The final trace of local celebrity chef Peter Chang has been removed from his former restaurant at 20-A Maryland Avenue at Rockville Town Square. Kungfu Kitchen abruptly took over the space when Chang made his unexpected exit from the struggling Town Center property in April. Chang's eponymous restaurant operated at Rockville Town Square for ten years. His exit stings all the more as the Montgomery County-averse dining critic of The Washington Post just wrote rave reviews of Chang's newest restaurants in Gaithersburg and Arlington.
Chang's status among celebrity chefs and prolific restaurateurs is remarkable in that his fame derives entirely from the products of his kitchens. He is rarely seen or heard in the media via interviews or public relations efforts, and doesn't belittle aspiring chefs on competitive cooking TV shows, or engage in publicity stunts. Chang is known for one thing: his cooking. Rockville Town Square is increasingly known for...empty storefronts.
I eat there one time and it was very good, should have gone more.
ReplyDelete"ate there" Learning.
DeleteHow does this exit from RTC sting when all of his cooks and staff are remaining, and his newest location is in Gaithersburg. The last time I checked Gburg has not seceded from the county.
DeleteI did "ate'" there.
Delete1:59: To answer your question, it "stings" because in the context of the article, the Peter Chang brand is growing in value and receiving media plaudits, but RTS has just lost the Peter Chang brand. Yes, Gaithersburg is in Montgomery County, but Rockville Town Square is not in Gaithersburg. The property's success is not boosted by a restaurant opening in Gaithersburg.
DeleteNo loss.
DeleteAgreed. Just way to many Asian cuisine options in the area.
ReplyDeleteI had the privilege of meeting and having a photo with Chef. This was a cool plzce with amazing food. Such a loss!!!
ReplyDeleteIt's literally the same place with a different name. Any sense of "loss" is in your imagination.
Delete10:36: It's still an excellent restaurant from all accounts, but the point is that it doesn't have the Peter Chang brand, which is of value as his fame continues to increase.
DeleteI just walked through Rockville Town Square a few minutes ago, it's like a decrepit ghost town, trash everywhere, windows broken out and boarded up in the overpass between Rockville metro and the town center,vacant stores everywhere.
ReplyDeleteYeah I went to the new place Kung Fu Kitchen, and I'm not sure about it. They seem to nickel and dime for extras like hot sauce and such which Peter Chang never did.
ReplyDeleteMarc Elrich should hold his resignation presser at RTS. We could only hope. What a disgrace but oddly symbolic of the incompetent Maoists that our Council is, and to think they meet only tenths of a mile away from the RTS 5 days per week.
ReplyDeleteYou lack the skill to distinguish apples from oranges.
DeleteNorm: Why don’t you go open a fruit stand at RTS? Oh wait, you probably don’t know how to run a business, just run it then into the ground like your like minded, simpatico leftists that are actively destroying it with their policies, regulatory environment and general wackiness. You can go clean RTS with your battery pack blower made by child sweatshops in the PRC and feel good about your green agenda.
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