Greek Aroma closes at Montgomery Mall in Bethesda

Greek Aroma Mediterranean Grill has closed in the Dining Terrace food court at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda. Their space has been walled off. Greek Aroma opened in November 2022. The small local chain has two other locations, in Frederick and Riverdale, Maryland.

Paris Baguette opens in Rockville

Paris Baguette has opened at 101-A Gibbs Street at Rockville Town Square. Rockville Mayor Bridget Donnell Newton, City Councilmember Monique Ashton, representatives from Rockville Economic Development, Inc. (REDI), and employees participated in a ribbon cutting outside the bakery. Paris Baguette is a chain founded in South Korea, and you will find some Asian treats alongside classic French pastries. It has opened 3 new U.S. locations this week alone, including the Rockville store.

Photo courtesy REDI

RASA Indian restaurant opens in Rockville

RASA, a fast-casual Indian restaurant, has opened at 12033 Rockville Pike in the Montrose Crossing shopping center. The local chain's founders are natives of Montgomery County, but this is their first Maryland location. It replaces Slapfish at the Federal Realty development. RASA is open from 10:30 AM to 10:00 PM seven days a week.

New details on The Grove restaurant, opening soon at Cabin John Village in Potomac

I have some more information on The Grove, the new restaurant concept from the Common Plate Hospitality Group opening soon at 7747 Tuckerman Lane, at Cabin John Village in Potomac. The Grove's cuisine will be Belgian-inspired. The team opening the restaurant includes the partners behind the popular Mason Social in Alexandria, Chad Sparrow and Larry Walston, Jr. 

Common Plate and Guapo's veteran Jorge Figueredo will be The Grove's general manager. The Grove's operating hours will be 11:00 AM to 12:00 AM Sunday - Thursday, and 11:00 AM to 2:00 AM on Fridays and Saturdays. Lahinch Tavern and Grill was the previous tenant in the 4473-square-foot space.

Spicy McNuggets, Spicy McCrispy return; Strawberry Shortcake McFlurry debuts at McDonald's in Rockville

McDonald's has new, limited-time only menu items in Montgomery County, whether you are seeking something hot or cold. The fast food chain's popular Spicy Chicken McNuggets return for a third time. Also back for an encore are the Spicy McCrispy and Spicy Deluxe McCrispy chicken sandwiches. And for the first time, McDonald's is offering a Strawberry Shortcake McFlurry. It combines vanilla soft-serve ice cream with "strawberry flavored clusters," and shortbread cookies. 

Sneak peek: Capo Deli opening soon in Potomac (Photos)

Another day means another look at yet one more great dining addition to Cabin John Village in Potomac. Today, we're taking a sneak peek inside Capo Deli, opening soon at 7731 Tuckerman Lane. Founded by former Brickside Food & Drink co-owners Brian Vasile and Andy Seligman, the local Italian deli chain now has three locations in the region: Shaw and Western Market in Washington, D.C., and Tysons. 

Capo came to most people's attention via mass media coverage of its adult Capri Sun "Fauci Pouchy" cocktail early in the pandemic lockdown of 2020. It's still on the cocktail menu. A modest list of classic Italian dishes join an extensive selection of sandwiches - and, yes, cannoli is on the dessert menu.

Ốc & Crab Seafood Restaurant opens in Rockville

Ốc & Crab Seafood Restaurant has opened at 765-F Rockville Pike in the Ritchie Center. It is a Vietnamese seafood restaurant, located next to Gama Korean Chicken. Delivery and takeout orders can be placed on their website. Operating hours are 3:00 PM to 10:00 PM Monday to Friday, and 12:00 PM to 10:00 PM on Saturday and Sunday.

Colony Grill coming soon to Cabin John Village Center in Potomac (Photos)

The lineup of restaurants being assembled at the Cabin John Village Center in Potomac is simply amazing. Here comes another one - the first Maryland location of the Colony Grill. It doesn't sound like a pizzeria, but that's exactly what is. Colony Grill has been serving its famous "hot oil bar pie" pizza since 1935 in Stamford, Connecticut. 

There are 12 toppings you can put on this very-thin crust pizza that intentionally carries less cheese and sauce than the typical American pizza - but one with just the pepper-infused hot oil sauce is what the owners recommend. They also have a full-service bar with TVs. You can see they are also going to have a nice, elevated outdoor dining area for summer breezes.

The permanent sign is up outside the pizzeria. Inside, construction is well advanced. How good is the pizza at Colony Grill? Davey Pageviews gave it an 8.4 out of 10, high praise from a very tough pizza critic. Everybody knows the rules!

Montgomery County sheriff orders restaurant to vacate at Montgomery Mall

Butter Me Up, a breakfast-themed restaurant, has been evicted from Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda less than a year after opening. A "final notice" from the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office is posted outside the restaurant ordering the business to "vacate premises." It states that "The Sheriff will use whatever force necessary to gain entry into the premises for immediate removal of all persons and property." Behind the closed storefront gate, the contents of the restaurant have been left behind.

The restaurant group that owns Butter Me Up also owned the HalfSmoke kiosk in the mall's food court. It has also closed. These developments raise serious questions as to whether the company's long-delayed HalfSmoke location at Rockville Town Square will ever come to pass. No construction inside that location has taken place in the three years since the Rockville outpost was announced.

The Grove restaurant to open at Cabin John Village in Potomac

The trend of high-quality tenant additions continues at the revamped Cabin John Village shopping center in Potomac. A new restaurant called The Grove has leased the vacant restaurant space formerly home to Lahinch Tavern and Grill at 7747 Tuckerman Lane. All that is known at the moment is that The Grove will be a new dining concept from the Common Plate Hospitality restaurant group, which is already making a big push into Montgomery County with its upcoming food hall called The Heights in Chevy Chase.

HalfSmoke closes at Montgomery Mall in Bethesda

HalfSmoke has closed at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda. Its kiosk in the Dining Terrace food court has been totally cleared out, and signage removed. How this didn't work is a mystery, as they had a short but great menu. This venture opening and closing in the time since a long-delayed Rockville Town Square location of HalfSmoke was first announced does not bode well for that larger restaurant coming to fruition. No construction activity has been observed at the Rockville HalfSmoke space since "coming soon" signage was installed over the windows in November 2020(!!).

Botanero offering Passover meals to go in Rockville

Botanero at 800 Pleasant Drive in the King Farm Village Center in Rockville is offering a Passover Meal for Two for pickup on April 5 and 6 at the restaurant. The meal includes wine-braised brisket, chicken matzo ball soup, purple cabbage salad with cabernet vinaigrette, stuffed chicken breast with apricot glaze, carrot and sweet potato tzimmes, and flourless chocolate cake for dessert. It will serve 2 or 3 people, and provide some leftovers as well. You can order more than 1 for a bigger group.

The cost is $85.00 per 2-person meal. Orders must be placed by Monday, April 3, 2023. You can place your order online, and also include additional a la carte items from the Botanero menu for an extra cost, if you wish. 

Umi Sushi & Seafood Buffet "coming soon" to Rockville

Umi Sushi & Seafood Buffet is "coming soon" to 1471 Rockville Pike, according to a banner posted at the building. The large space was previously home to Miller's Ale House over the last decade. Umi promises "the largest and most elegant Chinese, Japanese and American cuisine restaurant." It appears to be a chain with locations in Brooklyn, Queens, and Brandon, Florida.

Paris Baguette "coming soon" to Rockville Town Square

Paris Baguette has posted "coming soon" signage at its future space at 101-A Gibbs Street at Rockville Town Square. The "neighborhood bakery cafe" chain sells a variety of breads, cakes, sandwiches, salads, coffee and tea. They'll go head-to-head with Fresh Baguette, located a few blocks north at 804 Hungerford Drive. When it opens, look for Paris Baguette next to El Mercat Bar de Tapas.

Pizza Hut opens new location in Rockville

Great news for fans of Pizza Hut in Rockville: A new Pizza Hut location has opened at 842-B Rockville Pike. Their hours are 10:00 AM to 11:00 PM Sundays-Thursdays, and 10:00 AM to Midnight on Fridays and Saturdays. While I'd still like to see the return of the full-service Pizza Hut restaurants, complete with red tumblers, vintage Tiffany Pizza Hut lamps, tabletop arcade games and jukeboxes, Pizza Hut still has the best pizza and breadsticks. Look for Pizza Hut next to Maki, across from Wintergreen Plaza.

St. Patrick's Day event at Finnegan's Wake in Rockville today

Keep the celebration of St. Patrick's Day going all weekend at Rockville Town Square. Irish pub Finnegan's Wake at 100 Gibbs Street will be hosting a special event today, March 18, 2023. Start with a St. Patrick's brunch at 10:00 AM. Then enjoy live music, face painting and a balloon twister from 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM.

McDonald's challenges Chick-fil-A with new lemonade

McDonald's has already attempted to muscle into the chicken sandwich market with the very Chick-fil-A-esque McCrispy. Its spare pickle accompaniment and buttered bun leaves no doubt as to which fast food chain inspired its inception. Now the Golden Arches are again displaying the sincerest form of flattery toward America's favorite closed-on-Sundays restaurant, with a new beverage many Chick-fil-A customers find goes best with that famous chicken sandwich: lemonade. It's appearing in select markets across America right now, including New York City, Dallas, Chicago, Seattle, and...Montgomery County, Maryland.

But this lemonade isn't what you might have expected, given McDonald's' Coca-Cola partnership. It would have been easy, cheap and predictable to simply promote Minute Maid Lemonade. After all, Minute Maid has one of the best store-bought lemonades on the market.

Pre-made bottled or frozen lemonades haven't been the tradition at Chick-fil-A, though, so McDonald's is again turning to a formula that has worked for its upstart competitor. Chick-fil-A lemonade is made with "three simple ingredients: real lemon juice, cane sugar and water," according to the company's website. The new McDonald's Lemonade is made with...real lemon juice, cane sugar and water. Chick-fil-A lemonade has bits of pulp in it, due to being squeezed from real lemons. McDonald's Lemonade also has bits of pulp in it.

Wow, what a coincidence!

It's safe to assume that if customer reaction is favorable enough, the new lemonade will be added to the menu nationwide. For now, check your local McDonald's in Montgomery County, and you can be one of the first in America to sample it. Even on Sundays.

Tara Thai closes at Montgomery Mall in Bethesda

Tara Thai has closed at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda. Signage has been removed from the exterior of the restaurant. This ends a long run in Bethesda by the local Thai chain, which was at Bethesda Row until 2015, when it relocated to the mall. Tara Thai's Rio location in Gaithersburg has also closed. The only good news is that this opens up a fairly large restaurant space at the mall for a new tenant. Which restaurant chain would you like to see here?

Bacon Ranch McCrispy arrives at McDonald's in Montgomery County

The new Bacon Ranch McCrispy has arrived at McDonald's restaurants in Montgomery County. While the limited-time-only menu item is scheduled to be available nationwide on March 13, 2023, it is popping up early at McDonald's locations in Montgomery County. The Bacon Ranch McCrispy sandwich features a "whole muscle chicken filet," topped with a special ranch sauce on both the top and bottom buns, applewood smoked bacon and crinkle-cut pickles. A Deluxe version adds sliced Roma tomatoes and shredded lettuce.

Rise Southern Biscuits & Righteous Chicken to hold Grand Opening event March 11 in Rockville

Rise Southern Biscuits & Righteous Chicken opened February 19 at 16248 Frederick Road at the Rock Grove shopping center. Now it will be holding a Grand Opening event on Saturday, March 11, 2023. There will be giveaways, and 10% of all sales that day will be donated to the Montgomery County Humane Society in Rockville. You can also enter now to possibly win free food for a year, meaning $10 per week in free food and drink at Rise. The winner's weekly stipend will be issued through the restaurant's Rewards program.

Photo courtesy Rise Southern Biscuits & Righteous Chicken