The Washington Post’s Tom Sietsema has been the newspaper’s food critic for nearly 25 years. In his latest review, he heaps praise upon Lime & Cilantro, which opened at 1909 Seminary Rd. in Silver Spring this past spring.
Lime & Cilantro moved into the space that was most recently home to Crown Fried Chicken and previously occupied by Krazy Steve’s and Armand’s Pizza. The restaurant refers to itself as a “modern Latin casual restaurant focusing on new twists on familiar Latin favorites” and has quickly become a neighborhood favorite, often positively reviewed in local Facebook groups.
Sietsema seems to agree with the glowing reviews, referring to restaurant as having a “masterful take on Latin food.” According to Lime & Cilantro, Chef Danny Chavez’ passion for cooking started from an early age. “You could say it was destined, as Danny’s mother is an excellent cook. As soon as Danny was old enough to work, he was learning the discipline, finesse, and creativity it takes to work in a fine dining establishment.”
After being accepted to the Culinary Institute of America, Chavez had to decline the opportunity and move to Washington, D.C. to help his family through a tragic time. Since then Danny has honed his skills and love for cooking at Michelin star,”Plume” and,”Gravitas.” He made his way to Capitol Hill as executive chef at “Art & Soul”. While there he received his initial mentioned from Sietsema in a glowing review where he wrote, “Hurry, chef, hurry! I plan to be first in line” in regards to Chavez opening his own restaurant.
This time around, Sietsema praised the chef again, adding that Chavez “likes to insert “wow” moments — some obvious to the eye, others detected by the tongue — into his food.” Lime & Cilantro has earned a 4.8/5 rating on over 70 reviews on Google and a 4.8/5 rating on Yelp with over 20 reviews. Featured photo courtesy of @limeandcilantro_ on instagram.