Surprise Pikachu face! /s

Thai Taste by Kob in Wheaton!

Ryan Thai is a close second.

Take advantage of the incredible diversity of people and cuisine here. Every nation in the world sends people here for diplomacy, work and school and there are very significant diaspora communities from every populated continent. Get to know people who grew up with a total world view and try as many cuisines, sports, music, etc. as you can.

The person who authored the game Wingspan was a health policy analyst at a CRO. The owner/chef/something? of Clarity in Vienna was a Booz Allen veep or something.

Goldberg's in Silver Spring.

What they need is high density mixed income housing. But I doubt anyone will do it. Luxury condos are not going make a dent by themselves.

City Center DC was a much more glamorous location for the fancy stores, so that's where the monied shopping went. And the rents don't work if the high dollar stores aren't bringing through volume. Once some spots left and stayed empty, it was a faster and faster flight of anything worth going to while parking and local groceries remained exorbitant.

Sure, it has easy metro and bus access, but you've got better options in almost any direction - Tenleytown, Bethesda, Chevy Chase Circle - are all nearby.

Plus the food scene there was pretty bad... mostly big chains that are more typical in suburban mallscapes and a few mediocre renditions of local chains. There had been some indie restaurants, but the Voltaggio thing was never that good and Mazza itself had no dining but a weird McD's.

The pandemic was the death knell, but that whole area has been doing a slow fade for at least a decade.

There's tons of live music around. Good venues include 930 club, the Black Cat, Echostage, the Fillmore, and, near you, Birchmere and Jammin Java. But there's a long tradition of basement shows, shows in restaurants and store fronts, church basements, and plenty of bar gigs. Nova leans country/folk/Americana whereas DC and MD bring in a broader array of touring acts with lots of hip hop, gogo, jazz and indie thrown in.

Brookside Gardens has some very peaceful areas. It's about a mile or so from Glenmont metro.

Truth. But the halfsmoke breakfast burrito makes me forget those green chili dreams.