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On Sunday, May 15, the Taste of Fenton Village will be coming to the area bounded by Wayne, Fenton, Sligo, and Georgia. Something like this has been a long time coming, and with the diversity of food in this area, I can’t think of a better place to have such a shin-dig. The parking lot next to Highlands Cafe will be turned into the starting point (complete with a stage and live entertainment) where you can pick up your “passport” that has a list of all the participating restaurants. And it’s just about *all* of them. That means Thai, Burmese, Ehtiopian, American (“new” and old), Italian, Indian, Nepalese, Greek, Latin, Moroccan, Peruvian, Jamaican, West African – you see where this is going.

Each participating restaurant will be offering small plates or appetizers in the $3-5 range. Go. Eat. Get a stamp in your passport. Walk next door. Repeat. I’m hoping that if you get a stamp from every single place you win a prize. Maybe a free membership to ESSCA? Wait – that’s not really a prize. Nevermind.

As mentioned before, there will also be entertainment and activities, and I’m told non-food vendors strategically placed throughout. Unfortunately, this coincides with the Taste of Wheaton, scheduled on the same day. Don’t get me wrong – I love Wheaton and they have a great selection of cuisine, but it ain’t no Fenton Village. The depth and breadth you’ll find here is second to none.

Be sure to thank the Silver Spring Advisory Committee for spearheading this effort, plus Peterson Cos, Montgomery County, and all the participating community organizations and restaurants for their hard work in setting this up.

In other news…

FSM

Don’t forget – the first (and supersized) Fenton Street Market is this Saturday at Veterans Plaza. Weather should be spectacular.

The “Dreary” Section of Georgia Avenue

That’s how they described the area of 8711 Georgia, between the Wachovia Bank and the Social & Scientific Systems Building. The Gazette reports that what was once approved as office space is now a planned development “that will bring 160 residential units, retail space and an outdoor urban oasis to a ‘dreary’ section of Georgia Avenue in Silver Spring.” I used to work in the 8757 building, and while it could use a little “livening up” over there, I can’t wait to see their definition (and execution) of said oasis.

Last, but certainly not least…

My heart goes out to my family and friends in my home state of Alabama because of the devastation they went through yesterday. Watching the videos of the tornadoes ripping through the state made me ill. We seemed to have dodged a big bullet up here in comparison. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers.

I’m not sure if it’s actually new, but I was rudely alerted to the fact that there’s a box speed camera in the 9000 block of Georgia Avenue at the southwest corner of Woodside Parkway targeting drivers in the northbound lanes.

Of course, MoCo kindly posts the location of all speed cameras on its web site, but I haven’t really paid attention. Now being $40 poorer, I think I’ll start checking occasionally. All too easy to get up a good head of steam going through there – which I assume is why they put it there. That, and to get people to slow the hell down.

But really, considering some of the driving I’ve seen around Silver Spring, someone should make an idiot camera. It would certainly help the budget issues in the county. Consider yourself warned.

Some have been around longer and some have come and gone, but on 4/20 (!) four years ago, this blog started with a meager little post. We’ve had our ups and downs, but from correcting blatant grammatical errors to engaging county leaders through social media, we done a lotta good. Thanks to all who have stuck around, and here’s to many more years to come.

South Silver Spring is building its arsenal of retail and dining establishments, among which is Ikko Sushi, having opened up a few (okay – *several*) months ago in the first floor of The Bennington apartment building on East-West Highway.

As for other sushi establishments in the area, I think Sushi Jin is superior to Asain Bistro, if a bit more expensive. And the quality and construction of the sushi at Ikko puts it up there with Sushi Jin. The one down side it the fact that the menu is a bit more limited than what you might get elsewhere. If you’re looking for some of the more esoteric items (premium toro, uni, monkfish liver, etc.), you’re out of luck, but it has most of the standards and currently holds a 4.5-star rating on Yelp (I’d rate it a 4, at best). It’s a fairly small place but well-designed, and it looked like they were doing a brisk takeout and delivery business. Not surprising, considering the location.

There’s good miso, good salad (with excellent dressing), both apparently gratis with your dinner order. They also don’t have the large bottles/cans of Kirin Ichiban, which is much better than the Sapporo they serve. But, hey – it’s beer. The signature dish is the DC Monument Roll, which is actually not a roll at all, but a towering hunk of (among other things) rice, fish, crab, masago, and special sauce. Not really my thing, so we decided to forego the signature dish for the Dragon Roll – basically a California roll topped with eel that looks like – you guessed it – a dragon. Big. And damn tasty.

The nigiri we got was good, fresh, and well-constructed. They also have plenty of non-sushi/sashimi items, from noodles and rice bowls to appetizers and teriyaki. Plus a limited dessert selection. All in all, pretty good, and I’m sure it’s a welcome addition to the NOAA crowd at lunch. Go. Enjoy. And hopefully South Silver Spring will get more places like this in the near future.

(DC Monument Roll photo by Yelp user Sarah L.)

I know – it’s been a while since the last update. Seems to go in fits and spurts when things get busy, but not for lack of things going on. For example:

Save the Date: Zombie Walk 2011

There will be much more to come on this, but we’re in the initial stages of planning for this year’s Zombie Walk, set for Saturday, October 22, 2011. Mark your calendars. This gets bigger every year, and this year should prove to be no exception. Movie selection is being finalized, and other updates will be coming over the next few months. Gonna be a great one, but I wanted to get the date out there before you went planning some other silly event.

Fro-Zen-Yo

While we’re fortunate to now have a crêperie right around the corner (dutifully covered by SoCo Eats and Silver Spring, Singular), I’m really looking forward to the opening of the Fro-Zen-Yo in the old Cakelove spot next to Lebanese Taverna. My family has been singing its praises to me, and I wasn’t a real believer until I tried it for myself. Especially when I was given yogurt topped with Cap’n Crunch cereal. It may change your life.

FSM Returns!

Sadly, once again, not the pastafarians. One of my favorite fixtures of DTSS, Fenton Street Market, is back on April 30. And according to reports, it’ll be “supersized” for it’s inaugural 2011 outing.

Direct Wine Shipments

Thanks to Heather Mizeur, Tom Hucker, and many others for helping give Maryland a first step into realistic alcohol control laws. You can now have wine shipped directly to your home in Maryland. As I understand it, you can order and ship from wineries but not large InterWeb-type retailers. But whatever. It’s a start, and I can ship the other stuff to another location for the time being.