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There are plenty of good cheap eats in PG County. Just not enough nice places with the combination of really good food, really good atmosphere, and really good service.
You could list a bunch of great sandwich shops and great hole-in-the wall ethnic places. Tiffin, Udupi, and Woodlands are all very good Indian food, but none are a "fine dining" experience. (They're also right on the border w/ Mont. County, so I tend to think of them as part of Montgomery. For most people in PG, they're not that much closer than Silver Spring, which is easier to get to, and has a greater selection of restaurants.)
Franklin's has a good, if noisy, atmosphere, but in my experience the food has been hit or miss. Sometimes it's great, and sometimes we have to send it back. I admit, it's been a while since I've risked anything other than their burgers or fish and chips, so things may have improved since my last bad experience (a year or more ago).
My wife and I tried Calvert House a couple years ago. The service was lacking. My wife ordered the steamed mussels and they smelled so bad we had to put them on an empty table to get them away from us. We haven't been back.
As for Jerry's Seafood in Lanham, I must confess, I just don't get it. They don't seem to do anything particularly special with their seafood. I've been a few times and always been less than impressed and stunned by their prices.
We just lost what, from my experience, was a restaurant with great fine dining potential: Williams American Bistro, which opened last year in Beltway Plaza in Greenbelt. The prices were very reasonable, the food very fresh and nicely prepared, the service was excellent, and the atmosphere was classy yet warm. If it weren't in a mall parking lot between a Wendy's and Popeye's, you'd think you were eating at one of the nicer established places in downtown Bethesda. I'm guessing the location worked against them, which is a damn shame, because it was almost right around the corner from me.
So once again the familiar cry - Why don't we have any GREAT restaurants in PG county?
I haven't been to Nat. Harbor yet, but the reviews from friends and family haven't been too encouraging. I'll still go check it out myself.
I will put in a plug for the New Deal Cafe in Old Greenbelt. It's casual dining (order at the counter/food is delivered). They've got a good chicken shawarma, good kibbeh (meat AND vegetarian) and fatayer, and a really nice baked Salmon in fish sauce. Chef Karim takes pride in his menu, and on the rare occasions I've received something that's not up to par, I brought it to his attention, and he made it right. They've got live entertainment most evenings featuring a wide variety of music.
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re: thugdrummer
monkeyrotica
Jan 19, 2010 02:31 AM
FYI, the Jerry's Seafood in Bowie is much cleaner, brighter and roomier than the Lanham location. Everything besides the crabcake has been hit or miss, though. But they have a nice selection of draft beer, so it makes for a nice beer-and-a-sandwich sort of place.
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My boyfriend used to live in Hyattsville and still works for the University. There are three places that I know of that we occassionally frequent:
1) Udupi Palace - great vegetarian Indian food, it makes my avowedly carniverous boyfriend forgo meat for the night.
2) Franklin's - Nice brewpub. The beers are better than the food, which reaches a little too high sometimes, but there's definitely items worth eating.
3) Plato's Diner - I admit, I've only ever been at 2 AM after going to concerts at the 9:30 club, so this is biased, but I really like their sausage and french toast.
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re: cb1
monkeyrotica
Apr 24, 2009 04:46 AM
7150 Baltimore Ave, south of Knox Road. It used to be the Howard Johnsons.
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Plato's Diner
7150 Baltimore Ave, College Park, MD 20740
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re: reiflame
Ok, I second the Franklins. They do have great beer and I like their sandwiches, burgers and pizza. No one mentioned anything in Bowie, except KBQ. Excellent BBQ, probably the best in Prince Georges. There is the original Grace's Fortune in Bowie, the best chinese for miles. Better than her second location, and far better than Grace's Mandarian in National Harbor. And yes, you can always count on Jerry's in Lanham. Not too sure yet about the Bowie location. Patsa Plus in Laurel, always consistent. There is Momma Stellas in Clinton, near AAFB. Oh, Regina's Pizza in Temple Hills, near AAFB also. There is T.J. Elliots in Bowie, they have Ledo's pizza and great steaks but average pasta I find. The Old Bowie Town Grill does nice pasta dishes, good salads too. My DH likes their pork chops. My MIL loves the 94th Aero Squadron in College Park, yet I think its seen better days.
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little audrey
Apr 22, 2009 12:43 PM
Is the Jamaican jerk carryout still on 450 near the beltway in Lanham, or is it history?
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re: cb1
little audrey
Apr 24, 2009 10:11 AM
Thanks!
I haven't been there for more than a year, but I thought they were very good.
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Pool Boy
Apr 22, 2009 06:06 AM
KBQ in Bowie
Urban BBQ is Hillandale (the Rockville one is still better, but this is good)
Pasta Plus in Laurel
Gah Ram Korean BBQ in Beltsville
Mango's Grill in Laurel
El Poblanito (I think) taco truck is technically in Howard County in Jessup, but it is close enough to Laurel for me to include it here)›1 Reply-
re: Pool Boy
FYI, Gah Rahm now does a dinner buffet - mostly grill-at-your table meats. Not as many side dishes as I'd like and no sushi (I'm used to Ill Mee in Annandale), but it's quite good. Their lunch buffet is not bad, especially their pa jon (seafood pancakes) which are crispy and good.
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chaofun
Apr 21, 2009 06:33 PM
South Street Steaks in College Park is a good philly cheesesteak.
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Viv -
Most who post here will say PG County is a "wasteland." As a resident, I prefer to think of PG County as "centrally located" to all the fine dining MoCo, DC, Balto, and Annapolis have to offer.
That said, you rightly cite Little Mexico in Riverdale as a gem. I'd also point you to Langley Park for some of the best Indian around - Udupi and Woodlands. KBQ Barbecue in Bowie tops many lists, and you should probably try the original Ledo's pizza in Adelphi - a PG county institution with one-of-a-kind pizza that has spread (less successfully) throughout Maryland.
Other suggestions, Hounds?
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re: Mister Big
Funny you should mention Italian Inn. I went there this past weekend based on recs on this board and we had a very underwhelming pizza. (Have to love the ambience though -- mini bikers' convention in the adjoining bar.) The main culprit was the crust, which was crumbly, rather cake-like in its consistency. This meant that it was OK when fresh out of the oven, but truly unappetizing when re-heated later at home. Also, for a "Greek" pizza, I would have expected kalamata olives, or at least olives with some taste, rather than the tasteless black bits that showed up there.
On the plus side, we had dinner at Grace Garden on the way back to Baltimore later.
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re: lawhound
monkeyrotica
Apr 23, 2009 08:15 AM
The crust is indeed cake-like, but that's how it's supposed to be. It's somewhat like Ledo's pizza crust, except not nearly as buttery. Very much an acquired taste.
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re: Sal Gee
Beltsville has some pretty good restaurants - two pho places, two Korean noodle places, Sardi's (charbroiled chicken).
I live in College Park, and I like Marathon Deli, China Cafe (a hole in the wall with some surprisingly good food, including a huge bowl of noodle soup for $6.50) and the original Three Brothers in Greenbelt (good place for a beer and some pizza, a sub or shrimp).
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re: 4X4
I'll second Marathon Deli and China Cafe...throwbacks to my college days 20 years ago now... If a place is around for over 20 years you know it's good.
Marathon: good Greek "fast food." Now I'm in Kensington and they used to have a Wheaton location that was convenient to me but it closed several years ago.
China Cafe: every so often if I'm in College Park this is the place that I go most often for nostalgia reasons. I ate many a styrofoam container of General Tso's and sesame chicken there. The food is surprisingly good, cooked fresh, and fits the wallet perfectly.
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re: Sal Gee
I agree with the original Ledo's in Adelphi, and would add Jerry's in Lanham. I haven't tried the new one in Bowie yet. If you want to get nostalgic, Sir Walter Reliegh's in Greenbelt and the Golden Bull in Adelphi (is that place still there?) Both were good in the day, now....probably not so much. And the Pasta place in Laurel, the name is escaping me right now...... But I really agree with KBQ. How lucky are we to have this place! It is unfortunate that Prince George's County is filling up with chain places, not much originality.
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re: cb1
monkeyrotica
Apr 23, 2009 08:18 AM
I can confirm that Sir Walter Raleigh (both in Greenbelt and College Park) are expensive and terrible; the steak is flavorless and the seafood what you might find in a hotel buffet. And not a high-end hotel either.
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