Hot Stone Grill, E. Gude Drive and Southlawn Lane in Rockville - Closed

[cjsadler]

TimmySmith said:

And just in case cjsadler did not know, O'Briens, while close to Joe's, it is not next door anymore. There is a smoked beef/ pit barbecue joint in O'Brien's old location (the name escapes me) [Branded '72] that I believe measures up to O'Briens (not a ringing endorsement, but worth a try) and has hand cut fries.

I think the place in the same shopping center as Joe's is called Charlie's, right? I remember some of the bbq being pretty decent, but I haven't been there in at least two years.

[JPW]

cjsadler said:

I think the place in the same shopping center as Joe's is called Charlie's, right? I remember some of the bbq being pretty decent, but I haven't been there in at least two years.

I feel a split coming on....

It's now called Hot Stone Open-Pit BBQ and if today's lunch is typical, it sucks ventworm nut. Dry, stringy, chewy pulled pork. The fries, however, were still hand cut and were OK.

[TimmySmith]

cjsadler said:

I think the place in the same shopping center as Joe's is called Charlie's, right? I remember some of the bbq being pretty decent, but I haven't been there in at least two years.

Charlie's has been replaced by a place called Hot Stone I believe. I guess the pits must be too hard to move so BBQ places keep opening there. I have eaten the smoked turkey and the pit beef sandwiches. Both were sliced in front of me, albeit a bit too thinly for my taste. However, the flavor was good and the portions were generous. I am not sure I would make a special trip, but if you are in Rockville it's worth a try. I would go there over O'Brien's 10 times out of 10.

[mnnchas]

I actually really like Hot Stone. I had it for the first time about two years ago, and have made one or two return trips. The BBQ is not good, but the sliced sandwiches (turkey, roast beef, ham) are tasty.

I like to get a sliced turkey sandwich, and then dip it in bbq sauce. Unlike someone upthread, I like the thin slices. My only problem is sometimes you get a charred piece of turkey.

[DonRocks]

To the best that I can decipher, the history of BBQ on E. Gude Drive is:

387 E. Gude Drive

1972 - 2009 - O'Brien's Pit Barbecue (one of the Oldest Restaurants in the Washington, DC Area)
2009 - Present - Branded '72 (Mar 18, 2009 - "Branded '72, Once O'Brien's, Keeps True to the 'Cue" by Bernice August on gazette.net)

1314 E. Gude Drive:

? - ? Charlie's Open-Pit Barbecue Grill (not that it matters, but Charlie's was Korean-owned - was it Korean BBQ?)
? - ? Hot Stone Grill (current Google maps says this is For Lease, which makes no sense) 
? - 2014 - Ring of Fire Grill and Tavern (they had a menu item called "DelMarVa Doodads") 

---

I've seen a couple listings for O'Brien's at 409 E. Gude Drive, but either that's incorrect, or they moved (I can't remember, even though I can remember those Washingtonian ads from the 1970's with the drawing of the Texas-looking guy saying "Barbecue, not BBQ." 

Obviously, any help, corrections, etc. - even anecdotal - would be much appreciated. I'm *totally* lost when it comes to 1314 E. Gude Drive, as you can see.

[jdc]

This is funny, because my mom and I just had a conversation about these two spots in the last couple of weeks (we used to go to O'Brien's when I was rather young, and Charlie's when I was a bit older). You inspired me to do a bit of research to help clear it up (having two sets of plans canceled and Tyler Wilson giving up bombs has allowed my mind to wander a bit while I clear my DVR).

We went to Charlie's occasionally - I'd peg it when as late in high school and when I was home from college (so early-to-mid 2000s) - I don't remember it being there when I used to play Rockville Baseball in the area (there was a place with indoor batting cages in the same shopping center, and I believe a Chicken Basket). Here is a link to a "dine.com" profile with a handful of user reviews dating between 2000 and 2004, and a Washington Post article on BBQ spots from July 2004. It was pretty good - it was an "open-pit" BBQ type of place with a variety of sauces that were supposed to evoke Carolina or KC or whatever, rather than a particular region. I don't remember any Korean specialties on the menu, but I do remember being aware of the Korean family that owned it.

I never ate at Hot Stone or Ring of Fire (and have no idea if there is anything there now either), but I can at least work backwards on some of it. Ring of Fire appears to have opened in March 2013 and closed in July 2014, based on postings and pictures on their Facebook page (which has a first post in January 2013, so I would imagine that Hot Stone closed in 2012). I couldn't tell you when Hot Stone open or closed definitively, but their Yelp page has reviews from summer 2010 (one of which refers to going there "the last two years") through November 2012.

You get some interesting results from Google, including one showing building permits for that address. There are no business names attached to it but it shows activity in late 2004-early 2005, August 2008, and late 2014-early 2015. So not that new permits or construction are necessarily required for restaurants to change hands (or even names), and not that this website is inherently correct, but here might be a guess?

2000-2004 - Charlie's

2005 - 2007 - ? (maybe still Charlie's)

2007 - 2012 - Hot Stone

2013 - 2014 - Ring of Fire

2014 - current - ?

(Also, just to make life fun for you - here is a Washington Post article from 1993 that references a "Canopy" BBQ spot at this address. I was eight when the article ran. I cannot help you, buddy.)

[SilverBullitt]

Arirang, a Korean restaurant, moved a few storefronts over and is now in that space.

[DonRocks]

17 minutes ago, SilverBullitt said:

Arirang, a Korean restaurant, moved a few storefronts over and is now in that space.

Do you know when? Everything I can find says Arirang is at 1326 E. Gude Drive, and the space most in question is at 1314 E. Gude Drive (by the way, For those not from the area: It's pronounced GOO-dee). Although I did find a restaurant called Chapa at 1314 E. Gude Drive.

[pras]

On 7/3/2016 at 11:35 PM, DonRocks said:

(by the way, For those not from the area: It's pronounced GOO-dee). 

Can you please let google know that so the nice lady in my phone pronounces it correctly?

[SilverBullitt]

On ‎07‎/‎03‎/‎2016 at 11:35 PM, DonRocks said:

Do you know when? Everything I can find says Arirang is at 1326 E. Gude Drive, and the space most in question is at 1314 E. Gude Drive (by the way, For those not from the area: It's pronounced GOO-dee). Although I did find a restaurant called Chapa at 1314 E. Gude Drive.

I don't know when Arirang moved.  I think it was within the past year.  The former location (1326) is still vacant and there is a sign on the door informing patrons that the restaurant moved over.  There is no place called Chapa in that strip.  But there are several restaurants- El Boquerón II (also a nightclub), Chicken Basket, and Baronessa, in addition to Arirang. 

[DonRocks]

22 minutes ago, SilverBullitt said:

I don't know when Arirang moved.  I think it was within the past year.  The former location (1326) is still vacant and there is a sign on the door informing patrons that the restaurant moved over.  There is no place called Chapa in that strip.  But there are several restaurants- El Boquerón II (also a nightclub), Chicken Basket, and Baronessa, in addition to Arirang. 

If anyone knows, could you let me know? I still have Arirang at 1326 E. Gude Drive (even this pathetic "listicle" says so, and it was supposedly updated Jun 26, 2016 although I suspect it's easy to have auto-updates on dates).

[pras]

On 7/6/2016 at 9:13 AM, DonRocks said:

If anyone knows, could you let me know? I still have Arirang at 1326 E. Gude Drive (even this pathetic "listicle" says so, and it was supposedly updated Jun 26, 2016 although I suspect it's easy to have auto-updates on dates).

I went to Arirang on Friday.  They are located at 1314 E. Gude Drive.