Downtown pizzerias show varying signs of progress

By Jennifer Deseo | Nov 17, 2009
Photo: Flippin' close to the finish. Credit: J. Deseo/SSP.

Photos: Flippin' close to the finish. Credit: J. Deseo/SSP.

UPDATE — On one end of downtown Silver Spring, a franchise pizzeria is poised to fling open its doors and sling a few pies into its ovens. At the other end, a locally owned parlor sprouts slowly from scratch. It’s the tale of two pizzerias on different tracks of development.

On Colesville Road near Ramsey Avenue, Flippin’ Pizza promises to deliver “a slice of New York” to Discovery HQ employees and other area office workers. A quick visual inspection Friday revealed workers adding final touches to the small restaurant’s lighting. An exposed-brick wall framed posters of the Brooklyn Bridge (holler!) and the New York skyline. Two wide wooden paddles hung on a wall behind the counter, next to flat, stacked pizza ovens.

A brief glimpse on Monday morning showed an orange ladder leaning against Flippin’ Pizza’s dining room wall.

Electrical workers inside the restaurant said on Oct 28 that the place would open for business the following week. Almost three weeks later, the place still isn’t open. However, Penguin ninja and Twitter buddy @joshourisman reported seeing employee training inside the place last week. (more…)

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Dining: Lizbeth’s Cafe

By Jennifer Deseo | Oct 28, 2009

REVIEW — Here’s a little archaeology to chew on: Domesticated chickens did not arrive in the New World on the Mayflower. They didn’t cluck their way across the Atlantic on the Nina, Pinta or Santa Maria, either. Suck it, Columbus.

Photo: Lizbeths broiled chicken, no thanks to Columbus. Credit: J. Deseo/SSP.

Photo: Lizbeth's broiled chicken, no thanks to Columbus. Credit: J. Deseo/SSP.

Instead, scientists believe the chicken — that plump, succulent fowl — came to South America from Polynesia long before the Europeans did, sometime around the 14th century. That means indigenous people in the Andes were cooking a mean rotisserie chicken while western Europeans were trying to beat the plague.

Those are the breaks. But it goes a long way to explain why South American (particularly Peruvian) roasters are so damn tasty. Centuries of working the bird, perfecting its cooking time, and honing the spices down to a science have paid off big time for modern restaurateurs.

To some extent, that culinary skill has transferred to the Salvadoran-run kitchen at Lizbeth’s Cafe. Keywords: to some extent.

On one hand (wing?), Lizbeth’s charcoal-broiled chicken really works. Its simple seasoning — nothing more than salt and pepper — allows one to enjoy the bird’s natural flavors. The skin remains crisp (not crunchy) and doesn’t get gooey or droopy with the weight of caramelized sugars. It’s the meat that stays sweet, with hints of corn and whatever that bird ate before its demise. (more…)

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Dining: Mayorga Coffee Factory

By Jennifer Deseo | Oct 8, 2009
Photo: A little bit of everything from Mayorgas brunch buffet. Credit: J. Deseo/SSP.

Photo: A little bit of everything from Mayorga's brunch buffet. Credit: J. Deseo/SSP.

REVIEW — If breakfast is the most important meal of the day, then where does brunch fit into that equation? That bizarro hybrid of morning carbs and midday protein gives the meal some significance, but just how much?

At Mayorga Coffee’s $13 Sunday buffet, brunch ranks in importance somewhere between that second cup of coffee you really didn’t need, and the stale donut you really didn’t want. Yep, it’s that bad. (more…)

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Ethiopian restaurant to replace Mexican cafe on Georgia Ave

By Jennifer Deseo | Oct 6, 2009

Say adios to one Mexican dive, and hello to another Ethiopian restaurant.

Photo: Coming soon. Credit: J. Deseo/SSP.

Photo: Coming soon. Credit: J. Deseo/SSP.

Tijuana’s Mexican Cafe, a dark hole with cheesy atmosphere and cheap food to match its namesake, closed shop on Georgia Avenue at Mayor’s Promenade. It’s not known when it served its last nacho, but a real-estate listing this spring put some part of the building for sale at $250,000.

In Tijuana’s place will be Abyssinia, an Ethiopian restaurant. A “coming soon” banner hung above the doorway in the shade of Tijuana’s weathered green awning, where speakers mounted on the building’s exterior still blared weather and traffic reports from a local radio station.

No opening date has been announced, but a loud orange poster in the restaurant’s front window announced an Oct 15 hearing with the county’s liquor control board. (more…)

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The Potable Penguin: A snap to the palate

By Michael Kent Cornett | Sep 25, 2009

Pucela Viura Sauvignon Blanc 2008 is a mid-priced, dry white wine that delivers a pleasant drinking experience. It’s not fancy, but it is light and doesn’t have an overly sweet, thick effect when consumed. This makes it useful on the table as a good before-dinner sip, a during-dinner swig, and a between-course palate freshener.

Credit: MK Cornett for The Penguin.

Credit: MK Cornett for The Penguin.

It’s a Spanish wine that’s half Viura (also known as Macabeo) and half Sauvignon blanc. Both components are dry, but Sauvignon blanc tends to be tart. The moderately acidic Viura mutes that tartness, while the Sauvignon blanc lends zing to the Viura. It’s what makes Pucela work for those who find Sauvignon blanc alone to be too sharp.

Pucela’s acidic quality gives the palate a nice snap — a bit of sharpness that then goes away. There’s also a hint of apple and pear to it, but it comes without layering flavor after flavor. This is no alcoholic smoothie. Like a crisp apple, the flavors are not overpowering or overly sweet. (more…)

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Dining: Dama Cafe

By Jennifer Deseo | Sep 23, 2009
Photo: Do it.

Photos: Do it (top); dont do it (bottom). Credit: J. Deseo/SSP.

REVIEW — Here’s the good news about that house-turned-restaurant on Roeder Road, the one tucked behind the county’s liquor depot: The cakes are amazing! Here’s the bad news: One must endure mediocre Ethiopian food before getting to dessert.

That’s just how things roll at Dama Cafe — weak, even bad wots washed down with an orgasmic zuppa inglese chaser. The dichotomy makes it downtown Silver Spring’s worst Ethiopian restaurant, and the best coffee house in the county.

First, the entrees. The cafe’s vegetarian combo ($12 at lunch, right) is a bipolar plate of sauteed cabbage and collard greens, various red and yellow stews, and fit fit (more on that later). The cabbage’s mustard-yellow tinge might lead one to expect a spicy kick, but it’s pleasantly sweet and slightly buttery. The collards are, well, collards: a little bitter, a little tough. (more…)

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