like a Swiss mountain, and the elegant chocolate bar suggests a Kit Kat by way of heaven rather than Hershey’s. // 1001 Pennsylvania Ave. NW; 202-626-0015; www.centralmichelrichard.com. Open: lunch Monday through Friday, dinner daily. All major credit cards. Entree prices: lunch $15 to $29 (fixed-price $19), dinner $16 to $31. Sound check: 78 decibels.


★★★ CHARLESTON “The chef is very talented,” says the waiter. “I can recommend everything.” Usually, I frown at such vague assistance, but two recent evenings at the suave Charleston in Baltimore support the accolades: Cindy Wolf has become one of the Mid-Atlantic’s finest chefs. Her daily-changing tasting menu gives diners the option of three to six courses and the freedom to create a dinner of their own design from nearly


A highlight at Masala Art: an appetizer of potato cakes on a bed of chickpeas with yogurt and tamarind sauces. Review on Page 37.


two dozen dishes. It’s not easy, given the many attractions. Burgundy snails on a puddle of creamy grits ringed by a shallot-and-parsley sauce, and a fragile crab cake enhanced with local sweet corn and a delicate mustard sauce, are at once French, Southern and sumptuous. House-made tarragon pasta tossed with goat cheese and toasted pecans is simple and sublime; rosy beef sporting a tiny empanada and displayed on a confetti-like chimichurri reimagines the typical steak dinner. Much is great. Everything is beautiful. Did I mention the fine wines curated by business partner Tony Foreman? Peach-colored roses on the broad tables, plush chairs, a tented ceiling and fabric-padded walls bring to mind a temple of haute cuisine — in Europe. Charleston comes close. Keeping it from four stars: some lesser desserts, and service that’s so rushed (“Goodeveningwatercocktails?”) you’d


5815 TRINITY PARKWAY CENTREVILLE,VIRGINIA


703.830.6600


SILVER SPRING,MARYLAND 301.589.1330


928 ELLSWORTH DRIVE


GAITHERSBURG,MARYLAND 240.631.0003


100 BOARDWALK PLACE WWW.CCGRILL.COM


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100  |  Page 101  |  Page 102  |  Page 103  |  Page 104  |  Page 105  |  Page 106  |  Page 107  |  Page 108  |  Page 109  |  Page 110  |  Page 111  |  Page 112  |  Page 113  |  Page 114  |  Page 115  |  Page 116  |  Page 117  |  Page 118  |  Page 119  |  Page 120  |  Page 121  |  Page 122  |  Page 123  |  Page 124  |  Page 125  |  Page 126  |  Page 127  |  Page 128  |  Page 129  |  Page 130  |  Page 131  |  Page 132  |  Page 133  |  Page 134  |  Page 135  |  Page 136  |  Page 137  |  Page 138  |  Page 139  |  Page 140  |  Page 141  |  Page 142  |  Page 143  |  Page 144  |  Page 145  |  Page 146  |  Page 147  |  Page 148  |  Page 149  |  Page 150  |  Page 151  |  Page 152  |  Page 153  |  Page 154  |  Page 155  |  Page 156  |  Page 157  |  Page 158  |  Page 159  |  Page 160  |  Page 161  |  Page 162  |  Page 163  |  Page 164  |  Page 165  |  Page 166  |  Page 167  |  Page 168  |  Page 169  |  Page 170  |  Page 171  |  Page 172  |  Page 173  |  Page 174  |  Page 175  |  Page 176  |  Page 177  |  Page 178  |  Page 179  |  Page 180  |  Page 181  |  Page 182  |  Page 183  |  Page 184  |  Page 185  |  Page 186  |  Page 187  |  Page 188