White House Beer Reviewed, Rockville Restaurants in 'Top 40'

Get caught up with the food scene in Montgomery County and adjacent Washington, DC, neighborhoods with "1 Meat, 3 Sides." This week, The Washington Post's "Fall Dining Guide" takes center plate:

One Meat:

The Post's "Fall Dining Guide"—featuring Post restaurant critic Tom Sietsema's top 40 picks in the Maryland-Virginia-DC region—is out, and a few restaurants in Montgomery County made the cut:

• A & J Restaurant (1319 Rockville Pike, Rockville)
• La Limeña (765 Rockville Pike, Suite A, Rockville)
• Laco Melza Ethio Cafe (Silver Spring)

All three restaurants received two stars. Read the full list on The Post's website.

Three Sides:

Bobby's Burger Palace, the burger chain launched by celebrity chef Bobby Flay, could be opening a new location within a year at the Westfield Montgomery Mall, Bethesda Magazine reported. The new location of the eatery is part of a major expansion planned for the shopping center, which will include renovations to the food court and a new movie theater.

"Some of the menu items [at Bobby's Burger Palace] include the 'Miami Burger,' with ham, Swiss cheese and pickles; the 'LA Burger,' with avocado relish, watercress, cheddar cheese and tomato; and the 'Napa Valley' burger, with goat cheese and lemon honey mustard," Bethesda Patch reported.

Read more on Bethesda Magazine's website and on Bethesda Patch.

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Terasol—a Parisian cafe/art gallery south of Chevy Chase Circle—has a new chef: Hector Guerra, from The Caucus Room, in downtown Washington, DC, The Washington Post reported.

To entice Guerra from The Caucaus Room to Terasol, owner Alan Moin had to upgrade the kitchen, at Guerra's request, The Post reported:

"He didn’t have a kitchen," says Guerra, whose idea of a proper workspace includes more than a convection oven, an electric stovetop and a refrigerator. "For me to come" from the Caucus Room downtown, "I couldn’t just do sandwiches. I wanted to do some real cooking." 

Read more on The Post's website.

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The New York Times' dining section recently enlisted Garrett Oliver, brew master at Brooklyn Brewery, to brew up a batch of the White House's honey beer recipe, published on the White House blog on Sept. 1. The beer received a favorable rating from The Times' Eric Asimov:

The aromas were floral with a touch of orange and a metallic note that I sometimes find in honey. On the palate, it was breezy, fresh, tangy and lightly bitter, not bone dry but not at all sweet. I could sense the honey in the round, rich texture of the beer: thickness without weight, like a chenin blanc wine. The soft carbonation enhanced the texture. It didn’t have the insistent rush of bubbles that you would find in a mass-produced beer, or the snappy twang of a pilsner, but rather the soft fizz of a British hand-cranked cask ale.

Read more on The Times' website.

See photos of the White House's beehive and kitchen garden on Chevy Chase Patch.

Dessert:

Fans of celebrity chef Bryan Voltaggio's cooking soon will have two places to go in Chevy Chase to sample his creations: Range and Civil Lounge—scheduled to open later this fall or this winter at the Chevy Chase Pavilion, which is undergoing a $32-million renovation.

Range is slated to open in mid-November in a 14,000-square-foot space in the upscale shopping center, Patch reported. Next to Range will be Civil Lounge, a "105-seat lounge [that] will offer beer, wine and a large selection of spirits," in addition to cigars. Read more on Chevy Chase Patch.