The Silver Spring Penguin

As a native New Yorker, I’m an immense fan of street food, that breed of cuisine that’s too pedestrian for fine dining, yet too delectable to leave on the curb. Whether it’s a dirty-water dog or an oversalted pretzel, street food binds the cerebral, sometimes pretentious sensation that is taste with the carnal, always gratifying experience of consumption.

So it was with a good bit of squealing glee that I greeted the new Pupuseria El Oasis on Georgia Avenue. Sure, there are plenty of places in Wheaton that pay homage to the El Salvadoran stuffed flatbread. They even appear on the menus of some of downtown’s “Mexican” restaurants.

But Pupuseria El Oasis has a tough role to fill, as it straddles the culinary divide between old and new downtown Silver Spring. A few doors to its north are the nouvelle cuisine of Nicaro and a casual but tidy Olazzo. Just south of the pupuseria is Tijuana’s, a Tex-Mex dive that sticks true to its namesake.

Can street food like the pupusa bridge so wide a gap? That depends on what’s ordered, and whether one carries enough cash to aquire it. (more…)

It’s that time of year when pink blossoms pop from cherry trees, and everyone starts jonesing for sushi. Why crave raw fish wrapped seaweed and not cherry pie or cherry cobbler? Probably because cherry trees along The District’s Tidal Basin were gifts from the Japanese government and blah blah blah. Whatever.

If cherry blossom season has you itching for unagi and dreaming of wasabi, you can score your fix at a couple of joints in downtown Silver Spring:

Asian Bistro
8537 Georgia Ave, (301) 589-0123 

This bright restaurant, parked on premium real estate in the Downtown Silver Spring shopping center, does sushi as well as Chinese and Japanese entrees. Penguin taste testers went nuts for the Chinese dishes in July 2007, but a couple of readers were quick to sing praise for the sushi.

“I keep going back for the sushi,” Penguin reader Jimmy wrote. “Among the freshest I have ever had, which is strange for a restaurant that doesn’t exclusively serve Japanese food.”

“The sushi is quite good, and I know my sushi — much better than Sushi Jin” on Fenton Street, wrote Silver Spring Resident.

But Asian Bistro’s sushi bar had its detractors. Penguin reader Thayer Ave, Too was less than impressed with the freshness and construction. “Sushi shouldn’t smell fishy, and the rolls shouldn’t fall apart before you can get them to your mouth,” the comment read.

Then, in February 2008, the quality of Asian Bistro’s Chinese options went downhill, according to some Penguin readers. “I used to go there all the time, but I went about a month ago and it was not good,” Penguin reader Courtney reported.

“The sauce on my veggie chicken and broccoli was congealed and looked like it had been sitting out for a long time before I got it. My friend’s orange chicken looked old, too,” she added. “Maybe they were just having a bad day, but I haven’t been back since.”

It’s unclear whether the sushi selection has suffered the same fate. Asian Bistro is officially on notice for another review.

Pomegranate Cafe
1215 East-West Hwy, (301) 562-9400

Here’s another place that started out with a bang, quickly changed management, and is now waiting to emerge from the dust cloud. In December 2008, Penguin taste testers had decent things to say about the sushi lunch special, which kicked it with three pieces of nigiri and eight bite-sized California rolls.

The raw tuna and salmon nigiri tasted, well, like raw fish. But the California rolls’ imitation crab meat had a fresh, taut texture and worked well against the softer (but not squishy) avocado. The smoky seaweed balanced out the sweetness, and tiny orange pearls of fish roe added pop to every bite.

The spicy tuna roll also got mad props for its finely chopped but not mealy tuna, spicy (though not spicy ass) sauce, and cool mayo for balance.

Three months after opening, the South Silver Spring restaurant found itself under new management. Penguin taste testers have not been back since the change, but one reader gave the new Pomegranate Cafe a clear thumbs down. Bill the Guy wrote:

They don’t serve nigiri sushi any longer, much to my disappointment. The sushi bento is large but unrewarding, the sushi being poorly made California rolls. 

I ordered a sushi bento after my friend. The new guy rang it up as $8,466.6666. I had never seen a cash register do that. He had no idea how to fix it, turned the register off and pressed a lot of buttons until it went away. He rang it up again as $8,450.00. 

After he finally got that correct, I waited patiently for my lunch. As my friends were half-finished, I asked about my bento box. Apparently no one ever told the cooks to make me one, one of said cooks being the woman I watched tell the other cook, the alleged sushi chef, to make me one.

They presented the bento box well after my friends had finished, so I asked to have to prepared to go. I ate lunch at my desk.

Oh, and they forgot the wasabi.

The Pomegranate Cafe breaks the Penguin newsroom’s record for being placed on notice so soon after a positive review.

Sushi Jin
8555-A Fenton St, (301) 608-0990 

Oofah, you know things can’t be good when a review starts like this:

Downtown’s Sushi Jin has a choice to make. It can dim the lights, crank up the techno and become Silver Spring’s next scene. Or it can stay on its current path to mediocrity. For now, expect unremarkable sushi, boring teriyaki, unappetizing prices and muzak so painfully bad, it would trigger spontaneous hara-kiri.

That was back in March 2007, and Penguin readers were quick to concur at the time. Things might have changed since, but Sushi Jin’s bland fish, overly sweet rice and steep prices haven’t given Penguin taste testers the impetus to try this joint again.

Spring Garden
8613 16th St, (301) 588-9337 

Yet another restaurant that does decent (or at least edible) Chinese food with a sushi bar on the side. In an May 2007 open letter to county council member and trans-fat hater Duchy Trachtenberg, I asked rhetorically: “With such good food from the fryer, how can trans fats be so bad?”

The 16th Street joint really does a mean deep fry — whether that’s the General Tso’s chicken, prawns with walnuts, or crispy beef strips. But Penguin taste testers haven’t given the sushi bar a shot, nor have Penguin readers submitted comments on the matter. It’s an open case.

Blue Pearl Buffet and Grill
8661 Colesville Rd, Silver Spring, (301) 565-4334 

One must question the wisdom of culling every form of bad mall food — greasy Chinese, cheap Mexican, and dull sushi — then splaying it on a buffet table. It’s a bad idea. A really bad one. Just don’t.

I’m a Brooklyn Penguin by birth, but back in the day, I used to kick it in a part of Queens, NY, called Astoria. Clumped beneath the elevated N line and sitting along an East River channel known as Hell’s Gate, Astoria is the epicenter of Greek-American life in New York City.

You want the best souvlaki in town? Go to Astoria. You want dolmades and garlic-stuffed olives by the pound? Go to Astoria. You want a plate of kokoretsi and manestra, with a chocolate mouse for dessert? Go to Astoria. Opa!

Of course, a schlep to Astoria from Silver Spring isn’t practical, but a short walk to The Big Greek Cafe on Georgia Avenue is no problem. And the food’s nearly just as good.

For carnivores, the gyro pita ($6.50, above) is a good pick. Beef and lamb are ground together and remoulded into a massive loaf. (Think Spam with half the salt and none of the gelatinous texture.) That loaf is roasted, then shaved into thin pieces of amalgamated protein, rolled in warm pita bread, and served with tomatoes, red onions and tzaziki (their spelling, not mine) sauce.

The meat has a nice texture, not chewy or tough like straight beef, not spongy like other restaurants’ gyros. And its flavor leans towards beef — a little sweet where roasting has caramelized it — and not as gamey as straight lamb. It’s also well seasoned, leaving out the heavy salt that processed meats generally pack.

The pita blanket stands up to the meat without becoming a soggy mess or a tenacious chew toy. And the tzaziki sauce — tangy yogurt with a cool hint of cucumber and bright dill — really rounds out the sandwich with a zing. It’s good eats.

If grazing is your thing, the big Greek salad ($8) is a good way to go. It’s standard Romaine lettuce with tomato and cucumber slices, crumbled feta cheese and kalamata olives. But the vinaigrette gives the whole thing a robust oregano kick. It’s a pleasant change from the mundane oil-and-vinegar jobs found at other local restaurants.

For a couple of bucks more, diners can score Yia Yia Lea’s grilled shrimp salad ($10, above). That’s the same veggies as above, topped with delectibly plump pieces of grilled shrimp. Nice.

Another Greek fave is spanakopita, offered as an appetizer ($6) or as part of a platter (below) with salad and a side order ($8). Traditionally, this version of spinach pie has a dense layer of feta-infused greens seasoned with dill, dill and more dill, and baked in flaky layers of buttery phyllo dough.

However, The Big Greek Cafe’s version is a little slim on the spinach, light on the dill, and encased in an oily, heavier version of phyllo. It’s also served as one triangular pouch, like an oversized appetizer at a cocktail party, instead of a slice from a larger pan. Take it if you really need the fix. Skip it if you don’t.

All of the restaurant’s platters offer a choice of side orders: roasted, lemony potatoes (yay!); heavy, limp french fries (meh); string beans, manestra (orzo pasta in tomato sauce) and a rice pilaf (not sampled).

The place itself has a cozy, casual feel, with contemporary Greek music blasting on the radio, an Orthodox Madonna and child on the back wall, and a guy named Nick behind the counter. Service is quick, but expect uninitiated customers to cause mild delays while studying the vast menu.

The Big Greek Cafe, 8417 Georgia Ave, Silver Spring, (301) 495-2912.

Photos by J. Deseo and R. Pace for The Penguin.