coolcreek

Some friends were in from out of town and we felt nostalgic....which is how I ended up making my first visit to Filomena in about eight years. We were pleased to see nothing really had changed, except the prices. Service and food are still excellent. Only real difference noted: bottles are no longer left on the table with the amaretto/sambuca service. Instead, the waiter asks what you'd prefer and brings over a heavy pour. 

The room is still over the top, doilies abound, and portions are enormous - entrees big enough for at least two meals. Pasta all made in-house (you can see it as you walk down the steps), the fried calamari still reigns supreme. Side vegetables are nothing fancy, but compliment the heavier dishes well. We must have heard six choruses of "happy birthday" during our meal - all accompanied by a free (according to the waiter) slice of cheesecake or other dessert. A quick scan of the tables on the way in and out showed a lot of happy faces.

On 12/30/2021 at 6:25 PM, saf said:

Got a baguette here the other day. So good.

There are so many options there that I have not tried yet, and need to. Wish it were closer.

I began driving 15-20 min for a Sunday morning parking lot pick-up order around the time I began avoiding supermarkets at the start of the pandemic. Love their levain and teff rye - and bagels that aren't the size of salad plates. The cheese and prepped food case are also great and while they've cut back on fresh fruit and veg, it's nice to see dry and canned goods that aren't the typical local store brands.

I'm thinking Bread Furst must be popping up on travel blogs and lists of "stuff to do on a Sunday morning in DC" - a few times recently I've walked in through the parking lot door around 1030 and found a huge line stretching out the front of the store, along with empty bread baskets and and the bakery counter already sold out of almost everything. Staff always seems a bit taken aback. Doesn't happen every week OR on Saturday...so it's back to calling in an order for later pick up if I can't get in before 9:30 on Sunday.

On 10/8/2021 at 10:51 PM, SilverBullitt said:

I took a walk today and saw a sign on the window of the store next to Mom's Organic Market in Rockville (Nebel St. and Randolph Rd.) that said Shouk is opening a location there.  Also on their website https://shouk.com/pages/location

 

 

I was grocery shopping on Dec. 4 and noticed that Shouck was open next to MOM's at 5568 Randolph Road, Rockville, MD! 

Wow - end of an era. "Back in the day" - Chadwick's was the place to go if your media sales people weren't answering their pagers.

The Perfect Pita at 2020 Pennsylvania Ave NW is a great inexpensive, relatively healthy, takeout lunch option in the middle of many pricier options in the Foggy Bottom, GSA/State/GW etc area.

On 1/19/2017 at 8:25 AM, pras said:

Looks like Faryab is reopening in February--Robert Dyer.

Nice to see this news. Staff was always lovely and food was solid, too. Parking, always a pain. 

I stopped in last weekend - pho broth is still excellent and the small is large. The place seems to always be busy, despite a perpetual construction zone around the restaurant. There's no sign at the moment, so if you don't know what you're looking for, you'll miss it.  My only complaint is a slippery floor if there's the slightest bit of wet on your shoes. They finally dragged out a well used warning sign after we saw a couple of people slide a bit last Sunday.

On 11/11/2016 at 5:35 PM, DanielK said:

And without spilling too much of the news, if you drive slowly north on Rockville Pike, and look in the strip centers on the right, there's a pretty unmistakable sign about a mile north of the joint...

I will keep my eyes peeled as I inch my way up the Pike on my next pizza run. Not only are their pies great, everyone in the shop is so nice -- whether they're patiently taking a long phone order, when you come in for pick up or when you're eating in. Fond of Frankly, too -- it's not the same, but we're lucky to have better pizza around these days.

1 minute ago, dracisk said:

I enjoyed today's poem. :-)

Me, too! Just sent an email letting them know, too. And a tweet. They seem quite pleased.

Thanks -- I've driven by (also on my way to the "solid waste transfer station" on 355 -- will stop in the next time (Off topic- if you're not signed up for the infrequent newsletter sent out by the MoCo Solid Waste Services office, get on their list. Each edition ends with a poem, usually tied in to the news or a calendar event. Kind of charming. ).

I was driving by a week or so ago, and ended up stopped on the Pike in front of ex-Ba Le. The signs said they were remodeling and reopening in July. Or maybe it was August.

I really think Pines of Rome opened in the late '60's. I started driving a cab (Barwood) while going to college in 1966 and vaguely remember it opening several years later. Of course there are a lot of things that I vaguely remember...

You may well be right ---but i keep thinking I ate there before I could read a menu well...which would make it around 1965-6.

I don't see Pines of Rome in Bethesda on the list. My parents moved here in 1963, and began eating there soon after. I'm sure it was open before then...but haven't been able to come up the date. (of course, I haven't been in in a few years, perhaps this is an excuse to do so...)

I've been there for lunch twice so far---both on a Saturday. The first time, we enjoyed burgers, a club sandwich and the chocolate martini whatever dessert. Burgers were excellent as were fries. I didn't try the others, but plates were cleared. Service was pretty good--we were ignored for long stretches, left with empty water glasses and coffee cups.

The second time, service had picked up a lot. The place was full at one point, but was mostly operating with 3/4 tables full. The house soup was a very good white bean/kale and the cups/bowls were both large servings. Had a veggie pizza with the soup, crust was thin-ish and firm, toppings fresh and flavorful. Saw some very large entree salads going by, and both diners walked out with doggie bags. Some kind of pasta was finished by the diner at the next table, and someone else was commenting how good the seared tuna. was. Service was much better ---and even when it was slugish on the first, day it was very pleasant.

Have no idea what the crowds are like at dinner, but weekend lunch seems to be a big hit.

When the "new" birchmere opened, we were happy with the food. Much better than the old one up Mt Vernon AND the previous Birchmere. ( newcomers, you might not realize this is the 3rd incarnation of the club.) That said, it's slipped in the ensuing years---and the recent change to get rid of the pitchers of water is a move in the wrong direction. And if I'm not mistaken, they're no longer brewing beer in the brewery, either. I used to visit 3 or 4 times a month, but that's dropped off in the last year or two.

I was last there a few weeks ago, and saw a few more menu changes, none terribly positive. However, if you walk out to the bar, you can get a free glass of water. (oops, maybe we need to keep that our little secret).

For an entree I ordered Pork #21: Bacon. sausage and dried bean curd with green peppers. This was a plate to behold: green chiles and green peppercorn, leegs, slivered pieced of pressed dry tofu, very fattty house smoked (at least it tasted like house smoked) bacon, what looked like smoked tongue slices and little sweet and tangy sausages all in a stir fry with just an oily residue at the bottom of the plate. All the flavorings were cook into the ingredients. Oh, lest I forget the final touch, loads of slices of garlic cooked to that perfect point where hot turns to sweet and yet its neither. This is a dish that harkens back to Brandy Ho's and Henry's Hunan of San Francisco at their best and stands tall. The waitress was concerned that it was spicy enough for me so she brought the hot chile flakes in oil that are part of htis dish for extra heat, which I partook of half way thru.

I am still loving Sichuan Pavilion, however I haven't been able to get this dish since last summer. I'll call in an order and everything is a go, but when I arrive to pick up I'm told they don't serve it any longer. Anyone else running into this? At first I though it might be a weekend only thing, but I'm striking out on those days, too.