Washington DC

A Lesson in Cooking

Don't know the difference between a saute and a simmer? The academy has got your back. I visited the school last week for a group cooking lesson called 'Moroccan Delights' on the wonders of Moorish cuisine. Although the academy offers more rigorous classes, the dishes prepared during 'Moroccan Delights' were fairly easy and quite suitable for a beginner chef. The lesson was run by a head instructor who walked the participants through each dish before sending the group to a fully stocked test kitchen. Once ushered to tables of 4 to 5 people, the various recipes were divvied up and several assistant instructors hovered about offering helpful cooking hints. Throughout the lesson, class participants noshed on samples of cheese, olives, almond milk (surprisingly delicious), and of course, drank several modest glasses wine. It's definitely a fun thing to do with a group of friends, although the lesson may seem a bit too elementary for even moderately skilled home cooks. However, for those of you perplexed by the instructions on the back of your blue Kraft Macaroni & Cheese box, this class might be just what you need.

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Landmarks • Downtown Bethesda

Telling It Like It Is

Most Bethesda-ites will claim that the best (and only) old school greasy spoon in town is the Tastee Diner. Well, they're wrong on both counts. The menus are similar, but since both places are strictly cheeseburger-centric, that's hardly a surprise. However, from atop a white vinyl barstool at the old-fashioned lunch counter, burger in hand, the differences are readily apparent--the food is better crafted and the crowd is less truck driver than it is high school student (kids from neighboring BCC clog this place during weekday lunch hours). Don't worry--Peter's is still far from trendy. This is no-frills and grease done the right way in a suburb where it's increasingly difficult to find anything genuine.

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Restaurants • Downtown Bethesda

Death to Smooching Chipotle

When this place originally opened, it was little more than a roadside stand shoved into a gardening shed, had no sign or posted hours and you practically needed a Spanish dictionary to place an order. A few years late, the place is still a closet, but any fears of possible food poisoning have long subsided. In an area rife with corporate competition (there's a California Tortilla, a Baja Fresh and a Chipotle all within walking distance), this is the only mom-and-pop burrito place in the game. It's a little joint with a big menu... and they have the common courtesy to not (ahem) charge a buck seventy-five for guacamole.

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Restaurants • Downtown Bethesda

Meat If You're Hungry

The latest addition to Bethesda's dining scene is BGR, an informal spot for great hamburgers—-from bacon cheeseburgers to lobster rolls to Cuban sandwiches. Gourmet in quality, but with an informal, throwback atmosphere, BGR served me a basic burger, plain fries, and a chocolate shake--and all three met my very high and fancy expectations. But the menu's piece de resistance is the Nine Pounder. Topped with two heads of lettuce, six tomatoes, two red onions, four whole pickles, and plenty of ketchup and mustard, it weighs in at over 15 pounds. And if you can eat the $80 burger in one sitting, it's on the house. Conveniently, it's served not with a Dogfish Head draft or vanilla coke, but a bottle of Maalox. Bon appetit!

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Restaurants • Downtown Bethesda

Tia Queta

Now that summer has come and the temperature has risen, it's time to start picking your dining destinations by more relevant criteria, e.g., does this restaurant have a patio and/or rooftop? And more specifically, can I drink a margarita on this patio and/or rooftop? Many will head straight to Lauriol Plaza and never look back. Others will opt for La Frontera Cantina on 17th Street (good people-watching), Guapo's in Tenleytown, Alero in Cleveland Park, or Cactus Cantina by the Cathedral (LP's less glamorous sibling). I will add yet another to the list—Tia Queta in downtown Bethesda. With a rooftop and patio rolled into one, this wonderful Mexican restaurant has it all. And by that I mean great food and strong, oversized margaritas. I've never had to wait for a table, and chances are that you and a few others will have the whole outdoor area to yourselves. The atmosphere is very casual and relaxing, so go ahead and sip high up on the roof. If you're lucky you may just catch a sunset.

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Restaurants • Downtown Bethesda

Louisiana Express Company

There must have been some good ol’ days to Bethesda, before it got well-heeled and over-stuffed with everything upscale. My evidence: The scuffed walls, the sticky vinyl tablecloths, and the shamelessly dirty shade of pistachio-pudding green ceiling tiles of the Louisiana Express Company. It looks like a roadside dive found on some lonesome stretch in Cajun country, but it’s located within spitting distance of the glitzy Bethesda Rolls Royce dealerships. The Louisiana native will doubtlessly complain that these guys don’t serve up authentic Cajun and creole fair—but, hey, it’s Bethesda for crying out loud. The Louisiana Express Company specialties are po-boys with cornmeal breaded shrimp or scallops. These sandwiches are meals unto themselves. The gumbo is rich and spicy. And the weekly specials are always a treat—last week, they had Alligator stew.

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Restaurants • Downtown Bethesda

Big Planet Comics

The comic book nerd in me wants to say, “Dude, this place is awesome, and I could hang out here forever.” It has wall-to-wall comics and graphic novels, plus a staff with impeccable knowledge and understanding of the intricacies of superhero genealogy (including their obligatory deaths and soon-there-after resurrections). What’s best about this store is that they don’t waste your time with loads of back-stock and collectable issues. Everything here is new, and it’s obvious that these guys are all about the story and not how much they can ring out of you for the first issue of Doom Patrol.

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Bookstores , Shopping • Downtown Bethesda

Union Jacks

In a part of Bethesda where most bars are just respectable restaurants posing as a bar, Union Jacks is the real thing. It has that faux-British pub atmosphere, and its idea of a special event is watching televised sports. Jacks has too many drink specials to write about here, but unless you’re taking in a mid-day brew, most nights you won’t pay full price. The food is a little above standard bar food, but don’t expect to eat anything here that you won’t feel tomorrow morning. Some nights the DJ turns the volume way above comfortable shouting level, and communication could be better done with pen and paper—or by just leaving.

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Nightlife • Downtown Bethesda