Olazzo - Silver Spring

You know those days when you need a drink and nourishment, and even though you have the supplies at home, you just want to be served by someone else? I was having one of those, and thankfully, so was JC. I'd never been to Olazzo, either in Bethesda or Silver Spring, so we thought we'd give it a try.

The ambience inside Olazzo is cozy and warm - a TV screen at the end of the bar showcases a digital fireplace, the room is dim, yet there is a warm glow that lights up the place, and the booths are big and welcoming. We settled into one of the cushy booths and ordered a bottle of riesling. I feel like I get a lot of requests for a fruity riesling at work, which we don't carry - for those you who are searching for a fruity and sweet riesling, Olazzo's got it. We sipped away for a while, having girl talk and giggling a lot, as we do often.

We started with the fried calamari, which is a pretty impressive portion. For $9, we got a giant platter of lightly battered and deep fried, hot and crispy calamari with marinara. It was delicious, not overdone, and did I mention, it's HUGE?

Unfortunately, the rest of the meal wasn't that great or memorable. JC ordered the mozzarella neopolitan, which wasn't particularly remarkable, and I made the mistake of ordering what turned out to be a country fried steak of some sort. It had some charming Italian name that lured me to it and I was feeling like some red meat. Without frills, it was pretty gross. It was dry, there was way too much breading that was too salty, and I couldn't eat more than 1/3 of it. Ew ew ew ew ew. Perhaps that's why it's not on the menu anymore. Good riddance, I say.

I like Olazzo. I will go back and perhaps this time, I'll get a pasta...that should be safe in an Italian restaurant, don't you think? Tasty tasty!!

Mamma Lucia - Silver Spring

I just realized how much I dine alone, and that people must think I'm quite strange as I coo over my food and perform a photo shoot before (or sometimes in the middle of) the feast. I must say I have been eating out alone more since I started writing Tasty Bites entries - I used to hate doing that, but now I have a purpose for doing so. It's research, you see.

So this one fine afternoon, I stopped in at CVS at Blair Park, and on the way out decided to grab a bite to eat at Mama Lucia's which is next door. For research, of course. I have never been, so I wasn't sure how the place worked. It seemed a little bit disorganized, you walk up to the counter and there are 3 men taking orders/payment. They are all very nice, but they are also loud and want to know what you want to order as soon as you walk in. I looked at the menu and I wanted to try everything as I was quite hungry. I debated between a pizza or a pasta, decided to get a pasta, then had to choose from about 20 different items, gah!! I wanted carbs but also some seafood, so linguine alla mare chiara sounded perfect. I ordered my food and a bottle of water from one man, paid another man, and then yet another man appeared from (I promise this is what happened) under the counter and handed me the water. The man I ordered from told me to sit at any table, so I did, all the while wondering how the food was going to find me, since the dining room was pretty full. Lunch rush, I guess, it was about 1:30pm.

About 10 minutes later, a young lady came by with a basket of bread and my pasta. How did she know it was mine? How did she know where I was? It was like magic!! I took a bite of the pasta with one of the clams, and oh! It was exactly what I wanted - yummy pasta with yummy sauce with yummy seafood. As a lady pretending to watch her girlish figure, I didn't touch the bread basket, but the contents seemed pretty old and stale. The pasta was of good texture, not overcooked, the seafood was delish, the shrimp, clams and calamari tasted fresh and didn't have the strange, synthetic texture that frozen seafood sometimes have. The sauce was decent, not magnificent, but it was good enough to hit the spot. It was a pretty hefty portion and I'm a little embarrassed to say that I ate the whole thing. After checking my email and Facebook on my phone, I managed to remove myself from the table and waddle out of the restaurant.

If I get a chance to go back, I would really like to try the spaghetti aglio e olio and the penne norcina. They have a couple of specials - Monday nights are pasta nights, where you can get a second pasta dish for $3.99 and Tuesday nights are pizza nights, where you can get a second pizza for $2.99. Oh carbs, you're so delicious. Tasty tasty!!

$ (Lunch)
$$ (Dinner)

www.mammaluciarestaurants.com

Adega Wine Cellars & Cafe

I planned to served mulled wine at Jackie's during dinner service, so I made my way to Whole Foods in Silver Spring for vanilla beans, cinnamon sticks, and cloves. When I was done spice shopping, I realized that I was starving, so I went around the corner to Adega. I'd been there once before and I remembered the sweet potato fries were yummilicious. After looking at their sandwich and wrap selections, I decided on the portabello mushroom with pesto, sauteed onions and grilled red peppers on foccacia and a side of eggplant fries. I did contemplate ordering a glass of wine, but it seemed inappropriate to drink in the middle of the afternoon on a weekday just before going in to work at a bar.

As I waited for my food, I picked a nice quiet table by the window and checked out my surroundings. The part of Adega that I was at was the cafe section, with a counter for ordering and paying and then a separate counter for picking up food, and behind a wooden panel, the exciting action of food preparation was taking place. There were about 10 tables to dine at or there is also counter space at the wooden panel that separates the food prep area from the dining space. The other side of the establishment was dedicated to wine - shelves and shelves of wine which I would have loved to check out up close, had I not been weak from hunger and dying to catch up on what Edward and Bella were up to in my new book, Twilight. There is seating on the wine side also, but not as much as the side that I was sitting at. So I admired from a distance and opened up my book.

I only got through a couple of paragraphs when my number was called. I suppose that has a lot to do with the fact that it was 3:00pm on a Tuesday and there were only about 5 diners. I galloped over to pick up the food and I got excited when I saw my tray. The sandwich was pretty large, the foccacia was thick and they didn't skimp on the filling. I took a bite - no, I took several bites and ate a few of the eggplant fries before I realized I had forgotten to take a picture!! So I paused quickly to take a couple of pictures then went back to enjoying my lovely lunch. The only unsatisfactory item was the cold marinara sauce that was served with the eggplant fries. Why cold? The sandwich is hot, the fries are hot, but the sauce, which I was fully expecting to be hot, was not. Nevertheless, it was delicious. The fries were crispy on the outside and soft and yummy inside, and, might I say, the perfect companion to the portabello sandwich. Before I knew it, I had read an entire chapter of Twilight, was full, and had lunch for the next day as I couldn't eat more than half of the sandwich.

If you are in the neighborhood and want a delicious bite to eat and maybe some wine to accompany your meal, definitely check out Adega. Oh, check out their Monday special: half off Adega selected wines with a purchase of entree, dine-in only. Tasty tasty!!!

$

www.adegawinecellars.com

Seoul Soondae - Wheaton

For the second time this fall, I got sick. So unfair!! So on a nice, sunny Sunday afternoon, I took a nap, and woke up stuffy and hungry. It seemed appropriate to have hot and spicy soup to open up the sinuses in true Korean fashion. The only Korean restaurants I've been to have been in Annandale and I was in no shape to drive that far, so I searched for one in Silver Spring, and found Seoul Soondae. My parents and sister know that I'm a huge fan of soondae, which is a Korean blood sausage filled with rice noodles and delicious spices. It's hard to find, and I've only had good ones in Texas at places that my parents know. Oh, and in Korea.

I took my bloated and sniffly self to Wheaton, with my beloved Chronicles of Amber book under my arm. at 5:15pm, I was the only one in the restaurant, which was fine with me, I could read in peace. I ordered the soondae soup with a side of soondae. First came the banchan (small side dishes), there were about 8 of them and they were all pretty good, kimchi was a bit on the sweet side though. Then came the soondae side, and I was so impressed that it came with a small portion of liver, lung, and whatever other innards it came with (and I love them, especially liver!). Generally, in the US, they don't serve soondae with the other parts - I'm guessing because it's too high maintenance. It's not the best I've ever had, but that could be due to the fact that my ability to taste was hindered by my inability to breathe through my nose. Then came the soup. MMMMMMMMM. It came in a stone pot, which kept it super hot for a long while, not to mention it just looks cool. The soup came with a generous dollop of chili paste and lots of cooked down leafy greens (mystery to me what it was), soondae and innards, and a nice bowl of steamed rice. Engrossed in the strange land of Amber and its shadows (I know, I'm a nerd), and a pot of fantastically spicy hot soup, I think I sat for almost an hour eating and blowing my nose.

By the time I was finished eating, and I almost ate the whole pot of soup and the side of soondae (I was hungry, did I mention?), the restaurant had filled up with a lot of people eating what I had. And why wouldn't they? It was a lot of yummy food for $13! I was happy and full, and wondered why I had never been here before. The service was quick and very friendly - the server wanted to make sure I knew what I was ordering before she wrote it down on her pad, and was ready to answer any questions I had. I would love to go back again when I'm not sick and my taste buds are alive again. Tasty tasty!!!

$

Negril - Silver Spring

For months I've been hearing about a Jamaican restaurant in Silver Spring called Negril, usually really good things about their jerk chicken sandwich and the homemade fruit punch. So one evening, as I was heading home, starving and knowing there nothing edible in the fridge, I headed to Negril. It's hard to miss with its large yellow sign with red letters.

It's definitely a carry out sort of place, even though there are a couple of tables in the room where you order the food at a counter, and a room on the side with many more tables - I don't think they have wait staff service though. So I headed up to the person at the counter and asked for a recommendation as I had never been there. He said that the beef patties or the coco bread would be good as appetizers and if I wanted something more filling, the jerk chicken sandwich, curried chicken, or goat roti are popular. So, being famished, I ordered the beef patty, coco bread, and curried chicken to go (obviously, my eyes were bigger than my stomach). Service was pretty quick, I received my food in about 5 minutes, during which I looked around the place and noticed that the beef patties were being sold in frozen packs, to be microwaved at home. Hmmmm...I don't know how I feel about that.

Once I received the food, I rushed home and took at bite of the beef patty. It wasn't magnificent, but it wasn't awful - the crust was flaky and the beef filling was pasty but had enough seasoning to be not gross or boring. The coco bread was DELISH, it's soft and moist and fluffy and sweet and buttery...mmmmmmmm. I would have it for breakfast with butter and coffee...maybe a dab of good strawberry preserves. Drool. Uh, where was I? Right, moving on to the curried chicken, um...it was disappointing. I grew up with really good chicken curry from India, so I expected lots of spices and heat. Well, spices and heat, I definitely didn't get. Instead I got mediocre chicken with mediocre sauce with a side of very dry rice and beans and a heaping mound of really blah steamed cabbage. Note to self: when getting an entree, always choose the salad over cabbage.

Despite the disappointment, I was willing to give it a second try because I wanted to like it. I really wanted to like it. This time I went for the jerk chicken sandwich - it can't get any more Jamaican than that, right? Then as a last minute impulse, I ordered the fish cakes appetizer also. Oh man, I was even more disappointed than before. The fish cakes - there are 3 huge puffs of them - were so gross, it didn't taste like fish and certainly didn't look like fish, it was like a sticky sponge. I took a bite and then was forced by my brain to throw them out. Even doused in the strange sweet sauce and I tried hot sauce also, it was inedible. EW. As I prepared to bite into the jerk sandwich I said a silent prayer that it would be good. It was ok, but I didn't know what was Jamaican or jerk about it. It tasted like a pulled chicken sandwich with a honey mustard and lettuce. My understanding was that jerk seasoning is hot and spicy and generally the chicken is grilled or smoked...I don't think it met any of those requirements. The best thing about it was the coco bread.

Would I go back to Negril? Probably not. For the mediocre entrees, it's way overpriced - I think I paid $11 for the lame curried chicken. The sandwich though, is a really good deal if you're not really looking for a jerk chicken sandwich at about $4. Oh no, I'm lying. I would go back to get the coco bread but probably not anything else. If you like delicious bread, I suggest you try it for sure! Tasty tasty!

$

www.negrileats.com

Tastee Diner - Silver Spring

Oh Tastee Diner - it's seen me at my worst, yet always there for me. I visit Tastee Diner after a long night of bartending for some chocolate chip pancakes, or most often, on Sundays after hardcore partying the night before and I need to eat something before I pass out from the vodka fumes being emitted from my mouth.

A couple of months ago, Nari was visiting, and in celebration of her 21st birthday, JC and I got her...hammered. The next day we ended up at Tastee Diner, where we had our breakfast and Nari vomited all over the floor at the table. Thank goodness we were sitting outside - nevertheless, it was embarrassing beyond belief.

Last Sunday, JC and I found ourselves at Tastee Diner again. As usual I ordered coffee and half a grapefruit, followed by pancakes and turkey sausage. JC had the same except she chose waffles instead of pancakes. At the last minute we added on an order of fries. The coffee isn't excellent, but it's not terrible - it's diner coffee. Grapefruit was precut and it was a good size. My favorite was the turkey sausage, they were sausage patties, nicely spiced with good texture. I like the pancakes at Tastee Diner, what's strange is this time, the pancakes had a grainy, cornmealy texture, which I had never gotten before - it was still tasty. JC's waffles was a little tragic, it looked perfectly good, but she put the butter on it and nothing happened - it was cold. She tried to eat it, but couldn't get it down, which was sad because she was hungry. Oh, and we never got our fries. :(

A few days later, I ended up there again for a midnight breakfast with my friend DC. I tried chocolate chip pancakes and turkey sausage. I loved the pancakes, I didn't even use syrup, just a lot of butter. I was expecting the sausage patties, except this time I got the sausage links, which were good, but not as good as the patties. DC had eggs, bacon, and grits - I think he enjoyed his food, couldn't be sure since he didn't finish eating (we had a few drinks before, which could have hindered the hunger sensors). As usual the service was quick and friendly and the server came by several times to make sure we didn't need anything else.

Tastee Diner is usually reliable with quick service at a very reasonable price. If I'm hungry for breakfast or unusually late, you'll find me there. Did I mention they're open 24 hours? Tasty tasty!!

$

www.tasteediner.com

Spring Garden

I've been sick for almost a week and a half. What a bore, I say (try saying it with a British accent, Professor McGonagall style). I haven't stepped out of my apartment unless absolutely necessary, and feeding myself was easy enough with foodler.com at my fingertips. One of my favorite places to order from is Spring Garden in the strip mall at 16th St and Spring St in Silver Spring. They're consistently fast at delivery and their food is mostly decent.

I always get soup, and my favorite is sweet and sour - good flavor and lots of vegetables and tofu. The wonton soup is alright, but the broth is a bit bland. My second favorite soup is the egg drop soup - I know, it's so boring, but I love the tissue paper thin sheets of eggs floating about the gently viscous soup. I usually add a bit of soy sauce and just a touch of sesame oil to it and it makes a pretty good soup about 10 times better. Now, I ordered their seafood soup as an experiment one day, and it was blech, gross, ew. It had quite a bit of shrimp, scallops, imitation crab meat, and calamari, as well as water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, carrots, and celery. But the broth was so boring and no matter what kind of condiments I added to it, I couldn't make myself eat the damned thing.

Their lo mein is pretty good - I have tried their beef, chicken, and shrimp lo mein, and I think shrimp is the best. Overall good seasoning, not too oily and the noodles have a good texture. Hunan chicken's pretty good also - lots of veggies and chicken doesn't taste as fake as some other Chinese delivery places. I don't know if you know what I mean, sometimes the chicken seems synthetic in texture and flavor - same goes for beef. I wish the hunan chicken was a bit more spicy, but that can be amended with some red chili oil or sriracha. My favorite thing about their food is that their sauces don't have the thick, goopy texture of sauces that most Chinese delivery places have - one can almost convince oneself to believe that they don't come in a gigantic tub labeled "brown sauce."

They also have sushi on the menu, so I decided to try it. After browsing through a bunch of items that you can find everywhere, my eyes stopped at crazy roll. It was salmon, avocado, and cucumber rolled in nori and rice, tempura battered and fried, then cut into 8 pieces, and sprinkled with chopped scallions and tobiko. It looked pretty good, but it didn't taste so good. Actually, it was pretty nasty. It was squishy and mushy in texture and there was no flavor - the salmon was pretty flavorless, and the rice was too soft. Even after being dunked in way too much soy sauce it was bland. After 2 pieces, I was forced to throw it out. It's called crazy roll for a reason, you have to be crazy to eat it!!

The almond cookies that I got for dessert was quite good. Nice and crispy but not hard, and you can definitely taste the almonds. I love that it's not that sweet - it goes perfectly with a cup of coffee. There are 4 cookies in an order and out of tonight's order, it was my favorite item.

If you're ever looking for food to be delivered, check out foodler.com. And if you're looking for Chinese food in Silver Spring, definitely give Spring Garden a try, but stay away from crazy roll. Seriously. Do try the lo mein and the almond cookies. Tasty tasty!!

$

www.foodler.com/MD/Silver-Spring/Chinese/Spring-Garden/1507.html

Jackie's

My roommate is coming back home this week so I should really be cleaning (or sleeping), but I've done a good job of putting it off for a whole week, so what's another few hours?? And so, with Conan playing on hulu.com in the background... Let's talk Jackie's.
One might call the neon green heart that lights up the brick exterior after sundown to be tacky. One might find the bubblegum pink banquette, retro plastic dining chairs, and lounge covered in a myriad colorful cushions to be kitsch. But one will definitely find this car-shop-turned-restaurant to be fresh and the food to be absolutely delectable!

I've been there a number of times, as your tastebuds will surely ask of you once you pay a visit. Seasonal menus offering the best of local ingredients change daily. I'll walk you through all the goodies I've had so far.

We'll start with appetizers. One word: OYSTERS. If you're a fan of oysters (and even if you're not!), you have to try the fried oysters with a cucumber and onion relish and some sort of amazing sauce. The oysters are just perfectly lightly breaded, so you don't have to break through a layer of hard crunch. You bite in and your tongue is met with warm, plump, juicy, creamy, oyster goodness (let's try to fit some more adjectives in). And when you get a bite of oyster with the cucumber and sauce all together - heaven. Another favorite is the shrimp risotto with devil's oil. Yes, devil's oil. It does pack some heat, but don't let it scare you - it's not volcanic heat that will leave you drenched in sweat. It's the perfect amount of heat to complement the creamy risotto. The portion also allows for a cheaper alternative to an entree.

Which brings us to soups. When you're in Maryland, clearly crab is a must-have. Naturally, the Maryland crab soup here is pretty darn great. The tomato-based soup is rich and hearty, with a great share of big lumps of sweet crab meat and healthy veggies, and has a bit of a kick to it. Also great is the gazpacho. It is perfectly cool and refreshing, with fun pops of finely diced peppers, tomatoes, onions, and cucumber. The two are basically polar opposites, but equally delicious. I have a hard time choosing between the two... hence I had both in one night. Sigh, no shame.

An entree that you might not find on the menu anymore when you visit, as their menu changes daily, is halibut with artichoke. It sounds simple but it was so good! The halibut was perfectly cooked, with a great lemon butter sauce, and a lovely roasted artichoke. I'm a little sad that I'll probably not have it again since the menu changes daily.

And we end with dessert. I've only actually had dessert once, poundcake with raspberries. To give you a fully honest review, I'll have to say it wasn't anything to write home about. I mean... it was poundcake with raspberries with sauce. To be fair, I'm sure they have other great desserts.

While you may not find the same items that I had, I promise you you'll have an amazing meal. And should conversation run dry with your dinner companion/s, nature shows projected onto a mesh screen hanging from the ceiling might provide you with fodder for small talk, if you're into mollusks and fawns.
Yummers!!!

$$

www.jackiesrestaurant.com

The Big Greek Cafe

I've been hearing about this "My Big Fat Greek Cafe" from people at work. Everyone's been gushing about how good their food is. I couldn't believe that there was a place named after a movie - and well, there isn't. It's the Big Greek Cafe, and from the outside on Georgia Ave, it doesn't look like much. But you walk in, and the place is completely white, with a bit of blue, lovely pictures of the Greek islands, and blue and white checkered table cloths, looking very very Greek (to me anyway), oh and so super duper clean. I ordered the bifteki (beef and lamb patty) sandwich platter with fries and salad, and JF decided on the gyro sandwich platter with roasted potatoes and salad. The salad was interesting with mixed greens, an herby vinaigrette, feta cheese, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, and capers (which I didn't see coming). It would have been good, except for the fact that there was waaaaaaaay too much dressing, so much that I couldn't get through more than half of it. The fries were delish - I haven't met a french fry I didn't like, and the sandwich was fantastic!! The bifteki was seasoned perfectly, wonderful herb combination and just enough seasoning to blend with the yogurt sauce and the lovely, chewy, and pillowy bread. The gyro sandwich was perfect, not too salty (I've encountered some dry, salty gyros before, and they are not tasty), and the potatoes were good, but I recommend the fries. The food is cheap, yummy, and the portion is pretty large. For that I'd call it "My Big Fat Greek Cafe." Oh, they sell huge cans of olive oil from Greece at the counter -I asked the nice cashier which was better, Greek or Italian olive oil and he said definitely Greek!! When I run out of my Italian oil, I guess I'll try the Greek. Tasty tasty!!!

$

www.biggreekcafe.com/

Oriental East- Dim Sum!!

Looking for a good dim sum brunch in Silver Spring? I found fabulous dim sum at Oriental East on East-West Hwy and Colesville Rd. They open at 11:00am, but on the weekends, you will find a long line of hungry people waiting at the door by 10:30am. It's totally worth it! If you get there a bit late, they will tell you the wait is 20 minutes, but that's a lie. People come with their friends and family and they are there to enjoy the food in leisure, not to eat and get out. Here's why it takes so long. When you sit down, a sheet of paper with grids with different prices is placed on your table. Servers push a rolling cart full of steamed, fried, and baked deliciousness as the customers pick out what they want and the servers will mark how many of a certain priced dish you've had. Now, there aren't just 3 or 4 of these carts, there are many many many! There are lots of different types of dumplings, steamed and fried, little steamed buns filled with roasted meat, sauteed veggies, porridge, stir-fried meat and seafood, and even dessert. So you sit, watch the carts as they come by, sip hot jasmine tea, and hang out with your table companions. Soon, before you know it, you've been there for 2 hours, and shockingly, the bill will be much less than you'd expect from how full you are with all the different delectable foods. I've been there for brunch many times, and each time, I've made sure to get there by 10:30am to compete for a table. On the weekdays, the line's not there but they do serve dim sum from 11:00am til 3:00pm, and you'd order from the menu, not from a cart. You still get the fabulous food, although you miss out of the fun of cart watching. Two thumbs up for Oriental East!! Tasty Tasty!!

$

www.orientaleast.com