Greek Village - Silver Spring, MD

During my middle and high school years, I lived in the Colesville area of Silver Spring. I used to walk to the Giant, buy bread at Upper Crust Bakery, get boutineers at the florist, but I had never gone to Greek Village until now! How unacceptable. Luckily for me, one of my family friends was celebrating her birthday in that very restaurant. There is plenty of free parking with the closest metro stop being Glenmont on the red line.

The interior is spacious with Greek themed decor like the colors, paintings and murals.

On Monday nights, a live jazz band plays during dinner! They're actually pretty good and there is space for people to dance, but no one did. Since it's not a huge restaurant, the music can get loud and make it hard to talk.

I love Greek food. My uncle (through marriage obviously) is a 1st generation Greek immigrant, so I've had the chance to grow up eating it. Sorry guys, I don't have prices (I suck and lost my notes somehow!) but it's an affordable restaurant with a large menu of many typical Greek dishes.

Many of the entrees came with a choice of soup or salad. I ordered a cup of the Avgolemono (Greek Lemon and Rice Soup). It was delicious! There was a nice tang from the lemon and the texture was thick from the rice. I could go for some right now!

I ordered the Moussaka (Minced meat, eggplant and bachamel sauce), which actually was kind of cold when it arrived. I enjoy the hint of cinnamon that is typical of the dish, and I liked the huge portion size. I took most of it home since I would've exploded eating the whole slice.

My cousin (with the Greek dad) ordered the Spanakopita (Spinach Pie), which was SO GOOD. It was half the plate, and had the right amount of salty feta cheese and spinach. I'm ordering this next time I go. It was flaky and hot. The fries that came with her meal were beer battered and I was in love with them too.

The bf (the meat-lover) ordered Chicken with Lemon (not the exact name), which he found very moist. He found the lemon flavor to vary depending on the bite. He liked the portion size, but wasn't impressed.

Happy Birthday girl!

It was nice to finally try this place. We had a large group, so food took some time to come out but the server was nice. It's a very relaxed, family atmosphere. I enjoyed the food and the jazz band was nice entertainment on a Monday night.

13476 New Hampshire Ave
Silver Spring, MD 20904
(301) 879-2877

Oriental East- Silver Spring, MD

Hey Everyone! Rarely do I do anything before noon on a Sunday, but my friend Big Joe asked me if I wanted to try this popular dim sum place called Oriental East. Located in a shopping center, there's plenty of free parking. The closest metro stop is Silver Spring on the red line.

He tells me he's getting there 30 minutes early to stand in line before it opens. Line?! lol. The picture only shows half of the line. The rest of it is wrapped around the back of the building. Thankfully we were a little bit ahead of the halfway point.

Once the doors opened, the line moved VERY fast and we were seated immediately. It's a very large dining room with a lot of tables. Seems like a wider path for the dim sum carts to roll through too.

We shared 6 different items, and tried not to fill up on veggies, rice or noodles. This might not look like a lot of food, but we were stuffed!

'Taro Dumpling' ($2.75). This is a favorite of mine.

'Steamed Shrimp Dumplings' ($2.75). Really good with the pre-poured soy sauce.

'Shrimp w/Garlic, Green Onions and Jalapenos' ($?). It is more flavorful to eat it with the shell on.

'Dried Scallop Dumplings' ($2.75). Joe heard the word 'Scallop' and we had to get one.

'Shui Mai' ($2.75). This is a dim sum classic.

'Fried Fun-Gor' ($2.75). Reminded me of an empanada, but fried.

Every item was delicious, and I didn't have to use any soy sauce because they were all seasoned well. The service was fast and the carts were constantly coming by. If you like a more relaxed environment, I wouldn't recommend this place because it's crowded with lots of stuff going on. Cheap food with items ranging from $2.50-3.00. Sunday is the biggest dim sum day, so it is recommended that you come early to get in with the 1st seating. The food is fresher and your favorite items won't be sold out yet.

1312 E West Hwy
Silver Spring, MD 20910
(301) 608-0030
Website

Sun-Thurs: 11am-10pm
Fri-Sat: 11am-11pm
Dim Sum (Served Daily): 11am-3pm

Addis Ababa- Silver Spring, MD

I had promised my friend for years that I would try Ethiopian food, and it FINALLY happened! A group of us went to his uncle's place called Addis Ababa in Silver Spring. There is a metered parking lot across the street, as well as metered street parking, which are both free on the weekends. The closest metro stop is Silver Spring on the red line.

There are 2 levels to this restaurant. This is the 1st floor, which seems to have lower tables, seats smaller groups and has more traditional decor.

We had a group of 8, and we sat on the 2nd floor. It was a very large room, which felt like we were sitting outside. There were heat lamps around to keep us warm when the sun began to set. There was a TV and a bar and the tables were standard size.

Before trying Ethiopian cuisine, people were scaring me, "It's tastes weird or the bread is gross". However after trying it, I actually really like it! Granted, I think I have a pretty adventurous palate and I'm a huge fan Bizarre Foods, so this wasn't that odd to me. It reminded me of Indian food because of the texture, use of many spices and bread, but it doesn't have the same flavor when you eat it.

The Injera (bread) is what is used to pick up the food. There are no utensils and food is also served on a big plate of it. Once the meal is over, you can eat the bread because it has soaked up the flavor from sauces. It tastes similar to sourdough and is very flat, spongy and slighlty cold.

Everything had great flavor, nothing was overly spicy either. Sometimes its a bit messy or difficult to rip the meat off of the chicken bones, but nothing to dampen the mood. Every dish had a unique flavor and I really liked the raw Kitfo too! That might scare some of you (like the bf) but I'd order it again. I ordered the only vegetarian dish (Yatakilt Wat) and everyone liked it too.

Here's what we ordered (the numbers correlate with the photo below):
1. Dora Alitcha (Curried chicken cooked with seasoned butter, onions, green pepper, garlic and ginger. Served with hard boiled egg) for $11.25.
2. Kitfo (Minced meat seasoned with herbed butter and hot red pepper. Served with special seasoned cheese. WELL DONE) for $12.
3. Yatakilt Wat (Fresh carrots, potatoes, string beans and peppers cooked with turmeric, seasoned and spiced) for $9.25.
4. I'm not sure what this is, because by process of elimination, this should've been the Sambusa appetizer, but it's not. Sorry guys!
5. Yeburg Alicha (Fresh and tender lamb cooked with turmeric, onion, garlic and pepper) for $11.
6. Doro Wat (Chicken leg seasoned with onions, garlic, fresh ginger, hot peppers cooking red wine, and finally simmered with berbere sauce. Served with hard boiled egg) for $11.25.
7. Kitfo (Minced meat seasoned with herbed butter and hot red pepper. Served with special seasoned cheese. RAW) for $12.

I took a sip of this Ethiopian 'Harrar Beer' ($5.50) from one of my friends, liked it so much and ordered my own. It was a little sweeter in flavor.

I've known these guys for a long time and as we grow older it's hard to keep in touch, so it was a good time to catch up, eat and laugh. We headed to McGinty's after dinner for some drinks. As you can see, I was sporting the 'Asian Glow.'

Who says you have to go to Adams Morgan for good Ethiopian food because I had a great meal there. Our server was super nice and humored me when I tried to pronounce my dish's name. Our water glasses and Injera baskets were always being refilled. The price for 8 people including alcohol was $117, which is a great deal considering we were all stuffed and were able to taste 9 different things on the plate. Our appetizer was missing, however no one noticed it and I only did because I had to write about it, so it didn't mess up our night at all.
It's a fun dinner since everyone is huddling around the food and comparing each item. My friends who have never had Ethiopian food really enjoyed the meal too. I'd say for those who are skeptical, take baby steps and order something like a chicken curry as opposed to raw beef. Also, just think of the bread as the soft inside part of a sourdough loaf, and you'll be fine. Try something new people!

8233 Fenton Street
Silver Spring, MD 20910-4503
(301) 589-1400
Website

Azucar- Silver Spring, MD

I met up with my long-time friend "Umbrella" for some dinner and catching up. We tried to pick a restaurant that was in between our places, and we decided on Azucar (Fine Mexican, Latin American Cuisine). Located on Layhill Rd with the closest metro stop being Glenmont on the red line. It's in a shopping center with a large parking lot, however every time I go, finding parking can be a little challenging.

There are two parts to this restaurant: a dining room and a room with a bar. We sat in the dining and it was packed! It was Wednesday, and we took one of the last tables. You can't tell what that interior looks like from the outside because of the curtains.
The decor is very warm with votive candles, wall lighting, and colorful walls. The white linen table clothes and napkins are a nice touch too. They do go for a romantic mood, so it can be a bit dim in there.

I think all places should serve chip/dip or bread/butter because people get hungry! The chips were fresh and light with a nice salsa.

My girl ordered the 'Nachos- corn chips, topped with refried beans, Monterrey Jack cheese, guacamole, sour cream and Pico De Gallo' for $7.95. I liked how the chips were spread out on the plate so the toppings could cover everyone. She let me try one, and you can't go wrong ordering this dish.

I decided to order the 'Carne Asada- 10 oz. of grilled marinated Skirt Steak served with salad' for $14.95.' It was very tender, cooked the way I like, and seasoned well. The plate was huge! I ate all of the steak with no problem.


The rice and black beans are the BEST I've ever had. The rice is buttery and light, and the black beans had so much flavor. I loved it so much.

They have a great menu with a salads, meats, seafood and specialities. The staff was very attentive with water, etc. I enjoyed all the food I tried, and the place was packed. I might just come back for the rice and beans, haha. The entree price range is large, between $11-50. Maybe I'll try the beef tongue tacos for fun. Also, check out the bar side. It's a separate room from the dining area so you can't hear the TVs or bar talk. On Sundays they offer a Brunch menu from 11am-3pm.

14418 Layhill Rd
Silver Spring, MD 20906-1911
301) 438-3293
Website

Sunday - Thursday 11:00 AM to 11:00 PM,
Friday & Saturday: 11:00 AM to Midnight

Mandalay Restaurant & Cafe - Silver Spring, MD

A week or 2 ago I got to try Mandalay Restaurant & Cafe in Downtown Silver Spring. It is about a block away from the new town center part, and the closest metro stop is Silver Spring on the Red line.

This is a Burmese restaurant which serves food from Myanmar, formerly known as Burma. For those of you that have never heard for this country it is located in in Asia in between China, Laos, Thailand, Bangladesh, India, and the sea. Due to it's geographical location its cuisine shares similar characteristics with its bordering neighbors.

The restaurant is located on a small side street that has limited meter parking. There are metered city parking lots close by and a garage on Wayne Ave one block away that is free at night.

Walking into the foyer of the place you will notice around 30 dining awards on the wall from newspapers, Washingtonian Magazine, etc. Sorry I don't have a pic!

The interior of the place reminded me of a chinese restaurant. Large enough space, large round tables in the center, and framed pictures on the walls. There wasn't anything too glamourous about the decor. They did have hanging christmas lights around, however they weren't turned on.

As you can see the place was PACKEDDDDDDD. It was a saturday night around 7:30pm, but only waited about 15 minutes. What is nice is you can wait in their lounge room off to the left. Sorry no pics! But there is a bar, bar tables, a very large plasma screen tv, and random decor.

There are 4-person booths along one wall, and that is where we were sitting. Throughout the night I think we had like 4 different servers help us, so it was a bit slow sometimes.

Let's talk about the menu. It is a large menu with vegetarian dishes, seafood, poultry, beef and pork. However if you pay close attention, they're pretty much all the same dishes just with different meat. Curry dishes make up a large portion of the menu. They also offer room-temperature noodles, which everyone at my table was afraid to try. You are also able to specify the spiciness of your dish ranging from none, mild, medium, hot and extra hot.

Along with my water I ordered an 'Iced LaPetYay' which is Black tea with condensed milk and sugar for $1.99. It was good and strong.

For our appetizer we ordered the 'Gram Fritter ' which are deep fried patties of yellow split peas, ginger, garlic, and cilantro blended together. An order came with 4 for $4.99. It was super yummy, crispy, freshly fried, and flavorful in the middle.

The Gram Fritters came with a sweet and spicy dipping sauce. Similar in consistancy with duck sauce at chinese restaurants.

Onto entrees. Everyone at our table got some sort of curry since it seemed like a speciality. Two of my cousins ordered the same thing with different spice levels. They ordered the 'AMeThar ALoo Hin', sliced beef and lightly fried potato simmered in onion-tomato base curry for $12.99 each. The one below is the spicy version. As you can see the curry is redder, and there are a ton of pepper flakes all over it. It had a warm flavor to it. Definetly spicy, with a bit of cinnamon. The potatoes were very tender as well as the beef. The curries were served with jasmine rice, which by the way was cooked perfectly and soaked up all the liquids.

This was the mild version of the beef and potato curry. Delicious as well, but sometimes its better to have a little kick.

My bf ordered the 'KyetThar ALoo Hin (dark meat)', chicken chunks and lightly fried potato simmered in onion base curry for $11.99. It's the same curry as the other 2, but it was with chicken. He ordered it extra spicy, and he was definetly hurting during it. Some places will claim their dishes are spicy when they really aren't. However when Mandalay says it's spicy/extra spicy, your nose will run, and you will sweat!

I ordered a seafood curry called, 'Ngar MaGeeThee Hin', lightly fried catfish simmered in onion-tomato base curry with tamarind and green pepper for $11.99. You can get this dish with salmon if you'd prefer. I got it in mild because I was nervous about the spiciness, however it wasn't spicy at all. The fish was cooked well and breaded, the green peppers were still crisp and the curry was flavorful. It was a bit sour from the tamarind, which was different from the other curries. Burmese curries seemed to differ from Indian curries and Thai curries in that they are more runny/liquidy, and are more tomato-based. But similar to Indian curries, there are a ton of different spices it in to give huge, bold flavor.

For dessert we decided to try the 'Sticky Rice with brown Sugar & Coconut' for $2.99. It was served hot, and was very sweet. It was very tasty, but very think and heavy to eat. It was hard to eat it because we were stuffed from the other foods, but we ordered 2 anyway.


I would recommend this place to those who aren't afraid of bold flavors or trying something new. The prices are good, the portions are manageable, and the food is very tasty and spicy if you like that sort of thing. It's good for group dinners because they have tables to accomodate large parties. An enjoyable, laid-back dining expirience.

Open Every Day:
Mon-Thurs 11:30am-10pm
Fri-Sat 11:30am-10:30pm
Sun 12pm-10pm
Closed 3-5pm Every Day

930 Bonifant St.
Silver Spring, MD 20910-4514
301 585 0500

Website