The Washington Post’s Tom Sietsema, who has been the newspaper’s food critic for nearly 25 years, has highlighted “5 great affordable restaurants in the D.C. area” in his latest dining guide. Among these, he includes two Maryland restaurants, both located in Montgomery County.
The first Maryland restaurant on the list is the new Peter Chang, located at 637 N Frederick Ave in Gaithersburg, in the space previously occupied by Ichiban Restaurant, which closed in September 2021 after 35 years in business. Peter Chang opened in April of this year and offers tapas-style dishes, dim sum, and signature items such as Chengdu Garlic Steamed Pork Belly, Hot & Numbing Stone Pot Flounder, Shredded Tofu Skin Salad, and Steamed Pork Soup Dumplings.
“The small plates hover around $8 on average. Equally enticing, the list runs nearly 70 choices long,” Sietsema writes. “The Gaithersburg location stands out for its broad windows, red walls painted with birds and clouds, and what serves as a family photo album in the entry: framed pictures of Chang and kin through the years.”
The second restaurant is El Chante Comedor y Fritanga Nica, a Nicaraguan eatery that now occupies the full space it used to share with Frank’s Burger Place at 11265 Triangle Ln. Owned by Frank Matamoros, who moved Frank’s Burgers to a new location at 11230 Grandview Ave in Wheaton-Glenmont (the former site of Umberto’s) and now shares a space with District Bistro, El Chante Comedor y Fritanga Nica has become a favorite.
“When it comes to quantity, this Nicaraguan outpost delivers,” Sietsema writes. “My strapping, $20 entree is the most expensive item on the menu and tastes of care as much as bitter oranges, garlic, oregano, and mildly nutty annatto in the marinated flap steak. The rice is unusually delicious, too; the red beans in the mix are cooked a day ahead, then refried before serving, intensifying their flavor. The spread is prettier for its banana leaf backdrop.”
Image courtesy @elchante_comedoryfritanganica on instagram
