Pike & Rose adds Julii, Nada in November
North Bethesda’s vibrant new community development, Pike & Rose, features an array of new and exciting restaurants. The development is an immaculately planned “mini-city,” existing separately from its once-drab suburban thruway surroundings. This “lifestyle” community aimss to supplement its residential buildings by providing an adjacent walkable commercial area.
Although parts of the development are still under construction, most of the commercial area is now open for business. The wide variety of eateries at Pike & Rose promises to change and diversify the suburban D.C. food scene. The following profiles highlight a few stops that will bring something new to Bethesda.
Julii, which is slated to open at the end of November, according to Store Reporter, is a sit-down Mediterranean-fusion restaurant, from the founders of CAVA. This restaurant, which was originally scheduled to open in September has been much anticipated, particularly as it represents a unique twist on what the CAVA founders did with their fast-casual chain, but set in a more traditional, more formal, dining experience. Eater D.C. reports that the restaurant is designed to be both a coffee shop and a more upscale restaurant, depending on the time of day.
After publicizing that Sasha Felikson would act as the executive chef of the new standalone venture, the founders announced the menu for the early fall opening. The preliminary menu offers fusion cuisine, not only taking elements from Mediterranean food, but also French, and undoubtedly, some flavor from Sasha Felikson’s own Eastern European background. The reason for the delayed opening has not been announced.
[See related article: Sasha Felikson, a mover and shaker in Washington, D.C.]
In August, The Jinya Ramen Bar, a nation-wide ramen chain, opened a new restaurant across the street from Julii. This is the chain’s third location in the D.C. area, but judging by early reviews, there has been no decline in quality. The restaurant is a must for those local “ramen-nerds” who would otherwise be unsatisfied with the absence of local quality takes on the dish. Jinya’s menu offers a varied selection of Japanese ramen, as well as poke tacos and Japanese curries. Serving customizable dishes, with a wide variety of noodles and broths, the restaurant has proven popular, and currently maintains a little over 4 stars on Yelp. The Los Angeles-based chain has shown itself to be incredibly successful since its D.C. debut just last year. A fourth location is already planned for Northern Virginia.
The Baked Bear has opened its first mid-Atlantic location in the storefront beside Jinya. Specializing in ice-cream sandwiches, the North Bethesda location offers donut, cookie, and brownie “sandwiches.” The location has a cozy, classic ice-cream parlor feel, and a diverse selection ice-cream flavors. The small North Bethesda location offers 16 ice-cream flavors and 12 types of cookies, all of which can be mixed and matched however the customer wants. Perhaps the ultimate measure of success and public interest can be gauged by the fact that nearly every seat in the ice-cream shop was taken, despite the frigid weather of late October!
Nada, a taco and cocktail spot with four other locations around the United States, is now undergoing the final stages of preparation for its opening on Monday, December 19, according to the Mexican restaurant. Nada takes its ingredients seriously; this isn’t another customary Tex-Mex place. Rather, the restaurant’s menu will center around gourmet tacos and salads.
Innovative takes on classic cocktails (and sangria!) are also a specialty. Each Nada location offers a localized menu, so it will be interesting to see how the first D.C. location will incorporate local flavors and tastes. This eatery promises to add another unique choice for an area of Bethesda that is going through an unprecedented period of expansion. We look forward to bringing you further updates on the shifting food-scene in this area of the DMV.
Author credit: Thomas Schaffner
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