We first visited The Salt Line back in November for Rachel’s birthday and recently returned for brunch, leaving both times with a smile on our collective faces. Chef Kyle Bailey, formerly of Churchkey and Birch & Barley, helms the Navy Yard kitchen that’s directly across the street from Nationals Park. Focusing on classic New England fare, The Salt Line is one of the best additions to the Washington dining scene in the past year. We started Rachel’s birthday dinner with their Peconic Bay scallop crudo which was topped with pickled cranberries and spiced pecans. The next selection from th ..read more

While the District keeps opening up more restaurants than we can keep track of, All Set Restaurant and Bar in downtown Silver Spring should not be overlooked just because it’s located in the ‘burbs. In fact, they’re serving up some excellent New England-style fare in a family-friendly environment. Tucked away at the corner of Cameron and Fenton Street and just a block away from The Fillmore Silver Spring, All Set’s menu is seafood-centric while offering a contemporary twist on what you would find at a Maine lobster shack. And given that we have two young children, it’s a great place to bring t ..read more

Needless to say it’s been quite a year, but that hasn’t stopped this blog from (slowly) ticking along and trying some of the latest and greatest places in addition to visiting some Silver Spring and Wheaton staples. And while we haven’t been able to contribute to this blog as much as we wanted to in the year that was 2017, all I can say is #TiredParents. Suffice to say I think we’ve had a year’s worth of Domino’s pizza between all of our son’s friends’ birthday parties. Anyway, onto the list! Seafood Tower – Whaley’s You see, the trick on dining out for Valentine’s Day is to go the day before ..read more

I was recently invited by Living Classrooms to attend their annual fundraiser, Night at The Point, which benefits the Foundation’s work of educating disadvantaged youth in the Baltimore-Washington region. It was a lovely autumn evening at Buzzard Point as you could see the ongoing construction of Audi Stadium, the future home of DC United, from James Creek Marina. Not only did the event highlight over 30 local food and drink vendors, but also featured an evening of entertainment from the legendary Wailers to the Queen Beez, Living Classroom’s own program that gives young girls a platform ..read more

I still can’t believe it was eight years ago when we celebrated our engagement with a wonderful dinner at Eric Ziebold’s CityZen at the Mandarin Oriental. So it was only fitting to celebrate seven years of marriage (and two kids) with an equally excellent meal at his latest restaurant, Kinship. We started the evening off with their lentil rasam. Prepared with roasted garlic custard, mango, coconut, and a sweet and savory tamarind broth, the rasam was terrific and rivaled Indian dishes we’ve had at local restaurants in the D.C. area. Up next was arguably one of the best dishes you will find in ..read more

During our anniversary staycation in D.C. a few months ago, Rachel and I got to enjoy brunch at The Bird, the relatively new restaurant from the EatWell DC group. It might be their best addition yet. We started things off with their Korean-style fried wings and I honestly could have eaten these all morning. The triple-fried wings are smothered with black sweet chili sauce and topped with cilantro, making for a very messy yet incredibly satisfying appetizer. It’s easily a contender for our annual roundup of best dishes. The chicken and waffles were no slouch either. The Tennessee-style hot ch ..read more

I’m just going to keep this brief and say this: order the seafood tower. No, seriously. Skip whatever plans you had for dinner tonight, head to Navy Yard, procure a table at Whaley’s, and order a damn tower. Opened by the same guys who brought you the great DGS Delicatessen, Nick and David Wiseman were inspired by the oyster bars of yesteryear as well as childhood visits to Crisfield’s (which we still haven’t been to since moving to Silver Spring nearly three years ago – something that needs to be rectified soon!) and introduced Whaley’s to the District. And while we visited prior to the open ..read more

Rachel and I have lived in Silver Spring for about three years now and arguably one of our favorite spots since we moved to the neighborhood is Urban Winery.  It’s the first-ever urban winery in the Washington metropolitan area and is also the closest from our nation’s capital. Founded by Georgia and Damon Callis, Urban Winery doesn’t actually have a vineyard but that allows them the freedom to produce wine with grapes sourced from all over the country. The opposite can be said about everything else found at Urban Winery – from to the meats to the local craft beers to even the wood Damon ..read more

For Rachel’s birthday dinner (which yes, was in November), we decided to venture to Shaw to dine at Tim Ma’s fabulous Kyirisan in Shaw. We heard great buzz about it from some friends and early reviews, and couldn’t wait to check it out for ourselves. Situated in the heart of Shaw and just blocks away from the 9:30 Club, a place where Rachel and I frequented shows since ’99 (now we’re really dating ourselves!), Kyirisan uniquely blends French and Chinese cuisine in a homey atmosphere with friendly service and standout dishes. The menu is arranged into three categories: In the Ground ..read more

Now that we’re a family of four, it’s more often than not you’ll see us enjoying Thai carryout or Peruvian chicken these days than dining out at all of the newest spots (and let’s admit it, even we can’t keep up with all of these openings). Nonetheless, we were still able to explore some great restaurants in the District during those very precious date nights, so without further ado, here are our favorite dishes of the year: Pan Seared scallops – Kyirisan While we haven’t had the chance to write up our fabulous meal at Kyirisan just yet (rest assured, we will!), Tim Ma’s latest restaurant is s ..read more