As 2025 comes to a close, our very own “Mr. MoCo” Alex Tsironis is looking back on a year full of memorable meals across Montgomery County (photos available below). After countless restaurant visits, pop-ups, and takeout orders, narrowing the list down was no easy task. While there were dozens of dishes worth mentioning, these ten stood out as the ones that immediately came to mind when reflecting on the year.
One of the biggest transitions for a small business is scaling up from a food truck into a brick and mortar location without sacrificing the quality. Yai & Toya’s Cuisine in Park Heights, MD (Baltimore) has done that and kept their strong soul food flavors intact. Mr. 8 That recently visited their brick and mortar location on one of their open days.
Luna Hall is no longer moving forward with plans to open a food hall at the Pike Center in Rockville.
Sally’s Apizza, the legendary New Haven pizzeria frequently named Dave Portnoy’s favorite pizza place of all time, is setting its sights on a major expansion that includes plans for 15 locations in Maryland and another 15 in neighboring Virginia.
A new locally owned restaurant has quietly opened its doors in Poolesville, bringing authentic Thai flavors to the heart of town. Thai Commons is now in a soft opening phase at 19635 Fisher Avenue, offering a menu rooted in traditional Thai cooking and family recipes.
As 2025 comes to a close, we wanted to share with you some of our most-read articles of the year. This article was originally published on July 1st, and it went on to become one of our most-read articles of 2025.
50 Top Pizza, an esteemed pizza evaluation site based in Paestum, Italy, near Naples, has unveiled its 2025 Top 50 Pizza list. Known for its rigorous and anonymous inspections, 50 Top Pizza is an independent online guide that ensures unbiased evaluations by paying for meals in full. This year, Maryland proudly contributed with two pizzerias making the list: Inferno Pizzeria Napoletana in Gaithersburg at 21st place, and Angeli’s in Baltimore at 47th.
Downtown Crown in Gaithersburg continues to evolve after a period of vacancies approximately a decade after the development opened. Here’s a look at an upcoming closure, recent openings, and upcoming arrivals that are reshaping the scene:
Round1 Bowling & Arcade is coming to Wheaton Mall with plans to open a massive 49,000-square-foot entertainment complex, bringing one of the country’s fastest-growing arcade and bowling concepts to Montgomery County. It is Round1’s second Maryland location, with the first opening in Towson Town Center in December 2019.
The McDonald’s located in Derwood (7200 Muncaster Mill Rd.) is expected to close by the end of the first quarter of 2026, marking the end of a decades-long run for the fast-food restaurant in the Red Mill Shops shopping center.
Coming Soon signage is now up for Osteria Divina, which will open on the ground floor of The Claude at 3820 Chaplin Place in Chevy Chase Lake.
In August 2024, we reported that a sushi restaurant had signed on to open at Rio Lakefront, though details at the time were limited. We later learned the restaurant would be called Koi Sushi, and now, with construction moving forward, it appears the highly anticipated spot is tracking toward an early 2026 opening.