Three of the Very Best Restaurants are (mostly) in Rockville
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| Rockville’s Spice Xing |
The January 2010 issue of Washingtonian magazine lists a couple restaurants in Rockville among the “100 Very Best” in DC, Maryland, and Virginia. They are part of an exclusive club that includes Komi (#1), the Inn at Little Washington (#11), and 2 Amys (#28). We’re delighted that the restaurants in Rockville are being recognized and that a few of them are meeting an extraordinarily high standard for quality. Here are the gems in our fair city:
45. Cava, 9713 Traville Gateway Drive (west of Fallsgrove). “If all you know about Greek food comes by way of family-style diners trading on heaping portions of mousaka, this cozy mezzeteria—the creation of three Rockville natives and longtime friends—will be revelatory. It straddles the lines between authenticity and modernity, between lightness and heartiness.”
52. Spice Xing, 100-B Gibbs Street (Rockville Town Square). “The sibling restaurant to chef Sudhir Seth’s Passage to India [Bethesda] trades the elegance and formality of its big sister for a more casual and vibrant experience. It’s a looser operation but the profusion of flavors emanating from the kitchen—complex, vivid curries, lovingly rendered street snacks, well-blistered breads—is testament to the commitment to authenticity. A tantalizing roster of cocktails complements—and balances—the heat in the dishes.”
77. Addie’s, 11120 Rockville Pike (across from the White Flint Mall). “What has come out of the kitchen at Jeff and Barbara Black’s folksy first restaurant can best be described as uneven. But now it’s a different story with Nate Waugaman behind the stove. Gone are the scattered attempts at fusion fare and in its place are house-made charcuterie (plus a whole lot of excellent Benton’s ham from Kentucky) and rootedly American roasts and fish dishes. Finally, the food has one personality, not 15.”
Rockville has very porous boundaries and only Spice Xing is actually inside the official city limits, but these three restaurants call Rockville as their home, so we’ll welcome them. Do check them all out since they’re so close (Addie’s is one of my favorites for a special occasion, Spice Xing for an inexpensive lunch downtown, and although I’ve never been to Cava, I’ve heard lots of good things).
Glenview Mansion art exhibit attracts large crowd
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| Glenview photography exhibit |
The opening reception for an exhibit of photography attracted a large crowd to Glenview Mansion this afternoon. In honor of the 150th anniversary of the City of Rockville, the City sponsored a juried photography competition. On view are the final selections and it’s great fun to see how differently people see our town and what attracts their interest. The exhibit also includes images of Rockville past and present, often next to each other, so you can see what’s survived (and how much was lost!). The gallery also included a dozen collages by Patricia Zannie, an art instructor at Montgomery College and a trustee of the Rockville Art League. Mayor Marcuccio welcomed the standing-room-only crowd (which included council members Mark Pierzchala and Bridget Newton) before a concert by the U. S. Navy Band Chamber Ensemble. Click on the photo to open an album of pics from the reception today or visit yourself before it closes on February 2 (that three weeks away!).
Twinbrook House Brightened with Mosaic Tile Walkway
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| 1708 Farragut, Twinbrook |
Walking is often the best way to explore a neighborhood–zooming by in a car just doesn’t give you enough time to look (and you should be watching the road, not the houses). A couple months ago while I was walking precincts for my council campaign, I discovered a house at 1708 Farragut that first drew me back because it bordered on another example of “McMansionism” in a Twinbrook neighborhood (it even had the symptomatic Palladian window!). On closer inspection it turned out to be much nicer, especially because it had a fabulous mosaic tile walkway. I’m not talking about the typical 1 x 1″ squares or hexes of colored tile–that’s definitely ho hum. But this is a walkway decorated with all sorts of durable materials, including polished stones, glass pebbles, copper pipe, opalescent glass, marble, and glass bottles, arranged in a charming and beautiful manner. It really is fantastic and worth a look if you’re into architectural crafts or tile. I don’t know the artist, but it is signed “Jane 09” in one spot (can someone help identify?). In the meantime, click on the picture or the caption, and you’ll see a photoalbum of a dozen images.
New Year Opens in Rockville with a Peerless Brunch
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| Peerless Rockville Brunch 2010 |
The Peerless Rockville New Year’s Day Brunch at Glenview Mansion was the first official event celebrating the 150th anniversary of the City of Rockville and everyone enjoyed a beautiful day, a nice mix of members and friends, and of course, lots of good food. Although it’s a holiday, the event always draws a good crowd of community leaders, including State Senator Forehand; State Delegates Barve, Simmons, and Gilchrist; Rockville Mayor Marcuccio; Rockville Councilmembers Gajewski, Newton, and Pierzchala; and City Clerk Funkhouser. This year’s event invited people to wear something vintage and among the standouts were Bill Forehand (with a Civil War sailor’s uniform) and Cindy Cotte Griffiths (with an amazing vintage dress–satin and velvet?). Peerless also encouraged everyone to submit their nominations for Places That Matter in Rockville (standing or not) and Peerless will be using it as a guide for events and activities for the upcoming year (Phyllis Marcuccio was actively supporting the Pump House). Glenview Mansion is an ideal place to hold the brunch–it’s almost perfectly suited to this type of event–and it was wonderfully decorated for the holidays. Rockville is very fortunate to have such a marvelous historic venue for community events (so much better than a high school gym!). If you want to see a photoalbum from the day, click on the picture or caption.
Walking Tour of African American Places in Rockville
In October, the City of Rockville unveiled the new markers for the historic places around downtown associated with African American history. It was a beautiful day and a long trail of people followed along to visit the many sites, so if you missed it, Channel 11 now has it available online (it won’t be the same as doing it yourself, but you can get a sense of the fun we had that day).
Inauguration Marks New Beginning
The new Mayor and Council were elected on Sunday at the Fitzgerald Theater on a beautiful day. The auditorium was nearly filled and the inauguration started with great music from the Madrigal Singers. Eileen McGuckian did a wonderful job as the Master of Ceremonies, and as expected, integrated a bit of Rockville history whenever possible. The Rockville Police Department Color Guard presented the flags and we pledged allegiance to the flag and sung the national anthem. Then the Mayor and each of the Councilmembers were sworn into office, joined by their family and friends (John Britton’s daughter joined remotely by cell phone from her college in St. Louis). I was watching from the rear of the auditorium in the row with Carl Henn, Virginia Onley, Tom Moore, and Susan Hoffman–not sure how we all happened to be in the same place. Afterwards, a reception with food and punch in the foyer allowed the new Mayor and Council to mingle and celebrate (I ran into Waleed Ovase there, but didn’t see Trapper Martin–he’s in the restaurant business, so he was probably working). Here are a few snap shots from the day and you’ll probably spot some familiar faces.
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- Guests arriving for the inauguration of the Rockville Mayor and Council.
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- Bridget Newton at the inauguration reception for the Rockville Mayor and Council.
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- Councilman John Britton and “standout” candidate Virginia Onley.
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- Mark Pierzchala at the inauguration reception for the Rockville Mayor and Council.
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- Inauguration reception for the Rockville Mayor and Council.
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- Inauguration reception for the Rockville Mayor and Council.
Council Campaign Ends, Community Building Begins
The results of the 2009 Mayor and Council election came in much later than usual on Tuesday night, and I had already left the parties at but by the time I went to bed I had learned I was not elected. And it was only this morning that I saw the tallies and saw that I came in last with 780 votes or 3 percent of the vote. But I don’t feel horrible or depressed. I knew that this campaign would be very difficult to win: Continue reading →
Choosing a Great Mayor and Council for Rockville
With a dozen candidates vying for five seats on the City Council, the choices are particularly difficult. Voters have told me various strategies they use, from spreading out all the campaign literature on the dining room table to assess each candidate or attending forums and deciding who not to support to see who’s left at the end. Having served on many different types of “boards,” here are my three suggestions: Continue reading →
Rainy Sunday creates Angst and Relief
With two days left before the election on Tuesday, today’s rain creates both angst and relief. The worries are due to the desire to use every minute of daylight to walk precincts and meet voters–and we’ve been forced to sit out the game and watch. Yesterday, everyone was out in force. I walked three different precincts and found literature for Susan Hoffman, Tom Moore, Bridget Newton, and Piotr Gajewski on the doors I visited and when I stopped by Carl Henn’s house during my swing through Hungerford, he was out campaigning. I’m sure everyone else was as well. Today offered the last weekend day to campaign, so the incessant rain will cause some anxiety.
Most people don’t realize that if you’re campaigning seriously, Continue reading →
Town Square adds Tile Mural on Washington Street
Judith Inglese fitting the tile into place.
For a change of pace from the election, have you noticed that Judith Inglese is installing a wonderful ceramic mural depicting the history of Rockville on the wall facing Washington Street in the Town Square? Her handcut and glazed tiles fit together as a puzzle (not just squares of painted tile) and includes bas relief elements. When you see it, it may remind you of the cafeteria mural at Twinbrook Elementary School (1987), two murals at Luxmanor Elementary School (1989), and the entry plinth at the Senior Center (1998)–those are her works as well. She is currently in the midst of installing the second of three murals and she was happy to chat when I stopped by (but she’s on a schedule and working with grout, so don’t talk too long!). When she’s finished, you’re not only going to enjoy seeing it, but touching it as well. What a marvelous addition to our city’s public art collection!
Judith trained at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Rome, Italy, the Boston Museum School of Fine Art, and Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, New York where she received her bachelor’s degree. As a student at Sarah Lawrence, she was memorably encouraged by her art professor to go as far away from New York City as possible in order to more freely develop her individual craft. She ended up in the serenity of Leverett, Massachusetts where she currently lives with her family, two dogs and more than a handful of chickens.
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- Second of three panels being installed.
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- Judith Inglese installing a tile mural in Town Square
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- Judith Inglese receiving a “buttered” tile.
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- Judith Inglese fitting the tile into place.
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- Tile mural detail in Town Square, ungrouted with cardboard spacers.
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- Tile mural detail in Town Square, ungrouted.
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- Grouting the tile panel and washing the surface.
Max for Rockville 