffee cream ale from Jailbreak (Laurel) was like being tucked-in under a big quilt and kissed on the forehead. 

Each of the drafts is available in a full and half pours. The are three different, specific temperatures for their drafts. All good. My awkwardness is the small pours can be $2 - $6 and require the same workload as a full pour. How do you tip for that? I am hesitant to order several beers at one time because their temperatures won't wait for me. 

Owen's Ordinary is participating in the Brewers Association of Maryland's FeBREWary craft beer celebration. Between 04 - 28 February, they are piloting a loyalty program called the Brew Club Card. Once a visit, upon purchase of a full pour, you'll receive a punch on your card. After 10 punches, there's a special surprise. On the evening of the 5th, they'll also host a tap takeover of all Montgomery County production and farm breweries (e.g., Denizens, 7 Locks, Waredaca, and Brookville Beer Farm). 

Another sign of impending Spring: Their patio will have a kick-off party on the 28th.

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Had dinner here last night with friends.

Food was pretty good - I wouldn't run back only for the food, but the beer list as noted above is fantastic.

The table shared a charcuterie plate and a classic fondue. Both definitely worth ordering again. I had bites of the chopped salad (good), burger (excellent), brisket (just ok), fish and chips (excellent), and sausage sandwich (good).

One clarification on Lydia's post - the small pours are 4 oz, and the full pours vary in size depending on the draft. I love the organization of the list, and that they include the ABV, origin, pour temp, and glass type, but found it odd that they didn't include IBU. Maybe it's too hard to get that info for some of the beers.

Great addition to the neighborhood. Welcome to MD, NRG!

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1 hour ago, bookluvingbabe said:

We saw managers at other tables, dealing with problems, but even when we asked, we never saw a manager.  I think we probably hit an exceptionally bad night.

I think you went on a bad night.  When I went service was very good.  I have also always had good experiences at other NRG spots, and their Snallygaster festival.  You should give them another try.

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Went with Mrs. 29 a couple months ago and had awkward/bad service at the start of our visit. Not clear on wine or beer of the night choice, long wait between refills (and we were at the bar), kind of an odd slow to things. Might have been a shift change issue because it warmed up as we were there and we had a nice evening. What was more annoying than the relatively poor service were the entitled pricks sitting around us getting way too furious about the relatively poor service. 

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We had a great early evening dinner here last night. We arrived a few minutes before the dining room opened, but they were very accommodating. The draft list is impressive--all the more so because it is very much a clear sign of how vibrant the Maryland beer scene is right now--and our server was knowledgable and enthusiastic. The crispy shrimp sliders were very good, with the slightly sweet buns contrasting nicely with the slightly tangy slaw; two orders of those would have made a nice meal. My double stack was described as being similar to a Shake Shack burger, and that wasn't wrong. It was maybe a bit larger, and the onion was more pronounced, but it was exactly what I wanted. My wife's mushroom flatbread was great, as was the fish and chips from the kids' menu. The chocolate donuts/chocolate pudding was a nice dessert, and more than enough for the three of us to share.

Service throughout was friendly, professional, and very good. We'll be back.

Another, perhaps minor point, but something that I really liked about the restaurant: they finished the ceiling! Too many restaurants in new developments go the route of leaving the ductwork/conduit, etc., exposed, perhaps painted, perhaps not. The walls are finished, the floor is finished, the lighting is nice, and then you look up...not the case at Owen's Ordinary. Great addition to Rockville. 

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