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Janis Joplin once said, “If you ever need a drink, it’s on Sunday, man.” Councilmember Mike Knapp (D-Germantown) seems to agree, with a new proposal that would open the MoCo Liquor Stores on Sunday. Tired of me bitching about parking meters? Then maybe this can get your revenue on.

According to The Examiner, Knapp says the county could raise an additional $1.5-2 million a year. Sure it’s a drop in the bucket, but every bit counts. Plus, hey – booze on Sunday. Not that I’m saucing it up so much, but there have been several occasions when I get a hankering for a martini on the deck Sunday afternoon and I’m fresh out of Hendrick’s. Of course, the effort has its detractors:

The Rev. Wade Martin, senior pastor at Montgomery United Methodist Church, said Sundays are meant to be days focused on one’s faith and families, not for drinking.

“Alcohol can take us away from the intent of what Sundays are all about,” Wade said.

I understand and appreciate the sentiment, but if you want to focus on one’s faith and family, there’s a simple answer: Don’t go to the liquor store on Sunday. Plus it’s a bit of a narrow-minded statement considering the large Jewish population in the area. I have fallen off my Episcopal roots and subsequent training to stock up on Saturday. This is indeed the answer.

I’m hoping that this may lead to other bans being lifted. Something like, say, beer and wine in the grocery stores? Direct wine shipments to the state of Maryland? I’m keeping my fingers crossed but not holding my breath.

Cheers!

At the risk of bringing enormous vitriol, I have to weigh in on the proposals to charge for parking on Saturday in Downtown Silver Spring. And the rub is this: You people have had your parking SUBSIDIZED ever since the development of Downtown Silver Spring. Times are tough. There’s a huge budget shortfall every time the County Council fires up budget discussions. This is a small, per person price to pay for using county-provided shelter and parking.

My take? SHUT THE HELL UP AND PAY THE NOMINAL PARKING FEE.

There. I said it. It provides revenue for the county, and the detriment to local businesses isn’t half of what the Chamber of Commerce and others make it out to be. Plus it’s CHEAP. $0.75 per hour? Even at a dollar an hour, that’s a steal. The East Silver Spring Civic Association people (who you know are my near and dear friends) have sent out links to online petitions that I won’t have the decency to post here decrying the parking fee as unfair, business averse, blah blah blah. And then there was this:

A big part of the Market’s success is the fact that parking in the lots and garages next to it is free on Saturdays so losing that would be a serious blow to the Market’s chances of success.

In a word: BULLSHIT. I love the Fenton Street Market. I walk to it almost every weekend it’s in session, and this is a red herring if I ever saw one. Any of these people will pay a dollar to park if they have to. And let us not forget: They’re using County-provided resources that took time and money to build. If they want to drive here and use the public garages on Saturday, let them pay some pocket change to the County to get our revenue back up. Or they can schlep several blocks from free parking elsewhere. Because, according to the “petition”:

For starters we believe that extending parking meters to Saturdays will unfairly benefit the new Downtown Silver Spring development since they will have the distinct advantage of being able to offer free parking on Saturdays.

Like I said, they can park at the Wayne Avenue garage, drop by the Fresh Farm Market on Ellsworth and then walk down Fenton to the “other” market. I, for one, have seen a dramatic increase in foot traffic between the two since the inception of Fenton Street Market. And isn’t getting people out of their cars and walking by local businesses part of economic development?

To be fair, I don’t have to pay for parking. I live walking distance from all these things. I park my car in my driveway on Friday evening and rarely move it until Monday morning. And if I do want to park it on the street, I have an orange East Silver Spring parking permit sticker. So there. Unfair, you say? Not in the least. That little bit of bonus added a good 10-20% to the cost of my home, with the additional property tax percentage to boot.

You want to come into my neighborhood and park in my garages? Reach into that pocket and pull out a couple of quarters. You’re gonna need them. And well you should.

Finally got the chance to get out for a relaxing dinner at 8407 kitchen bar. One word: Awesome. Possibly the best restaurant right now in Silver Spring. The wife and I started with a Pimms cocktail (her) and a ginger lime martini (me, pictured) at the downstairs bar before heading up to the dining room. Both are great warm-weather drinks.

The evening sun blares through windows, but that sort of helps obscure the view of the metro demolition outside. That view will certainly get better over time. Started with the fried oysters and fries (I will now be frying whatever I can in duck fat, by the way), followed by the honey-lavender roasted chicken (me) and gnocchi (her).

The gnocchi was the same pillowy goodness we had back at the old Nicaro, and other than the small bit of butcher’s twine I found in the chicken, it was the winning dish as far as I’m concerned. Just spectacular flavor. I mean, plate-licking good. And got a recommendation from Nancy on a fantastic bottle of wine. Throw in a cheese course to finish up, and it was a really, really great meal.

The service was also excellent, checking in just often enough and not being obtrusive. A bit on the pricey side, but we knew that going in. Drinks, appetizers, main course, dessert, and a good bottle of wine came out to about $130. Certainly worth the price of admission. I’m sure we’ll go again for a nice night out, but I could see frequenting the bar(s) for drinks and those duck-fat-cooked fries on a regular basis. Go treat yourself.

News on Pacci’s

After dinner, we walked from 8407 to Jackie’s Sidebar for drinks and stopped to peer in the windows at Pacci’s. Someone from inside noticed us and came out to chat. They have four more inspections – two on Friday and two on Monday. Assuming those go well, they’ll be open for business next Thursday, April 22. Very excited.

The icing on the cake? That drive you see on the right is actually a drive-thru pickup. Not just for pizza, either. Beer and wine will be available in the drive-thru. Yup, you read that right. How cool is that? Plus, on the other side of the building, there’s an 80-seat patio for outdoor dining. It’s even a bit obscured from the traffic on Georgia Avenue, making it a better option than some of the other restaurants with tables hanging out on the sidewalk close to the street.

At any rate, this is proof downtown Silver Spring is quickly becoming a culinary mecca, and I couldn’t be happier. Cheers!

Thanks to the Montgomery Planning Department for a great kickoff to the ReThink Montgomery Speaker Series. Last night’s “Knowledge” session had five local bloggers: David Alpert (Greater Greater Washington), Cindy Cotte Griffiths (Rockville Central), Dan Reed (Just Up the Pike), Barnaby Zall (Friends of White Flint), and yours truly. Add in about 30-40 Montgomery County residents, and it ended up being a great discussion about area blogs, development, and how the planning department can stay more involved in the community. Great to chat with other bloggers who are far more talented and dedicated and less snarky than myself.

Jackie’s Sidebar

After last night’s discussion, I dropped by Jackie’s new Sidebar last night and came away most impressed. DCist has a great writeup. Sure, it’s a great space, good atmosphere, kickin’ tunes and all, but do not forget: It’s all about the cocktail.

Gordon Banks is coming up with some incredible drinks and really keeping the trade of craft bartending alive in Silver Spring. The kind of creativity you usually see from Todd Thrasher at Restaurant Eve or Adam Bernbach at Bar Pilar. This article from the Weekly Standard, published last year, should be required reading for everyone from cocktail snobs to college students looking for 2-for-1 specials. And I think it speaks to the philosophy Gordon is instilling in everyone pouring drinks behind the bar.

Anyhow, drop by for some tasty beverages. And have a great weekend, all.

Photo courtesy of DCist.

Yes, I’ve been remiss in posting, but to be fair I just got back from a much-needed vacation. Had a great time, but frankly nice to be home.

Peruvian (Togolese?) Chicken Opens
As reported by several people (and in the sweet spot of SoCo Eats), The “Peruvian” Chicken place Casa De Pollo has opened in the old Roger Miller location. Nice outside seating, but I took this photo Sunday night as I was walking out with delicious takeout from Thai Derm (Chicken Panang and Tofu Pad Thai, if you must know). I may try it because it’s there and supposedly serves some classic Togolese dishes alongside the not-at-all-related-pollo a la brasa. I still don’t get that. But I also said I would go try Roger Miller sometime, and look how that turned out.

On a Less-Exciting Note
I will be on a blogger panel on Thursday of this week as part of the “ReThink Montgomery” Speaker Series from the Montgomery County Planning Board. I have no idea what I’ve gotten myself into, but something is bound to be entertaining or funny – intentional or otherwise. Come for the show, stay for the veal.

About that “off the grid” thing…
This is how I started and ended just about every day for the last week. So yeah, I missed you all, but not that much.