What Are You Doing Out Here?
Twinbrook Parkway near Meadow Hall Road, Rockville
There’s five inches of heavy snow on the ground, the power has gone out, the roads haven’t been plowed, trees branches are falling, so why are people out driving? Here’s a pic from tonight on Twinbrook Parkway near Meadow Hall Road. It’s actually much brighter outside, despite the power outage, due to the reflection on the snow (but still, everyone get off the road and into someplace safe–your home, a restaurant, whatever).
The Latest and Greatest Restaurants in Rockville
The January 2011 issue of Washingtonian magazine is devoted to the area’s 100 very best places to eat and I’m proud that Rockville was included four times:
- Addie’s (actually, it’s in White Flint but I’ll adopt them because it’s such a good place)
- Againn (this is for the DC mothership, but we have a version of it in Rockville on the Pike)
- Cava (in the Fallsgrove neighborhood)
- Spice Crossing (in the Town Square)
Living in Rockville, we have a bit of a headstart on DC residents on a couple other winners:
- Volt in Frederick (outstanding restaurant in a great historic building; so popular you need to make reservations weeks in advance)
- Mannequin Pis in Olney (a Belgian-style bistro in a very ordinary strip mall).
These lists are always fun because they provoke conversation and encourage you to try out new places, so in that spirit, here’s my unofficial and incomplete addendum for the best places to eat in Rockville (in no particular order): Continue reading →
Rockville Architect Featured in UK Garden Book
The Shack, a simple modernist cabin designed by Rockville architect Jeff Broadhurst, was included in 1000 Designs for the Garden by Geraldine and Ian Rudge. This highly illustrated sourcebook focuses on the best in contemporary garden product design, including work from designers such as Marcel Wanders, Philippe Starck and Ross Lovegrove–putting Mr. Broadhurst in impressive company. Congratulations!
And yes, I’m a bit biased. Jeff completed the award-winning addition (a sunroom and mudroom) to our Twinbrook house and is currently designing our kitchen.
“‘Round Rockville” Bus Returns to Service on Rocky Road
Ride On Bus #45: 'Round Rockville shuttle at Twinbrook Metro
The ‘Round Rockville bus has returned to service, but what does the future hold?
Ride On’s #45 is the major connector for Rockville–it’s the only bus that connects the Twinbrook and Rockville Metro stations with the Civic Center, Town Center, Senior Center, and Fallsgrove. Despite the county’s agreement to operate the six specially branded buses and nearly $1 million of federal and city funds in 2009, it’s been a troubled route.
Shortly after its launch, the buses were pulled from service due to mechanical problems and replaced with an assortment of large and small busses in varying conditions and ages. In 2010, County Executive Ike Leggett proposed eliminating the route and although service was preserved, it was significantly reduced. The “Rockville” busses are now back on the streets, but problems continue. My ride today (and everyone else’s) was free because the fare box was broken. What’s going on in the county’s Department of Transportation? Councilmember Phil Andrews, what are you doing?
Rockvillian Nathan Foley featured in Post magazine
Gutsy local musician Nathan Foley is featured in the November 28 issue of the Washington Post Magazine. A 15-year old student at Montgomery Blair High School, his guitar-playing talents have won him Amateur Night at the Apollo Theater a record-breaking seven times and co-title of Super Top Dog 2010. What an amazing achievement (just getting up on that stage shows he’s braver than most people). How lucky we are to have him in our community! See him on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=al8XpTczi7g.
Fabulous Fall
Fall is one of my favorite times of year and each year I nearly run off the road when I’m stunned by a brilliant tree. So for everyone’s safety, I head to Lake Frank, a reservoir off Avery Road just east of Rockville, to walk the paths and take it all in as slowly as I can. Here are some shots from today’s afternoon stroll.
City Council Punts on Red Gate When It Should Have Tackled
On Monday, September 20, the Mayor and Council concluded (for now) the situation with Red Gate Golf Course, an issue that’s been vexing them for the last year (and longer). Unfortunately, they didn’t resolve the issue, they just kicked the can further down the road to let the next city council deal with this tar baby. By eliminating past debt and next year’s anticipated deficit, they were able to put off the hard decision about the golf course until 2012.
Rosy predictions about the golf course’s future (“we’re giving them a clean slate,” “I just know they’ll succeed as soon as the economy improves”) are either condescending or naïve. The golf course has run deficits for years and has had declining participation for nearly two decades–this isn’t related to the economic downturn. Without a serious change in management or increased investment, Continue reading →
Just Crazy About My New Concrete Walkway
I may sound crazy, but I’m sooooooo happy about my new concrete walkway at my house. For years we’ve been dragging our trashcans from the back door to the curb over an increasingly worn gravel walkway, which became a struggle in rain and snow with the new big city trashcans. It took several years for me to decide what I wanted because of existing fences and trees as well as other more pressing projects around the house, but now that it’s done, it’s a beauty. The slideshow includes lots of shots before, during, and after so you can see the work in progress as well as the quality of the work. Look at those control joints! They’re clean, neat, and straight from end to end, especially where they meet another joint (for comparison, look at the ones in a typical sidewalk and you’ll see right away how much more masterful these are).
From excavation to forming to finishing to clean up (yes, clean up!), the work was entirely performed by Jose Guzman of Strictly Concrete who is right in my neighborhood of Twinbrook. The business end of things was handled professionally as well, with a clearly written contract in advance, payment receipts, and maintenance and care instructions. I’m so happy to give work to someone in my town, but when it’s such outstanding quality, it’s a home run.
Finding Fungus Can be Fun in Fall
Okay, this is going to sound a bit strange, but this fall, explore the forests around Rockville hunting for fungus. August and September’s warmth and humidity encourage lots of mushrooms to burst out of the forest floor and dead trees, and because they’re so short-lived, it’s a great time to see this and wonderful world at our feet. If you don’t remember this from biology class in high school, fungi are one of the six Kingdoms (others include Plantae and Animalia), so if you haven’t taken a close look at them, you’re missing a major part of the life.
In Rockville, you’ll find fungus in your yard and nearby parks, but the best location I’ve found with the largest diversity is the John G. Hayes Forest Preserve which is part of the Civic Center Park. The entrance is next to the Croydon Creek Nature Center. You’ll want to explore the forest above as well as the slopes below near the creek, so wear sturdy shoes. The big white mushrooms are easy to spot standing up from the ground or clinging to the bark of a tree, but usually you have to look more carefully and gently brush away leaves to find ones that are brown, small, or hidden underneath. In a couple hours, you should be able to find at least a dozen different types of mushrooms, many of which you’ll never have seen before. I’ve shared just a few in the slide show.
And now that I’ve shared my secret with you, I have a couple requests:
- please don’t pick up or remove the mushrooms you find. Kids love to kick them for some reason, but remind them to leave them for others to find and enjoy.
- don’t eat the mushrooms you find, unless you’re a mycologist. If you don’t know what that means, don’t even touch them. Many mushrooms are toxic and there’s no easy way to distinguish between edible and poisonous ones. You may not die but you could experience headaches, drowsiness, nausea, lowered blood pressure, diarrhea, urgent urination, profuse vomiting, extreme pain, blurred vision, asthma, muscle spasms, liver damage, and hallucinations. I didn’t list all the possible symptoms, just the ones that caught my attention.
If you’d like to learn more, pick up the Field Guide to the Mid-Atlantic States by Peter Alden and Brian Cassie (National Audubon Society) or the in-depth North American Mushrooms by Orson Miller and Hope Miller (Falcon Guide). I bought my copies at REI.
Great Day for a Wine Festival
Today Rockville Town Square was a wonderful place to explore Maryland’s wineries and Rockville’s fine wine stores. It was the fourth annual “Uncorked,” a music and wine festival downtown featuring nine wineries and four wine retailers, along with cooking demonstrations, several bands, and a couple food and plant vendors. The beautiful weather attracted a large, diverse, and happy crowd. All the booths were crowded with tasters pushing forth their wine glasses to sample a broad selection of wines. Usually you were able to get a taste within a few minutes of waiting, however, some visitors treated the booths like bars and just hung out asking for drink after drink (come on, everyone, there are thousands of people at this event–“pour, drink, leave”). Usually, the servers would notice the crowd, ignore the slugs, and reach out to offer tastes to others who were waiting but I was absolutely miffed at the dazed servers at Jackie’s Wine Club, who just kept serving the same few people at the front. Fortunately, I could easily move on to the next booth.
There was something for everyone at this festival. Maryland has a reputation for producing sweet fruit-flavored wines and you could find some unusual ones, including mango, watermelon, green apple, and kiwi pear at Solomon Island. They’re too sweet for me, so I was focused on the traditional varietals such as reislings and chardonnays offered by Boordy, Frederick Cellars, Running Hare, and Elk Run. All the wineries also sold wine so you could pick up something that you’d have to drive out of the county to find and Terrapin Station Winery was the only one offered boxed wines–in an attractive modernist 1.5-liter square box. Although Montgomery County is the dominant wine dealer in the area (why is the government involved in selling liquor?), they weren’t present but other specialized stores were, including Gilly’s and the Bottle Shop (both are on the fringes of Rockville but I’m glad to have them in town).
Thanks to the City of Rockville for producing this fun event for adults!
Max for Rockville 