Ghar-E-Kabab

No! It's not a kabab place! Not that there's anything wrong with that...

According to an on-site sign, and declarations on the menu and web site, Ghar-E-Kabab is organic. This Indian-Nepalese eatery is relatively new to downtown Silver Spring, an area with no shortage of restaurants.

Dishes are served in the same tiny copper bowls as this place Jordaan in Amsterdam, where I ate possibly THE BEST Indian food ever. J was there, he can attest.

For dinner we all shared chicken vindaloo (avoided--too spicy for me), lamb curry, chicken saag, and aloo ghobi (potatoes and cauliflower), and paratha (of which we wish there were more). The texture of the lamb was great--lamb is tricky, sometimes it's kind of chewy, but not here. The chicken saag was especially yum, I love saag (spinach) in a serious way. We started with samosas (2 in an order), and great tiny round pakoras--one order came with 4-6ish, so they were very shareable. Taj Mahal beer delighted half of the table, and I recommend trying it on your next visit.

None of us were feeling particularly gluttonous, but if we were we would have went for a thali, a platter that comes with small servings of just about everything. If you're sharing and want all the things on the thali, you can probably get a greater variety-bang-for-the-buck.

Service was commendable. Our waters were re-filled often, and although the place was packed when we arrived, we were told we would be seated in just 5 minutes--and we were.

For a local ethnic eatery, they have an awesome web site.

I don't recommend Ghar-E-Kabab for ECH or BLC, who, after returning from Bangalore, have sworn off all Indian food (possibly forever).

Ghar-E-Kabab
944 Wayne Avenue
Silver Spring, MD
Metro: Red Line to Silver Spring

Adega

Adega is charming. Where else can you leisurely sip a glass of wine while clicking away on your laptop (free wireless!)? The answer is: No where.

Located in Metro-accessible downtown Silver Spring, Adega is perfect for both a study session AND a yummy meal. Recently, 5 of us found a table (lucky on a Saturday night) and shared a delicious bottle of Pinot Noir (no corking fee, because this place IS a wine shop as well), and our food arrived approximately 6 minutes after we ordered it. It seemed like less because we were served the wine in between, but STILL it was so fast.

The Adega mixed green salad puts my usual cheap-fast-lunch-salad at Cosi to shame. With caramelized pears, roasted pecans, and bleu cheese, this "mixed green salad" is anything but the way it sounds. Doesn't that name connote some leaves and dressing on a plate? Nuts+ fruit + cheese = great.

Have I mentioned that we started with a HUGE plate ($2.49) of eggplant fries that were DELICIOUS. Five people shared this appetizer.

Sandwiches like The Prosciutto (substituted foccacia for baguette), Southwestern Turkey Chipotle, and a smoked salmon wrap were enjoyed by my companions. NOTE THE SPECIALS--I was saddened to see that they were out of the soup of the day by the time we arrived, I have a feeling their soups are full of homemade non-mass-produced deliciousness.

Even with a bottle of wine, this was an extremely inexpensive yet enjoyable meal for the 5 of us. The staff is friendly and knowledgeable, helping out with wine selection and letting you make any substitution you choose without giving you that "OH you want THIS but not THAT" face. Because they don't hate their lives. Because this place rocks.

Adega
8519 Fenton Street
Metro: Red Line to Silver Spring

Abol

When we were in need of delicious Ethiopian food in Silver Spring, I turned to our trusty #1 recommenders of all things food/cooking related (especially if it involves MD), my brother- and sister-in-law.

Silver Spring is rife with Ethiopian restaurants, and you can definitely choose at your own risk—I’m sure they are all decent, but something about Abol sets it apart from the rest. I’ll try to elaborate.

1) The dishes are not served on injera (the spongy, sort of sour bread that is used to pick up the meat/veggies), but on a platter—injera comes rolled up in baskets, so none is wasted and it’s not soggy or saturated with sauce (yet!). Also, the divided sections for the food on the platter made the food easier to pick up. Ethiopian and Eritrean restaurants customarily don’t give patrons silverware (that’s what injera is for!), but when food is in piles scattered over a large round tray of injera, it can be difficult or messy to pick up the food.

2) The service here is really great—a really friendly and homey atmosphere. Not surprisingly, a soccer game is playing on a large flat panel screen. While eating, one server approaches with a big basket to offer us “traditional Ethiopian bread”, big thick pieces of a wheat loaf, a nice contrast after so much injera. When we finished eating, we were offered some Ethiopian coffee (small cups of black coffee, think Turkish/Arabic style--just as dark but not as thick). Deeeelicious. We weren’t charged for either of those extras, they were offered to us in a friendly manner by our hosts in order to ensure our comfort and fine experience.

We were the only ones dining when we first arrive, but that doesn’t scare me, and it shouldn’t scare you either!

Of course, Ethiopian food is a great deal, especially for groups, and Abol is no exception. One meat and one veggie combination platter (each for 2) for 4 people was more than enough (we could have had another person or two probably) and with drinks we were barely at $10 per person.

My cousins were joining us, and for one, it was his first experience with Ethiopian cuisine. I'm glad Abol was the spot for the occasion!

Abol
8626 Colesville Rd (Next to Ray’s the Classics, across from the AFI Silver)
Metro: Silver Spring