Date Night: 8407 (plus Pacci’s news)
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!
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Drive-thru? People can get out of their car and park. We could use even more outdoor patio space (or, even better, another restaurant or store people can walk to). The fewer cars on Georgia Avenue, the more pleasant it’ll be for walking or dining on.
I agree, but at the same time I admit the only reason we haven’t tried Flippin’ Pizza (take out) is the hassle of either walking over there and walking back with a pizza, or the difficulty of driving over there (usually during late rush hour) and finding a place close by to park. Sure, it sounds lazy, but Ghar-e-Kabab is damn tasty and they deliver. Or a quick walk to Thai Derm would easily take precedence.
Flippin Pizza is now delivering, so a flyer informed me when I was in there the other night. So too is Mama Lucia’s for that matter.
Flippin’ actually delivered me a pizza on Tuesday night in a totally satisfactory fashion.
Wow. This is good to know. Can’t believe I hadn’t heard about that.
And one clarification: Referring to something as the “best” restaurant in Silver Spring necessitates some qualifiers, as that’s sort of a relative term. In terms of high-end dining, food quality, atmosphere, etc., 8407 takes it. But if I want a great bowl of homemade pasta, for example, I’ll still go to DaMarco. Everything has its place, I suppose.
I’m with you, Thayer. I think 8407 might be the nicest restaurant in DTSS now. Did you try your wife’s Pimms Cocktail? I had one, and it’s damn tasty.
But what is this about DaMarco? We went there twice and thought the place was terrible. Have they gotten better? Were we cursed twice? What’s the bottom line here?
Mamma Lucias charges 5 bucks just to deliver, not including tip… total rip off. Flippin’ Pizza is very good in my opinion, especially the cheese pie. The pizza by slice isn’t as good, but the $5 for two slices and a soda can’t be beaten. I’m from Jersey and the wife is from NY and it’s by far the closest thing to NY pizza I’ve had in DC area (okay, maybe Italian Store’s is better…)I look forward to trying out Pacci’s, sounds promising.
Yeah, Pacci’s drive-thru will be nice for a pickup on the way home, but I do envision us walking over to enjoy the patio more often!
And you forgot to mention the seriously tasty Ramos Gin Fizz at Sidebar.
Oh, and the weirdly fascinating–and delicious–candied fennel that went along with the cheese plate at 8407. My only complaint with the meal was that the dessert cheese plate could have used more accompaniment, perhaps something sweet like a drizzle of honey or a bit of fruit, but at least a few more toasties.
I’m with Springvale Roader on DaMarco. I used to shop there and get sandwiches all the time when they were a market, and I wanted to like them so bad when they became a restaurant, but we went once and I had lasagna and it tasted like almost nothing but salt. We have never been back – there are too many other places to go now, you know? I mean, granted I grew up with a grandmother making exactly that food and I like it a particular way, but, their Italian deli stuff was always good, and this was just so surprisingly not at all good.
RE: DaMarco…three of us ate their the other night and it was really tasty and the service was fine.
RE: Pacci’s…I can understand the objection of some to a drive-thru in an urban area, but times are tough and you have to appeal to every potential customer you can. Can you imagine the risk of opening a restaurant right now? I don’t blame them for the drive-thru… it was an existing feature of the property that cost them next-to-nothing to modify & use. When the economy is booming again I’d love to see them do something less suburban with the space.
drive-thru pizza, beer?!!!! Best…News…EVARRR!
It actually makes me miss Mike’s Beer Barn in Tallahassee. They had a drive-thru window (which you can see on this page) that was the old car wash tunnel. You could drive through the tunnel, get whatever beer you wanted (say, 40s of OE in my case) and be gone in 60 seconds. Ahh… college towns.
Just wanted to let you know this post nearly brought a tear to my eye. Skillful cocktails, pizza with outdoor seating, drive-through wine… this wipes away any disappointment over the menu at the Fire Station.
Anyone know if Pacci’s is actually opening today?
Liked your review of 8407 – I definitely want to check it out now!
I peered into the window of Pacci’s on Saturday and it did NOT look open yet.
We hit Pacci’s today for lunch. AWESOME. They’re changing menues and wine lists already due to customer demand. $2.00 off on Heinies until the Italiano biers roll in. Great pizza and true southern Itialian fare (I lived there for 2 years, so can speak with confidence). Go and enjoy!