MiyaJi Kebab & Rumali Rolls at 674 Quince Orchard Road, the location that was home to Pho Eatery in Gaithersburg’s Quince Orchard Plaza, is now open. MiyaJi is owned by the same owners as Commonwealth Indian at 11610 Old Georgetown Rd in Pike & Rose. Pho Eatery and neighboring/sister restaurant Urban Crawfish closed permanently in September of 2021. Taco Bamba is expected to open in the Urban Crawfish space this summer. Below is a look at MiyaJi Kebab & Rumali Rolls’ menu and interior:
Java Nation will be opening its new location at 121 Market Street in the Kentlands neighborhood of Gaithersburg on Wednesday, May 25. Java Nation is best known for its house-roasted coffees, diverse food menu, and wide variety of local craft beers, wines and artisan cocktails. We first let you know that Java Nation would be coming to the former Kentlands Starbucks location back in January 2021. Material and equipment delays by manufacturers had pushed back the opening of the restaurant several times.
Much like the Rockville/N.Bethesda location, the Kentlands location will feature entertainment such as live music, comedy shows, dramatic readings and other community events. From the Java Nation website: Serving the best artisan coffees and traditional food made with love and delivered with first class service. That has continued to be our mission since our inception in 2012. The concept for Java Nation came to creation when a local resident realized an absence for a great cup of coffee in the community. Beyond our focus to serve freshly roasted coffee to our local community, we source local produce, use environmentally friendly products, and support work from local artists.
Lahinch Tavern and Grill’s final day of service will be on Monday, May 30. The restaurant will be hosting a “Lahinch’s Last Waltz” event that day starting at 3pm. The restaurant posted the following message on their social media accounts: “Lahinch’s Last Waltz | We are sad to announce that Monday, May 30th will be Lahinch’s last day open. We had a great run these past six years, but as with most others in the food and music industry, COVID took a big toll and we must say farewell. A huge thank you to everyone who has supported us! We hope to see you in these next two weeks, and say goodbye in style—come out for our last night with our last Monday night Blues Jam, music starts at 7pm”
Lahinch opened at at 7747 Tuckerman Ln (Cabin John Village) in Potomac in April 2016, replacing Benny’s Bar, and is owned by the same family that has operated The Irish Inn at Glen Echo since 2003. According to its website, Lahinch offered American regional cuisine along with a unique twist on traditional Irish dishes by Chef Ted Hughes. Menu items include fish & chips, Shepherd’s Pie, corned beef, lamb chops, and steak.
168 Asian Burrito at 18000 Georgia Ave in Olney has announced on social media that it will be reopening on June 10. The restaurant, which is located inside of the Olney Exxon gas station, had previously announced that it would be closed from 4/18-5/26 due to “family reasons.” 168 Asian Burrito serves sushi burritos, poke bowls, and Chinese buns.
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BoBaPop Tea Bar has opened up inside the Kyoto Matcha location at 33 Maryland Ave Unit A in Rockville Town Center. According to a post on Kyoto’s Instagram page, “We’re so excited to announce that we have Bobapop-Teabar joining our Rockville location! Come and try our refreshing drinks and pair it with a delicious dessert from Kyo Matcha.” BoBaPoP opened its location at 312 Main Street in the Kentlands in 2018 and was the first of the Vietnamese based company’s stores to open in the United States. BoBaPop opened their second MoCo location at 19847 Century Blvd, Unit J in Germantown, the former site of August 32, back in November. The company has over 150 stores worldwide.
Kyoto Matcha opened its Rockville location in 2019. Their menu features ice cream, cakes, soba, mochi, and more flavored with matcha, purple sweet potato (ube), rose, maple, and other Japanese delicacies. According to their website, Kyoto Matcha, is an international chain of Matcha desserts that is “dedicated to creating top-quality raw materials. Due to the influence of the Japanese-style matcha culture, the Kyoto Matcha is based on the brand mission of “Let the Tea Return to the Forest”, rooted in the traditional Japanese tea culture and dedicated to the promotion of Matcha culture.” Kyoto has an additional MoCo location at 967 Rose Ave in North Bethesda.
Chef Rob Sonderman from DC’s Federalist Pig won Good Morning America’s Ultimate Pitmaster competition, a nationwide competition to look for the best barbecue in the U.S. While Federalist Pig’s original standalone location is at 1654 Columbia Rd in DC, their Michelin award winning BBQ is also available at Ensemble in Bethesda. Ensemble is a digital food hall from Salis Holdings (Ted’s Bulletin, Sidekick Bakery, Federalist Pig), located 4856 Cordell Ave. The menu features items from four the different Salis Holdings restaurants that can be mixed and matched. You can get a brisket sandwich from Federalist Pig, side of French toast from Ted’s Bulletin, fried chicken from Honeymoon Chicken, and dessert from Sidekick Bakery all at the same spot. You can order from their mobile app or website for pickup or delivery.
Burtons Grill & Bar at 109 Commerce Square Pl at the Kentlands in Gaithersburg, which was originally scheduled to open in late May, will now be opening in mid-June, according to representatives from the location. We’re told the delay is due to shipping issues with some of the restaurant’s equipment. The restaurant is currently hiring and permanent signage was installed on the building earlier this month. Menu items will include braised short ribs, filet mignon, chicken risotto, and market fresh seafood.
A representative from the Ladurée Paris location at 3060 M St in NW, DC tells us the upcoming Bethesda location at 4808 Bethesda Ave will be opening in about two weeks. Permanent signage was installed on the building earlier this spring. The French café and pastry shop has U.S. locations in New York City, Los Angeles, Miami, and currently has a pop-up/kiosk location inside of Montgomery Mall.
Dating back to 1862, Ladurée is known worldwide for their macarons. The Bethesda menu will also feature chocolates, pastries, teas and more. Feature photo courtesy of @pike.and.rozay on Instagram. Photos below courtesy of the Ladurée Facebook page.
Corner Pizza & Subs at 18503 N Frederick Ave. will be holding a soft opening on Saturday, May 14, with the official grand opening scheduled for June 3. The restaurant is located in the former Jasmine Bakery Café location (that was previously home to Classic Bakery) in the Gaithersburg shopping center that is also home to Brewster’s Ice Cream. We spoke with owners Nishade and Prabath who told us that the restaurant will specialize in what’s sometimes referred to as “Maryland Style Pizza“, the rectangular pizza you find at local restaurants like Stained Glass Pub, Continental, Gentleman Jim’s, and 4 Corners Pub. Nishade has worked in pizza restaurants since he came to America from Sri Lanka over twenty years ago.
Rumali roti is a thin flatbread originating from the Indian subcontinent, popular in India and in Punjab, Pakistan. It is eaten with tandoori dishes. The word rumal means handkerchief in many north Indian languages. Kebab is a cooked meat dish, with its origins in Middle Eastern cuisines, but commonly used in many other cultures as well. Many variants are popular around the world. In most English-speaking countries, a kebab may be the classic shish kebab or souvlaki – small cubes of meat cooked on a skewer– or, outside of North America where it is better known as the more recent and now-ubiquitous fast-food doner kebab. By contrast, in Indian English, Bangladeshi English, Pakistani English and in the languages of the Middle East, other parts of Asia, and many Muslim communities, a kebab is any of a wide variety of grilled meat dishes.
A new El Salvadorian restaurant is coming to 19114 Montgomery Village Ave, the former Einstein Bagel Bros location in the Montgomery Village Shopping Center. The owners of the restaurant say they are almost finished with construction and are hoping to open sometime next month. The restaurant will serve popular Salvadorian dishes like pupusas, tamales, and yuca con chicharron, as well as traditional Salvadorian cuisine such as pastelitos. The name of the restaurant has yet to be announced. La Poteria, which sells Colombian street food and coffee, is located next door. Einstein Bros closed its Montgomery Village store in December of last year and has additional Montgomery County locations in Chevy Chase, Gaithersburg, and Silver Spring.
Also in the Montgomery Village Shopping Center, construction is nearing completion on the upcoming Starbucks location. Once construction of the building is complete, Starbucks will then take it over and begin the buildout process (installing equipment, signage, etc,) and is still expected to open this summer. Building permit signs were posted on the future sites of Kobe Japan, The Joint, and Boo Boo Pho back in March, but buildouts have not began on any of these locations. Representatives from klnb, the shopping center’s realty company, tell us more new businesses coming to the center will be announced very soon.