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March/April 2020 | Volume 17 Issue 2

contents ON THE COVER

92 Cross at Your Own Risk With the number of collisions between pedestrians and motor vehicles on the rise, can Montgomery County make streets safer for everyone? BY JULIE RASICOT

FEATURES 104 Remembering Jake Last summer, 17-year-old Jake Cassell lost his life in a tragic accident in Bethesda. The Churchill student, who proudly played the role of the school mascot, left a lasting impression on everyone who knew him. BY MIKE UNGER

114 Top Teens From a math whiz to an awardwinning playwright, these 14 students make their marks in and out of the classroom. Meet the winners of our 11th annual Extraordinary Teen Awards. BY CARALEE ADAMS AND AMY REININK

130 Second Chances A wildlife center in Gaithersburg is nursing squirrels, birds, turtles and other animals back to health BY CARALEE ADAMS

Bonnie Fogel, the founder of Bethesdaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Imagination Stage, talks about overeager stage parents, why kids need arts education, and finding out that her biological father was alive BY STEVE GOLDSTEIN

COVER: Getty Images

MARCH/APRIL 2020 | BETHESDAMAGAZINE.COM

PHOTO BY MICHAEL VENTURA

142 Bethesda Interview

contents

P. 160

Jenna and Jeff Smith knocked down their 1928 bungalow in Bethesda to build a new house on the same lot.

160 Love it or Leave it

174 Home Sales By the Numbers

198 The Top Producers

When homeowners outgrow their house, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s time to make a decision

Highlights from home sales in 2019, and home sale trends in 445 neighborhoods

A list of the real estate agents and teams with the top total sales in Montgomery County and Upper Northwest D.C.

BY AMANDA CHERRIN

MARCH/APRIL 2020 | BETHESDAMAGAZINE.COM

PHOTO BY MICHAEL VENTURA

REAL ESTATE ROUNDUP

Oh, Brother!

Hans Wydler Hans@WydlerBrothers.com 301.640.5701 Winner “Best Real Estate Agent” Bethesda Magazine

Steve Wydler Steve@WydlerBrothers.com 703.348.7298 Winner “Best Real Estate Agent” Arlington Magazine Associate Brokers in MD, DC, & VA

We’ll treat you like family... Maybe even better. Compass is a licensed real estate broker and abides by Equal Housing Opportunity laws. All material presented herein is intended for informational purposes only. Information is compiled from sources deemed reliable but is subject to errors, omissions, changes in price, condition, sale, or withdraw without notice. No statement is made as to accuracy of any description. All measurements and square footages are approximate. Exact dimensions can be obtained by retaining the services of an architect or engineer. This is not intended to solicit property already listed. Compass is licensed as Compass Real Estate in DC and as Compass in Virginia and Maryland. 5471 Wisconsin Ave, Suite 300, Chevy Chase, MD 20815 | 301.298.1001

contents

DEPARTMENTS 20 | TO OUR READERS

health

301

good life

34 | BEST BETS

After a career as a TV news producer, Robin Gellman shifted gears and became an acupuncturist

How a Kensington mom co-founded a baby sling company. Plus, colorful straps for your handbags.

242 | ONE BREATH AT A TIME

306 | WEDDINGS

Lung Bioengineering in Silver Spring is treating donated lungs to give them a chance at transplant

Can’t-miss arts events

38 | ARTS CALENDAR Where to go, what to see

people. politics. current events. books.

70 | QUICK TAKES News you may have missed

74 | BOOK REPORT

Less than two years after the death of Whitman student Jojo Greenberg, her mother found a special way to honor her— and help other teens affected by mental health struggles

256 | WELLNESS CALENDAR

259

78 | HOMETOWN

Gluten-free restaurant The Little Beet Table in Chevy Chase banks on the wellness trend

BY STEVE ROBERTS

Your cheat sheet for a weekend away

312 | DRIVING RANGE Virginia’s capital shines in the culinary spotlight

318 | PETS Why my family adopted a senior dog

319 | FLASHBACK

dine

New books by local authors, literary events and more Bullis administrator Kira Orr’s deep connections to the school go back to her days as one of its star basketball players

The wedding of Churchill graduates included a surprise guest who looked a lot like the president

310 | GET AWAY

250 | CAMP JOJO

banter

etc.

302 | SHOP TALK

240 | BE WELL

art. festivals. culture. day trips. hidden gems.

O Museum in the Mansion

239

22 | CONTRIBUTORS

P. 29

In 1967, a Sugarland couple held the first interracial wedding in Montgomery County

260 | REVIEW

320 | OUTTAKES

264 | TABLE TALK What’s happening on the local food scene

AD SECTIONS PROFILES: FAMILY BUSINESS 48

HOME SHOWCASE 82

LONG & FOSTER AD SECTION 149

MARCH/APRIL 2020 | BETHESDAMAGAZINE.COM

COMPASS AD SECTION 209

PROFILES: REAL ESTATE AGENTS 227

SUMMER CAMPS AD SECTION 288

PHOTO BY LIZ LYNCH

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❱❱ ONLINE ARCHIVES Explore past issues and stories using our searchable archives.

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Bethesda Beat is Bethesda Magazine’s local news site. Each weekday, Bethesda Beat publishes an average of eight news stories covering local politics and government, development, crime, schools and restaurants. Read Bethesda Beat at BethesdaMagazine.com.

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SAFE TO CROSS?

FOR THOSE OF YOU who regularly sit in traffic on Montgomery County’s roads or have kids in public school classrooms with more than 30 students, the following statistic won’t surprise you: Montgomery is among the most heavily populated counties in the United States. In fact, with 1.05 million people, it ranks 42nd out of 3,007 counties nationwide. What may surprise you is that Montgomery County doesn’t come close to cracking the top 50 counties in terms of population density. With 2,142 people per square mile, Montgomery lags far behind New York County (Manhattan), which is the most densely populated with 68,648 people per square mile. By contrast, Loving County in Texas, the least populated county in the contiguous states, had only 82 people in the last census in an area nearly 1.5 times as large as Montgomery County. (If the thought of all that open space has you dreaming of moving to Loving, I suggest you reconsider. The San Antonio Express-News reports that the county is going through an oil boom and about 10,000 people now commute to Loving each workday. According to the paper, it can take up to 45 minutes to get through a stop sign in Loving—and a local convenience store sells 1,200 cases of beer a week!) The population density statistic doesn’t tell the true story of Loving—or of Montgomery. The sparsely populated Agricultural Reserve in Montgomery County comprises more than 29% of the county. That means that the vast majority of county residents— over 1 million—live in less than three quarters of the space. Population density has many advantages, especially if people live in urban areas with accessible and reliable public transportation. And more and more local residents, encouraged by county planning policies, are choosing to live in urban areas. The growth of high-rise residential properties in downtown Bethesda and Silver Spring, and in Pike & Rose, are proof positive of that trend. Population density also has downsides, and our cover story in this issue focuses on one of them: the large number of county residents who are being injured or killed as a result of being hit by a motor vehicle. The combination of lots of people and lots of vehicles in a relatively small amount of space is dangerous. In 2019, nearly 500 people in Montgomery County were hit by vehicles, a 9% increase over the previous year. Of the nearly 500, 13 died. In addition, there were nearly 120

MARCH/APRIL 2020 | BETHESDAMAGAZINE.COM

collisions involving bicyclists, with one fatality. While the trend in the county is toward more urban living, most residents still live in neighborhoods that are far from Metro rail stops. “The reality is that Montgomery County was designed as a bedroom community that has grown considerably,” Councilmember Nancy Navarro said in January at a meeting called to address the increase in pedestrian accidents. In our cover story, Deputy Editor Julie Rasicot details why there are so many accidents involving pedestrians and cyclists—and what the county is doing about it. Not surprisingly, the solutions are complicated and very expensive. Rasicot’s story begins on page 92.

BEHIND ALL OF THE statistics about vehicle collisions with pedestrians and cyclists are, of course, the victims. In December, a 9-year-old girl was killed in Bethesda when she was hit by a school bus that had just dropped her off; a day later, a 17-yearold Walter Johnson High School student was seriously injured crossing a street to get on his school bus. And last summer, the bicyclist who died after being hit by a car was a 17-yearold student at Winston Churchill High School. That student was Jake Cassell of Bethesda. While riding his bike on the sidewalk along Old Georgetown Road, Jake apparently swerved to avoid a trash can and sign post and fell in front of an oncoming car. He was a remarkable young man, seemingly beloved by everyone he knew. “He had this glow about him that everyone felt,” says Jesse Smith, the athletic director at Churchill, where Jake wore the costume of the school mascot. “Even if they didn’t know who he was, they saw that radiating from him.” Jake’s death shook the Bethesda community. Hundreds of people attended his memorial service. In this issue, we write about the short but memorable life of Jake Cassell. Writer Mike Unger’s story begins on page 104.

STEVE HULL Editor & Publisher

Best of the Best. Congratulations to our 2020 Bethesda Magazine Top Producers! We are hyperlocal and we are proud to represent Bethesda, Chevy Chase, Kensington and beyond.

From left to right: Ann McClure, Katherine Martin, Anslie Stokes, Tom Williams, Sue Hill, Kelly Garrett, Mark Hudson

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contributors

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www.paulrossdpm.com 22

ANDREW SCHOTZ

LIVES IN: Richmond, Virginia

LIVES IN: Hagerstown, Maryland

IN THIS ISSUE: He photographed restaurants and chefs for the “Driving Range” story on culinary spots in Richmond. “I absolutely loved photographing in the light at Sub Rosa Bakery. It’s as natural and honest as the baked goods there. After the final shot, the simple act of tasting the super flaky, buttery croissant along with a black coffee was a highlight of the week. The beer at The Answer was unparalleled and surprising in taste and variety. And ZZQ Texas Craft Barbeque—don’t get me started. It was an explosion of smoked flavor and time-tested Southern combinations.”

IN THIS ISSUE: Wrote about Camp Jojo. “Suicide is a mental health concern. Jojo Greenberg’s story is a poignant way to have an open discussion about the topic.”

WHAT HE DOES: He’s a selfemployed photographer and filmmaker. EARLY WORK: “I was a theme park caricature artist for six years in high school and college.” WHAT’S NEXT: Recently he completed a short family-friendly comedy film due to be released this spring.

MARCH/APRIL 2020 | BETHESDAMAGAZINE.COM

WHAT HE DOES: Managing editor of Bethesda Beat, overseeing Bethesda Magazine’s local news site. JOURNALISM PATH: His career started at a twice-a-week newspaper at the University at Albany in upstate New York. He has worked professionally at weekly and daily newspapers in New York and Maryland. “I’ve worked in print and online, but always with a community journalism focus.” TRAVEL TIME: “Trips often revolve around journalism conferences or baseball stadiums. Sometimes, both are involved. Baseball tour trips have been a good way to see the West Coast and the Midwest.” TOP INTERESTS: “Dogs and chocolate. But there is no overlap, except for chocolate Labs.”

COURTESY PHOTOS

readers pick

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EDITORIAL EDITOR

Steve Hull SENIOR EDITOR

Cindy Rich ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Kathleen Seiler Neary DEPUTY EDITOR

Julie Rasicot ART DIRECTOR

Jenny Fischer DEPUTY ART DIRECTOR

Laura F. Goode DESIGNER

Kari Mason BETHESDA BEAT MANAGING EDITOR

Andrew Schotz BETHESDA BEAT REPORTERS

Caitlynn Peetz, Dan Schere WEB PRODUCER

Erin Roby RESTAURANT CRITIC

David Hagedorn CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

Eugene L. Meyer, Louis Peck, Carole Sugarman COPY EDITORS

Elisabeth Herschbach, Steve Wilder CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Caralee Adams, Jennifer Barger, Stephanie Siegel Burke, Amanda Cherrin, Deborah K. Dietsch, Dina ElBoghdady, Margaret Engel, Michael S. Gerber, Steve Goldstein, Melanie D.G. Kaplan, Rachael Keeney, Christine Koubek, Laurie McClellan, Melanie Padgett Powers, Amy Reinink, Steve Roberts, Charlotte Safavi, Mike Unger, Mark Walston, Carolyn Weber, Adrienne Wichard-Edds PHOTOGRAPHERS & ILLUSTRATORS

Edgar Artiga, Skip Brown, Tyler Darden, Laura Chase de Formigny, Stacy Zarin Goldberg, Lisa Helfert, Alice Kresse, Deb Lindsey, Liz Lynch, Mary Ann Smith, Joseph Tran, Michael Ventura

Bethesda Magazine is published six times a year by Kohanza Media Ventures, LLC. Â© 2009-2020 Letters to the editor: Please send letters (with your name, the town you live in and your daytime phone number) to letters@bethesdamagazine.com. Story ideas: Please send ideas for stories to editorial@bethesdamagazine.com. Bethesda Magazine 7768 Woodmont Ave., #204, Bethesda, MD 20814 Phone: 301-718-7787/ Fax: 301-718-1875 BethesdaMagazine.com

MARCH/APRIL 2020 | BETHESDAMAGAZINE.COM

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Arlis Dellapa, Erika Litman, Penny Skarupa, LuAnne Spurrell AD PRODUCTION COORDINATOR

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For advertising information: Call 301-718-7787, ext. 220; send an email to advertising@bethesdamagazine.com; or go to BethesdaMagazine.com. For information on events and reprints: Call 301-718-7787, ext. 207; or send an email to marketing@bethesdamagazine.com. Bethesda Magazine 7768 Woodmont Ave., #204 Bethesda, MD 20814 Phone: 301-718-7787 Fax: 301-718-1875 BethesdaMagazine.com

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good life

PHOTO BY MARILYN STONE

GET ON BOARD IT’S NOT UNUSUAL TO see a squirrel, a caterpillar, or even a deer in Cabin John and Wheaton regional parks. But if you ride the parks’ miniature trains this spring, you might see a hatching chick, baby ducks, colored eggs, or a field full of rainbows. The foam board scenes are part of the parks’ Spring Eye Spy Trains, which run during April. More than 80 animals and spring-themed objects are displayed along the trains’ routes. Before boarding, kids get a card that shows the characters and objects hiding in the forest, and a crayon to mark off the ones they spot. The route is about 2 miles and runs 15 to 20 minutes. Visit the party room inside each train station for activities, including giant Connect 4 and Jenga games. Wheaton Regional Park’s carousel, which is more than

100 years old, will run during train hours. The trains’ regular season—without the themed displays—is from May through September. In October, special trains return for Halloween. Spring Eye Spy Trains run from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays in April and April 6-13. Tickets are $4, free for children younger than 2 with paying adult, and are available online or in person. Online tickets are sold for specific times, and online ticket holders receive priority boarding. Carousel tickets are $2.50. Cabin John Regional Park, 7410 Tuckerman Lane, Bethesda; Wheaton Regional Park, 2002 Shorefield Road, Wheaton; montgomeryparks.org —Stephanie Siegel Burke BETHESDAMAGAZINE.COM | MARCH/APRIL 2020

good life

FULL HOUSE LEATHER-BOUND TOMES, old paperbacks, porcelain figurines, vintage movie posters and signed guitars that once belonged to rock legends fill the rooms, hallways and staircases of O Museum in the Mansion. Just a few blocks from Dupont Circle, it’s a place to wander, get lost and stumble upon unexpected treasures and secret passageways. Visitors to the mansion—which comprises five connected townhouses and serves as a museum, bed-and-breakfast and event venue—can explore 100 themed rooms and 70 secret doors. The place is filled from floor to ceiling with quirky trinkets, sets of china, celebrity costumes, retro toys and memorabilia of all sorts. There’s a room dedicated to John Lennon, and another to Elvis Presley and Marilyn Monroe. Highlights include a game room with a billiards table and working vintage pinball machines, a wine cellar that feels like something out of a medieval castle, and a two-story log cabin. Designed in 1892 by Edward Clark, who served as architect of the U.S. Capitol from 1865 to 1902, the mansion has provided lodging for historical figures and celebrities. In the 1930s it housed FBI agents. Later, jazz musician and mansion guest Miles Davis liked to have dinner served in a bathroom with a soaring ceiling and impressive acoustics. For nearly a decade, civil rights leader Rosa Parks called the place home when she visited D.C. Most of the items are donated, and all are for sale. So keep your eyes open in case you’d like to bring a piece of the mansion home as a souvenir. O Museum in the Mansion is open daily from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; last tours start at 3 p.m. Treasure hunts and self-guided, docent-led and themed tours are available starting at $25. Online reservations are required. 2020 O St. NW, Washington, D.C., 202-496-2070, omuseum.org. n —Stephanie Siegel Burke

MARCH/APRIL 2020 | BETHESDAMAGAZINE.COM

PHOTO BY LIZ LYNCH

BETHESDAMAGAZINE.COM | MARCH/APRIL 2020

Coming up at

SCOTT BRADLEE’S

POSTMODERN JUKEBOX Tue, March 3

SPRING

2020

TONY BENNETT

GREGORY PORTER

Sun, March 15

Fri & Sat, April 3 & 4 Grammy-winner known for his warm baritone has earned comparisons to

GEORGE WINSTON

BRUCE HORNSBY & yMUSIC

Mon, March 23

Fri, March 6

BRIAN McKNIGHT Todd V. Wolfson

Enjoy “The Way It Is,” “The Valley Road,” and more of Hornsby’s greatest hits plus songs from his new album with Brooklyn-based chamber ensemble yMusic.

Erik Umphery

Marvin Contessi

Larry Busacca

Nat King Cole and Stevie Wonder.

Sat, April 11

WU FEI & ABIGAIL WASHBURN Cross-cultural collaboration between traditional Chinese and American music. Shervin Lainez

Sarah Walor

Thu, April 2

LEA SALONGA

Raymund Isaac

Graham Tolbert

Fri, April 17

STRATHMORE.ORG | 301.581.5100

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1/27/20 2:06 PM

CHARLES LLOYD & THE MARVELS & LUCINDA WILLIAMS

PAUL ANKA

ANKA SINGS SINATRA Tue, May 12

Sun, April 19

D.Darr

Jazz legend Lloyd and Grammy-winner Williams bring their radiant album, Vanished Gardens, Gardens, to the stage.

IGUDESMAN & JOO

AN ACOUSTIC EVENING WITH

LYLE LOVETT & JOHN HIATT Wed, May 13

WITH MARYLAND CLASSIC YOUTH ORCHESTRAS OF STRATHMORE Sun, May 3, Matinee

Music Above All Perched on Pike & Rose’s penthouse level, AMP is Bethesda’s top spot for live music, comedy, and cocktails.

Internet sensations Igudesman and Joo give classical music a humorous spin.

A CAPPELLA LIVE! Featuring The Filharmonic, Committed, Blake Lewis & Women of the World

AMERICA

50TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR

FRI, March 6

Sat, June 27

OMAR SOSA & YILIAN CAÑIZARES {Sublime Cuban jazz} SUN, March 8

DJAVAN Thu, May 7

STANLEY JORDAN PLAYS JIMI {Jimi Hendrix reimagined} y parking tar en

ess • Compli m acc ro

Easy Me t

Leo Aversa

Brazilian music icon comes to Strathmore on rare US tour.

NOW HM

O R E .O

5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda, MD 20852

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WED, MARCH 25

Ann Hampton Callaway {Linda Rondstadt Songbook} Thu, April 30

PIKE & ROSE | N. Bethesda, MD Red Line–White Flint Metro

AMPbySTRATHMORE.COM

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good life

BEST BETS

Our picks for things to see and do in March and April BY STEPHANIE SIEGEL BURKE

March 27-28

A Strathmore jam session with Tom Teasley focused on jazz music from around the world.

March 7

JAM WITH THE FAM Strathmore’s Saturday Family Jam Sessions are designed to introduce kids to a variety of musical genres through intimate performances with local musicians. At the session focusing on go-go music—Washington, D.C.’s unique homegrown offshoot of funk—Elijah Jamal Balbed will lead a workshop on the swinging feel of the music, how original

go-go beats were created and how he blends go-go with jazz. Balbed is a saxophonist and composer who performed with “go-go godfather” Chuck Brown. Recommended for kids ages 4 to 8. 10:15 a.m., $10, everyone needs a ticket, free for children 2 and younger (special ticket required), The Mansion at Strathmore, North Bethesda, strathmore.org

Established to highlight the work of local documentarians along with the stories and issues important to them, the Bethesda Film Fest presents five short documentaries by regional filmmakers. A jury of professionals from the film and television industries judged nearly 100 submissions. View their top five picks and hear from the filmmakers during question and answer sessions that follow the screenings. The same films will be shown at each screening. 7 p.m. Friday, 6 and 8 p.m. Saturday, $10, Imagination Stage, Bethesda, bethesda.org

March 7

TRUE COLORS In India and Nepal, the Holi Festival celebrates the arrival of spring, and traditionally includes singing, dancing and showering people with colorful paint or powder. Germantown’s Kuchipudi Dance Academy will put on its own Holi Festival of Colors, featuring cultural dance performances inspired by the colors and theme of unity associated with the holiday. 2 to 4 p.m., $20, BlackRock Center for the Arts, Germantown, blackrockcenter.org

MARCH/APRIL 2020 | BETHESDAMAGAZINE.COM

Hometown Holidays features a full schedule of live music. Southern Avenue performed at last year’s event.

JAM WITH THE FAM COURTESY OF JIM SAAH; KUCHIPUDI DANCE ACADEMY COURTESY OF STEPHAN GEORGE

WHAT’S UP, DOCS?

MAKE MARCH MATTER FOR LOCAL KIDS Shop, dine and donate today! MakeMarchMatterDC.org This month, visit businesses that support Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s National Hospital to help ensure exceptional care for local kids. Visit MakeMarchMatterDC.org to learn where you can shop, dine, and donate to Make March Matter across the Washington, D.C. region.

Reese, 9

epilepsy patient

good life

BEST BETS April 18

April 17-18

THAT’S A RAP Before Lin-Manuel Miranda was rapping about Alexander Hamilton, the Q Brothers were creating “add-RAP-tations” of classic plays. Their first, The Bomb-itty of Errors, a hip-hop retelling of Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors, garnered acclaim when it debuted off-Broadway in 1999. Now they’re presenting Othello the Remix, their version of Shakespeare’s story of love, jealousy and revenge. In what is basically a hiphop opera, much of Shakespeare’s original language is rapped over hip-hop beats provided by a DJ onstage. In this condensed telling, Othello is a rap star who marries Desdemona, a singer in his chorus, while Iago and Cassio are part of his entourage. 8 p.m., $30, $25 faculty and staff, $20 students, Robert E. Parilla Performing Arts Center, Rockville, mcblogs.montgomerycollege. edu/reppac

Aficionados, novices, collectors and historians will celebrate the unique cultural significance of the vinyl record at Vinyl Day, an annual event presented by the Friends of the Library Montgomery County. The all-ages gathering features discussions, workshops, listening sessions and hands-on demonstrations. Thousands of records from all genres of music, including punk, jazz, rock, classical, hip-hop, funk and R&B, will be for sale, along with a few rare items. Participants are encouraged to bring their own records to play. Kids can get handson experience playing records, and supplies will be available to turn old, unusable records into unique items such as clocks, cupcake holders and decorations. Noon to 4 p.m., free, Silver Spring Library, Silver Spring, folmc.org

April 26

FUN UNLEASHED April 25

BROADWAY, OFF THE CUFF During Broadway’s Next Hit Musical, a talented group of improv artists takes suggestions from the audience for song titles and makes up a Broadway-style musical on the spot—complete with music, lyrics and choreography. The show is divided into two parts. During the first, the cast makes up different songs based on audience suggestions and presents them in a theatrical awards show, like the Tonys. Then, after the audience votes on the best one, the group launches into a full-blown musical centered on the winning song. 3 and 8 p.m., $20-$38, AMP by Strathmore, North Bethesda, ampbystrathmore.com

MARCH/APRIL 2020 | BETHESDAMAGAZINE.COM

Think you and your dog could be twins? See if others agree at Paws in the Park, a festival celebrating man’s best friend. Gaithersburg teams up with the Montgomery County Humane Society for the annual event, which features a 1-mile dog walk and pet contests with prizes for best dressed, best trick and best dog-owner lookalike. Dogs can also participate in agility competitions. There will be food vendors and giveaways for humans, too. The event raises money to help homeless and abandoned animals in the county. Noon to 4 p.m., $15 in advance, $25 day of the event, free for children younger than 12, Bohrer Park, Gaithersburg, gaithersburgmd.gov n

OTHELLO THE REMIX COURTESY OF Q BROTHERS; PAWS IN THE PARK COURTESY OF CITY OF GAITHERSBURG; RECORD GETTY IMAGES

FOR THE RECORD

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2/11/20 4:14 PM

good life arts & entertainment

CALENDAR COMPILED BY JENNIFER BEEKMAN

Strathmore, North Bethesda. 301-5815100, strathmore.org.

March 13

BERNARD/EBB SONGWRITING AWARDS. The seventh annual event, produced by the Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District, will feature live performances by competition finalists. 7:30 p.m. $15$20. Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club, Bethesda. 240-330-4500, bethesda.org.

March 15

MUSIC March 3 POSTMODERN JUKEBOX. A collective of musicians and vocalists, Postmodern Jukebox jazzes up hits from the rock and pop era into swinging 1920s numbers. 8 p.m. $36-$86. The Music Center at Strathmore, North Bethesda. 301-5815100, strathmore.org.

March 6 A CAPPELLA LIVE! Created and arranged by Deke Sharon, vocal producer of the hit movie Pitch Perfect, the show will feature four acts—boyband-inspired The Filharmonic, gospel and R&B legends Committed, vocalist and beatboxer Blake Lewis and internationally renowned Women of the World. 8 p.m. $42-$68. AMP by Strathmore, North Bethesda. 301581-5100, ampbystrathmore.com. 38

March 7 PRESSENDA CHAMBER PLAYERS. Presented by the Washington Conservatory of Music, the ensemble of strings and piano will perform Beethoven’s String Quartet, Op. 127 and Schumann’s String Quartet in A Minor. 8 p.m. Free ($20 suggested donation). Westmoreland Congregational United Church of Christ, Bethesda. 301-320-2770, washingtonconservatory.org.

March 11 and 25 CHRISTIAN DOUGLAS. A 2020 Strathmore Artist in Residence, Douglas has performed at the White House, the U.S. Capitol and the Pentagon as a soloist with the U.S. Army Chorus. His music carries pop, jazz and soul influences. On March 18, there is a “building blocks of songwriting” workshop with Douglas. 7:30 p.m. $19; workshop is free but registration is required. The Mansion at

MARCH/APRIL 2020 | BETHESDAMAGAZINE.COM

March 19

CHRISTYLEZ BACON & NISTHA RAJ. In the 2019-2020 season, Strathmore is exploring the theme of “Inspired Pairings,” with collaborations among a wide range of artists from a wide range of genres. The first show of this series fuses hip-hop and a contemporary take on classical Hindustani (North Indian) music with Grammy-nominated hip-hop artist Christylez Bacon, known for his beatboxing, rhyming and storytelling skills, and violinist Nistha Raj. 7:30 p.m. $24. The Mansion at Strathmore, North Bethesda. 301-581-5100, strathmore.org.

March 20

MURRAY PERAHIA. Washington Performing Arts presents the three-time Grammywinning pianist, whom the Times (London) dubbed “one of the piano’s most lyrical contemporary poets.” 8 p.m. $45-$85. The Music Center at Strathmore, North Bethesda. 202-785-9727, washingtonperformingarts.org.

March 20

THE ROBERT GLASPER TRIO. On his latest album, Covered, Glasper reunites his trio and returns to his acoustic jazz roots. 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. $59-$79 ($20 food/

PHOTO BY LARRY BUSACCA

Legendary singer Tony Bennett will perform at Strathmore on March 15. His daughter, jazz vocalist Antonia Bennett, will open the show.

TONY BENNETT. The winner of 19 Grammy Awards and two Emmys will sing such timeless hits as “Rags to Riches,” “I Got Rhythm” and “I Left My Heart in San Francisco.” His daughter, jazz vocalist Antonia Bennett, will open the show. 8 p.m. $75-$156. The Music Center at Strathmore, North Bethesda. 301-5815100, strathmore.org.

John Cole Photography

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good life beverage minimum). Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club, Bethesda. 240-3304500, bbjlive.com.

March 21 NATIONAL PHILHARMONIC: MOZART’S REQUIEM. The night’s program includes performances of the classical-era composer’s Clarinet Concerto in A Major and Requiem in D Minor. 6:45 p.m. preconcert lecture; 8 p.m. show. $29-$79; free for kids ages 7-17. The Music Center at Strathmore, North Bethesda. 301-5815100, strathmore.org.

March 28 GRETCHEN PETERS WORKSHOP & CONCERT. The Nashville singer-songwriter has penned numerous chart toppers for some of country music’s biggest stars, including George Strait and Shania Twain. In 2014, Peters’ song “Independence Day,” performed by Martina McBride, was ranked No. 77 on Rolling Stone’s list of the 100 greatest country songs. 3 p.m. workshop; 7:30 p.m. concert. $50 concert and workshop; $30 concert. The Arts Barn, Gaithersburg. 301-258-6394, gaithersburgmd.gov.

March 28

THUNDERCAT. The bassist, songwriter and vocalist, who was born Stephen Bruner, comes from a family of musicians. His father, Ronald Bruner Sr., is an internationally renowned jazz drummer who played with such legendary acts as The Temptations and Diana Ross. His brother, Ronald Bruner Jr., is a Grammy-winning drummer. As Thundercat, the multifaceted musician blends his jazz roots with an eclectic mix of artists. 8 p.m. $35. The Fillmore Silver Spring. 301-960-9999, fillmoresilverspring.com.

March 29

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GRYPHON TRIO. With a repertoire ranging from traditional to contemporary and from European classicism to modernday multimedia, the internationally acclaimed piano trio is committed to redefining chamber music for the 21st century. 7:30 p.m. $50. Bender Jewish Community Center of Greater Washington, Rockville. 301-881-0100, benderjccgw.org/arts-culture-jewish-life/ concerts

March 29 CROCE PLAYS CROCE. A.J. Croce pays tribute to his late father, iconic folk singer Jim Croce. The set will include

MARCH/APRIL 2020 | BETHESDAMAGAZINE.COM

such fan favorites as “Operator,” “You Don’t Mess Around with Jim” and “Time in a Bottle,” a song written for A.J. 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. $32-$48. AMP by Strathmore, North Bethesda. 301-581-5100, ampbystrathmore.com.

April 1 BLUE OCTOBER. Lead singer/songwriter Justin Furstenfeld has cultivated a deep connection with fans through honest lyrics that chronicle his struggle with mental illness, alcohol abuse and drug addiction. Blue October, which released its ninth studio album, I Hope You’re Happy, in 2018, is known for such hits as “Hate Me” and “Into the Ocean.” The alt-rock band is touring this spring in support of its upcoming documentary Get Back Up (scheduled for release on May 15), which gives fans an inside look at Furstenfeld’s long mental health journey and how it impacted his loved ones. 8 p.m. $40. The Fillmore Silver Spring. 301-960-9999, fillmoresilverspring.com.

April 2 WU FEI & ABIGAIL WASHBURN. Beijingborn Fei, a classically trained composer, and Washburn, a Grammy-winning performer, are self-professed musical soulmates. Fei’s ancient Chinese 21-string zither is paired with Washburn’s masterful clawhammer picking on the banjo. Part of Strathmore’s Inspired Pairings series. 8 p.m. $24-$48. The Music Center at Strathmore, North Bethesda. 301-581-5100, strathmore.org.

April 3 GREGORY PORTER. Known for his honeyed baritone and soulful jazz, the two-time Grammy winner’s most recent release, Nat King Cole & Me, is a loving tribute to Porter’s lifelong idol. 8 p.m. $58-$108. The Music Center at Strathmore, North Bethesda. 301-5815100, strathmore.org.

April 7 BAD RELIGION & ALKALINE TRIO. Celebrate 40 years of Bad Religion as the punk-rock icons are joined by Alkaline Trio for a spring co-headlining tour. In 2019, Bad Religion’s 17th studio album, Age of Unreason, reached No. 73 on Billboard’s Top 200 and No. 11 on the Top Rock Albums chart. In 2018, Alkaline Trio’s ninth studio album, Is This Thing Cursed, peaked at No. 68 on Billboard’s Top 200 and No. 6 on Top Rock Albums. 7:30 p.m. $35. The Fillmore Silver Spring. 301-9609999, fillmoresilverspring.com.

April 9 NATALIE CRESSMAN & IAN FAQUINI. Part of Strathmore’s Inspired Pairings series, the evening will feature songs in English, Portuguese and French that draw from impressionism, jazz and the great Brazilian songwriting tradition. Cressman is an established trombonist, jazz vocalist and songwriter who has collaborated with the likes of Carlos Santana and Phish. Faquini is a Brazilian composer, guitarist and vocalist known for his unique compositional style on the guitar. 7:30 p.m. $30. The Mansion at Strathmore, North Bethesda. 301-5815100, strathmore.org.

April 10 and 11 RAHSAAN PATTERSON. With an impressive range, the neo-soul singer, who began his career behind the scenes writing songs for R&B artist Brandy, is known for his thrilling and inspiring live performances. 8 p.m. $59.50-$79.50 ($20 food/beverage minimum). Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club, Bethesda. 240330-4500, bbjlive.com.

April 15 NATALY MEREZHUK. The jazz violinist holds a degree from Peabody Conservatory and performs with several orchestras in the Washington Metropolitan area. On April 22, there is a “Jazz Improvisation on the Violin” workshop with the Strathmore Artist In Residence. 7:30 p.m. $19; workshop is free but registration is required. The Mansion at Strathmore, North Bethesda. 301-581-5100, strathmore.org.

April 16 AROOJ AFTAB WITH GYAN RILEY. In 2011, Aftab, who was raised in Pakistan, was named one of the top 100 young composers by NPR. The New York Times called her 2018 album Siren Islands “spellbinding.” Riley’s guitar playing is “beautiful and enigmatic,” according to The New York Times. 7:30 p.m. $30. The Mansion at Strathmore, North Bethesda. 301-581-5100, strathmore.org.

April 16 MOVIE WITH ORCHESTRA: THE WIZARD OF OZ. Follow the yellow brick road with

Dorothy and her friends as the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra plays the Academy Award-winning score. 8 p.m. $35-$90. The Music Center at Strathmore, North Bethesda. 877-276-1444, bsomusic.org.

April 17

LEA SALONGA. At 18 she originated the role of Kim in Miss Saigon, winning Tony and Olivier awards. Salonga was also the first Asian woman to play Eponine— and later Fantine—in Les Misérables on Broadway. Named a Disney Legend for her extensive work with the Walt Disney Company, she recorded the singing voice ˇ of Princess Jasmine in Aladdin and Fa Mulan in Mulan/Mulan II. 8 p.m. $38-$88. The Music Center at Strathmore, North Bethesda. 301-581-5100, strathmore.org.

April 18

NATIONAL PHILHARMONIC: MUSIC + PROSE. The evening’s program includes cellist Zuill Bailey’s Grammy-winning rendition of Michael Daugherty’s Tales of Hemingway and the world premiere of Alistair Coleman’s Concerto for Cello and Orchestra. 6:45 p.m. meet the

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OlneyTheatre.org 301-924-3400

BETHESDAMAGAZINE.COM | MARCH/APRIL 2020 41

good life composers; 8 p.m. show. $29-$79; free for kids ages 7-17. The Music Center at Strathmore, North Bethesda. 301-5815100, strathmore.org.

April 19

CHARLES LLOYD & THE MARVELS & LUCINDA WILLIAMS. The collaboration between legendary jazz performer Lloyd, his elite ensemble The Marvels and threetime Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Williams combines jazz, roots, Americana, country and rock music. 8 p.m. $38-$88. The Music Center at Strathmore, North Bethesda. 301-581-5100, strathmore.org.

April 24

OFF THE CUFF: HOLST THE PLANETS. The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra salutes the 30th anniversary of the Hubble Telescope with a rousing rendition of British composer Gustav Holst’s The Planets (1918), a seven-movement suite depicting planets from our solar system. 8:15 p.m. $35-$90. The Music Center at Strathmore, North Bethesda. 877-2761444, bsomusic.org.

April 29

AN INTIMATE EVENING WITH DAVID FOSTER. The 16-time Grammy-winning songwriter, composer and pianist is joined onstage by wife/vocalist Katharine McPhee, runner-up on the fifth season of American Idol. Foster has created hit songs for a wide range of the world’s best-selling artists, including Barbra Streisand, Celine Dion, Whitney Houston and Madonna, and soundtracks for such blockbuster films as The Bodyguard and Urban Cowboy. 8 p.m. $92.50-$102.50. The Music Center at Strathmore, North Bethesda. 301-581-5100, strathmore.org.

April 30

ANN HAMPTON CALLAWAY. The multiplatinum-selling pop and jazz singersongwriter’s show celebrates the iconic songbook of country rock star Linda Ronstadt. 8 p.m. $32-$58. AMP by Strathmore, North Bethesda. 301-5815100, ampbystrathmore.com.

THEATER/FILM/TALKS Through June 3

THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK. The Pulitzer Prize-winning play is a stage adaptation of the book The Diary of a Young Girl, by Anne Frank. Anne doesn’t leave the Amsterdam attic in which her family is being hidden from the Nazis for two years and finds solace writing in her diary. See website

for showtimes and prices. Olney Theatre Center. 301-924-3400, olneytheatre.org.

March 4-April 5 THE AMATEURS. Nominated for an Off Broadway Alliance Award in 2018, this dark comedy takes audiences on a mind-bending journey from 14th-century Europe to the present day, creating a meta-theatrical hall of mirrors about storytelling, illness and loss. See website for showtimes and prices. Olney Theatre Center, 301-924-3400, olneytheatre.org.

March 6 DESSA ROSE. The chamber musical from the creators of Ragtime brings together two young women from opposite backgrounds in pre-Civil War America as they plot an unlikely escape. 8 p.m. $60. Olney Theatre Center. 301-924-3400, olneytheatre.org.

March 6-8 HOW THE MOON WOULD TALK & FREAK. The Round House Theatre Teen Performance Company presents two coming-of-age, one-act plays as part of the 18th annual Sarah Metzger Memorial Play. 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday. $20. Round House Theatre, Bethesda. 240-644-1100, roundhousetheatre.org.

March 6-22 THE SPITFIRE GRILL. Hannah’s Spitfire Grill is up for sale but no one can afford to buy it. However, interest surges when town newcomer Percy, a feisty parolee new to town, suggests that Hannah raffle the restaurant off. Presented by the City of Gaithersburg in partnership with Rockville Little Theatre. Recommended for ages 15 and older. 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays; 2 p.m. Sundays. $20; $18 students ages 15-21. Arts Barn, Gaithersburg. 301-2586394, gaithersburgmd.gov.

March 20-April 4 THE AUDIENCE. This historical dramedy, set between 1952 England and the present day, revolves around Queen Elizabeth II’s private weekly meetings with each of her prime ministers. Presented by the Kensington-based British Players. See website for showtimes and prices. Kensington Town Hall, Kensington. 240621-0529, tok.md.gov.

March 26 THINK + DRINK: CONFESSIONS OF A GAY ISRAELI DIPLOMAT. Elad Strohmayer, spokesperson of the Embassy of Israel to the United States, discusses his

MARCH/APRIL 2020 | BETHESDAMAGAZINE.COM

personal story as an openly gay Israeli diplomat. Presented by the Bender Jewish Community Center of Greater Washington in partnership with the Israeli American Council. 7:30 p.m. schmooze; 8 p.m. talk. $9 in advance (includes one drink); $11 day of. Botanero restaurant, Rockville. 301-881-0100, benderjccgw.org/ thinkanddrink.

April 1 THE LAST SUIT. The event is a screening of the 2017 film. After 88-year-old Abraham Bursztein’s kids sell his Buenos Aires residence and plan his move to a retirement home, the aging Jewish tailor sets out on a long journey to find the man who saved him during the Holocaust. 6:30 p.m. reception; 7 p.m. film. $10 in advance; $12 day of. Bender Jewish Community Center of Greater Washington, Rockville. 301-881-0100, benderjccgw. org/lastsuit.

April 1-19 COST OF LIVING. Two parallel narratives—a wealthy graduate student with cerebral palsy and a truck driver struggling to reconnect with his estranged wife after she’s left paralyzed by a car crash—intersect in Martyna Majok’s Pulitzer Prize-winning drama. See website for showtimes and prices. Round House Theatre, Bethesda. 240-6441100, roundhousetheatre.org.

April 1-May 3 THE HUMANS. The Tony Award-winning drama is the quintessential family reunion—equal parts hilarious and heartbreaking—as family members wrestle with basic human fears. See website for showtimes and prices. Olney Theatre Center, Olney. 301-924-3400, olneytheatre.org.

ART March 21-May 17 ELIZABETH WITHSTANDLEY. Searching for the Miraculous is Withstandley’s trilogy of videos and installation works exploring identity, time, transcended experiences and the romantic vision of a quest for something better. The project uses video, audio, music and sculptural elements. Noon-4 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays; noon-8 p.m. Fridays; noon-4 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. Opening reception and artist talk on March 21, 7-9 p.m. Free. Common Ground Gallery, VisArts Rockville. 301-315-8200, visartscenter.org

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good life 2019-20 SEASON

DANCE April 3-4

MAHLER SYMPHONY NO. 3

THU, MAR 12, 8 PM • SAT, MAR 14, 8 PM

Marin Alsop, conductor • Cierra Byrd, mezzo-soprano University of Maryland Concert Choir, Edward Maclary, director Peabody Children’s Chorus, Doreen Falby, director MAHLER Symphony No. 3

MOZART AND MENDELSSOHN

SUN, MAR 29, 3 PM

Marin Alsop, conductor • David Fray, piano ANNA CLYNE COLOR FIELD (World Premiere) MOZART Piano Concerto No. 9, “Jeunehomme” FANNY MENDELSSOHN-HENSEL Overture in C Major FELIX MENDELSSOHN Symphony No. 4, “Italian”

MOVIE WITH ORCHESTRA: THE WIZARD OF OZ THU, APR 16, 8 PM

Scott Terrell, conductor Enjoy The Wizard of Oz on the big screen, and follow the yellow brick road with Dorothy and her friends as the BSO performs the Academy Award-winning score. There will be a pre-concert talk at 6 pm with Todd Hitchcock, Director of Programming at the AFI Silver Theatre.

HOLST THE PLANETS

SAT, APR 25, 8 PM

Peter Oundjian, conductor University Of Maryland Concert Choir, Edward Maclary, director VIVIAN FUNG Dust Devils DEBUSSY Nocturnes HOLST The Planets

OFF THE CUFF: HOLST THE PLANETS FRI, APR 24, 8:15 PM

Peter Oundjian, conductor University of Maryland Concert Choir, Edward Maclary, director HOLST The Planets Followed by Q&A with conductor

RACHMANINOFF PIANO CONCERTO

THU, APR 30, 8 PM

Marin Alsop, conductor • Olga Kern, piano • Hayley Abramowitz, soprano ANNA CLYNE Restless Oceans (U.S. Premiere) MAHLER Symphony No. 4 RACHMANINOFF Piano Concerto No. 3

STAR WARS: THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK – IN CONCERT FRI, MAY 8, 8 PM

Nicholas Hersh, conductor The iconic full-length film plays on the big screen as the BSO performs John Williams’ legendary score live. Presentation licensed by Disney Concerts in association with 20th Century Fox, Lucasfilm Ltd., and Warner/Chappell Music. © 2020 & TM Lucasfilm Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

EXPLORE THE FULL SEASON AT BSOMUSIC.ORG

THE MUSIC CENTER AT STRATHMORE

FREE PARKING • METRO: RED LINE TO GROSVENOR/STRATHMORE PRE-CONCERT FOOD AND DRINK AVAILABLE AT THE ALLEGRO KITCHEN TICKETS FROM $35 | BSOMUSIC.ORG | 1.877.BSO.1444 PRESENTING SPONSORS:

MARCH/APRIL 2020 | BETHESDAMAGAZINE.COM

PUNKING + POSING + WHACKING. This two-day street dance workshop with Ana “Lollipop” Sanchez will include technique in using arms, hands and shoulders, as well as working your space with foot moves. The Pass the Peace workshop, presented by Strathmore in partnership with Bmore Houseful, is open to all experience levels. 7-9 p.m. $45. The Education Center at Strathmore, North Bethesda. 301-581-5100, strathmore.org.

CHILDREN AND FAMILIES Through March 22 ZOMO THE RABBIT: A HIP-HOP CREATION MYTH. A high-energy, hip-hop adaptation of a Nigerian folktale with a local spin. Hop around D.C. with Zomo and meet new friends, such as the breakdancing fish, graffiti artist cow and DJ leopard. Recommended for children ages 4 and older. See website for showtimes and prices. Imagination Stage, Bethesda. 301280-1660, imaginationstage.org.

Through March 29 BEAUTY AND THE BEAST. There are curses, conflicts, wishes, hopes, dreams and exciting adventures in this romantic tale about a handsome prince and his love, Beauty. It’s brought to life with large-scale marionettes. Best for ages 5 and older. 11 a.m. Thursdays and Fridays; 11:30 a.m. Saturdays and Sundays. $12. The Puppet Co., Glen Echo. 301-634-5380, thepuppetco.org.

Through March 29 THE SNOWY DAY AND OTHER STORIES. Join Peter and his friend Archie in their adventures around the neighborhood in four of Ezra Jack Keats’ beloved tales. Appropriate for children of all ages. See website for showtimes and prices. Adventure Theatre MTC, Glen Echo. 301634-2270, adventuretheatre-mtc.org.

Through April 5 THUMBELINA. A retelling of Hans Christian Andersen’s fairytale celebrating individuality and friendship. This production includes live video projections, puppetry, dioramas and more. Recommended for children ages 4 and older. See website for showtimes and prices. Imagination Stage, Bethesda. 301280-1660, imaginationstage.org.

March 21-April 12 PAPER DREAMS. Presented by Imagination Stage in collaboration with Mons Dansa Dance Company from Barcelona, this interactive performance tells the story of two creatures living inside a wastepaper basket. Best for ages 1-5. See website for showtimes and prices. Imagination Stage, Bethesda. 301-280-1660, imaginationstage.org.

March 22 DISCOVERY DAY: CODES, CODING AND SIGNALS. An interactive exploration of spy codes, signal messaging and computer coding. 1-4 p.m. Free. Gaithersburg Community Museum, Gaithersburg. 301-258-6160, gaithersburgmd.gov.

March 29 PETER AND THE WOLF. Sergei Prokofiev’s symphonic fairytale—about a boy named Peter and what happens when he disobeys his grandfather and climbs over the garden wall—is brought to the stage by the City of Gaithersburg in partnership with the Maryland Classic Youth Orchestra. 1-2 p.m. $12-

$18. The Arts Barn, Gaithersburg. 301258-6394, gaithersburgmd.gov.

April 3-May 10 HANSEL AND GRETEL. Engelbert Humperdinck’s children’s opera based on the Grimm brothers’ fairytale of the same name is performed with puppets. Recommended for children in kindergarten through sixth grade. 11 a.m. Thursdays and Fridays; 11:30 a.m. Saturdays and Sundays. $12. The Puppet Co., Glen Echo. 301-634-5380, thepuppetco.org.

April 18-26 MISS NELSON IS MISSING! When Miss Nelson goes missing and is replaced by a scary substitute named Viola Swamp, the students of Room 207 set out to find their beloved teacher. Recommended for ages 4 and older. 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Saturdays; 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. Sundays. $15; $12 ages 17 and younger. The Arts Barn, Gaithersburg. 301-258-6394, gaithersburgmd.gov.

Lyle becomes good friends with everyone in the building, except for Mr. Grumps. But he’s determined to prove his worth and show that our differences are what make us beautiful. Recommended for kids in kindergarten through fourth grade. See website for showtimes and prices. Adventure Theatre MTC, Glen Echo. 301634-2270, adventuretheatre-mtc.org.

April 25-26 JUDY MOODY AND STINK. After seeing her classmate’s picture in the newspaper, moody Judy tries to find her own fame and happiness. Based on the popular children’s books about a dynamic sister and brother duo. Recommended for ages 4 and older. 10 a.m. (sensory-friendly performance), noon and 3 p.m. Saturday; noon and 3 p.m. Sunday. $20. Olney Theatre Center, Olney. 301-924-3400, olneytheatre.org.

FESTIVALS/SEASONAL March 13

April 24-May 31 LYLE THE CROCODILE. After appearing in a bathtub in New York City’s Upper East Side,

ST. PATRICK’S DAY CELEBRATION. A festive evening featuring sing-alongs

Custom Suit

featuring rich fabric from Holland & Sherry GEOFFREY LEWIS CUSTOM CLOTHIERS 1433 H ST NW, Washington DC 20005 202.638.6088 | geoffreylewisltd.com @glewistailors

BETHESDAMAGAZINE.COM | MARCH/APRIL 2020 45

good life and choral arrangements of Irish classics performed by the two-time Grammywinning Washington Chorus, The Irish Inn Mates folk band and students of the Culkin School of Traditional Irish Dance. 8 p.m. $18-$79. The Music Center at Strathmore, North Bethesda. 301-5815100, strathmore.org.

March 14

ST. PATRICK’S DAY PARADE. From Celtic dance troupes to bagpipe bands and more, celebrate St. Patrick’s Day at the City of Gaithersburg’s 20th annual event. Live entertainment to follow the parade. Held in partnership with the Peterson Companies and Rio. 10 a.m. Free. Rio, Gaithersburg. 301-258-6350, gaithersburgmd.gov.

March 20

INTERNATIONAL NIGHT. Join your neighbors for an evening of fun and entertainment, including dance performances, costume displays and traditional foods, and learn about the different cultures that make up the community. 6-8 p.m. Free. F. Scott Fitzgerald Theatre, Rockville. 240-3148780, rockvillemd.gov.

April 1 CENSUS DAY. The 2020 Census kicks off with a block party. Includes music, activities, talks, information and more. See website for details. Gaithersburg Community Museum, Gaithersburg. 301-258-6160, gaithersburgmd.gov.

April 3-5 MAGIC & FANTASY WEEKEND. Kicks off on Friday evening with Kourosh Taie’s Labor of Love, a one-man show filled with comedy, magic and mentalism. The weekend includes Music of The Lord of the Rings, performed by the Symphony Orchestra of Northern Virginia, and a showing of Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring on Saturday; and a wand-making workshop and presentation of Harry Potter & the Sorcerer’s Stone on Sunday. Sponsored by the City of Gaithersburg. See website for details. The Arts Barn, Gaithersburg. 301-2586394, www.gaithersburgmd.gov/recreation/ performing-arts/magic-fantasy-weekend.

April 4 DIVERSECITY SHOWCASE. The City of Gaithersburg’s Multicultural Affairs

Committee presents the fourth annual celebration of the world cultures represented within the community. The day will include music, dance, storytelling and fashion from around the globe. Noon4 p.m. Free. Activity Center at Bohrer Park, Gaithersburg. 301-258-6350, gaithersburgmd.gov.

April 24

SKYWATCHING: HUBBLE 30TH ANNIVERSARY. Celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Hubble Space Telescope’s launch with an evening all about telescopes and astral photography. 7-9:30 p.m. Free. Observatory Park, Gaithersburg. 301-258-6350, gaithersburgmd.gov.

April 26

KENSINGTON DAY OF THE BOOK FESTIVAL. The 15th annual event brings an array of literary, musical and artistic talents to Howard Avenue, and will feature live music, children’s activities, local food vendors, author readings and more. Head down Armory Avenue for the fifth annual Gala Craft Fair. 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Free. Old Town Kensington, Kensington. 301-949-9416, dayofthebook.com. n

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culture watch EXCEPTIONAL THEATRE IN GLEN ECHO

Adventure Theatre MT C 2 Week Sessions Throughout the Summer Celebrating 42 years! Experience musical theater in a fun, full-day camp for rising grades 1–6. Your child will work alongside accomplished D.C. area theatre professionals and teaching artists during daily rehearsals in dancing, singing, and acting. With props and costumes, singing and scene-work, your child’s experience will culminate in a performance of a full-scale, youth-appropriate main stage show for friends and family. Please note that students are grouped with their peers, and casting is at the discretion of the director. GLENECHOTHEATRECAMP.ORG | (301) 251-5766

Creative Voices + Cultural Happenings at CultureSpotMC.com CultureSpotMC.com is a service of the Arts & Humanities Council of Montgomery County 46

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culture watch Maryland Youth Ballet

Imagination Stage

Cinderella and More April 4 & 5 at 1pm and 6pm Robert E. Parilla Performing Arts Center Montgomery College, Rockville, MD Will the slipper fit? This spring, MYB brings this classic fairy tale to life through the magic of dance. Enjoy Cinderella in a one hour matinee (1pm) performance ideal for children. Also presenting, an evening (6pm) Spring Concert of classical and contemporary ballet featuring: Les Sylphides, Blitzgrieg, Tahquamenon Falls, and Untitled Cameo. Tickets: tickets@marylandyouthballet.org MARYLANDYOUTHBALLET.ORG | (301) 608-2232

Spring Break Camps April 6 - 10, 2020 Imagination Stage offers week-long Spring Break Camps jam-packed with acting, dance, musical theatre, creative drama, and filmmaking to enjoy during students’ days off of school. IMAGINATIONSTAGE.ORG | (301) 280-1660

CityDance Jun. 16 – Aug. 28, Ages 4 and up CityDance’s themed summer programs offer learning and fun through culture and creativity. Campers take daily dance classes, enjoy arts and crafts and get the chance to perform for friends and family! MD CAMPS: SUMMER@CITYDANCE.NET (301) 581-5204 DC CAMPS: TENLEY@CITYDANCE.NET (202) 545-7207 CITYDANCE.NET

Arts on the Green

WORKSHOP & CONCERT

Singer Songwriter Concert Series: Gretchen Peters Workshop & Concert March 28, 2020, Workshop: 3pm, Concert: 7:30pm Workshop & Concert presented by O’HAIR Salon+Spa. Gretchen Peters is one of Nashville’s most beloved and compelling artists. Her songs immerse listeners in a world of emotion, digging underneath to expose what is fueling the fire. She’s been described as heartbreaking and heartwarming. Tickets may be purchased online, at the Arts Barn Box Office or by calling. GAITHERSBURGMD.GOV/AOTG | (301) 258-6394

Metropolitan Ballet Theatre March 21-22, 12pm & 4pm Robert E. Parilla Performing Arts Center, Montgomery College, Rockville, MD This is an interactive ballet experience not to be missed, including a Magic Show during intermission, fun activities in the lobby before the performance, as well as a meet-n-greet with magic toyshop characters after the ballet! Every child’s ticket includes a trip to our lobby toyshop. Please visit www.mbtdance.org to see everything your ticket includes! Tickets: Adult/Child/Senior Advance: 28/24/24; Adult/Child/Senior At the Door: 31/27/27; Group Discount: all seats 19, all seats are general admission MBTDANCE.ORG | (301) 762-1757

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Family Business PROFILES

Senator Cardin was on hand or the unveiling of an acre of solar roof on Fitzgerald’s new 757-spot parking garage in Gaithersburg in August 2019.

Fitzgerald Auto Mall One of Jack Fitzgerald’s first jobs was as a stock clerk at a family owned District Grocery store. Jack quickly learned that Sam the Butcher had a better job than him, because he was able to go in and out of the walk-in freezer and cool off while Jack worked stocking shelves without the benefit of air conditioning. Jack never complained. Those early lessons would be a part of his career in the automotive business, "Whatever your hands find to do, do it with all your might," he is fond of saying. Later he sold home fire alarms door-to-door, then joined the Handley Ford sales team in Washington, DC. Owner Mr. Sheehy (yes…that family founder) taught Jack that if he was diligent and outworked everyone, he could be successful selling vehicles. "I always put my customers first and gained a reputation as the number one advocate for customers if their car was in for service." That loyalty earned him a lot of raving fans, and soon Jack had a business within a business. In partnership with a longtime customer, Jack bought a dealership named Diver Dodge on Old Georgetown Road that was going out of business. A handful of dedicated employees helped him grow the business, and in 1968 they moved to their current location, opening Colonial Dodge on Rockville Pike. Today, Fitzgerald is a family business with more than 1,500 associates, and more than 22 brands. Jack’s early experiences are part of the culture. As he says, "Focus on the customer and the rest will take care of itself." The company also puts the environment first, too, recently adding a massive new solar roof in Gaithersburg. 48

MARCH/APRIL 2020 | BETHESDAMAGAZINE.COM

"I always put my customers first and gained a reputation as the number one advocate for customers if their car was in for service."

21 Locations in Rockville, Wheaton, Gaithersburg, Germantown, Frederick, Annapolis, Lexington Park and Chambersburg, PA and Clearwater, FL 301-881-4000 www.FitzMall.com

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Matt, Alex, and Nick Markoff CALLEVA, INC.

MARCH/APRIL 2020 | BETHESDAMAGAZINE.COM

"We've become a goto for people's bucket lists, and we absolutely love getting out of the city to experience a little bit of adventure..."

13015 Rileys Lock Road Poolesville, MD 20837 301-216-1248 | www.calleva.org

MICHAEL VENTURA

Founded by the Markoff brothers in 1993 as a small summer camp, Calleva has grown to encompass a wide range of programming including, summer camps, wilderness high adventures, environmental education and small-scale sustainable farming. The brothers have built their non-profit around the idea of building a healthy, integrated life that includes adventure, personal challenge, community connectedness and an appreciation for tradition. Calleva Farm, 165 acres of land in Montgomery County’s Agricultural Reserve, is one of the organization’s three hubs. It has served as an essential resource for teaching people of all ages about the value of rural land, local farms and the important interdependencies between farm, forest and local water sources, says Alex, director of Calleva’s Farm Operations. In addition to summer camp, year-round experiences are available for people of all ages, including horse riding lessons, Farm & Forest Cubs outdoor preschool, Dirty Dinners (a unique farm-to-table experience that features ingredients from Calleva Farm), summertime Family Farm Nights, and the always popular Markoff’s Haunted Forest. Meanwhile, Calleva’s Liquid Adventures gets kids and adults out on area rivers for introductory kayaking instruction, rafting excursions, plus international trips for kayakers of every age and ability. In May 2019, Calleva opened a Farm Store in downtown Poolesville, offering a variety of food and gift items from Calleva and other local producers. “In the beginning, we were thinking about summer camp, getting kids outdoors for some fun in the sun,” says Matt, Calleva’s executive director. “Calleva has grown way beyond what we imagined back then. We’ve become a go-to for people’s bucket lists, and we absolutely love getting people out of the city to experience a little bit of adventure right here in D.C.’s backyard.”

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The Papaheraklis Family; Owner & Founder George, Dagmar, Niko & Dasha; Plus Company Family Patrick, Vivian and Omar.

The Papaheraklis Family

TONY J. LEWIS

FINECRAFT BUILDING CONTRACTORS "Building is more than just following your architect’s design. It’s all about the way that you put it together, bringing the ideas and designs to life," says George Papaheraklis. George Papaheraklis began as a carpenter's helper in high school, studied architecture at the University of Maryland and then founded his construction firm, FineCraft Contractors, in 1985. Several members of his family grew up in the business, and the FineCraft family has since built and remodeled hundreds of homes in Maryland, Virginia and the District. Papaheraklis and his family believe that building is like fine art, and it shows in all the company's work. “What we do is like painting, but with two-by-fours, shingles and tiles," he says. Whether you’re adding a new kitchen, updating baths and bedrooms or building out or up, certain basics always apply. “Every element is part of a system, and building is about putting it all together the right way," he says. They strive for perfection on every project, with a collaborative approach that encourages homeowners to be true team players with FineCraft working for each others’ satisfaction and well-being. "Our legacy is happy homeowners who are enjoying their newly created spaces we’ve built for them decades after the completed project." As a measure of their excellence, look to Houzz, where the company has won “Best Of” awards from 2014 to 2019. They also have earned recognition from Peerless Rockville, CotY and the Maryland Building Industry Association, among many other honors. Their work is featured in many building, lifestyle and architectural publications, as well.

"Our legacy is happy homeowners who are enjoying their newly created spaces we’ve built for them decades after the completed project."

FineCraft Building Contractors, Inc. 104 Summit Hall Road, Gaithersburg, MD 20877 301-330-9191 customercare@finecraftcontractors.com www.finecraftcontractors.com

BETHESDAMAGAZINE.COM | MARCH/APRIL 2020

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Fernanda Landa DIRECTOR, PRIMROSE SCHOOL OF DOWNTOWN BETHESDA Fernanda was born in Ecuador 42 years ago, the middle child of three and a role model of perseverance. With a bachelorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s degree in business, she started a career in Early Childhood Development and quickly gained a strong understanding of how to shape and develop children based on their unique needs. "I learned how to support children and parents in their learning process. We understand and assist children in their development by realizing that they are unique and each has different ways of learning. Today the director of Primrose in Bethesda, her two sons are her motivation and strength. Thomas is in third grade; Nicolas, his first semester of college, pursuing his business degree. "I've been in Early Childhood Development for over a decade," she says. "I developed my passion in this field due to the needs of my own children. Over my career, I've learned more about roles in child development and the importance each role has in shaping and developing young children." "A teacher takes a hand, opens a mind, touches a heart and shapes the future." As a strong educator, Fernanda saw the impact she made for her older son and has dedicated herself to growing further and supporting all the children that parents trust to her care. "Parents, teachers and students believe that I can help make a difference in their lives." She believes that developing a child's physical, language and cognitive skills is important as a foundation for their future academic success. "But my experience as an educator has proven to me that the most important part of a child's growth and development is the social-emotional domain."

8101 Glenbrook Road, Bethesda, MD 20814 301-656-6000 Fernanda.Landa@primrosedowntownbethesda.com www.primrosedowntownbethesda.com 52

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STEPHANIE WILLIAMS

"A teacher takes a hand, opens a mind, touches a heart and shapes the future."

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Left to right: Gail Linn, Au.D. and Tricia Terlep, Au.D.

Gail Linn, Au.D

COURTESY PHOTO

POTOMAC AUDIOLOGY Being an audiologist has been one of the greatest blessings that I have had in my life, because I get to do what I love—help people. I have built my practice and donated many hours of my time serving on and leading boards of audiology organizations and speaking and teaching to make our industry better. Another blessing has been to have my daughter, Dr. Tricia Terlep, join the practice. I was extremely surprised when she announced that she had decided to pursue Audiology as a profession and career some 20 years ago. After her graduation, I encouraged her to find a job outside my practice so she could develop her own professional identity and she spent almost eight years at Georgetown University Hospital in their Audiology Department. This gave her a great deal of experience that she has brought with her to the practice. Not only did she see unusual cases, but she worked with children, too, and today she heads up our Pediatric Department. Since Tricia joined the practiced eight years ago, we have hired four other audiologists that we consider part of our family, as well. Tricia’s husband Vince Terlep joined our practiced last year as Director of Operations. All day, every day, I am fortunate to work with my daughter, son-in-law and four other wonderful audiologists seeing patients that are part of my extended family. We consider all our patients to be just like family and we truly have a family—and family centered—practice.

"Being an audiologist has been one of the greatest blessings that I have had in my life, because I get to do what I love—help people."

Doctors of Audiology, Potomac Audiology 11300 Rockville Pike Suite. 105 Rockville, MD 20852 240-477-1010 gail@potomacaudiology.com www.potomacaudiology.com

BETHESDAMAGAZINE.COM | MARCH/APRIL 2020

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Chevy Chase Cars

The history behind Chevy Chase Cars is a great American success story. A self-made immigrant spends his life savings to pursue his dream. Through hard work, determination and resilience, the young entrepreneur grows his company into one of the most successful automobile dealerships in the country. Eighty-one years later, Chevy Chase Cars is the oldest retail business in Bethesda that has operated continuously in the same location—and still family run. Established in 1939 by Art Bowis, Chevy Chase Cars is now run by Art’s grandson, John F. Bowis. “When my grandfather purchased this property, there wasn’t much out here, except for a farm across the street,” John says. “My grandfather spent an hour walking the property before he bought it and not a single car went by on Wisconsin Avenue.” Today, Chevy Chase Cars is the #1 Acura dealer in Maryland in sales of new and pre-owned automobiles—and the one of the largest in the country. Despite its growth and success, Chevy Chase Cars is still a truly local business where family ties run deep among employees and customers. “Chevy Chase Cars is not only a family business, but also a business of families,” John says. “Over the years we’ve had relatives from more than 30 different families work on our team.” John’s business partner, Sam Weaver, Jr. is no exception. He started working at Chevy Chase Cars when he was 16 year’s old. His father, Sam, Sr., worked at the dealership for 51 years. “We also have multiple families that have been buying cars from us across several generations,” John says. “One well-known local family has purchased more than 20 cars through the years.” Being a family-owned and operated business for three generations is an essential part of Chevy Chase Cars’ culture and identity. “Treating our employees and customers like family is the foundation that my grandfather and father built,” John says. “It’s who we are and why we are successful.” 54

MARCH/APRIL 2020 | BETHESDAMAGAZINE.COM

7725 Wisconsin Ave. Bethesda, MD, 20814 301-657-4000 www.chevychaseacura.com

TONY J. LEWIS

JOHN F. BOWIS, PRESIDENT & OWNER

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TONY J. LEWIS

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Best Senior Care

MARCH/APRIL 2020 | BETHESDAMAGAZINE.COM

“Our ultimate goal is for every client to be heard, understood and cared for with dignity and respect.”

17830 New Hampshire Ave., Suite 302 Ashton, MD 20861 301-717-2212 www.bestseniorcare.us

MICHAEL VENTURA

Established in 2002, Best Senior Care provides care for seniors, helping them live confidently and age gracefully in their own homes for as long as possible. As many seniors can be hesitant to invite a caregiver into their home, Best Senior Care understands that building trust with the family is essential. And for nearly 20 years, the family owned and operated company has been cultivating special life-long relationships with clients and their families. “Our approach has been successful even with the most leery of seniors,” says the company’s founder Alex Petukhov. “Working with a private, family owned company has many perks for our clients. Our communication is open, direct and productive, with no bureaucracy to get in the way of a solution.” All caregivers are chosen carefully and are certified nursing assistants, supervised by registered nurses and thoroughly assessed by the company through background checks and references. Additionally, most have experience working in hospitals, assisted living group homes or skilled nursing facilities. As a private business, Best Senior Care avoids franchise fees, enabling the company to provide a premium service at much lower costs. There are no standard plans or packages with Best Senior Care. Whether clients need daily living and companionship, meal planning, overseeing activities to minimize the risk of accidents, cleaning, bathing and grooming, shopping for groceries and much more, care is individually tailored to meet their specific needs. And if needed, help can be provided 24 hours a day. “Our ultimate goal is for every client to be heard, understood and cared for with dignity and respect,” says Petukhov.

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JOSEPH TRAN

Voorthuis Opticians In 1973, Albert Voorthuis opened the first Voorthuis Opticians, hoping to change the landscape of eye care in the Washington Metropolitan area. The family owned and operated business has since grown to eight locations and is now run by Albert’s daughters, Anna-marie and Dr. Rebecca Voorthuis; son-in-law Seth Goldman manages the Westwood location. “Our dad was the first in the Washington, D.C. area to offer eyewear as fashion and not just medical devices,” Dr. Voorthuis says. “We’re proud to continue his vision of combining quality and compassionate eye care with fashion, helping our customers and patients see well and feel good. It brings us so much joy to help the kids of parents who got their first pair of glasses at Voorthuis Opticians.” Combining modern care with old-fashioned values—spending time with and getting to know patients and clients—Voorthuis Opticians’ highly qualified optometrists and opticians work together to ensure all patients’ eye care needs are met. Maintaining good eyesight is only one part of overall eye care, Dr. Voorthuis says. Perhaps even more important is the ocular health assessment portion of a routine eye exam. Early detection of eye conditions, some of which can point to larger systemic health issues, can lead to better prognoses. There is also a science to finding the right frames, factoring in eye placement, lens and bridge size, overall shape of the frame and much more. “The better the fit, the better the vision,” says Anna-marie, the company’s buyer. “A nice looking frame can enhance a person’s look; the right shape and color can brighten the face. There’s nothing more satisfying than when people pick up their glasses, can see clearly and smile when they look in the mirror.”

"It brings us so much joy to help the kids of parents who got their first pair of glasses with Voorthuis Opticians."

Voorthuis Opticians Eight locations in Bethesda, Washington, D.C. and Alexandria www.voorthuis.com

BETHESDAMAGAZINE.COM | MARCH/APRIL 2020

Family Business

PROFILES Steven M. Cooper, Esq., Founder and Stephanie L. Cooper, Esq.

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Cooper Law Firm The professional father-daughter team of Steven and Stephanie Cooper has worked side by side for almost 15 years providing experience, integrity and results to their clients. Steven, who owns and operates Steven M. Cooper, Chartered, has been concentrating in personal injury cases for more than 50 years. Stephanie, who owns and operates Stephanie Cooper Law, LLC, focuses on family law and criminal/traffic defense. Together, this legal duo teams up under the auspices of Cooper Law. “As father and daughter, we have a unique insight into helping families during difficult times,” Stephanie says. “We build close relationships with our clients by understanding their needs, concerns and the impact their legal issues have on them and their family.” Steven has been at the forefront of positive change in highly publicized civil litigation cases in Maryland and D.C. He has earned a reputation for successfully handling complex, high-value cases, earning clients million dollar-plus verdicts and settlements. His firm also handles many cases involving less serious injuries in automobile and other accidents and Steven, admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court, consistently tries to achieve maximum compensation for his clients in minimal time. Stephanie, also admitted to practice in Maryland and D.C., joined the team in 2006. Certified as a family law mediator focusing on child access issues, she’s helped many families resolve their differences without the need for lengthy, exhausting and often expensive litigation. Her previous work in advertising and public relations, combined with strong analytical research and writing skills, enable Stephanie to work creatively to attempt to bring the best results and resolutions to her clients. “With zealous advocacy, we get the results our clients need and deserve,” Steven says.

8720 Georgia Ave., Suite 701 Silver Spring, MD 20910 301-587-9170 www.stevencooperlaw.com 58

MARCH/APRIL 2020 | BETHESDAMAGAZINE.COM

STEPHANIE WILLIAMS

"As a father and daughter, we have a unique insight into helping families during difficult times."

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PROFILES

Family Business

Kosta Abatzis OWNER & PRESIDENT, GEOFFREY LEWIS LTD. Geoffrey Lewis is one of the most well-regarded and prestigious custom clothiers in Washington, DC. The family owned and operated bespoke clothier has been in operation for over 50 years. "Our focus is in providing all clients with firstclass service and the highest-quality hand-tailored suits, sport coats, shirts, trousers, overcoats and formal wear," says owner Kosta Abatzis. "From made-to-measure to bespoke, Geoffrey Lewis can offer high-quality garments in a variety of price ranges." Geoffrey Lewis operates from a retail location on 15th and H Street NW in an elegant and comfortable environment to satisfy their clients' unique sartorial needs. On display among the many in-store bolts of fabrics are a collection of luxury Italian and English fabric books from Loro Piana, Scabal, Dormeuil, Ermenegildo Zegna, Holland & Sherry and Vitale Barberis, to name a few. "We also carry a curated ready-to-wear collection of suits, sport coats and formal wear with complimentary adjustments done in store by our master tailors," says Abatzis. The business was bought by Master Tailor Angelo Abatzis in 1969 and and has stayed in the family ever since. Angelo's son Kosta is the owner and president today. Kosta has over a decade of experience and not only learned fabrics, measuring and fitting from his father, he is also certified by the Custom Tailors & Design Association (CTDA) trade group. "With over 60 years of combined experience Geoffrey Lewis can offer the perfect experience for the most discerning gentleman," says Abatzis. In-store free consultations are available and appointments are preferred but the store does accept walk-ins.

DARREN HIGGINS

"Our focus is in providing all clients with first-class service and the highest-quality handtailored suits, sport coats, shirts, trousers, overcoats and formal wear." Kosta Abatzis (left) and his father Angelo Abatzis.

1433 H St. NW, Washington DC, 20005 202-638-6088 glewistailors@gmail.com | www.geoffreylewisltd.com BETHESDAMAGAZINE.COM | MARCH/APRIL 2020

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Dave Goldberg Since 2011 Goldberg Group, a full-service residential property management company and real estate brokerage, has grown to nearly 450 properties under management in Maryland and Washington, DC. The locally owned and operated firm provides high-level personalized services through their innovative technology, transparent communication and detail-oriented onboarding. "We operate as a family. Our goal is to take the burden off or our clients so they don't have to worry about their investment," says owner Dave Goldberg. The Goldberg Group team is expertly trained in industry standards and has extensive knowledge of all local laws and regulations as well as the cities and neighborhoods it serves. Senior managers Lena Fekkak and Sam Fishman are both Montgomery County natives. Committed to helping clients make their investments profitable, Goldberg Group uses cutting-edge marketing to generate maximum exposure and revenue for every listing. L-R: Sam Fishman, Lena Fekkak, and Dave Goldberg

9711 Washingtonian Blvd., Suite 125, North Potomac, MD 20878 240-702-2600 www.goldberggrouppm.com

STEPHANIE WILLIAMS

OWNER, GOLDBERG GROUP PROPERTY MANAGEMENT

Stephen and Lawrence Bou Since 1958, the Law Offices of Bou & Bou has been providing a wide array of legal services in the Washington Metropolitan area, including representation in cases involving personal injury, motor vehicle accidents, premises liability, work-related injuries, criminal defense, traffic defense, family law and more. Founded by the late Edward C. Bou, the firm is now managed by his sons, Stephen Bou and Lawrence Bou. “Familiarity, confidence and trust in our firm have enabled us to represent three, even four generations of families,” says Lawrence. “We put clients at ease and make sure they feel like they’re part of our extended family.” Fluent in Spanish, Stephen and Lawrence specialize in providing legal services to an underserved Latino population and find great satisfaction in being a legal resource for underrepresented minorities. “We treat each client with dignity and respect, and pride ourselves on our legal ability and high ethical standards,” Stephen says. 7315 Wisconsin Ave., Suite 205 East, Bethesda, MD 20814 202-223-1934 | www.boulaw.com 60

MARCH/APRIL 2020 | BETHESDAMAGAZINE.COM

STEPHANIE WILLIAMS

LAW OFFICES OF BOU & BOU

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Family Business

STEPHANIE WILLIAMS

Valley Mill Camp Valley Mill Camp’s 60 wooded acres and spring-fed lake provide the perfect setting for unforgettable summer adventures. Through a wide range of fun and challenging activities—kayaking, canoeing, gymnastics, horseback riding, archery and air rifle, rock climbing and more—“Valley Millers” spend their days communing with nature in the rugged outdoors, learning about self-sufficiency and resilience. Those qualities translate into self-confidence in all walks of life. Several campers have gone on to compete in kayaking and canoeing on national and Olympic teams. Valley Mill Camp has been honored with many local awards. Most recently, it was voted Best of D.C. (Washington City Paper), Best of Montgomery County (Montgomery Magazine) and Best of Bethesda (Bethesda Magazine) in 2019. The counselors are selected for character and values that make them good role models. They care about the children and the camp, and lead activities with a spirit of fun. Activities of younger age groups are tailored to their capabilities, while older age groups have ample opportunity to excel. For our more experienced campers we have Adventure Camp, which features offsite trips for kayaking, rock climbing and other exciting events. Valley Mill emphasizes the development of group cohesiveness and persistence through outdoor challenge. With second and third-generation campers, many children attend year after year, finding increased and deepened experiences each time. Valley Mill Camp is a place where lifelong skills are learned and lifelong friends are made!

“Valley Mill Camp is a place where lifelong skills are learned, and lifelong friendships are made!”

15101 Seneca Road, Germantown, MD 20874 301-948-0220 www.valleymill.com

BETHESDAMAGAZINE.COM | MARCH/APRIL 2020

people. politics. current events. books.

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PHOTO BY LAURA CHASE DE FORMIGNY

Kyley McGeeney

MICHELIN ACCOMPLISHED At Kyley McGeeney’s Silver Spring home, D.C.’s top chefs are cooking in the kitchen BY DAVID HAGEDORN

ON A SATURDAY EVENING in mid-October, Kyley McGeeney offers pink-hued aperitifs to a baker’s dozen of food enthusiasts in the diminutive living room of her colonial in Silver Spring’s Woodmoor neighborhood. In the kitchen, Vincent Badiee, the chef de cuisine at Washington, D.C.’s Gravitas, tops 14 plates with canapes, including individual spoons of oxtail marmalade and a small porcelain hen’s egg filled with scrambled eggs and bacon cubes.

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Left: The Woodmoor Supper Club dinner on Jan. 4 featured Strange Flavor Eggplant, a specialty at Maketto in Northeast D.C. Restaurateur Erik Bruner-Yang—who’s also behind D.C.’s Brothers and Sisters and ABC Pony— was the featured chef. Above: ABC Pony chef Paolo Dungca (left) and sous chef Armani Johnson plate dishes for the event.

The canapes are the first of four courses to be served during the evening’s gathering of the Woodmoor Supper Club, a near-weekly dinner hosted by McGeeney and featuring a notable D.C. chef cooking for 12 to 18 guests, most of whom don’t know each other. Badiee is filling in for Matt Baker, chef and owner of Gravitas, who told McGeeney he couldn’t make it because he was swamped with reservations. Just 18 days earlier, Gravitas had been awarded a coveted star from Michelin, the French tire company that publishes what many consider to be the most prestigious restaurant guide in the world. Once at the table in the dining room, McGeeney informs the diners of the cast change. They are unruffled as they dig into tuna sashimi with osetra caviar and chat about the latest restaurants. No 64

one seems fazed when Badiee sets off the smoke alarm while searing lavendermarinated pheasant breasts for the third course, a mishap that can occur when restaurant chefs cook in private homes. McGeeney began hosting the Saturday night dinners in March 2019. “We’ve had everyone from Michelin twostarred chefs such as Aaron Silverman of Pineapple and Pearls, and Joshua Hermias, formerly of Minibar, to people opening their first restaurants, such as Christian Irabién,” McGeeney says. She charges $95 to $120 per person, with an optional beverage pairing for another $40 to $60; diners also can bring their own alcohol. She keeps $10 to $20 per guest for expenses; the rest goes to the chef and staff. McGeeney, who is 35 and works for a research consulting company, turned

MARCH/APRIL 2020 | BETHESDAMAGAZINE.COM

her passion for food and restaurants into a dream hobby in 2016, when Michelin decided to include Washington in its coverage. McGeeney decided to eat at all 107 restaurants listed in D.C.’s inaugural 2017 guide and chronicle the adventure through a blog, Mission Michelin, and an Instagram account, @MissionMichelin, that now has around 7,000 followers. With a keen eye toward creating a brand for herself—she admits she wants to be an official Michelin brand ambassador—McGeeney cultivated relationships with the chefs at the restaurants she visited. Afterward, she posted on social media pictures of herself (guide in hand) with the chefs, along with pictures of their food, lavishing praise on both in her commentary. “I remember her first year going to every restaurant in the [Michelin] guide

PHOTOS BY LAURA CHASE DE FORMIGNY

Opposite page: Host Kyley McGeeney with dinner guests at her Silver Spring home

and not asking for freebies,” says chef Erik Bruner-Yang, who recently opened ABC Pony in Washington and cooked for the supper club in January. “Being super nice went a really long way for her.” McGeeney grew up in Ithaca, New York, the only child of a single working mother. “We went out to dinner six days a week and [would] become friends with the restaurateurs,” she says. Her mother would take her to fine-dining bastions like Le Bernardin and the Four Seasons when McGeeney lived in New York City while attending The New School, a private research university. When she moved to Washington in 2008 to work for Gallup, McGeeney kept up with the city’s hot restaurants, but once she got married, moved to the suburbs and had kids, that changed. “I was out to lunch with girlfriends one day and they were talking about restaurants and neighborhoods I never heard of,” she says. That’s when McGeeney resolved to eat her way through the District’s Michelin Guide. As Mission Michelin caught on, public relations representatives started inviting

McGeeney to eat for free in restaurants. Michelin paid more attention, too—the company now pays for her hotel expenses and airfare to attend their star reveals in other American cities, such as Los Angeles and New York. The supper club was a natural outgrowth of McGeeney’s forays. “I was setting up these dinners out, so I thought, why not bring the chefs [to my house]?” she says. Her husband, John, who prefers not to participate, tends to the couple’s 4-year-old son and 7-year-old daughter upstairs while McGeeney is downstairs during the dinners. At first, the dinners were held a few times a month; now they’re almost weekly. Many first-timers have become repeat attendees. The Gravitas dinner exceeded expectations for one of them, Malak Al Kaud of Arlington, Virginia. “It’s a different experience than you’d have in the restaurant itself, and that has an added value for me,” she says, noting that the group’s mutual interest in fine dining was another benefit. “It was refreshing to talk about something other than the current political climate.” ■ BETHESDAMAGAZINE.COM | MARCH/APRIL 2020

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KEEPING IN STRIDE For Rockville’s Betty Smith, running has become a lifelong passion

BETTY HOLSTON SMITH PAYS close attention to Udai Singh’s posture and the mechanics of his stride on a treadmill in a small Rockville gym before heading outside to watch him run on a chilly Saturday morning last fall. “Lean, lean, lean!” shouts Smith, clapping to encourage the 17-year-old Poolesville High School cross-country runner who was looking for tips to improve his form. “Everything should be heading in the direction you are heading. …That looks great!” For more than 10 years, Smith has evaluated the techniques of other runners as a volunteer at a monthly running lab sponsored by the Montgomery County Road Runners Club (MCRRC), offering advice honed by her years of long-distance running. Smith has so much wisdom to impart that she often continues working with runners 66

in the parking lot long after the clinic has ended and other volunteers have departed. Udai’s father, Kush Singh, says Smith is the go-to person for running advice in the club and that her expertise helped him shave nearly 45 minutes off of his marathon time. “Everybody knows Betty,” he says. “She’s a legend.” At age 79, Smith runs at least 60 miles a week and regularly teaches deep-water running classes. She has completed 85 marathons on six continents since 1988 and 39 ultramarathons (races that are longer than regular 26.2-mile marathons) since 2007. In 2002, she ran a race on the seventh continent—Asia—finishing a half-marathon along the Great Wall of China. In November, Smith completed the 144-hour Icarus Florida UltraFest, running a total of about 130 miles by completing 200 loops on an asphalt trail over six days.

MARCH/APRIL 2020 | BETHESDAMAGAZINE.COM

Top: Betty Smith, pictured at Montgomery County Road Runners Club’s (MCRRC) 5-mile Country Road Run in Olney in January, runs at least 60 miles a week. Inset: Smith volunteers at MCRRC’s Run Performance Lab, held at ProAction Physical Therapy in Rockville.

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“My focus is on the start line. I do everything within my power to be ready so I don’t worry about the finish line,” says Smith, who often listens to an instrumental version of the blues-rock song “Get Ready” while running. For strength, Smith says she draws on her experience as one of the first two black students to integrate BethesdaChevy Chase High School in 1956. She recalls crying nearly every night after being spit on, ignored at lunch and harassed by other students during her first year. “If you went through all that at B-CC, there isn’t anything you can’t do that you put your mind to,” says Smith, who lives in Rockville. “It made me realize who I was and what I was capable of doing.” Smith grew up on Hawkins Lane, just off of Jones Bridge Road in Chevy Chase, one of six children in a family living in a small enclave of African Americans where the adults were mainly service workers. With limited options after graduation, she became a typist for the federal government. Later, after marrying and giving birth to a daughter, she began to attend college at night while working full time. She eventually earned a bachelor’s degree in education, a master’s degree in business administration and public policy, and a doctorate in early and middle childhood education. She worked for 23 years as an independent training consultant for early and middle childhood programs for various government agencies and organizations before retiring 14 years ago. Her interest in running began when she was in her late 20s and realized that she needed to take better care of herself. At the time, she weighed 200 pounds, smoked regularly and found she couldn’t keep up with her toddler daughter. After trying diet pills, she was inspired by a radio show featuring fitness expert Dr. Gabe Mirkin to instead change her

DAVID S. DE JONG & STEVEN A. WIDDES Tax & Estate Attorneys

Distributions from inherited qualified retirement plans and IRAs cannot be materially stretched out by most beneficiaries as a result of the SECURE Act, signed into law by President Trump on December 20, 2019. Billions of dollars in retirement savings have been passed historically from generation to generation by deferring distributions and permitting the proceeds to be paid out over the life expectancy of the child or grandchild. This was often referred to as the Legacy or Stretch Rule. Effective for deaths after 2019, most beneficiaries will be required to receive distributions and pay applicable taxes on such inheritances within 10 years following the date of death. This new rule exempts surviving spouses, disabled or chronically ill beneficiaries and heirs with no more than a 10 year age difference from the decedent. Additionally, the 10 year period will not commence in the case of a minor child until the child reaches the age of majority. Beneficial provisions in the legislation change the required beginning date (RBD) for most distributions from age 70½ to 72 for those who had not reached the RBD by the end of 2019 and for the first time in 2020 permit traditional IRA contributions at any age for those otherwise eligible, even if older than 72. Roth IRAs continue to have no minimum distribution rules during the life of the account holder and, if rolled over, during the life of the spouse as well. If you wish to schedule an appointment to discuss how the SECURE Act may affect you and your family, contact us at 301-3402020. Stein Sperling’s tax and estate groups are again nationally ranked in 2020 by U.S. News & World Report.

301-340-2020 • www.steinsperling.com BETHESDAMAGAZINE.COM | MARCH/APRIL 2020

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Dr. Gail Linn, Dr. Tricia Terlep, Dr. Therese Walden, Dr. Kathleen Chopra, Dr. April Jones, Dr. Ishraq Alkibsi

5 -Time Winner Readers’ Pick, Best Audiologist

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lifestyle. In 1969, she began taking daily walks, and then started running. Eventually she was hooked. “Running became the focus of my life,” says Smith, who is 5 feet, 9 inches tall and now weighs 128 pounds. She also revamped her diet. Now a vegan, she eats mainly fruits, vegetables, grains and nuts, and hasn’t eaten restaurant food or a dessert in more than 30 years. In 2019, she self-published Lifestyle by Nature, a book about her approach to fitness and nutrition. “I want foods that are closest to nature as possible,” she says. “Give me the apple, rather than the apple pie.” When she runs, Smith wears shoes with thin soles, skipping socks unless it’s freezing outside. She credits the “ChiRunning” technique, which emphasizes a strong core and relaxed body form, with helping her run efficiently and stay healthy. Smith has been injured only once—during the 1980s she was diagnosed with plantar fasciitis, which required an eight-month break from running. Her heart beats so slowly that she says her cardiologist has told her it’s as healthy as one belonging to a person in their 20s. “To be running the amount of mileage at her age and to be competitive—in minimal running shoes and not get hurt—it’s amazing. She can run for days and not feel tired,” says Adam Spector of Bethesda, a podiatrist who works alongside Smith at the MCRRC running clinic. “She wants everybody to run with the same joy and effortless stride that she does. A lot of us run to feel good afterwards. Betty enjoys the journey.” This fall, Smith hopes to run a 10-day ultramarathon. She says she has no plans to let up, but neither does she desire to live forever. “I just want to have a good quality of life for whatever time I have left,” she says. ■

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QUICK TAKES

News you may have missed BY THE BETHESDA BEAT STAFF

IT’S A GIRL Two days before 2020 arrived, a baby girl made her debut on the side of Interstate 270. The parents, who were not identified by authorities, were driving south on I-270, headed to the hospital, but didn’t make it that far. Emergency responders helped with the delivery in the family’s car near Comus Road in Clarksburg. The newborn and her mother were taken to a hospital and were “doing fine,” Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service spokesman Pete Piringer posted on Twitter. The baby’s grandparents also were on their way to the hospital when they noticed the family’s car on the side of the highway. They pulled over and were there for the impromptu birth.

Montgomery County residents will notice familiar sights in a new movie called Lost Holiday. There’s the Mormon temple in Kensington, signs for Beltway exits, and Hank Dietle’s Tavern in North Bethesda (before it was destroyed by a fire). Brothers Michael and Thomas Matthews shot much of their film in Bethesda, Chevy Chase and other parts of southern Montgomery County. The film tells the story of friends trying to solve a kidnapping case while reconciling their past and present lives, and they do all this while under the influence of alcohol and drugs. The Matthews brothers, who grew up in Chevy Chase, have broadcast pedigrees. Their parents are MSNBC’s Hardball host Chris Matthews and former WJLATV reporter and anchor Kathleen Matthews.

OH, DEER In December, Rockville’s mayor and council approved a pilot program set to begin later this year that allows hunters to kill deer at the former RedGate Golf Course on Avery Road. From Sept. 6 to Nov. 30, experts will hunt the deer with compound bows or crossbows in hopes of reducing the deer population. City officials took the action after years of vehicles striking deer and residents complaining that they were overrun by the animals. In 2012, the city adopted a whitetailed deer management plan, which involved little more than tracking the deer. In early 2019, council members decided that the city needed to start thinning the deer population. Officials ruled out tranquilizing female deer for contraception or sterilization.

MARCH/APRIL 2020 | BETHESDAMAGAZINE.COM

A viral video and a state delegate’s Facebook post brought attention to the Montgomery County law that requires all bicycles to be registered. The video captured a June 2019 exchange between Silver Spring activist Steve Silverman and police officers who alleged that he failed to stop at a stop sign. After an argument, the officers gave Silverman a criminal citation for failing to display a county decal signifying that his bike had been registered. In December, state Del. David Moon shared a link to the video on Facebook and urged county councilmembers to repeal what he described as a “stupid law.” Some councilmembers agreed, and have sponsored a bill to make bike registration voluntary.

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LIVING DANGEROUSLY Bethesda native and award-winning journalist Christina Goldbaum found her calling covering conflict in Africa BY MARGARET ENGEL

Christina Goldbaum in Kenya in 2016 covering the ivory burn, a demonstration to protest poaching

killed were so much more than statistics,” says Goldbaum, now a reporter for The New York Times. “People hear about terrorist attacks and they don’t connect” to the victims. While it’s common for American journalists to start their careers by covering local news, Goldbaum, now 27, found her journalistic footing overseas. The Bethesda native, who graduated in 2010 from St. Andrew’s Episcopal School in Potomac, got her first reporting job at the Cape Times in Cape Town, South Africa, at the age of 22 after graduating from Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts. She then spent four years in Africa as a freelance foreign correspondent and field producer for outlets including AFP, The Atlantic and Foreign Policy, shooting her own photos and video as she covered stories ranging

MARCH/APRIL 2020 | BETHESDAMAGAZINE.COM

from political upheaval in Burundi to a massive truck bombing in the Somali capital of Mogadishu in October 2017 that killed more than 550 people and injured more than 300. As a child, Goldbaum developed a craving to explore other cultures. Her father, a cardiologist, and her mother, a lawyer, made it a priority for her and older sister Katherine, now a child psychologist in Austin, Texas, to see the world. In high school, Goldbaum visited South Africa, Rwanda and Tanzania, writing a paper during her senior year on “Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect.” “We were encouraged to travel and we did,” Goldbaum says. “I wanted to get to places to expand my comfort zone. These experiences are very different from an affluent suburban reality. I

PHOTO BY EMILY JOHNSON

EARLY ONE MORNING IN April 2015, Christina Goldbaum was pounding on locked metal doors at the mostly closed Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi. She was trying to find an airline with a flight that would take her to the Kenyan city of Garissa, where terrorists had killed more than 145 people and wounded dozens more at a local university. After hearing sketchy news reports of the attack, she had driven three hours to the airport from the small town where she had been working on a documentary for a nongovernmental organization. As she drove, she frantically emailed an editor she knew at Agence FrancePresse (AFP) and learned that the international news agency did not have another freelancer available to cover the mass shooting. With the few flights to Garissa already full, Goldbaum was able to snag a spot on a four-seat charter flight booked by a South African news crew. When she arrived in Garissa, she got to work, shooting video while under curfews and dealing with regular power outages and unreliable internet access. “It was so important that journalists be there on the ground to show that those

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needed to challenge my value set.” On the day the truck bomb exploded, Goldbaum was visiting a friend’s office in a shipping container while working in Mogadishu. The container shook as the explosion leveled a city block nearby. She spent days tracking down victims, their friends and families. “It was so awful,” she says. “Finding the human element to show our common thread was very important.” Goldbaum won the Livingston Award for International Reporting—given by the University of Michigan to promising journalists under age 35—for her coverage of a 2017 massacre in Somalia, which killed 10 Somalis, including at least one child. Her three-month investigation implicated U.S. Special Forces in a mission based on poor intelligence. “The process is slow, but it’s critically important that those in power know that we’re holding them to account,” she says of the aftermath of the massacre. Her coverage, which led to a congressional inquiry and an ongoing investigation by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, brought her back to the U.S., where she joined the Times metropolitan staff in 2018. She now covers transit and immigration issues. Goldbaum, who lives in Brooklyn, hopes to return to working as a foreign correspondent in Africa and to maintain her ability to speak Swahili, which she studied while earning a political science degree at Tufts. Last June she returned to the Washington, D.C., area to speak at St. Andrew’s commencement at the Washington National Cathedral. Only nine years out of high school herself, Goldbaum says she encouraged the graduates to “take prudent risks” and see the world in all its complexity. “It’s up to all of us to connect outside our bubble,” she says. ■

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BOOK REPORT

For years, Ingrid Newkirk has followed research chronicling the talents and emotions of all types of animals—from chimpanzees to dolphins and dogs. She has told their stories in the book Animalkind: Remarkable Discoveries about Animals and Revolutionary New Ways to Show Them Compassion (Simon & Schuster, January 2020). “I want to show people how clever animals are—what good mothers and fathers they are, how loyal and interesting they are,” says the Chevy Chase resident who co-founded People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) 40 years ago. In the book, Newkirk and co-author Gene Stone of Hudson, New York, describe the intelligence of animals and suggest ways people can create a better world for them, including buying faux fleece instead of wool. 74

More than 1,000 instructions flash back and forth between players and coaches during a typical nine-inning Major League Baseball game, according to Paul Dickson. The Garrett Park author unpacks how that communication works—especially with electronics on the field— in The Hidden Language of Baseball: How Signs and Sign-Stealing Have Influenced the Course of Our National Pastime (University of Nebraska Press, second edition, September 2019). The topic is particularly relevant following recent accusations of teams stealing signs through the use of Apple Watches and outfield cameras. Dickson also examines dummy signals that are used to confuse the opposing team and players’ subconscious mannerisms or “tells.” “It’s a game within a game,” he says.

MARCH/APRIL 2020 | BETHESDAMAGAZINE.COM

Nancy Naomi Carlson says her collection of poems captures the ups and downs in her life over a period of 20 years. An Infusion of Violets (Seagull Books, August 2019) balances themes of love with darker personal stories of loss and Carlson’s battle with breast cancer. An editor and translator who worked for 30 years as a teacher and counselor at Montgomery County Public Schools, Carlson often wrote ideas on slips of paper during the workday and pulled them together in latenight writing sessions at her computer. “You can’t wrestle it into shape. You have to let the poem lead you,” says Carlson, who lives in Wheaton. “I want the book to give readers a sense of hope that even when tough things happen, you can find some joy.”

In her nonfiction book Citizen 865: The Hunt for Hitler’s Hidden Soldiers in America (Hachette Books, November 2019), Debbie Cenziper chronicles the pursuit of Jakob Reimer—Nazi recruit 865—who slipped out of Poland after World War II and lived undetected in New York for years. The Gaithersburg author traveled to Poland, Austria, the Czech Republic and Hungary to retrace the steps of investigators searching for information about Nazi war criminals living in the U.S. who worked at an obscure training camp in Poland, where 1.7 million Polish Jews were killed. “Mass murder is not easy. It takes a lot on the ground. Most people who helped probably got away with it and led their lives peacefully,” Cenziper says. “Justice, even delayed justice, is absolutely critical.”

ALL BOOK COVERS FILE PHOTOS

BY CARALEE ADAMS

h! a r a S s, n o i t a l u t a r g Con At St. A n dr e w’ s, w e b eli e v e i n cr e ati vit y wit h a p ur p o s e. W e e n c o ur a g e o ur st u d e nt s t o e x pl or e s o ci al pr o bl e m s, t o r e s e ar c h t h eir c a u s e s, a n d t o u s e e m p at h y a n d i nt er di s ci pli n ar y s kill s t o cr e at e a b ett er f ut ur e; t o u n d er st a n d t h e pr o bl e m s f a ci n g a p er s o n or c o m m u nit y a n d w or k wit h t h e m t o d e si g n a l a sti n g s ol uti o n. W h et h er it’ s l o b b yi n g f or i m mi gr ati o n r ef or m t o tr a v eli n g t h e c o u ntr y t o s u p p ort f ar m w or k er s’ ri g ht s t o m er gi n g h er a cti vi s m wit h h er arti sti c e y e,

S ar a h S c h w art z ’ 2 0 e pit o mi z e s t h e St. A n dr e w’ s i d e al s of b ei n g o p e n t o n e w o p p ort u niti e s, w or ki n g h ar d t o e x c el, a n d fi g hti n g f or w h at y o u b eli e v e i n. At St. A n dr e w’ s, w e k n o w e x a ctl y w h y o n e of o ur st u d e nt s h a s b e e n n a m e d a B et h e s d a M a g a zi n e “ E xtr a or di n ar y T e e n” f or fi v e y e ar s i n a r o w. B e c a u s e St. A n dr e w’ s st u d e nt s ar e w or ki n g t o cr e at e l a sti n g c h a n g e i n t h e w orl d. C o n gr at ul ati o n s, S ar a h!

St. A n dr e w’ s E pi s c o p al S c h o ol i s a pri v at e, c o e d u c ati o n al c oll e g e pr e p ar at or y d a y s c h o ol f or st u d e nt s i n pr e s c h o ol ( a g e 2) t hr o u g h gr a d e 1 2, l o c at e d i n P ot o m a c, M ar yl a n d.

S A E S .or g

banter

READING LIST

LITERARY

The top-selling books in our area. Data is based on books sold at Politics and Prose’s Connecticut Avenue location in Upper Northwest D.C., from Dec. 31 to Jan. 14, 2020. Note: Author event sales may influence the presence of some titles on these lists.

March 4 THE LESSANS FAMILY LITERARY SERIES: A CONVERSATION WITH TAYLOR LUSTIG. Yes She Can: 10 Stories of Hope & Change from Young Female Staffers of the Obama White House is an essay anthology featuring stories from 10 inspiring young women who joined the 44th president’s administration hoping to make a difference. Lustig, coauthor of The New York Times bestseller, was a policy advisor for the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. 6:30 p.m. reception; 7 p.m. conversation. $15; $30 for ticket and book. Bender Jewish Community Center of Greater Washington, Rockville. 301-881-0100. benderjccgw. org/arts-culture-jewish-life/ lessans.

April 16 & 17 LOCAL WRITER’S SHOWCASE. Hosted by the Bethesda Urban Partnership, the event celebrates writers from Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia. The showcase consists of two award ceremonies and readings, honoring the winners of the annual Bethesda Essay and Short Story Contest, in partnership with Bethesda Magazine, and the Bethesda Poetry Contest. On Thursday, Maryland Poet Laureate Grace Cavalieri will read her original poems along with the poetry contest winners; on Friday, the essay and short story winners will read their works. 7 p.m. Free. Gallery B, Bethesda, on Thursday; The Writer’s Center, Bethesda, on Friday. bethesda. org/bethesda/localwriters.

HARDCOVER FICTION

PAPERBACK

Such a Fun Age, Kiley Reid

The Near and Far, Jody Bolz

Oppo, Tom Rosenstiel

The Dutch House, Ann Patchett

No One Is Too Small to Make a Difference, Greta Thunberg

The Attempted Murder of Teddy Roosevelt, Burt Solomon

The Overstory, Richard Powers

Normal People, Sally Rooney

The Mueller Report Illustrated: The Obstruction Investigation, The Washington Post

The Topeka School, Ben Lerner

Seventh Flag, Sid Balman Jr.

Where the Crawdads Sing, Delia Owens

Little Women, Louisa May Alcott

The Sacrament, Olaf Olafsson

There There, Tommy Orange

On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous, Ocean Vuong

Selected Poems, Thomas Hardy

Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption, Bryan Stevenson

10. Celestial Bodies, Jokha Alharthi

10. The Winter Soldier, Daniel Mason

HARDCOVER NONFICTION

CHILDREN’S

The Internet in Everything: Freedom and Security in a World With No Off Switch, Laura DeNardis

Just Ask! Be Different, Be Brave, Be You, Sonia Sotomayor

The Age of Illusions: How America Squandered Its Cold War Victory, Andrew J. Bacevich

My Friend, Elisa Amado

The Lemonade Club, Patricia Polacco

Such Splendid Prisons: Diplomatic Detainment in America During World War II, Harvey Solomon

I See You, Michael Genhart

Drawn Together, Minh Lê

Hill Women: Finding Family and a Way Forward in the Appalachian Mountains, Cassie Chambers

Benji, the Bad Day, and Me, Sally J. Pla

La Frontera, Deborah Mills

Nothing Fancy: Unfussy Food for Having People Over, Alison Roman

A Place to Stay: A Shelter Story, Erin Gunti

This Kid Can Fly: It’s About Ability (Not Disability), Aaron Philip

3. 4. 5. 6.

Empires, John Balaban

The Broken Road: George Wallace and a Daughter’s Journey to Reconciliation, Peggy Wallace Kennedy

Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland, Patrick Radden Keefe

Breaking the Two-Party Doom Loop: The Case for Multiparty Democracy in America, Lee Drutman

10. The Yellow House, Sarah M. Broom

MARCH/APRIL 2020 | BETHESDAMAGAZINE.COM

10. Sunnyside Plaza, Scott Simon ALL BOOK COVERS FILE PHOTOS

EVENTS CALENDAR

DATA PROVIDED BY

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Compass is a licensed real estate brokerage that abides by Equal Housing Opportunity laws. Information is compiled from sources deemed reliable but is not guaranteed. Compass is licensed as Compass Real Estate in DC and as Compass in Virginia and Maryland. 7200 Wisconsin Ave, Suite 920, Bethesda, MD 20814 | 301.304.8444

banter | HOMETOWN

BY STEVE ROBERTS

HOME AWAY FROM HOME

Bullis administrator Kira Orr’s deep connections to the school go back to her days as one of its star basketball players 78

WHEN KIRA ORR WAS in second grade, she briefly lived with her mother and stepfather in Silver Spring. Next to their apartment complex was a basketball court, where men would play pickup games on balmy evenings. “I would sit and watch and watch and watch and I was just fascinated by it, I thought it was a cool game,” Kira tells me. “One day, they finished playing and one of the guys came over to me and said, ‘Hey, come here,’ and started showing me how to shoot,” she recalls. “He gave me the ball, too, this random stranger. It was

MARCH/APRIL 2020 | BETHESDAMAGAZINE.COM

a terrible ball, all beat up and starting to form a bubble on one side, but he gave it to me. Man, if I could somehow thank that guy, he had no idea what he sparked.” Kira went on to become a star basketball player at the Bullis School in Potomac, and then at Duke University in North Carolina. Today, at 44, she is the assistant head of the upper school at Bullis and no longer plays before thousands of screaming fans. But like any good coach or teacher, she has learned to derive satisfaction from the success of others. “I always thought I wanted to be

PHOTO BY SKIP BROWN

Kira Orr, a former basketball player at the Bullis School in Potomac, is now the assistant head of the upper school.

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banter | HOMETOWN

a lawyer,” Orr says, “but once I got into working with kids, I do think I have a knack for it.” Because her first basketball was so misshapen, she developed acute ballhandling skills. “You never knew when you’d get that crazy bounce,” she says. Her life has taken some crazy bounces, too. Kira was born in Carbondale, Illinois, where her father was a hot-shot ballplayer but an absent parent. Kira’s mother and stepfather—who both worked for law firms as managers and administrators—moved to Montgomery County for greater economic opportunities and eventually settled in Poolesville. They lived “paycheck to paycheck,” Orr recalls, and her mother found extra work as a basketball referee, in part to finance her daughter’s blossoming

sports career. “My mom would fight and fight and fight for me to be on the boys’ team because there were no other options,” Kira recalls. Then came one of those bounces. The coach of her basketball team was also the coach at Bullis, and with his help, and “a ton of financial aid,” she arrived on campus as a ninth grader in the fall of 1989. Being a young black woman from a working-class family in a school dominated by rich, white classmates was far from easy. She recalls “the intimidation of driving up the first day and getting dropped off in our old beat-up car” while her fellow students were climbing out of “BMWs and stuff like that.” A friend invited her for a sleepover. “I remember her saying, ‘Make sure you bring a bathing suit. I have a pool in the basement

RESIDENTIAL ARCHITECTURE 80

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of my house,’ and sure enough she did,” Orr says. “Those things were kind of mind-blowing.” One day a close friend asked, “Are you embarrassed by me? You never invite me to your house.” As Kira remembers the incident, “When I had to verbalize it I said, ‘I’m ashamed because I don’t want you to see my house.’ There were times when I felt I might be judged.” She never felt judged or ashamed on an athletic field, however. Orr earned 12 varsity letters in five sports, and in basketball circles she became known as “Kardiac Kira,” with a knack for winning games with last-second shots. Scholarship offers poured in, and she finally chose Duke over Stanford University, in part because her parents could come to many of her games. In college, she scored

WWW.STUDIOZDC.COM 301.951.4391

1,388 points, and she played a year of professional ball before a ruptured Achilles tendon cut short her career. That’s when Bullis stepped in, offering her a job as a coach and physical education teacher. After five years there, she wanted to try college coaching and moved to Fordham University in New York, but a rare blood disease almost killed her. She required numerous transfusions—and again Bullis showed its support. “They did a blood drive in my honor, and a ton of people showed up, which was unbelievable,” Kira says. “And that’s why that place is my home away from home.” After she recovered, she decided college coaching was too stressful, so again she returned to Bullis. Today, one of her main jobs is enforcing discipline. Being a mother—she and her wife, Rose, a social

worker, have a 5-year-old son—makes it easier to deal with demanding parents. “There’s a lot of opportunities for difficult conversations, let’s put it that way, and being a parent has changed my perspective,” Kira says. “Instead of thinking, ‘This person is crazy,’ I now have more of an understanding of where they’re coming from, since I will do anything and everything for my child.” She will also do anything for her surrogate children—her students. “Kids do a lot of dumb things, and a lot of the stuff is stemming from kids with so much anxiety,” Orr says. “When I was in high school, if you had something going on, once you went home you were away from it. When these kids go home, whatever bad thing happened in school that day, there’s no way to get away from it. They go on social

media and everything that was bothering them, it’s all there for their friends to see. It’s a constant barrage. Kids can be cruel, and you have this medium where you can be as cruel as you want with this cloak of anonymity, and people just pile on.” “Part of my job is getting to know them, so when they are in trouble I can say, we’ll get through this together,” she adds. “This is my way of giving back to the community that gave me so much.” A random stranger on a playground in Silver Spring set off a spark in an 8-year-old girl many years ago. It’s still burning brightly. n Steve Roberts teaches journalism and politics at George Washington University. Send ideas for future columns to sroberts@gwu.edu.

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SANDY SPRING BUILDERS Sandy Spring Builders is the premier custom homebuilder in the area. We are an integrated, full-service team with nearly 40 years of experience in bringing our client’s vision to life. Our vast portfolio of well-built homes makes a lasting impression, proven by myriad awards including Best of Bethesda every year since its inception.

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OUR WORK: This stunning Edgemoor custom designed and detailed residence is abundant with unique details and finishes, resulting in our client’s dream home. Highlights include a precast concrete panel wall spanning 3 floors, flat roof with interior gutters and extremely large-span glass. The kitchen, family room and open riser stairs have natural wood elements for added warmth. Rear exterior living space complements the interior first floor, complete with disappearing screens, a waterfall edge spa and contemporarydesigned landscaping. The floor plan is quite unique—a split-level designed to work with the grade of the lot, there are actually 5 floors in this house. The owner’s suite is magnificent with a corner fireplace and glass wall to the rear, and the putting green off the bedroom roof deck is a feature that many would want—but few actually have. The end result is not only functional, it is spectacular.

BETHESDAMAGAZINE.COM | MARCH/APRIL 2020 83

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NATELLI HOMES, LLC For over 25 years, Natelli Homes has designed and built award-winning custom homes and residential renovations in Bethesda, Chevy Chase and Potomac neighborhoods. We successfully empower our clients with the tools needed to explore design possibilities, maximize their budget and achieve their vision.

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Natelli Homesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; projects range in size from bathrooms, kitchens and additions to fully custom homes. We offer a competitive bid on your plans or provide effective turnkey design and construction services. Our process is well deďŹ ned and simple. We guide and assist you through every aspect of the design and construction process. Transparency, trust, quality and exceptional value are the cornerstones of our success. Contact Natelli Homes now for a complimentary consultation and begin planning for a spring construction start. We look forward to helping you achieve your goals.

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STACY ZARIN GOLDBERG (KITCHEN)

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JACK ROSEN KITCHENS, INC. As Bethesda Magazine’s only 4-time winner for Best Kitchen Design Firm, Jack Rosen Custom Kitchens, Inc. continues to be one of the most renowned kitchen design firms in the Washington, D.C. area. Offering award-winning designs and fine cabinetry for culinary, closets, home offices and entertainment with outstanding service for over 38 years! Visit our new showroom today!

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12223 Nebel St., Rockville, MD 20852 240-595-6732 www.BeautifulRosenKitchens.com

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OUR WORK: Jack Rosen Custom Kitchens is widely recognized for creating captivating home environments. The kitchen pictured at the top is an ideal example of very prevalent trends towards “transitional” kitchens. The beautiful custom cabinetry offers organizational systems to keep everything in its place and maximize storage throughout the space. The photo at the left shows a more contemporary kitchen with sleek cabinetry and a custom island featuring an eat-in countertop. Jack Rosen Custom Kitchens, Inc. believes every award-winning design should be laid out beautifully, but should also serve as a central space that can function easily.

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KITCHEN AND BATH STUDIOS, INC. For over 27 years, Kitchen and Bath Studios has built a reputation for being the premier design center in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. Our showroom features four custom cabinet lines that provide a vast selection of styles and ﬁnishes. Contact us today and receive a free design layout with expert consultation from one of our six designers on staff.

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7001 Wisconsin Ave., Chevy Chase, MD 20815 301-657-1636 | designnow@kitchen-bathstudios.com kitchenbathstudios.com

OUR WORK: Kitchen and Bath Studios Inc.’s new front showroom display features Christiana Cabinetry in an eclectic blue stain with Caesarstone honed quartz countertop and Gaggenau appliances. Visit our showroom today to view countless other styles and receive a free design consultation.

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CELEBRATING 27 YEARS!

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CAPITOL HARDSCAPES BIO

301-887-1880 | www.capitolhardscapes.com

At Capitol Hardscapes, we know the D.C., Maryland and Virginia area because it’s always been our home. Owned and operated by Rockville residents Chris and Christy Scango, our goal is to create hassle free, fully customized residential outdoor spaces. Founded on providing superior customer service, our approach is as much about personal attention as it is the hundreds of details that go into a successful hardscape project.

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OUR WORK: Capitol Hardscapes can create curb appeal that will enhance the beauty and increase the value of your home. We specialize in the design and installation of driveways, walkways, retaining walls, patios and outdoor living spaces with the latest green and modern materials. Over the last 18 years, we have built strong relationships with local vendors who provide quality materials and services to implement all our projects. All our crew foremen have been with our company 15+ years and are the best in the industry. Providing superior customer service means that Chris and his brother, John Scango, personally manage all the crews and details for all projects. They typically visit each residential project every day to meet with the owners, designers or project managers to make themselves readily available for timely answers to questions, changes and updates. Capitol Hardscapes is committed to not ﬁnishing a project until you’re delighted with the end results. BETHESDAMAGAZINE.COM | MARCH/APRIL 2020 87

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DAVIDA’S KITCHEN & TILES Davida has over 30 years of experience designing kitchens and baths in the D.C. area. She spent 10 years in the industry providing custom cabinetry then added 10 years of custom tile work to her repertoire. 2006 saw the creation of Davida’s Kitchen & Tiles. The new showroom followed where she continues to offer personalized designs to her clients.

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Visit our award-winning showroom and you’ll discover why Davida’s projects have been featured in multiple publications. At Davida’s Kitchen & Tiles, we showcase a vast array of materials including custom cabinetry, the very ﬁnest selection of tiles in glass, ceramic, porcelain and stone, as well as exquisite granite, quartz and marble countertops. We pride ourselves on the attention to detail we bring to our designs and hope to exceed your expectations and transform your new kitchen or bathroom into a space that adds comfort, beauty, functionality and value to your home.

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ROCKVILLE INTERIORS Family owned and operated, Rockville Interiors was founded by Tom Fulop. We have been the D.C. area’s premier fabric workroom since 1971. We specialize in the design, fabrication and installation of custom window treatments, re-upholstery, slipcovers, pillows, cushions, bed ensembles and more.

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OUR WORK: 2020 Winner of Bethesda Magazine Best of Bethesda Readers’ Poll for Best Place for Custom Window Treatments. Customers can meet with interior designers in the showroom or at home for guidance on selecting the perfect fabrics for their projects. We operate in locally owned workrooms where our team of artisan tailors, seamstresses and carpenters pair state-of-the-art technology with old world craftsmanship. Everything is made by hand, using only the world’s ﬁnest home fashion fabrics. Factorytrained technicians oversee delivery and installation. Visit our gorgeous showroom or schedule your free in-home design consultation today!

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AIDAN DESIGN Founded in 2001, Aidan Design is a boutique design firm known for creating thoughtful living spaces that reflect the unique character and lifestyle of each client. Our specialties include kitchens, bathrooms, mudrooms, built-ins and many other custom cabinetry applications.

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Family owned and operated since 1947, Fisher Lumber provides top quality building materials. Our selection includes only the best materials from the brands professionals trust. With an enthusiastic and friendly staff, our focus is outstanding service that exceeds customer expectations.

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ROCKVILLE INTERIORS

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Since 1971, Rockville Interiors has been manufacturing custom draperies, valances, cornices, swags and all types of window treatments in our workroom on the premises. Roman shades manual or motorized are our specialty. Our professional technicians measure and install all our products. Amazing selection of fabrics in our showroom. Designers to help.

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301-913-5995 | info@sandyspringbuilders.com www.SandySpringBuilders.com BETHESDAMAGAZINE.COM | MARCH/APRIL 2020 91

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PHOTO BY MICHAEL VENTURA

CROSS AT YOUR OWN RISK

With the number of collisions between pedestrians and motor vehicles on the rise, can Montgomery County make streets safer for everyone? BY JULIE RASICOT

BETHESDAMAGAZINE.COM | MARCH/APRIL 2020

Jennifer DiMauro

to a traffic light, blinking yellow when a pedestrian pushes a button, then changing to solid yellow and finally to red, resulting in drivers coming to a complete stop before a “walk” signal flashes. The beacon, one of several in the county, was installed above an existing street sign that warns drivers to stop for pedestrians at the busy intersection. On the sign pole hangs a white plaque with DiMauro’s name printed in black marker along with a pair of white “ghost” shoes, a roadside memorial placed there by the Action Committee for Transit (ACT), a local advocacy organization, to raise public awareness about the dangerous intersection. “She was kind of in the prime of her life, just got her dream job,” says Johanna Folk, a close friend. “There was so much promise there for what she was going to continue contributing to the world, and that was just taken away.”

IN A RAPIDLY URBANIZING area like Montgomery County, with multilane roads that were designed to move traffic quickly, keeping pedestrians and

94 MARCH/APRIL 2020 | BETHESDAMAGAZINE.COM

cyclists safe has long been a public concern. Anybody who walks or rolls here, whether on a bike or in a wheelchair, knows there are places where it isn’t safe to cross the road because traffic is moving too fast, there’s not enough time to safely cross multiple lanes or there’s no crosswalk. Anybody who drives here knows that pedestrians sometimes dart into the street in the middle of a block or cross against the traffic lights. “We know pedestrians want to walk in straight lines,” but intersections are designed so pedestrians may need to cross more than one street to get to the opposite corner, says Miriam Schoenbaum, an ACT board member. “The issues are the same all over the county: people trying to navigate big, fast roads on foot or on a bike. That’s the same whether you’re in Bethesda or in the east county or the upcounty.” DiMauro was one of 13 pedestrians killed in the county in 2019. Typically, 70 to 75 pedestrian collisions in the county result in severe injury or death each year, with the number of fatalities usually between 10 and 15; in 2018, there were 14 pedestrian fatalities, according to county data. “For a county our size, we’re actually pretty low” in the number of pedestrian fatalities, says Wade Holland, a former county data analyst who in January was named coordinator of Vision Zero, the county’s version of a global traffic safety initiative. All told, there were nearly 500 traffic collisions involving pedestrians in 2019—a 9% increase over the year before. There were nearly 120 incidents involving cyclists, with one fatality, nearly identical to the 2018 numbers, according to preliminary data

COURTESY PHOTO; OPPOSITE PHOTOS BY LIZ LYNCH

JENNIFER DIMAURO LOVED TO compete, whether it was against her husband in their version of the TV cooking show Chopped or in a stepcounting challenge with colleagues at Washington DC VA Medical Center, where she was a postdoctoral fellow. Last summer, the petite 31-year-old had amped up her regular walking routine on the Bethesda Trolley Trail near her North Bethesda home in order to log more steps for the competition at work. On the morning of July 20, DiMauro was in a crosswalk on Tuckerman Lane at Kings Riding Way and had just walked past a car that had stopped for her when she was struck by a 2015 Chevrolet Spark. Before the collision, DiMauro, who was passionate about helping sexual assault survivors and veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, had been planning to move to Boston with her husband for her dream job at a Veterans Affairs Hospital. She never regained consciousness and died three days later. The driver later pled guilty to passing a vehicle stopped for a pedestrian in a crosswalk; two other charges, including negligent driving and failure to stop for a pedestrian in a crosswalk, were pending at the time of publication. After DiMauro’s death, local residents and Montgomery County Councilmember Andrew Friedson, who represents Bethesda/Chevy Chasebased District 1, stepped up pressure on county transportation officials to improve traffic safety at the popular crossing for pedestrians and cyclists. Five months later, the county’s transportation department installed a pedestrian-activated crosswalk beacon at the intersection, replacing a flashing yellow signal. The high-intensity activated crosswalk, or HAWK, beacon is more effective than the flashing signal, traffic advocates say, because it is similar

COURTESY PHOTO; OPPOSITE PHOTOS BY LIZ LYNCH

The Action Committee for Transit held a Rally for Safe Streets in January in remembrance of 81-year-old Rita Jo Sultan, who was killed in December when she was hit while crossing University Boulevard West in Silver Spring. The local advocacy organization attached a pair of white “ghost” shoes to a telephone pole as a roadside memorial.

provided by county police. Just two weeks into January 2020, three pedestrians had been killed in collisions on county roads. County officials say no traffic death is acceptable. That’s why the county in 2016 adopted Vision Zero, an initiative to eliminate severe and fatal traffic collisions by 2030. Based on the concept that traffic deaths are preventable, Vision Zero says the impact of human error can be minimized through improved engineering of roads, enforcement of traffic laws, and education. The initiative incorporates other county programs designed to improve road safety. “We have a ‘blame the victim’ culture, and even today we quickly get into the discussion [when] there’s a collision:

BETHESDAMAGAZINE.COM | MARCH/APRIL 2020

Was it the pedestrian’s fault or was it the driver’s fault? Was it the bicyclist’s fault or the driver’s fault?” Friedson says. Vision Zero is “the idea it’s not about the people, it’s about the policies. It’s about the engineering of the road.” Montgomer y is among several local jurisdictions, including Prince George’s County, Arlington County in Virginia, and Washington, D.C., that have adopted Vision Zero-style strate-

gies. In April 2019, Gov. Larry Hogan signed legislation making Maryland a Vision Zero state. Across the country, jurisdictions have credited the strategies with reducing traffic fatalities, though there has been some backlash over the cost of road system changes and their impact on traffic, according to published reports. Vision Zero’s focus on preventing all collisions through a comprehensive

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approach is a marked change from the way most jurisdictions have dealt with their transportation systems. “In a lot of places, Montgomery County included, the focus of the way we were building road networks, the way we were building our sidewalks, was to prioritize people driving and to make it so people can get from point A to point B as fast as possible,” says Eli Glazier, multimodal transportation planner coordinator for the county’s planning department. “So what Vision Zero says [is] it’s not really about the speed, it’s about the safety. And if we need to do something that makes a person’s commute five seconds, 10 seconds longer to save lives, that’s something we’re gonna do.” Local planners and transit activists acknowledge that some residents probably won’t embrace the road design changes—including lower speed limits and lane reductions—required to achieve the Vision Zero goal. “Everybody wants safe streets,” Schoenbaum says, “but they don’t necessarily want what it will take to get the safe streets.”

ON THE MORNING OF Jan. 12, Schoenbaum and about 20 others organized by

PHOTOS BY SKIP BROWN

Silver Spring’s protected intersection at Second Avenue and Spring Street has narrow lanes and curved corners designed to slow traffic and island buffers (below) that protect cyclists and pedestrians from turning vehicles.

ACT gathered on the side of University Boulevard West in Silver Spring to attach a pair of ghost shoes to a telephone pole as a memorial for Rita Jo Sultan. The 81-year-old was struck and killed by a U.S. Postal Service truck as she was crossing the road on a rainy December night. Across the state highway stood the midblock bus stop where Sultan began her journey across six lanes of swiftly moving traffic to reach the driveway of her apartment complex. Sultan was crossing in an unmarked crosswalk, which exists anywhere two or more roads meet, according to state law. The group—including Montgomery County At-Large Councilmember Evan Glass, Montgomery County Planning Board Chair Casey Anderson and District 19 state Del. Vaughn Stewart—had walked two blocks along a narrow sidewalk with a curb about 1 foot away from the rushing traffic. They’d come from nearby Northwood High School, where another telephone pole bore bouquets of silk flowers and a photo of 19-yearold Shamarra Perry. She was struck and killed on the boulevard 19 years ago. Standing with others holding a white sheet emblazoned with “A pedestrian was killed here” in black letters, Schoenbaum called for officials to conduct a pedestrian audit of the area and for the county to fund any recommended safety improvements “so we never have to stand on University Boulevard ever

again.” During the 20-minute gathering, six people darted from the bus stop and an adjacent church across three lanes of the boulevard, pausing at a narrow median to wait for a break in traffic before crossing the other three lanes. A few months earlier, ACT had created a similar memorial for Eleanor Cohen, 79, of Gaithersburg. She was fatally injured last September when she was hit by a pickup truck while crossing Copley Place in Gaithersburg’s Downtown Crown neighborhood. The driver of a 2017 GMC Sierra Denali was making a left turn onto Copley Place from the Harris Teeter parking lot when he hit Cohen, according to county police. Police later determined that Cohen, who wasn’t walking in a marked crosswalk, and the driver shared fault in the collision, according to her son, Doug Cohen of Ashburn, Virginia. No charges had been filed in the incident at the time of publication. A few days after the collision, Cohen stood in the same spot where his mother had been hit. As vehicles approached to turn left, he asked the drivers if they could see him. “They were like, ‘Yeah, we saw you…get out of the road,’ ” he says. Cohen says he stood there because he couldn’t understand how the collision occurred on a road that was more like a shopping center driveway than a regular street. “I was trying to get my head around how that could have

happened,” he says. Holland says county traffic data indicates drivers are at fault in about 60% of pedestrian-involved collisions and pedestrians account for the remaining 40%, with both parties at fault in a few instances. Though public safety experts believe that distracted walking by pedestrians is on the rise—social media is full of videos of people walking into signs and light poles while staring at their phones—county officials say that when pedestrians are found to be at fault, it is more likely because they weren’t obeying traffic rules. Traffic experts say other factors play a larger role in pedestrian deaths, including the speed at which a vehicle is traveling and the time of day that a collision occurs, with incidents more likely to happen at night when visibility is reduced. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), older adults and children are most at risk for being killed in a collision. In Montgomery County, six of the 13 pedestrians killed in 2019 were age 60 or older and two were children. On Jan. 6, Jose Renan Guillen, 75, of Olney became the county’s first pedestrian fatality in 2020 when he died after being struck by a car while crossing Georgia Avenue in Aspen Hill. County police believe distracted driving also plays a role, and they are conducting enforcement campaigns and other activities to raise awareness

There were nearly 500 traﬃc collisions involving pedestrians in 2019—a 9% increase over the year before. BETHESDAMAGAZINE.COM | MARCH/APRIL 2020

Rules of the Road DO PEDESTRIANS ALWAYS HAVE the right-of-way when crossing the street? What defines a crosswalk? Are pedestrians allowed to step into the road if a car is coming? Confusion over the laws governing crosswalks often leaves pedestrians and drivers shaking their heads. That’s why it’s important to educate people about state statutes concerning the pedestrian right-ofway, Montgomery County officials say. “We’ve come across a lot of misunderstandings about pedestrian crossings, where they would cross, how they can cross,” county planner Maren Hill told the Montgomery County Planning Board during a November hearing on the Aspen Hill Vision Zero Study. According to state law, drivers must stop for pedestrians in marked and unmarked crosswalks. Any location where two or more roads meet is considered a crosswalk, whether it is marked or not. Pedestrians are allowed to cross a street midblock if there are no traffic lights at the intersections on both ends of the block, but they are supposed to yield to traffic. Signs posted at many marked crosswalks remind drivers to stop for crossing pedestrians. Transit and public safety officials would expect the pedestrian to exercise caution and not walk into the path of a vehicle that is so close that the driver can’t reasonably stop. “Vehicles would not have to yield if you are standing on a sidewalk, but the second you step off a sidewalk they should have to yield,” Hill explained. It is against the law, however, for a pedestrian to start to cross a road if the pedestrian signal on the opposite side shows a solid “don’t walk” or “upraised hand” signal, according to county police.

of the state law prohibiting the use of handheld cellphones and texting while driving. As part of the county police department’s “Stay Alert, Stay Alive” campaign in 2018, officers pulled over 65 drivers for distracted driving at the intersection of River and Goldsboro roads in Bethesda during a two-hour stretch one morning in April. In 2019, officers issued 1,902 traffic citations and 3,914 warnings related to the state law, according to police. “We don’t know how much distracted driving is a factor” in crashes involving pedestrians, says Assistant Chief Thomas Didone, who directed the county’s traffic division before being promoted earlier this year. “Are [drivers] not paying attention? The only time we can tell is if they kill somebody and we can get a search warrant to look at their phone. Otherwise, we have a lot of suspicions and we have a lot of indications where they didn’t slow down in time, they didn’t stop in time.” To raise awareness about traffic safety, county agencies are publicizing each collision involving a pedestrian or a cyclist through social media and weekly updates on the county’s dataMontgomery website, says Holland. “So when [people] see that nearly daily cadence of a pedestrian struck at an actual location—that really stands out to you that across the 500 square miles of county, it is averaging more than one a day,” he says.

DURING A SATURDAY MORNING forum on Vision Zero in mid-December, dozens of residents passionately urged county and state officials to move more quickly to make sidewalks and roads safer for able-bodied and disabled pedestrians and cyclists. One resident said his wife and two friends narrowly escaped serious injury during an encounter with an aggressive driver while cycling on a county road. “Cars don’t go out by themselves and hit people,” he told a crowd in the council chambers in Rockville. “We do need

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to educate our community and fix our community. It’s a culture. People don’t care when they drive, and it’s ridiculous.” The meeting, organized by Glass, came at the end of a deadly week in which Sultan was killed and 9-year-old Bradley Hills Elementary School student Sophia Chen died after being hit by her school bus in Bethesda. The morning after she was killed, Walter Johnson High School senior Eyal Haddad was struck and seriously injured by a 2018 Jeep Renegade as he crossed Montrose Road in Rockville to catch a school bus. Alison Gillespie, a Silver Spring parent and chairwoman of the Safe Routes to School Committee for the Montgomery County Council of PTAs, said she’s heard from many parents who’ve clamored for sidewalks and crosswalks near their children’s schools. “I have seen brand new schools where there were no sidewalks,” she told officials. “This is not about retrofitting. This is about making sure that pedestrian and bike safety are a huge part of how we plan our schools.” A Kensington parent with a special needs son who attends Walter Johnson implored the officials to consult with disabled residents before enacting road design changes. “You wouldn’t expect families like mine to walk in the street. Yet my son and his service dog are constantly navigating poles, fire hydrants and other things…that are huge distractions,” he said. “Don’t design solutions for families like mine without asking for input from families like mine.” The December incidents fueled growing anger among residents and some elected leaders that the county wasn’t moving quickly enough to improve traffic safety through Vision Zero. Already, the county had failed to meet the goal of its initial two-year action plan adopted in November 2017: a 35% reduction in all types of severe and fatal collisions. Although many of the plan’s 41 action items—which include identifying the roads where most collisions with injuries occur and accelerating sidewalk con-

struction—were completed or underway, the county had missed its January 2018 deadline to hire a coordinator to oversee the efforts of county agencies. Before his appointment was announced Jan. 27 by County Executive Marc Elrich, Holland had served two years as interim Vision Zero coordinator. Holland is expected to oversee the development of a 10-year action plan. In the months before the appointment announcement, Glass had repeatedly said the delay was unacceptable. Hiring “one person to coordinate efforts across our vast bureaucracy” is key to the success of Vision Zero, he said. Holland says the large county’s landuse patterns—ranging from dense urban centers like downtown Bethesda and Silver Spring to rural upcounty areas such as Poolesville and Boyds—and the need to retrofit infrastructure built over the decades have created challenges. “What

we tried to figure out in our two-year action plan was what does Vision Zero look like in a county vs. what it looks like for a New York, Chicago or a D.C.,” he says.

A MONTH BEFORE THE Rockville forum, more than 100 people gathered at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church in Kensington to call for safety improvements at nearby Saul Road and Connecticut Avenue, a collision-prone intersection where a cyclist was seriously injured on Oct. 23 in a multivehicle crash. Dr. Grant Bonavia was on a sidewalk on northbound Connecticut Avenue waiting to cross Saul Road when a pickup truck turning left onto Saul from the southbound lanes of Connecticut was struck by two oncoming vehicles. The collision forced the pickup truck into a utility pole where Bonavia was standing, pinning him against it.

At the meeting organized by District 18 state legislators, Mattie Bonavia pleaded for officials to lower the speed limit on Connecticut Avenue as she told the crowd about seeing kitty litter thrown down by first responders to cover her husband’s blood in the road. He was facing his eighth surgery the next day and a year of rehabilitation. “This is no longer a country road,” she said. “It is a dangerous, dangerous intersection.” Under Vision Zero, county officials are planning to analyze data from collisions to devise safety improvements that can be applied where needed on county roads. The development of the county’s first pedestrian master plan, now underway, is a major component of that effort. “The old way of thinking about these things is to be reactive, to just think everything is fine until something bad happens and we need to fix it at just that spot,” says Glazier, who is oversee-

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cross at your own risk ing the plan. “What this plan is going to do, and what Vision Zero as a traffic safety paradigm aims to do, is to be proactive.” Traffic safety advocates applaud the new approach. “It’ll take a thousand years if they go intersection by intersection,” Schoenbaum says. Planners are gathering data and input from residents to determine how best to improve conditions for those on foot in a county where sidewalks are often unlighted and placed too close to busy streets, and where crossing areas may be a quarter-mile apart. An online Pedestrian Level of Comfort Map allows residents to describe their comfort level—ranging from “very comfortable” to “unacceptable”—while walking on county streets in areas including Bethesda, Silver Spring, Gaithersburg and Wheaton. Users, for example, have scored the crossing at Leland and 46th streets in Chevy Chase as “uncomfort-

able.” The department plans to eventually include every street in the county. “It’s about having enough time to cross the street, it’s about parking lots that are designed with pedestrians in mind,” Glazier says. “It’s lighting, it’s shade. It’s if there’s construction, is there a pedestrian detour that’s direct that doesn’t put you 800 feet, 2,000 feet out of your way to get where you need to go?” County and state transportation officials acknowledge that reengineering roads and improving infrastructure takes time and money. For the fiscal year starting on July 1, 2019, and ending June 30, the county has allocated about $147 million in its operating and capital budgets for Vision Zero activities, with more than $120 million dedicated to engineering and maintenance, according to county officials. Local officials have long complained that their hands are tied when it comes to fixing problems on many of the coun-

ty’s most heavily traveled roads—such as Wisconsin Avenue/Rockville Pike, River Road, Connecticut and Georgia avenues, University Boulevard and East West Highway—because they are state highways. But they are applauding the State Highway Administration’s (SHA) recent announcement that it will now consider land use, the context of a given area—whether it’s rural or in a business district, for example—and community input when making traffic safety improvements on state roads. “It’s about finding that balance, and a big part of that is completely getting away from that one-size-fits-all approach,” Greg Slater, then the administrator of SHA and now the secretary of the Maryland Department of Transportation, told the council during a November hearing on Vision Zero. “We’ve had that approach for 50 years and it has not worked.” Improvements underway for traffic

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calming in urban areas such as Silver Spring, Wheaton and Bethesda include reducing the width and number of lanes in problem areas and eliminating some right-turn-on-red signals, along with building protected bike lanes, bus stops that are separated from traffic, and buffers between sidewalks and roads. In downtown Silver Spring, the county built a 1.5-mile loop of protected bike lanes that also serves as a buffer between sidewalks and traffic. It also constructed the East Coast’s first “protected intersection” at Second Avenue and Spring Street. The intersection, which cost $1 million, features narrowed lanes and curved islands at the corners designed to slow turning vehicles. Construction on a protected bike loop in downtown Bethesda, which will include the planned Capital Crescent Surface Trail along the northern side of Bethesda Avenue between Woodmont and Wisconsin ave-

nues, is scheduled to begin this spring. Lane widths have shrunk on sections of major thoroughfares, including Connecticut and Georgia avenues, East West Highway and University Boulevard. Parking spaces were added along Georgia Avenue in Wheaton’s urban district to help slow traffic. Along East West Highway in Chevy Chase, higher visibility crosswalks were installed and lane widths were reduced to 10 feet from Connecticut Avenue to east of Montgomery Lane to promote lower speeds, shorter crossing distances for pedestrians at crosswalk locations, and enhanced cyclist safety, according to SHA. In 2018, all crossing signal times in the county were reset from the notion of people moving at 4 feet per second to the national standard of 3.5 feet per second, a goal of the Vision Zero action plan. A five-year capital improvement project is underway to replace every street light in

the county with brighter LED lights to help increase visibility, according to Holland. Planners and engineers are also looking into adding high visibility crosswalks, relocating bus stops from the middle of a block, and building median “refuges” on multilane roadways so people have a safe place to stand while crossing. Creating higher visibility crosswalks can result in a 40% reduction in the number of pedestrians who are struck, according to SHA. Officials say installing more HAWK beacons can help create safer crossings midblock and at intersections without traffic signals. In addition to the one installed on Tuckerman Lane, there are beacons on Aspen Hill Road between Georgia and Connecticut avenues in Aspen Hill, on Gude Drive in Rockville, and on Muddy Branch Road at the intersection of Harmony Hall Road and King James Way in Gaithersburg. Others are planned for Democracy Boulevard in

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cross at your own risk Bethesda, Willard Avenue and Hills Plaza in Chevy Chase, Summit Avenue in Kensington, and Bel Pre Road between Georgia Avenue and Layhill Road in Silver Spring, according to county transportation officials. Reducing speed limits can be one of the most effective ways to curb the number of pedestrian collisions resulting in severe injuries or death, state and county officials say. According to county planning officials, a pedestrian has a 95% chance of surviving a collision with a vehicle traveling 20 mph and just a 15% chance if that vehicle is traveling at 40 mph. Speed limits have been reduced recently along several state roads, according to SHA. In Bethesda, the speed limit on River Road was lowered from 45 mph to 35 mph between Ridgefield Road and the Beltway, and from 40 mph to 35 mph on Old Georgetown Road between Glenwood Road and the Beltway.

In April 2019, the council approved the Veirs Mill Corridor Master Plan, the first such plan to be advanced with Vision Zero in mind. Covering 4 miles between the city of Rockville and the Wheaton central business district, the plan includes road design changes to improve safety for pedestrians and cyclists. In January, SHA installed a new traffic signal and pedestrian crossing on Georgia Avenue at the intersection of May Street and Rippling Brook Drive in Silver Springâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;a section of the state highway between Hewitt Avenue and Hathaway Drive where roughly 10 pedestrian collisions occurred since 2015. Meanwhile, county lawmakers also are pushing for legislative solutions. Friedson has asked the countyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Department of Environmental Protection to evaluate policies concerning trash and recycling collections and amend collection contracts with private vendors

to prohibit the placement of trash and recycling bins in any part of a public right-of-way. The request followed the death of 17-year-old Winston Churchill High School student Jake Cassell, who was hit and fatally injured on July 31 after falling off his bike while riding on the sidewalk along Old Georgetown Road in Bethesda. [See profile of Jake on page 104.] His parents say they believe he fell after swerving to avoid a trash can and a signpost, according to a published report. The county also is working on a campaign to let residents know about the proper placement of trash and recycling receptacles as well as where users should park electric riding scooters, officials say. Friedson has also introduced a bill cosponsored by Glass and At-Large Councilmember Will Jawando concerning rules governing the issuance of county permits to temporarily close a public

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sidewalk or walkway in connection with repair work or construction. And council Vice President Tom Hucker, who represents Silver Spring and Takoma Parkbased District 5, is proposing that the county use automated cameras—which would function in a manner similar to red light or speed cameras—to catch distracted drivers.

COUNTY POLICE ARE WORKING with other county agencies to try to change the behavior of drivers, pedestrians and cyclists through education and the enforcement of traffic laws, including those governing the use of crosswalks and stopping for school buses with flashing red lights. “When we look at the Vision Zero campaign and look at traffic safety across the country, one of the biggest holes that we have is education,” Didone says. County agencies are raising awareness

through efforts like last fall’s Be Safe, Be Seen campaign, which included handing out reflective wristbands and drawstring bags with reflective strips at high schools and Metro stations to remind people that visibility decreases once it starts getting darker earlier. Police also have worked closely with Montgomery County Public Schools officials to equip all school buses with a safety camera. More than 54,000 citations were issued to drivers who passed stopped school buses during the 20182019 school year, according to police. Didone says police are gathering data to assess where citations were issued most often and to determine why those bus stops might be problematic. In addition, a team of 12 traffic officers has been conducting high-visibility enforcement of traffic laws, targeting drivers during rush hour, in addition to regular enforcement by other offi-

cers. Other efforts focus on making sure drivers are aware of pedestrians. “People think it’s the other guy or the other girl, it’s not them. [But] the reality is, it is them, they have a role, they have a responsibility. Every day somebody’s got to do their part,” Didone says. Changing road infrastructure will take time, and that’s why educating residents to be responsible and vigilant is key, Didone says. Thirteen pedestrians lost their lives in 2019, but each of the hundreds of other incidents during the year also could have been “life altering or tragic,” he says. “It could be horribly worse, because every time a car and a bicycle or a pedestrian come in contact, the car wins every time,” he says. “It’s the longest losing streak known to mankind.” ■ Julie Rasicot lives in Silver Spring and is the deputy editor of Bethesda Magazine.

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Rick and Kristy Schultz bought a Potomac home (opposite) and remodeled it in two phases. The bold new front facade features a balustrade with classic Chippendale-style fretwork for added Southern flair.

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Remembering

Jake

Last summer, 17-year-old Jake Cassell lost his life in a tragic accident in Bethesda. The Churchill student, who proudly played the role of the school mascot, left a lasting impression on everyone who knew him.

PHOTO BY LISA HELFERT PHOTO BY STACY ZARIN GOLDBERG

BY MIKE UNGER

BETHESDAMAGAZINE.COM BETHESDAMAGAZINE.COM || MARCH/APRIL JULY/AUGUST 2016 2020

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THE FACE ON THE new Bulldog head, Jake Cassell insisted, should sport a permanent smile. Jesse Smith agreed. A year earlier, in the spring of 2018, Jake had asked Smith, Winston Churchill High School’s athletic director, about playing the role of the school mascot. Smith’s ears perked up. Ever since his arrival at the Potomac school in 2016, he’d tried unsuccessfully to recruit a student to wear the costume known simply as the Bulldog. Then, a skinny sophomore with crooked glasses and a “big ole’ grin,” Smith recalls, walked into his office and volunteered to do it. “You could just tell how sweet and genuine he was,” Smith says. “He had so much enthusiasm. I just knew there was no way this kid wasn’t going to do well.” By the end of the school year, Jake,

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Boy Scouts occupied much of Jake’s free time; he was on track to become an Eagle Scout, the highest rank possible.

already well-liked by his peers, teachers and school administrators, had become beloved for the obvious joy he took from being the mascot. He had catchphrases. “Nailed it!” he would yell in his nasally, high-pitched voice after a basketball player drilled a jumper. “Awesome!” he would declare with a fist pump following a Churchill goal. When the football team scored a touchdown, he’d celebrate with fans, offering paw-to-hand high-fives to kids and grown-ups alike. “He had this glow about him that everyone felt,” Smith says. “Even if they didn’t know who he was, they saw that radiating from him.” Jake performed routines with the cheerleaders, usually shimmying and shaking a beat or two behind the girls, but always executing the moves with the

Left: Jake loved his role as Churchill High School’s mascot, the Bulldog. Below: Jake and his mother, Jennifer, at the Grosvenor-Strathmore Metro station on July 28, three days before the accident. Jake had just returned from six weeks of summer camp and service work. This was the last photo ever taken of him.

COURTESY PHOTOS

Bottom: Jake (center) with his brother, Owen, and father, Steve, at the Maryland Renaissance Festival in October 2018

same verve. He’d occasionally wear the gray, furry outfit to school—even on days there wasn’t a game. People didn’t love Jake Cassell because he was the Bulldog, they loved the Bulldog because he was Jake Cassell. Mascots generally try to hide their identity, but Jake didn’t think twice about posing for pictures “headless,” his mop of sweaty black hair and grin visible for all to see. “There was a shamelessness to the way that he presented himself to the world,” says his father, Steve. “He wanted the whole world to know, ‘Hey, it’s me!’ We were always telling him to put his [Bulldog] head on, and he was like, ‘No, I’m good.’ ” There was only one problem. The costume’s big, bulky head had a scowl plastered on its face that didn’t match the spirit of the teen wearing it. “Last year, we started the process of getting a new costume, and we talked all spring about the stuff he wanted,” Smith says. “I showed him a couple that had a menacing look, but Jake definitely wanted one with a smile.”

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Late last July, Churchill Principal Brandi Heckert approved the purchase of the new costume. Days later, following Jake’s tragic death at the age of 17 in a bicycle accident, it was the smile of the kid who never got to wear it that she remembered during his memorial service.

THE DAY JACOB CASSELL was born, a fire broke out next door to his parents’ row house in D.C. Steve and his wife, Jennifer, don’t know if the trauma of that morning caused Jennifer to go into premature labor, but hours later their first child arrived six weeks early. “His brain wasn’t developed enough to realize when he was eating or drinking that he had to stop and take a breath,” Jennifer says. “I was nursing, so I’d have to pull away so he would breathe, otherwise he would turn purple.” It didn’t take long for his parents to sense that something was wrong. Looking at bright lights and ceiling fans would overstimulate Jake, causing him to tighten and flex his muscles. “I had to teach him how to crawl by getting on top of him, pushing his knees forward and moving his arms forward. Nothing came natural for him,” Jennifer says. Jake was about 16 months old when the family received what Steve calls “the scarlet letter diagnosis.” Autism. Jake had issues with his vestibular system, which affected his sense of

balance. If his dad picked him up and turned him sideways, he’d go into a panic. Getting him to climb a couple of steps on a ladder at a playground was a major accomplishment. He had pica, a disorder that caused him to put things in his mouth, and suffered from obsessive-compulsive disorder. But the whole of Jake was much more than the sum of the maladies that plagued him. Despite his challenges, he always reveled in human interaction. He viewed wherever he went and whatever he did as an opportunity to connect with people. Man, woman, boy or girl— it made no difference to him. One day in first grade at Burning Tree Elementary School in Bethesda, where the family had moved in 2004, Jake was acting up. When the teacher threatened to send him to the principal’s office, his face lit up like a Christmas tree. “Oh, I love the principal,” he said. “Let’s do that!” Jake’s parents say a breakthrough came when they enrolled him in fourth grade at The Diener School in Potomac, which offers small classes for children with learning differences. “Everyone knew you could count on Jake to be a friend,” says Kathy Chumas, then an occupational therapist at Diener and now its head of school. “You always knew you could go up to Jake and say, ‘Do you want to play?’ It was almost a given he’d say yes.”

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The teachers were equally charmed by him. “At most schools, you’re not supposed to hug, but just about every staff member will tell you that they took hugs from Jake,” Chumas says. “I remember time and time again when teaching class, looking over at Jake and him giving me a quick wink.” Jake emerged from Diener, where Chumas keeps a picture of him on her desk, far more confident than when he entered, and his subsequent years at Cabin John Middle School in Potomac were largely successful, both academically and socially. He threw himself into activities such as acting, landing a supporting role as Drake the butler in an eighth grade production of Annie Jr. He served as the equipment manager and water boy for younger brother Owen’s Rockville Football League team, and took on the same jobs for the junior varsity football squad at Churchill. Jake was in Churchill’s autism resources program, but he was mainstreamed for most of his classes and he befriended a wide array of kids, regardless of whether they had special needs. Diego Garzon was one of them. He knew Jake, liked Jake, but he was hesitant to get close to him. “Even though our relationship progressed, I still felt like I had been pushing him away,” says Garzon, now an 18-year-old senior. “I was having a weird year—I pushed lots of people away. He always came back. One day I got mad at a teacher. I walked into the bathroom and I was punching things and screaming and yelling. Jake walked in and started asking me questions, with a huge smile on his face. I asked him, ‘Why are you so happy?’ He goes, ‘God put me on this earth to be happy and to smile.’ I laughed, and he was like, ‘Ha, got you, you smiled!’ ” As Jake matured, his church youth group and the Boy Scouts occupied much of his free time. Like the rest of

PHOTO BY LISA HELFERT

Steve Cassell, pictured in Jake’s bedroom, and his wife, Jennifer, haven’t disturbed the room since the accident.

his family, he was a devout Christian. “He would wear this cross around his neck and he would wear it proudly,” says Drew Martinez, a youth pastor at McLean Bible Church Montgomery County in Rockville. “He would tell people, ‘This is the cross I wear because I love Jesus.’ Some teens are reluctant to express themselves, but Jake would clap and jump and shout and would help cultivate an atmosphere where you could be free to be yourself.” Jake transformed from a timid kid into something of a thrill seeker. After much coaxing, he finally boarded the Loch Ness Monster roller coaster at Busch Gardens in Williamsburg. When it rolled back into the station, an obsession had been born. Jake would tell people that he wanted to be a “roller coaster enthusiast,” and talk about starting a YouTube channel where he

would review the world’s great coasters. Zip lining, skiing, cycling—if he could record himself doing it on his GoPro camera, he was into it. Being a Boy Scout also helped push Jake out of his comfort zone. “Every year we go whitewater rafting on the lower Youghiogheny [River] in Pennsylvania,” says Mike Schecter, Jake’s former Cub Scout and Boy Scout master. “It is a fairly intimidating experience. The first year we were going, he thought about it and said this is not for me. The next year he looked at the photos and talked to the other Scouts and realized that he missed a really cool adventure. He put on his courage and went. The water was running hard, and he had the absolute time of his life. He came back and was telling everybody about how he dominated the lower Yok.” Only about 5% of Boy Scouts become

an Eagle Scout, the highest achievement in the discipline, according to Schecter. Jake was on schedule to complete his Eagle project, the construction of a wooden walkway (known as a puncheon) near a pond at Patuxent River State Park, by his 18th birthday. “We navigated his entire childhood and adolescence with his disability and saw him progress,” Jake’s father says, his voice wavering. “Him standing onstage and getting his Eagle badge was going to be the proudest day of my life.”

LAST JULY 31 WAS a muggy Wednesday, and as he often did in the summer, Jake decided to ride his bike to the YMCA in Bethesda. He liked to sit and read with his legs dangling into the hot tub. “We had given him full independence,” Jennifer says. “He had reached this pinnacle where he knew that he

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could leave the house and be safe and do what he needed to do. I wouldn’t have traded that for the world.” To get to the Y, about three blocks from his house in Bethesda’s Wyngate neighborhood, Jake usually turned onto Singleton Drive, which runs parallel to the much busier Old Georgetown Road. This time, for whatever reason, he didn’t. His parents believe that while he was riding on the sidewalk along Old Georgetown, he swerved to avoid a trash can and a signpost, which caused him to fall off his bike and into the six-lane road. The driver who hit him had no time to react. Forty-five minutes after Jake left the house, two police officers knocked on the Cassells’ front door. “I had just been thinking that it was about time for him to start coming home,” Jennifer says. “They said, ‘Do you have a son that was riding

his bike?’ I said, ‘Yeah.’ They said, ‘He was hit on Old Georgetown and he’s nonresponsive. You need to come with us.’ Both the officers were shaking.” Jennifer called Steve, who rushed to Suburban Hospital from his office in Washington, D.C. When he arrived, he saw Owen, now 16, and the two fell into each other’s arms, sobbing. The situation was dire. Around 8:30 p.m., doctors told the Cassells that they thought they had the bleeding under control. But Jake’s blood oxygen level was low, and despite the fact that he was wearing a helmet, he had suffered a severe brain injury. They suggested medevacing him to the University of Maryland’s R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center. “He and I got on a helicopter on the roof of Suburban and flew to Baltimore,” Steve says. “I’m sitting next to a pilot, I’ve

got headphones on, I’m listening to him and air traffic control, and I can listen to the two paramedics in the back working on Jake. Meanwhile, it’s like 3:30 in the morning and it couldn’t be a more beautiful night. The sky is clear, there’s the twinkling lights of the city, and the helicopter ride was like I was laying on a cloud it was so smooth. That was the most surreal experience of my entire life.” A few minutes after the helicopter landed, doctors told Steve and Jennifer, who had arrived by car, that Jake’s brain was no longer capable of sustaining life. He was being kept alive by machines. “We were totally destroyed people,” Steve says. “We had seen this Herculean effort to save Jake, but at that point there was no doubt. Typically, when someone’s taken off life support they pass in a couple of minutes. For Jake, it was almost instantaneous.”

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THE NEXT FEW DAYS were a blur for the Cassells as the media, relatives and friends flocked to the house. During a television interview, Steve spoke directly through the camera in a grief-stricken daze to the man who hit his son. “I said, ‘We know this wasn’t your fault and we forgive you and we love you,’ ” he recalls. “I did not have the thought in my head before it came out. It was something spiritual that happened.” Steve didn’t know it at the time, but the driver lives in the same neighborhood as the Cassells, and a mutual friend arranged a meeting between the man and his wife (who have a young child of their own) and Steve and Jennifer at a church a week after the accident. “They came in with tears rolling down their faces,” Steve says. “They were shaking. They just ran to us and we just held

each other and cried. The first thing that his wife said was, ‘We want to know all about Jake.’ What a beautiful thing to say. We told them, ‘We don’t want you to carry the weight of this for your whole life. We forgive you and we want to set you free from any feeling of guilt.’ They’re really good people.” In the immediate aftermath of the accident, thoughts turned to a memorial for Jake. “You don’t ever spend any time thinking, what would I do if my kid died?” Steve says. “Jake was very certain in who he was, so we said we’re going to celebrate his life, and we’re going to worship.” McLean Bible couldn’t accommodate the number of people who were expected to attend, so the family approached Heckert about staging it at Churchill. “This school was such an important part of Jake’s life,” the principal says. “He was

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at every event because his family was so supportive. It just made the most sense to honor Jake in this facility that he loved and he was so proud to be a part of.” The celebration of life was hosted by Mike Kelsey, campus pastor at McLean Bible. Shortly after it began, he asked the people in the auditorium to look around at each other. “What you see here today is not just evidence of a tragic death,” he said. “What you see here today is evidence of a life well lived…a life filled with love and contagious enthusiasm.” Heckert was among the speakers. “For those of you who have ever heard me speak about my daughter, Kennedy, she’s 4,” she said. “I talk a lot about our car rides home from school. …I ask her some important questions. What made you happy? Who made you smile? And who did you make smile today? [For

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me], on any given day, Jake could be the answer to all three.” Photos of Jake flashed across a screen on the stage. He was always very physical in his affection. In nearly every shot his head was resting on a shoulder, his arm wrapped around a waist, his cheek pressed against another. A band played his favorite worship songs in the upbeat style he liked. Some people sang along; others stood and swayed. Jake loved singing, playing, and listening to music, but his relationship with it was complicated. He had an auditory sensitivity that manifested itself through asynchronous sounds. “If he heard a Jimmy Page guitar solo or free-form jazz like Thelonious Monk or Miles Davis, it was like an ice pick on the side of his head,” his dad says. “Crocodile tears would start flowing. ‘Pray with me,’ he’d say, ‘and have God take it away.’ But he really loved music that had a melody, songs that had structure. He liked classic rock a lot, stuff like John Mellencamp and the Eagles. His favorite alltime band was the Beatles.” Former Scout Master Mike Schecter spoke, as did teachers, family members and friends. About a half hour in, Kelsey asked people to slide to the middle of their rows so the crowd waiting outside could get in. Finally, at the end of the nearly twohour event, Steve Cassell approached the dais. In the days before the memorial, he knew that he would speak, but he didn’t know how he’d find the strength. When he sat down to outline the magnificence of his son’s life, the speech wrote itself, he says. The audience sat transfixed as he delivered a raw display of love and grief that was at times uplifting, painful, amusing, sweet, discomforting and heartwarming. “What comes with being a specialneeds parent, especially on the front end, is anger, denial, sorrow, embarrassment, disappointment and loss,” he said. “I felt all of these. We had to completely recalibrate our life. It became a life of sacri-

fice for our child. The endless therapies, the time, the money, the vulnerability of our child—he was never safe. “We had to learn to focus on a different type of achievement. Speech, fine motor skills, original thoughts, appropriate responses, subtlety, irony, basic everyday tasks and self-care. All of those things became very hard for Jake and took a long time to develop. But somehow through all of this we learned to enjoy every small milestone. Every small victory brought us so much joy.” Toward the end, Steve asked God to allow Jake to see the outpouring of love for him in the auditorium. “He would be beyond himself to see all of his friends and family gathered here at Churchill celebrating his life,” he said. “What a testament to the wonderful young man he was and the beautiful life he lived. Thank you, God, for Jake. Amen.” As Steve walked off the stage, fighting back tears, the audience rose for a 36-second standing ovation, the kind you see at a concert or a ballgame, not at a funeral.

ON A GLOOMY DECEMBER day, more than four months after everything changed forever, Steve is standing on a puncheon at Patuxent River State Park in Brookeville—the one Jake designed for his Eagle Scout project. To honor him, his fellow Scouts finished it after he died. Rain mixes with the tears that fall from his face toward his neck, around which hangs the cross his son once wore. It’s now his most treasured possession. “I can’t be here without feeling heartbreak that Jake didn’t get to see this through. It hurts to your bone marrow. It’s truly intolerable,” he says. “This is a place where I can come and reflect. We didn’t bury Jake, so there’s not a grave that we can visit. It’s become the site of the accident where a makeshift memorial was set up, it’s here, and it’s his bedroom.” A cross with “Jake” painted across the front, flowers and other small keepsakes near the site of the accident disappeared on Sept. 18, but a new cross, made by

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a Churchill football player, and a “ghost bike”—a bicycle painted white that is placed by a nonprofit near the site of a fatal accident involving a cyclist—remain there. Steve drives past it nearly every day on his way to the real estate development firm where he works as chief operating officer. Steve and Jennifer, a graphic designer, haven’t disturbed Jake’s room since the accident. The shorts their son changed out of before heading to the YMCA pool that day remain on his partially made bed. A drawing of the sun he made is taped to a blue wall. A model Southwest Airlines plane—Jake loved transit and dreamed of becoming a train conductor or flight attendant—sits on his dresser. A copy of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, the pages warped from hours near the hot tub, rests on his desk. Every night, Steve would pray with Jake in that room. Now it’s a place of grieving for him and Jennifer. “He had this constant joy and buoyancy—he made life fun,” Steve says. “We had this incredible gift, and now we have to figure out how to live without it.” At Churchill, Jake’s old Bulldog costume still hangs in Heckert’s closet. She can’t bear to throw it out. Last fall, Diego Garzon volunteered to play the role of mascot as a way of honoring his friend. In October, he was dressed in the new costume during a fun run at Seven Locks Elementary School in Potomac when a little girl approached him. “She said, ‘Jake, I missed you, it’s been a year,’ and she hugged me,” Garzon recalls. “I just stood there. What do you do or say in that situation? So I hugged her back and she grabbed my hand and we ran together.” Garzon is one of three students who proudly wear the new costume—the smiling one—which now has an official name: Jake the Bulldog. n Mike Unger is a writer and editor who grew up in Montgomery County and lives in Baltimore.

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TOP TEENS From a math whiz to an award-winning playwright, these 14 students make their marks in and out of the classroom. Meet the winners of our 11th annual Extraordinary Teen Awards. BY CARALEE ADAMS AND AMY REININK PHOTOS BY EDGAR ARTIGA

ALEXIS BENTZ

Senior, Thomas S. Wootton High School Alexis Bentz’s childhood was filled with crafting sessions with her grandmother and making home-cooked meals with her grandfather. As Alexis grew older, she realized that many of her peers viewed older adults as “grumpy, lazy or slow,” while some older adults viewed young people as “obnoxious, entitled and always on their phones.” “Both generations have so much advice and wisdom to offer,” says Alexis, 18, who lives in Rockville. “Giving these generations a chance to connect became very important to me.” When she was 12, after some brainstorming with her grandparents, Alexis pitched a column called “Generations Together” to the Greater Washington edition of The Beacon, a general-interest newspaper based in Kensington for adults over 50 in the Washington, D.C., region. Beacon Publisher Stuart Rosenthal asked her to send a sample of what she had in mind. “It was an excellent column—really well written, thoughtful and articulate,” says Rosenthal, who agreed to publish six of Alexis’ columns each year. “It was better than some of the freelance stuff we get.” Alexis has since written more than 40 columns and served as 114

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a summer intern at The Beacon in 2017. That year and in 2018 she was a first place winner in the “Senior Issues” category of the North American Mature Publishers Association (NAMPA) Awards, competing against adults. Alexis also founded Robert Frost Middle School’s Generations Together Club—students there visit The Village at Rockville, a retirement and assisted-living community, each month—and later created the same club at Wootton. This year, she is organizing a prom for Wootton students and residents of The Village at Rockville. Her first book, Think Smart! Ideas for Problem-Solving By a Kid Like You, was published in 2012. She is currently writing Harmony, a youngadult novel about a middle-school girl struggling with bullying, and says she is working with a New York City literary agent for future publication. She is editor-in-chief of Pulp, Wootton’s literary magazine, and took a master class with author Amy Tan last year after being selected as a Fitzgerald Scholar by the English Department at Wootton. Alexis will attend Washington University in St. Louis, and plans to major in English.

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RUSSELL LUBIN

Senior, Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School As a kid, Russell Lubin used to fill an entire room with his Thomas the Tank Engine wooden train track designs. Then he moved on to K’Nex, making a 6-foot-wide-by-6-foot-tall roller coaster out of the plastic construction toys. Russell’s fascination with tinkering continued into middle school, where he pulled some friends together to enter an international Rube Goldberg building competition. “The point of [a Rube Goldberg] machine is to create something that is a very unnecessarily convoluted way to do a simple task—like turning on a light bulb,” says Russell, 18, who lives in Bethesda. “The basis of absurdity of the whole thing gives it an air of levity that makes it fun for everyone.” As a freshman at Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School in Rockville, Russell started an engineering club that has since grown from three to 30 members. He recruited students who were interested in science, technology, engineering and math, but also in art—helping make the projects more elegant, says Ginger Thornton, the director of instructional technology at the school. He expanded the club to include rocketry, underwater robotics, and sustainable gardening projects, and mentored other team leaders. “Russell makes everyone around him better. He’s able to get people to do things that they didn’t know they could do,” Thornton says. Last summer, Russell, who is coeditor-in-chief of the school’s science journal, landed a three-week internship in Haifa, Israel, where he was part of a research team using 3D printing to create prosthetic ears. He is also an avid guitar player and rock climbing enthusiast, and is active in J-Teen Leadership, a Jewish youth philanthropy group. Russell is interested in a career in aerospace engineering and says he enjoys an ongoing project in his garage: the construction of a jet engine. “It’s a feeling somewhere between happiness and awe to be able to build something that works, that’s substantial and real,” Russell says.

ROSE LEE

Senior, Richard Montgomery High School Most Thursdays after school, about 20 students from Rockville’s Richard Montgomery High School take a Ride On bus or drive to nearby Twinbrook Elementary School. The teens help fourth and fifth graders with homework and a science activity. After making towers out of marshmallows and toothpicks, or creating rockets with film canisters, water and Alka-Seltzer, the students discuss their designs. “In the beginning of the year, it’s awkward for the kids to talk with high school students. But after a few weeks they start to relate to one another and form bonds,” says Rose Lee, 17, of Rockville, who started the tutoring program as a sophomore and has continued to lead it through her senior year. The hope is that the program can help close the confidence gap that keeps some minority students from studying STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering and math), says Rose, who was named an EngineerGirl

Ambassador in a competition sponsored by the National Academy of Engineering and traveled to the Society of Women Engineers Conference in Minneapolis in 2018. Twinbrook Principal Matthew Devan says Rose’s work paved the way for two more high school mentoring programs at the elementary school. “She is so organized and has a clear vision for a high school student,” Devan says. Rose says she was quiet and reserved as a freshman but learned to express herself after joining her school’s Forensics Club. As a senior, she is president of the competitive public speaking club and enjoys giving informative and persuasive speeches. She is also co-president of her school’s chapter of the National Honor Society. Rose says she’s interested in pursuing science or health care policy and hopes her experiences in high school can help her be a force for change in the policy sector.

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JAILEN ANDERSON Senior, Rockville High School

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At 6 feet, 4 inches tall, Jailen Anderson is a force on the basketball court. He’s a leading scorer on the Rockville High School basketball team and has helped his local Filipino American Basketball Association team win league championships. The 17-year-old from Rockville is also known for his quiet leadership and compassion. As a counselor at summer basketball camps, Jailen goes out of his way to joke around with younger players to make them feel comfortable, says Rockville High

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School basketball coach Todd Dembroski. “Jailen is a lead-byexample kind of guy,” Dembroski says of the varsity co-captain. “He’s a great student, a great person, and he treats everyone the right way.” Jailen says basketball has taught him lessons of determination and resilience that he has applied to life. “I use the game that I love to impact people in a positive way,” says Jailen, who represents his high school on the Student-Athlete Leadership Council, which focuses

on improving sports experiences in Montgomery County. Community service has been important to Jailen. He helped with a program through The Bridge church in Silver Spring last summer, handing out cold water to people in need throughout the city. He also organized a fundraiser in conjunction with the NBA’s Washington Wizards to benefit research for colorectal cancer, which claimed his stepfather six years ago. Jailen’s leadership on and off the court, as well as his academic

PREE BHUTANI

Senior, The Academy of the Holy Cross In fifth grade, Pree Bhutani heard through her Sikh temple about a college scholarship fund for students in India and she wanted to help. Pree and a few friends raised thousands of dollars through a letter-writing campaign, and soon afterward were inspired to form a community service club, Young Khalsa Girls. (Khalsa means pure in the Sikh faith.) In addition to the local chapter, there is another one with girls from Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and the two chapters have organized a variety of projects, from making care packages for refugees to planting trees and holding food drives. Pree, who’s 18 and lives in Rockville, initially chose to remain private about being diagnosed with epilepsy at age 10 and dealing with depression in middle school. But after volunteering in 2019 at a summer camp for kids with epilepsy, Pree says she became more confident and wanted to speak out. Last fall, she and another student with epilepsy gave a speech together that addressed common misconceptions during an assembly at their school in Kensington. They handed out ribbons for epilepsy awareness that girls wore on their uniform skirts to show their support. “I just feel it’s important to use my own story to be able to help other people and change the way they see things,” says Pree, who also sings, dances and acts in productions at Holy Cross and Georgetown Preparatory School. Pree is also an advocate for mental health awareness. At Holy Cross, she co-founded a chapter of Our Minds Matter, which grew from 30 members a year ago to 70 in the current school year. The club is part of a nationwide student-led movement designed to change school culture around mental health. “Pree’s made such an impact on the student body,” says Meighan Avalos, associate director of college counseling at Holy Cross. “She’s taught many of her classmates about being empathetic toward others.” Pree plans to study advocacy or public policy in college.

success as an International Baccalaureate Diploma student and member of the National Honor Society, was recently recognized by the nonprofit Posse Foundation. He was awarded a full-tuition Posse Scholarship to Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. The competitive program selects students from 10 cities to attend college together in a small supportive cohort. At Bucknell, Jailen plans to pursue art entrepreneurship and is considering playing basketball for the school. BETHESDAMAGAZINE.COM | MARCH/APRIL 2020

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GRACE CHEN

Senior, Winston Churchill High School

MATT AMITAY

Senior, Landon School When student-athlete Matt Amitay enrolled in a painting class as a freshman at Landon School in Bethesda, he did so only to fulfill Landon’s arts requirement. Unexpectedly, he found a new passion and talent—his paintings have been exhibited at independently juried local art shows, most recently at Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart in Bethesda. Ricky Sears, chair of the studio art department at Landon, says Matt’s paintings have a “professional quality,” and called him “Landon’s Renaissance man.” Matt also found a new way to express himself—one that supports and fuels his other varied interests, he says. “Whatever I’m working on, I’m more productive because I have structured time to paint,” says the 18-year-old Bethesda resident, now a senior at Landon. Painting is one of many activities Matt excels in at Landon. He will graduate with 120

eight varsity letters in football, wrestling and lacrosse. Andrew Luther, adviser and college counselor at Landon, says Matt is the top student in the class of 2020. “He’s an exemplary student and citizen of our school community who’s a joy to teach, but more than that, he demonstrates an ability to be vulnerable and take risks, in art and beyond,” says Sears, who has taught Matt’s art classes and coached him in junior varsity lacrosse. Matt is in his eighth straight term as class president. As an upperclassman at Landon, this role involves hearing classmates’ disciplinary infractions at “honor trials” and doling out punishments—sometimes to close friends. “I view making tough decisions for the good of others part of my responsibility to the other students,” Matt says. “It’s been a vehicle for character growth for me.” Matt will attend Columbia University and is interested in political science.

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When Grace Chen was in seventh grade, a neighbor seemed to be struggling with loneliness and isolation while healing after heart surgery. Grace felt inspired to help the neighbor and other older adults. She started volunteering to assist in the setup of monthly board meetings for Potomac Community Village (PCV), a 200-member nonprofit that enables seniors to age in their own homes with help from volunteers. Soon, Grace was organizing monthly tech-help clinics for PCV members that were staffed by her friends. She created a website to simplify the volunteer sign-up process, and planned an intergenerational luncheon with games and crafts. Now a 17-yearold senior at Winston Churchill High School in Potomac, Grace, who lives in Rockville, serves as a student representative on the Potomac Community Village Board of Directors. “It was Grace’s idea and extraordinary efforts that expanded our organization from primarily assisting seniors into an intergenerational organization benefiting all generations,” says board President Owen Ritter. Grace is also a member of a synchronized ice skating team, DC Edge’s Junior Team, which went to England in January and competed internationally as a member of Team USA, taking home the bronze medal. She spends roughly 20 hours a week at practice, including travel time to rinks in Arlington, Virginia, and Frederick. “Training is hard, but to step on the ice with your best friends and have people cheering—it’s such a good feeling, you can’t even put it into words,” Grace says. Grace also coaches ice skating for Special Olympics Maryland, plays cello in her high school’s orchestra, and is an accomplished pianist and composer. In 2018, she co-founded Churchill’s Asian American Festival, organizing food, performances and displays for roughly 500 students. She is considering colleges in Boston, and hopes to continue ice skating. She plans to study engineering.

TOP TEENS

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KINSEY WALKER

Senior, Clarksburg High School Kinsey Walker grew up hearing about how she was a “miracle baby” who was born 11 weeks early and spent two months in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). So when her mother wondered before her sixth birthday if she would like to ask guests to forgo gifts and instead donate to the March of Dimes, which aims to improve maternal and infant health, Kinsey says it was an easy “yes.” Kinsey, who lives in Germantown and is now a 17-year-old senior at Clarksburg High School, has since raised more than $19,000 for the March of Dimes through campaigns such as the annual March for Babies walk, and has twice served as a March of Dimes ambassador. “I thought her mother would be the driving force, but Kinsey just kind of took over,” says Jennifer Abell, senior development manager for the March of Dimes’ Washington, D.C./ Maryland market, of when Kinsey first served as an ambassador as a sixth grader. “She

handled the writing of her speeches, and she knew exactly what she was talking about.” Kinsey plans to study nursing in college and hopes to become a NICU nurse. Last summer she shadowed nurses at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda and a hospital in Florida. “I don’t remember being born premature, but I do think that knowing I had to fight for my first breaths has provided me with a sense of drive and strength, and a desire to help other babies who are born premature to survive.” Kinsey also sings in her school’s chamber choir and in the Montgomery County Youth Chorus, and dances with Hurley School of Irish Dance in Laytonsville. She is in the Advanced Placement Power Scholars Program, and is a tech crew member for her school’s theater program. She earned a Girl Scout Gold Award—the organization’s highest honor—for building bookcases at local elementary schools, then supplying books for students to borrow or take home.

LOGAN DELAVANHOOVER Senior, James Hubert Blake High School

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TOP TEENS

During his junior year, Logan Delavan-Hoover wrote a play, The Fall of J. Alfred Prufrock, that was based on a poem written by T.S. Eliot more than 100 years ago. Logan’s play was one of four selected to be performed in a playwriting contest sponsored by Olney Theatre Center. He was the only writer to also direct his own show there last summer as part of New Voices: Reflections, a oneact festival written and produced by local teenage talent. “[My play] has a strong message about the danger of being indecisive, not taking risks

and not pushing yourself to realize what you can do,” says Logan, who wanted to make sure his visual ideas and stage motifs were incorporated into the show. “I wrote it not just to convey the message to others, but to convince myself to a degree.” Logan, 18, who lives in Silver Spring, has been acting in theater productions since seventh grade. He often plays comedic characters, but he recently landed a serious role as Laurie, the male lead in his high school’s production of Little Women. Logan also has performed in

productions of The Little Mermaid, Company, Into the Woods and The 1940’s Radio Hour at his high school in Silver Spring. He’s been in three shows with Blake Children’s Theater, which travels to elementary schools in low-income neighborhoods in the county. Logan says he enjoys the people in theater, but the experience has also taught him important lessons about hard work and community building. Jean Smith, a counselor at Blake, says Logan has varied interests, from the arts to engineering to advocacy. Last

year he coordinated a Youth Peace Conference that brought together 70 high school students in Montgomery County for a day of workshops about social justice issues, including gun violence and modern-day slavery. “He stands out because his eyes are not just on what he’s doing; his eyes are also on the world and how he can impact the greater community,” Smith says. “He has a vision for the larger world.” Logan is considering studying engineering or economics in college.

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TEENS WERE PHOTOGRAPHED AT ..,

TOP TEENS

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VIRUNI LEWWANDOOWA

Senior, Wheaton High School As a high school freshman, Viruni Lewwandoowa says she was eager to try everything. She was on the tennis, softball and swimming teams, and got involved in student government. It was robotics, however, that captured her imagination. “There was a senior who took me under her wing and taught me everything she knew about electrical engineering, and I found my passion. I love everything about circuits,” says Viruni, 17, who moved with her family from Sri Lanka to Silver Spring in fifth grade and is now captain of the Wheaton High School robotics team. The group of 20 to 30 students meet daily after school to build and design a robot that they enter in tournaments. At the competitive events, everyone is busy fine-tuning the robot to make it more efficient. “It’s very hectic, highly stressful, but really fun,” says Viruni, who recently helped lead the Wheaton team to a win in the Montgomery Blair High School Bunny Bots competition, beating out 15 other area teams. She is also vice president of her school’s Society of Women Engineers club. As a mentor through the club, she helped middle school girls enter a solar electric car race. Viruni is one of only three girls out of 20-plus students in Wheaton High School’s engineering magnet program. She says she wants to be an advocate for women in science, technology, engineering and math careers, and is determined not to let societal pressures keep her from pursuing a career in electrical engineering. After three years as class treasurer at Wheaton, Viruni was elected student government president as a senior. She says it’s been her goal to improve school spirit and be a voice for all students. She coordinated planning for opening events at the school’s new stadium and led the first pep rally there. “She is the epitome of a leader,” says Tobii Mason, Viruni’s high school adviser. “People are naturally magnetized to Viruni.”

TRINITY KLECKNER Senior, Barrie School

As an elementary school student at Mater Amoris Montessori School in Ashton, Maryland, Trinity Kleckner had a great deal of freedom to choose how she spent her time. Her choice: math, math and more math. That passion has only increased with time. Trinity, 18, who lives in Silver Spring and is a senior at Barrie School, also in Silver Spring, is one of two students at her school studying linear algebra and differential equations in a course usually taken by college sophomores and juniors. During Barrie’s daily open period, Trinity often encounters a long line of students waiting to ask her for help with math. “I love math because it’s kind of an international language,” Trinity says. “And every time I help someone else, I learn it better myself.” Trinity has nearly 30 Rubik’s Cubes, from the standard model to the 12-sided dodecahedron-shaped version, and she has solved them all. She approaches other endeavors

through a problem-solving lens, whether she’s setting a ball in volleyball or reorganizing middle school elections for Barrie’s Student Government Association. “She is simultaneously the academic leader of the school and the social glue that holds it together,” Barrie Director of College Counseling David Weiner says. Trinity’s achievements are all the more impressive given the severe pain she endured for her entire sophomore year. She visited more than a dozen doctors and slept no more than five hours each night because of the pain. During that time, she still achieved a 4.0 GPA, and played full volleyball and basketball seasons. At the end of her sophomore year, a surgeon at Children’s National Hospital in D.C. removed what turned out to be a benign tumor from her spine. Trinity will attend Haverford College near Philadelphia and hopes to major in math, computer science or physics.

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NICOLE VANDERZON

Senior, Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School Nicole Vanderzon was on the phone setting up a time to discuss her nonprofit, Debate Alliance DC, with a principal from a nearby middle school when the principal got a surprise. Nicole said she wouldn’t be able to meet until after school. The principal asked if Nicole was a teacher. Nicole explained that she was a junior in high school. The line went silent. This wasn’t the first time that Nicole, who lives in the Somerset neighborhood of Chevy Chase and is now an 18-year-old senior at Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School, had been mistaken for an adult since 2017. That’s when she and her debate partner, Sophie Bresnicky, created Debate Alliance DC in order to establish debate programs for middle school students. “She is highly intelligent, mature and motivated, and she really knows how to organize people to get things accomplished,” says Dan Gallagher, B-CC’s debate coach. As B-CC sophomores, Nicole and Sophie pitched and created an after-school debate

program at Blessed Sacrament School in Washington, D.C. They have since added five more middle schools, have recruited seven volunteers from the B-CC debate team to teach at those schools, and have developed a standard curriculum for the program. Nicole says the program’s mission expanded as it began working with lower-income schools and she saw the impact debate had on the students’ lives. “We started it as just a way to get community service experience, but it made me realize this whole other passion I have for equity in education,” she says. Nicole is now co-captain of the 60-member B-CC Debate Team. She and Sophie won the Montgomery County Debate League championship last year. Nicole is also a year-round swimmer with the Nation’s Capital Swim Club and president of B-CC’s National Honor Society. She plans to study international relations in college, and hopes to remain active in education.

SARAH SCHWARTZ Senior, St. Andrew’s Episcopal School

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Sarah Schwartz is as comfortable in an art studio as she is marching in a political protest. The 18-year-old from Bethesda is most enthused when she can leverage her creative energy to advance a social justice issue. After the Trump administration announced the Muslim travel ban in 2017, Sarah joined others from Temple Micah to paint a huge mural with the words “Remember the St. Louis,” referring to a ship of Jewish refugees from Germany that was turned away from the

United States in 1939. The mural hung on the front of her temple on Wisconsin Avenue in Northwest Washington, D.C., for weeks. “Sarah’s very reflective. She’s curious about the world, and it comes through in her artwork,” says Lauren Cook, an art teacher at St. Andrew’s in Potomac. “Sarah sets a standard for how our students can use art as a language for personal meaning, and how it can be an integral part of a balanced and busy life.” Along with mentoring younger

students and running on the St. Andrew’s cross-country team, Sarah is involved in community service. In eighth grade, she helped start a nonprofit to raise money for children at an orphanage in Bolivia, where she has volunteered with her family during three summers and has remained involved since. Last summer, Sarah was an intern for the United Farm Workers labor union in California, informing members exposed to pesticides in the field about their rights, and

handing out flyers on the streets about what to do during an immigration deportation raid. “It was incredible work. I was so happy I got to experience it, go out of my comfort zone and dive into those issues,” says Sarah, who participated in the 2017 Women’s March in Washington and rallies on immigration and gun control. Sarah will attend Duke University, where she plans to pursue a double major in visual arts and public policy.

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TOP TEENS KARINA VASUDEVA

Karina Vasudeva was walking toward the Dupont Circle Metro station with some friends a few years ago when a woman timidly asked if she had any menstrual products. Karina, then a freshman, handed her the two tampons she was carrying in her Hello Kitty hygiene kit. That interaction inspired Karina, now a 17-year-old senior at Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School, to action. In 2018, as a member of the Lazarus Leadership Fellows Program, which initiates community service projects for 10th and 11th graders who live in Bethesda or Chevy Chase, Karina organized collection drives and fundraising activities to create a supply of menstrual products for local homeless shelters—but she wanted to do more. She began waking at 5 a.m. each day to research and design a reusable menstrual hygiene cup that reduces the risk of infection or toxic shock syndrome for poor women in developing countries. Her product recently became patented, and she is working with manufacturers to develop a working model. “I just thought about that woman in Dupont Circle and how she almost seemed ashamed,” says Karina, who lives in Chevy Chase. “I felt like it was my duty to do whatever I could do to help her reclaim her dignity.” Karina says her sense of service stems from her upbringing in the Sikh religion, and her care for others inspires everything she does, from student government to writing for B-CC’s student newspaper to coaching students from various county high schools in the Dale Carnegie Youth Leadership Program. She is also co-captain of the B-CC mock trial team, and a member of the school’s debate team, the Model United Nations club and the B-CC Chamber Choir. “Karina lives for causes bigger than herself,” says Bruce Adams, founder of the Lazarus Leadership Fellows Program. “She is a model global citizen.” Karina hopes to study biomedical engineering, with a possible dual major in global public health or sociology. ■

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PHOTOS WERE TAKEN AT ROCKVILLE HIGH SCHOOL AND BETHESDA-CHEVY CHASE HIGH SCHOOL

Senior, Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School

Courtney Thomas uses a syringe to feed a squirrel thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s about 7 weeks old.

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Second Chances

A wildlife center in Gaithersburg is nursing squirrels, birds, turtles and other animals back to health BY CARALEE ADAMS PHOTOS BY LAURA CHASE DE FORMIGNY

FOR THE SEVEN-PERSON staff at Second Chance Wildlife Center in Gaithersburg, “baby season” in May and June is the busiest time of year. That’s when people often bring in little birds or squirrels that have fallen out of their nests. But that’s not the only time it’s hectic. Concerned residents show up at the center throughout the year with animals in need of care, often transporting them in boxes lined with towels. A turtle hit by a car. A rabbit whose nest was destroyed by a lawn mower. A goose who swallowed a coin. More than once, a group of small squirrels has arrived with their tails tangled together, sometimes with sap from a pine tree. Operating out of a rented 110-yearold farmhouse since 1996, the nonprofit center is open every day of the year and admits about 3,000 ill, orphaned or injured patients annually. Some don’t survive, but most are nursed back to health and released into the wild. Some are transferred to other facilities for specialized care, such as a hawk that needed eye surgery. More than half of the patients at Second Chance are songbirds. The center also cares for rabbits, squirrels, ducks, geese, opossums, turtles, raptors, chipmunks, snakes and bats. (Second Chance doesn’t accept raccoons, deer or invasive birds such as house sparrows, rock pigeons or starlings that aren’t native to the area.)

When people ask why wildlife should be saved, Maureen Smith, the center’s president since 2018, points to statistics. The World Wildlife Fund estimates that the planet’s wildlife population has decreased by 60% between 1970 and 2014. As Maryland loses more forest to development each year, encounters between people and wildlife are more common—often to the detriment of the animals. Every species plays a role in maintaining balance in a healthy ecosystem, says Smith, a former head of marketing for the National Wildlife Federation, television executive with Animal Planet, and president of the Jane Goodall Institute. “The little baby opossum we raised and released will eat thousands of ticks in [someone’s] backyard and help prevent Lyme disease. The snake that is caught in a glue trap or garden netting and we rescued will go off and eat lots of mice and keep them out of your house. Bats eat mosquitos,” says Smith, who lives in Silver Spring. A bird might stay at Second Chance for a week or two; turtles and squirrels could be there for months. As the animals are treated, staff members try to calm them by speaking in nurturing voices, but they don’t name their patients. “I get so attached that I want the best for them,” says Courtney Thomas, clinic tech and assistant clinic manager, “which means getting them out where they thrive.”

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Just beyond a residential neighborhood on Barcellona Drive in northern Montgomery County, Second Chance’s farmhouse was retrofitted to accommodate an exam room, surgical suite, incubators and enclosures for a variety of animals. In addition to the seven paid employees at the center, three veterinarians volunteer their time—mostly to perform surgeries and prescribe medication—along with several other volunteers who help care for the animals. Because the critters are often sick or recovering from trauma, the center is not open to the public. That’s disappointing to the people who sometimes show up for a look at the animals, says Second Chance President Maureen Smith, who adds that the lack of public exposure can make it challenging to get out the word about the center’s needs. Second Chance is the largest wildlife rehabilitation facility in Maryland, but it is outgrowing its space, Smith says. The organization is in the middle of a capital campaign to build a new facility that would nearly quadruple its size on 5 acres in Clarksburg near Little Bennett Regional Park. So far, $2.1 million of the nearly $3.8 million that’s needed has been raised for the new center, with construction scheduled to begin this spring.

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This Eastern box turtle (above) is about to receive a dose of fluids as he recovers from recent surgery. Box turtles are very territorial, so once a turtle has been nursed back to health, which can take several months, the center makes sure itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s returned to the area where it was found. The average lifespan for the turtles is 30 to 50 years in the wild. There are reports of some reaching 80 to 100 years. The smaller turtle (right) is likely about 2 years old.

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In January, there were 48 squirrels at Second Chance—33 outside and 15 inside—that would likely spend the winter there. Since there are no leaves on the trees to provide cover and the squirrels don’t have nuts stored for the cold weather, they can’t be sent back to the wild until the spring. Staff members hide nuts in shredded newspapers that line the cages. Squirrels use the paper as a substitute for leaves to practice building nests. Donated T-shirts become cozy makeshift hammocks.

Staff members provide the animals with food that aims to simulate what they would find in the wild. Squirrels are given nuts in the morning—walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts, almonds and peanuts—and fruits and vegetables are cut up daily for the afternoon feeding. The center’s “Animal Fridge” is also packed with chicken livers, fish, boiled eggs (popular with the possums) and containers of earthworms. Some animals, such as rabbits, are given live food (roaches and worms) so they won’t be scared of creatures that move when they’re released. Several volunteers, who receive 10 weeks of training, help with feeding, cleaning and caring for the animals at Second Chance.

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Since this baby squirrelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s eyes are still closed, staff members estimate that she is about 4 weeks old. The squirrel fell from its nest in Gaithersburg and was bruised and cold when she was brought to the center. Baby squirrels need to be fed several times a day, depending on their age and condition. It takes practice to be sure the squirrel formula flows slowly so the animal doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t aspirate, Courtney Thomas says. The center is often at capacity during the winter and unable to take in additional squirrels.

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Wildlife rescue adviser Tyler Meiners answers about 5,500 calls and emails a year, often from people asking what to do about a baby bird, squirrel or rabbit they’ve found. Meiners tells people not to give wild animals food or water because both can make them sicker. He says the best thing to do is put the animal in a box with a lid and bring it in. When someone drops off an animal, the person is asked to fill out an admission form with details on where the animal was found, how it was cared for, and signs of injury or illness. “A lot of people don’t know it’s actually illegal to keep a wild animal and try to nurse it back to health themselves,” Second Chance President Maureen Smith says. The center operates under permits from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. By law, most of the rehabilitated animals must be returned to the area where they were found.

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Dropping off an injured or sick animal is often a family affair, so the center offers children a sticker when they leave as a thank you for doing their part to help a creature in need. Sometimes it can be difficult for kids to let their “new pets” go, says Tyler Meiners, who has a degree in wildlife and animal behavior and has been interested in animals from a young age. Meiners tries to provide age-appropriate explanations about why it’s in the best interest of the animal to leave it at the center. It can be tricky if the injuries are severe and the animal doesn’t survive. “Some kids understand. Some get upset. Some have a ton of questions,” he says.

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This duck, a type of mallard hen, was temporarily recuperating in the center’s upstairs bathtub because it was too cold outside. Someone brought the duck to the center because it was wobbly as it walked, and blood tests revealed high levels of lead. The duck had been stuck in dirty water in a Baltimore shipyard. He recovered fully and was released in December at a sanctuary, where he joined up with a flock of ducks.

Maureen Smith, the center’s president, reviews a whiteboard with feeding and medication schedules. Each animal is given a case number and file. When an animal is being assessed for treatment, the people who rescued it are not allowed in the triage area as they might be during a regular visit to the vet. They often wait in the intake area or call later to get updates on the animal’s recovery.

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Left to right: Clinic technicians Drew Hoover and Holly Mills, with volunteer Elaine Dynes, prepare antibiotics and fluids to be given to the animals. In this room, patients are examined and weighed, and a chart is started that follows them throughout their stay. On average, the cost of care for each animal is about $150, Smith says. In the exam room and other areas at the center, soft songbird sounds play in the background. Silence in the wild is often a signal that a predator is nearby, so having natural chirping helps put the animals at ease, according to the staff.

“Hey, sweet pea,” says Courtney Thomas, clinic tech and assistant clinic manager, as she feeds a mourning dove. To help the bird remain still, she wraps it in a towel. The bird is staying in a quiet room because it can lose its feathers easily if it gets stressed. Birds frequently come to the center with a variety of injuries from flying into windows, and often can be rehabilitated, depending on the severity of the problem. “It’s very rewarding to see these animals that come in down on their luck, watch them progress, have a hand in making them better,” says Thomas, who studied wildlife sciences in college, “and then I get to see them go back to their natural habitat and thrive again.”

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WORKING COLLABORATIVELY IN the cybersecurity classroom, Laylah Vital (right) uses a Cisco Packet Tracer program to make sure all devices (laptops, personal computers, cellphones and tablets) are able to connect to the internet in a secure manner. “It’s unlike anything I’ve done at school before,” says the Wheaton High School senior who plans to major in computer science in college. “Taking advantage of this course has been really exciting and new.” Teacher Nick Manning says the number of students enrolled in the program has nearly doubled since it was launched in the fall of 2018. The demand for qualified workers is growing, and last summer, one of Manning’s students got an internship at the U.S. Department of Defense. “In this field, there are more jobs than candidates,” Manning says.

In the center’s upstairs surgical suite, Clinic Director Kathleen Handley (above right) and technician Drew Hoover put a downy woodpecker under general anesthesia (also pictured at left) in order to take an X-ray and put a tiny splint on his fractured wrist.

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Clinic Director Kathleen Handley—who has been with the center for more than 20 years—reviews the woodpecker’s X-ray, which shows a fractured bone between its wrist and knuckles. The bird did not heal as hoped and had to be euthanized.

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SNAKE PHOTO COURTESY OF SECOND CHANCE WILDLIFE CENTER

An injured downy woodpecker brought to the center from Bethesda receives an X-ray.

SNAKE PHOTO COURTESY OF SECOND CHANCE WILDLIFE CENTER

Snakes are often brought to the center with skin wounds after getting entangled in garden netting or stuck on glue traps meant for rodents. Snakes are actually a natural form of rodent control that people should be thankful to have in their yards, Second Chance President Maureen Smith says. Eastern rat snakes are the most common type treated at the center. Sometimes snakes are cold, hungry and dehydrated if they’ve been stuck to a glue trap for a long time before being found.

There are several outdoor enclosures for squirrels, ducks, geese, hawks and falcons. After animals are treated indoors, they are often moved outside, where they have more room and can acclimate to the weather. Courtney Thomas, clinic tech and assistant clinic manager, tends to the animals, cleaning out their cages and observing who is getting along with whom. “It’s like musical squirrels,” she says of moving the animals around and often grouping them by age, size or weight to make sure they don’t fight. ■

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interview

A CONVERSATION WITH

BONNIE FOGEL The founder of Bethesda’s Imagination Stage—who will be stepping down as executive director in January—talks about overeager stage parents, why kids need arts education, and finding out her biological father was alive BY STEVE GOLDSTEIN | PHOTO BY JOSEPH TRAN

A FEW YEARS AGO, impresario Bonnie Fogel, the founder of Imagination Stage in Bethesda, was puzzling over ways to extend the theater’s reach and broaden its base of support. Her success model was the National Theatre (NT) in her native England, which had been transmitting live performances in cinemas internationally. A saleswoman by training as well as by nature, Fogel placed a phone call to David Sabel, the man who created NT Live. She got right through. “Mr. Sabel,” she began, “I’m Bonnie Fogel, from a little children’s theater outside Washington, D.C., and I’m thrilled at your…” “Mrs. Fogel,” he interrupted, “don’t you remember me? I was your student.” Fogel can be forgiven for not recalling the names of all the children who have experienced Imagination Stage. She’s been there from the beginning: Over the last 40 years, she’s seen hundreds of thousands of kids visit the theater company for professional children’s shows and for classes in everything from creative drama/acting to musical theater and filmmaking. At 75, whether she’s giving a tour or wooing a prospective donor, Fogel exudes youthful energy and a sense of parental pride when describing one of the largest facilities on the East Coast dedicated to theater education and professional performances for young people. The theater’s roots grew out of Fogel’s frustration that her children’s elementary school—Burning Tree in Bethesda—did not offer any performing arts education. In 1979, she and another parent started an after-school arts program and theater workshop in space at nearby Whittier Woods Elementary School, which had closed two years earlier. The startup eventually expanded into the Bethesda Academy 142

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of Performing Arts, based in a former dress shop at White Flint Mall in 1992. As executive director, Fogel enlisted the philanthropic support of local arts activist Carol Trawick, who financed a gleaming new theater complex backpacked onto an Auburn Avenue parking garage in Bethesda. The new facility opened in 2003, and in 2018 Imagination Stage generated over $5 million in revenue from its classes, workshops and professional performances, according to its annual report. But despite recent hits such as The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, ticket sales have declined steadily, causing a recalibration of the balance between education and entertainment. Yet Imagination Stage is only part of the Fogel narrative, the rest of which reads like a script for the Lifetime channel. Her mother was an unmarried English housekeeper, and Fogel grew up believing that her biological father had died in World War II—until she found out that he was very much alive, and that she was part Jewish and had a sister she knew nothing about. “It completely changed me,” she says. Fogel has two children, David and Sarah, both of whom are married and living in Silver Spring. After Fogel gave Bethesda Magazine a tour of the facility—including the classrooms, the 400-seat Lerner Family Theatre and the 170-seat Reeve Studio Theatre—we sat in her office amid some of the Helen Hayes Awards won by Imagination Stage productions and photos of her welcoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, then-President George H.W. Bush and other luminaries. The Bethesda resident, who announced in February that she will step down as executive director on Jan. 1, talked about the current state of Imagination Stage and explained how her own story finally gave her a sense of self.

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interview What’s your earliest memory of going to the theater? I was probably 13 or 14 when I was taken to see some dreadful musical with [rock star] Cliff Richard called Expresso Bongo. But my aunt was an amateur opera singer, and my mother and I would go see her in light opera productions. Members of my mother’s family were always in these London-style revues. This was always an important part of understanding who I was and who my family was. When I worked at [U.K. department store] Marks & Spencer, they always had free tickets, so I saw all the great [British] actors. That was very special. Your English schooling gave you the impetus for Imagination Stage, correct? We had a great opportunity in our schools for theater and the performing arts in general. When I moved here, I understood my children were going to have a fabulous education at Burning Tree [Elementary School]. But I couldn’t see a cultural piece—no art, music or drama. I was running a club for international parents at the time. So with a professional actor friend, Marcia Smith, we started a performing arts program at Whittier Woods, beginning with a talent show. Why is it important for children to have arts education? We say all children do better if they have the arts in their lives because it empowers them to be all they can be. It gives them their own voice, and it gives them creativity and confidence. Of course, it’s different for each child. You have sought to include children with disabilities. Tell me about that. Some of the children who we are most happy to be part of their lives are those who have disabilities. They often are not able to be included in things that most children do. When you see these children suddenly be able to express themselves through theater, to be onstage, to be listened to, and applauded…the success for that person is entirely different from the 144

success of a person who’s already doing pretty well. One of my favorites was a young man with Down syndrome who acted the role of Lyle the Crocodile, a nonverbal part that required very physical acting. He was outstanding, and this opened my eyes to how we are all gifted in different ways. What percentage of your student performers have a disability? It’s been consistently about the same— 16%—which is roughly equivalent to the incidence of disability in the general population. Of course, the definition has changed, so what counts as a disability is not now seen as such, and some things not thought to be disabilities are now counted that way—the silent ones, such as hearing and processing issues, and those on the autism spectrum. You don’t seek to be a professional training ground? We’re not in the business of turning out legitimate actors or commercial actors. The mission of the organization is empowering children, giving all children a voice. We are here to build a child, not make him or her a star. There’s a handful of our alumni working professionally that I know of, but actual numbers are hard to determine since we estimate over 1 million kids in our 40 years. Mo Rocca is the actor most of your readers would know; he’s a Bethesda boy. Do you nevertheless get overeager stage parents? I remember getting a call at home and being berated because someone’s child didn’t get the part they wanted. Or someone complains about the number of spoken lines. One parent said, ‘I’m paying the same amount, and my daughter doesn’t have the same number of lines as so-and-so.’ I’m sure my response was extremely polite [laughs loudly]. That came in our early days, and perhaps I didn’t make it clear as to what their expectations should be. As for the uber-parents, there’s a culture here that doesn’t fit them.

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How has Bethesda treated you? It’s phenomenal in so many ways. I’m out a lot, and people tell me that Imagination Stage is a great resource for the community, and thank me. And this goes way beyond the parents who’ve come to see shows or fetch their children. It’s the political leadership, the philanthropic community and the social leadership. I can’t imagine having built something like this in England. Perhaps the need wouldn’t have been there, nor the spirit of entrepreneurship. And yet Americans don’t necessarily value theater as the English do. It’s not been a part of the average American’s upbringing, perhaps. Certainly the people who come here value it. But one thing that has distressed us is that The Washington Post stopped reviewing children’s theater six years ago. We’ve had meetings at the highest levels at the Post; they’ve said that people don’t care whether the shows were reviewed or not. We’ve told them we’re losing a lot of money by not being reviewed: $250,000 the first year they stopped reviewing us. And our directors are not getting the valuable feedback from a review. And if an actor is offered the same role at another theater as well as ours, the actor will say, who is being reviewed? What role do you play as executive director? I am a facilitator and I build connections with the political, philanthropic and civic leadership. The best person I ever hired is Janet Stanford, our founding artistic director, who initiated our professional theater program 26 years ago. It’s because of her we have visibility and credibility in our community. What is the state of Imagination Stage’s financial health? Our annual budget is about $5.5 million. We’ve received significant funds each year, and we’ve been able to retire our construction debt. We’re secure in the sense that we are 15 years into a 50-year lease on our building. I would say that

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no nonprofit is ever secure. We’re completely at the mercy of our funders, whether private or public, and we’re at the mercy of the public, in terms of tickets sold and who’s coming to classes. Ticket sales have declined for the past five years at a loss of about $250,000 annually. But our classes are growing, and we anticipate a zero-based budget— no deficit—for 2020. Our new strategic plan will deal with this reality. We, as a society, are getting busier and busier, and it is harder for people to commit to specific times and days. So we are very focused now on finding new ways to deliver theater. Which is what led you to consult your former student David Sabel at England’s National Theatre… He has since left that position, but when I spoke with him, he had performances being broadcast on 20 screens in 13 countries. I met with him in London and we discussed how to pursue this. But in this country, the unions will not give an inch. You would have to pay a lot to the unions and to the actors to capture them digitally. But the big problem is distribution. We’ve talked with people about it but haven’t been able to make it work. What other possibilities are you pursuing? We’ve had conversations with commercial adult theaters, and they are ongoing, but I wonder if they’ve actually seen us. There’s a sense that theater for young audiences is ladies in gingham aprons and fuzzy bunnies running around the stage—and no understanding of how sophisticated it really is. Our expansion into D.C. began five years ago and has been very good for us. We have run theater programs at the National Theatre, the Atlas theater and THEARC [Town Hall Education Arts Recreation Campus] in Anacostia. Our search for a permanent District base is ongoing. And we now have a partnership with the Whittle charter schools to work with them in China. They want to set up some programs at their Shenzhen campus.

And I think that will be extremely popular because they love American musical theater in China.

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How has your life experience informed your view of the theater? My mother and I moved around, and I never stayed long enough in any one place to get a comprehensive education. The places I felt most comfortable were on the field hockey pitch and in the theater or in my choral group. But I was a girl who only could shine on a stage or a hockey field. Your life story reads like something penned by Charles Dickens. Yes, mine and my mother’s, as well. I didn’t know I had a living father until I was 36 years old, and when I finally met him, it was four years later. When I was a child, it was hard to have a mother—my single parent—who was insecure, lacking in confidence, and poor. I felt out of place, like a cuckoo in a sparrow’s nest, as the English say. When I met my father, I understood. I had his character. My father turned out to be a world-traveling, educated Czechoslovak, very social, charming—and it made me immediately feel whole. It boosted my confidence and sense of self in a way that nothing else could have done. What was the impact of him being Jewish? It made a huge difference. I knew nothing about Jews. When I went to work for Marks & Spencer, a Jewish-owned department store chain in England, many of my friends were Jewish and I felt comfortable there. I actually didn’t find out that my father was Jewish until eight years ago. I found this out from my sister, Vicky, who I met after my father. She told me she confronted him just before he died in 2012, and he took her to the attic and opened a chest with the family history. My father, Tom Unwin, was actually Tomas Ungar, son of a famous Czech writer named Hermann Ungar, who was friends with [writers] Franz Kafka and Thomas Mann. I was raised

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interview in the Church of England, but now I go to the synagogue on the High Holy Days. How much were you able to learn about your family? It’s been the most extraordinary thing to learn all this, to travel with Vicky to Prague and go to the [Jewish] cemetery there and to his former town of Boskovice. My ex-husband belongs to Bethesda Jewish Congregation, and it turned out that their Torah actually comes from Boskovice! If you hadn’t ended up with Imagination Stage, what might you be doing instead? I consider myself a writer, first and foremost. At Marks & Spencer, I wrote their newsletter. When I first came to America, I wrote for several newspapers. But I really think I would have been a shopkeeper. I love retail, and one of my saddest days was

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when we had to close our little shop downstairs [at Imagination Stage]. I’m someone who has benefited extraordinarily from theater in her life. I understand the value of theater and arts education, but I’m a facilitator, while Founding Artistic Director Janet Stanford and [Director of Education] Joanne Seelig are real theater people. My strength is asking for money, building coalitions—I have chutzpah, and now I find out it’s in my DNA! When your daughter, Sarah, was 7, you succeeded in removing a Judy Blume book from the school library because a character referred to a teacher as a ‘bitch.’ Has your view changed? I still think I made the right decision. I come from a background where a teacher is a revered person. Growing up in the theater you’re not prudish, but this was disrespectful. I lost a lot of friends over that—at least temporarily. Some

MARCH/APRIL 2020 | BETHESDAMAGAZINE.COM

of them were surprised because they thought I was censoring literature. What does a dedicated workaholic like yourself do in whatever free time is available? Well, the theater, of course. I particularly liked The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time at the Round House, and our own production of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. And I go see movies almost every week. The Two Popes and The Irishman are quite good. I love gardening. People think I have a beautiful garden at my Bethesda home, but my English mother would come, and by her standards she’d be horrified. n Steve Goldstein is a freelance writer and editor and the former bureau chief in Moscow and in Washington, D.C., for The Philadelphia Inquirer. The Bethesda Interview is edited for length and clarity.

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Bethesda 2020 TOP PR ODUCER MAGAZINE

With five native Washingtonians on the team, The Fitzpatrick Group knows the metro DC area and they know DC area real estate! Among the top groups at Long & Foster, this busy, successful team does it all: from first-time buyers to empty-nesters to relocating military; from condominium sales to sales of luxury estates. While on the cutting edge of marketing and technology, they know that the personal touch is what’s most important, and their relationships continue long after settlement. The Fitzpatrick Group serves Maryland, DC, Virginia and North Carolina.

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(L to R) Frank Mena, Melissa Hamlin, Nick Ashley, Susan Fitzpatrick, Kevin Conley, Christine Mann, James Fitzpatrick

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Readers’ Pick: Best Brokerage for Luxury Homes, Long & Foster® Real Estate

Bethesda 2020 TOP PR ODUCER MAGAZINE

Technology alone cannot sell a home. It can’t offer professional advice, local expertise or tend to your unique real estate needs. That same technology in the hands of a seasoned agent, with an unwavering focus on you, is game-changing. The savvy agents with Smart Living Associates do just that — all with the support of the region’s #1 billion-dollar real estate office and the largest, privately owned real estate company in the country. Our skilled and dynamic team of agents can turn your dreams into reality. It’s time to think smart, choose smart, live smart. Let Smart Living Associates show you what makes them one of Bethesda Magazine’s Top Teams of 2020.

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Barbara cares about her clients making advantageous decisions about selling and buying a home. It is why she invests extraordinary care and expertise behind every client interaction to ensure a positive outcome. As an Associate Broker licensed in Maryland, Washington, DC, and Virginia, Barbara brings nearly 30 years of industry-leading experience to every transaction with her professionalism, integrity and excellent service. A reputation built on trust and client service has earned her the respect of her colleagues and clients in addition to numerous distinct sales club recognitions. Barbara specializes in fine properties throughout the Capital Region, and understands the nature of this sought-after market. Barbara is on your side every step of the way!

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Readers’ Pick: Best Brokerage for Luxury Homes, Long & Foster® Real Estate

GROSVENOR HEIGHTS Deb is a dedicated partner to every client and goes over the top in every aspect of a purchase or a sale. She sincerely feels that a client is like family. She exceeds all expectations for every home she sells. For 15 years, Deb has been providing premier property services with an extensive background in sales and design. She is an expert at making your property show at it’s best uniquely as an agent that is an ASPM® Accredited Staging Professional.

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Potomac $4,499,000 9 BR | 10 FBA, 2 HBA | 15,000+ Sq Ft | 2.02 Acres Just a short walk to Potomac Village, this breathtaking gated estate offers luxurious living space and is beautifully sited on over two acres of landscaped grounds with a custom pool and cabana. The home was built in 2006 with additions and renovations in 2008 and 2010. Designed for demonstrations and wine tastings, the new chef’s kitchen includes double islands and double appliances. There is a two-bedroom guest house, four-car garage and circular driveway. This multi-generational estate offers ideal entertaining and hosting opportunities. Mary Keegan Magner 301.785.1601 / 301.907.7600 (O)

Potomac | Potomac Woods East $700,000 4 BR | 3 FBA, 1 HBA | 3,356 Sq Ft | .35 Acres | Pending Beautiful three-level, contemporary home. Spacious interior and vaulted ceiling. Cozy family room with fireplace. Large deck. Home is in cul-de-sac and backs to parkland. Anna Masica 240.423.7000 / 301.422.0900 (O)

Potomac | Falconhurst $1,549,000 4 BR | 4 FBA, 2 HBA | 7,391 Sq Ft | 2.08 Acres Fantastic Colonial backing to woods on a quiet cul-de-sac. Fully renovated kitchen, master and Jack & Jill baths and lower level! Dramatic two-story foyer and family room. Heated pool. Bruce Werber 301.908.2046 / 240.497.1700 (O)

Discover your next home at longandfoster.com/luxury

Source: Information included in this report is based on Montgomery County data supplied by BRIGHTMLS and its member Association(s) of REALTORS, who are not responsible for its accuracy. Does not reflect all activity in the marketplace. 1.1.19 – 12.31.19, as of 1.10.20. Luxury is defined as homes priced $1 Million and above. Information contained in this report is deemed reliable but not guaranteed, should be independently verified, and does not constitute an opinion of BRIGHTMLS or Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc. ©2019 All rights reserved. Christie’s International Real Estate in select areas.

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Bethesda 2020 TOP PR ODUCER MAGAZINE

Thinking of selling or buying a home? Anna Masica will provide you with the highest level of service to ensure that your transaction runs smoothly and make your dream of owning a home a reality. Anna’s plan for success is simple: to constantly strive to be the most knowledgeable agent in the marketplace, to be the most ethical and honest, to provide the best level of service unmatched in the industry and to build long lasting relationships with her clients. Anna would like to thank her clients, family and friends for helping her reach her goals and become a top producing real estate agent.

Anna Masica Bethesda Magazine Top Producer 2020 240.423.7000 | www.AnnaMasica.com Rockville Center Office 301.422.0900

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Bethesda 2020 TOP PR ODUCER MAGAZINE

Buying or selling a home is a complex and often emotionally-charged process. I help alleviate the stress with honest guidance; continual, clear communication; a plan tailored to your goals; and expert negotiation. I’ve lived and worked in the DMV for more than 26 years, and I am grateful for every opportunity to serve new and repeat clients and friends. “If you want a trustworthy agent who will tell it to you straight, pick up (and return) your phone calls, pay close attention to detail, and go the extra mile, call Audrey.” “Audrey was the key to my wife and I finding a house in a tough market, exactly where we wanted to be, on our timeline, despite very low inventory.” “Audrey is very methodical and detail-oriented. She shares tools to help sellers and buyers know where things are in the process and what comes next. Highly recommend.”

Audrey Romano, REALTOR® Bethesda Magazine Top Producer 2020 301.466.9552 | AudreyR@LNF.com AudreyRomanoHomes.com North Potomac/Rockville Office 301.975.9500

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Bethesda 2020 TOP P R O D U CE R MAGAZINE

Since the early stages of his career, Juan has strived to be the best he can be in all areas of his life. Dedicated to his clients, he approaches every transaction as if it were his own. Juan is supported by his outstanding team, Umanzor & Associates, seven Realtors® serving Maryland, DC and Virginia. Real Trends has named Juan among the top half percent of real estate agents nationwide. He has also been recognized in Top Agent Magazine, Washingtonian, the Marquis Who’s Who and Marquis Millennium Magazine. In 2019 Umanzor & Associates sold 125 homes with over $41.5 million in sales volume. Juan’s philosophy? To work hard and treat everyone like familia.

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Readers’ Pick: Best Brokerage for Luxury Homes, Long & Foster® Real Estate

Bethesda 2020 TOP PR ODUCER MAGAZINE

A top producer and award-winning member of the Bethesda All Points Office, Pam provides exceptional service which allows her clients seamless and stress free transactions. Specializing in the luxury markets of Bethesda, Chevy Chase, Potomac and NW Washington, Pam also receives satisfaction and positive results working with first time homebuyers in the very competitive DC metro area market.

Pam Potolicchio Bethesda Magazine Top Producer 2020 301.602.2907 Pamela.Potolicchio@lnf.com Bethesda All Points Office 301.229.4000

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With over 30 years in real estate, Mary is amazed that every day continues to bring new people, new tasks and new challenges to her work. A native Washingtonian, she enjoys the variety of architectural styles seen throughout the Washington metropolitan area and the excitement of seeing classic older homes she knew as a child given new life with contemporary renovations. Mary attributes her success to her intimate knowledge of the area and to knowing how to work effectively with clients. “A good Realtor® should know when to talk and when to listen,” she says, “when to compromise and when to hold their ground.” Mary is focused on developing lasting relationships — with clients and other Realtors®.

Mary Keegan Magner Bethesda Magazine Top Producer 2020 301.785.1601 | mary.magner@LNF.com Bethesda Gateway Office 301.907.7600

Readers’ Pick: Best Brokerage for Luxury Homes, Long & Foster® Real Estate

Bethesda 2020 TOP PR ODUCER MAGAZINE

Meghan has been serving the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area as a skilled Realtor® for over 20 years. A native Washingtonian, she has in-depth knowledge of market sales and trends and those special qualities unique to area neighborhoods. Whether representing a buyer, seller, landlord, tenant or investor, Meghan brings professionalism, competence and experience to her work to ensure that every transaction achieves her client’s goals. “Meghan has been my Realtor® for 10 years and goes above and beyond what is expected from a conventional Realtor®. Whether staging your home to be more appealing to potential buyers or previewing properties for purchase, she always demonstrates the utmost skill, vigilance and determination to achieve the best possible outcome for her clients.” ~ Ari Wilder

Meghan M. Crowley Bethesda Magazine Top Producer 2020 202.744.3856 | Meghan.Crowley@LNF.com Bethesda Gateway Office 301.907.7600

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Linda is an experienced top producer in the most successful real estate brokerage in the Mid-Atlantic — Long & Foster | Christie’s. As a native Washingtonian and a Realtor® since 2008, she has in-depth knowledge of the neighborhoods of DC, its suburbs, and the Delaware beach resorts. Known by clients and colleagues for her energy, focus and fairness, Linda has earned a stellar reputation for quick timely responses, attention to details and personal service. What her clients have to say: “Linda was the most professional, organized, targeted and resourceful Realtor® we have ever worked with” “She has a fantastic eye for décor and makes your house beautiful” “Her dedication and meticulous attention to details allowed for the entire process to go quite smoothly”

Linda Lizzio, Associate Broker

CRS, GRI, GREEN, RSPS

Bethesda Magazine Top Producer 2020 202.997.1664 | Linda.Lizzio@LNF.com | LindaLizzio.com Bethesda Gateway Office 301.907.7600 Rehoboth/Bethany Beach DE Office 302.227.2541 Readers’ Pick: Best Brokerage for Luxury Homes, Long & Foster® Real Estate

Bethesda 2020 TOP PR ODUCER MAGAZINE

Working in the close-in areas of Montgomery County and DC, Phyllis has listed and sold some of the most beautiful homes in the DC metro area. A native Washingtonian, she brings a lifelong knowledge of the area to her work. Clients are drawn to her skills and market savvy. Most important, they value her as a trusted advisor. Whether representing a first-time buyer or a seller of luxury property, Phyllis is hands-on and deeply involved. Clients tell her they sleep better at night knowing she will guide them and look out for their interests — every step of the way. Licensed in Maryland and DC, Phyllis specializes in Somerset/Chevy Chase West, where she is active in the community. A longtime collector of memorabilia, she has a keen eye for finding hidden treasures — rare antiques and very special homes.

Phyllis Wiesenfelder Bethesda Magazine Top Producer 2020 301.529.3896 | phylliswiesenfelder.com Bethesda Gateway Office 301.907.7600

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Bethesda 2020 TOP PR ODUCER MAGAZINE

Elaine is consistently ranked among the top agents nationwide and has been a leader in the Capital Region for nearly 30 years. Her comprehensive approach to the real estate experience, utilizing integrated strategic marketing, skilled negotiation tactics, contract expertise, and detailed geographic and demographic knowledge, has resulted in her and her team’s reputation as the most trusted and reliable group in the region. Elaine combines her academic background in finance along with her intimate knowledge of interior design to ensure all of her listings are prepared exceptionally for sale, and leverages the latest market data to make informed decisions with her clients regarding pricing and market movement. A passion and drive to be the best in the industry is passed on directly to their valued clients. Elaine’s team of experts includes leading Realtors®, stagers, contract professionals, legal advisors and more; they deliver superior real estate services and a lifelong relationship with each and every valued client.

Elaine Koch Bethesda Magazine Top Producer 2020 301.840.7320 | elaine@elainekoch.com elainekochgroup.com LFC at Bethesda Office 240.800.5155 Readers’ Pick: Best Brokerage for Luxury Homes, Long & Foster® Real Estate

Bethesda 2020 TOP PR ODU CER MAGAZINE

Laura and Anne have been working together as the Emmett Homes team since 2009. Anne is a wellknown and respected Bethesda-based agent with over 30 years of experience. Laura previously worked as a political appointee and employment attorney before joining Anne selling real estate. This mother/ daughter team enjoys the camaraderie of working together and, in turn, treats every client like a part of the family. Their first priority is helping clients reach their real estate goals, and they do it all with the utmost level of professionalism and integrity.

Laura & Anne Emmett Emmett Homes

Bethesda Magazine Top Producer 2020 202.422.6374 | Laura.Emmett@LNF.com 301.466.2515 | Anne.Emmett@LNF.com

They have a tremendously strong tie to this community they love and offer their clients insights and perspectives rooted in Bethesda. Anne believes involvement in the areas we live and work in is the truest way to understand what makes a community unique. Laura has an incredible depth of knowledge of the Capital Region; she sells homes all over the DMV area but has a special love of her hometown base of Bethesda.

Bethesda All Points Office 301.229.4000

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ROUNDUP 160

Love it or Leave it When homeowners outgrow their house, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s time to make a decision BY AMANDA CHERRIN

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Highlights from home sales in 2019, and home sales trends in 445 neighborhoods

A list of the real estate agents and teams with the top total sales in Montgomery County and Upper Northwest D.C.

home sales By the Numbers

The Top Producers

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real estate

Erich and Amanda Cabe chose to renovate their house in Bethesda after contemplating moving to a new home.

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PHOTO BY STACY ZARIN GOLDBERG

Love It or Leave It When homeowners outgrow their house, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s time to make a decision BY AMANDA CHERRIN

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ington, D.C.’s bustling Mount Pleasant neighborhood with their 6-month-old son in tow, the Cabes had been looking for a suburban starter home in a family-friendly community. Erich Cabe, a real estate agent with Compass, thought Tulip Hill would be ideal for his growing family, but was concerned that the lack of inventory in the popular neighborhood would make it hard to find a property. When a house went on the market shortly after the Cabes made their decision to relocate, the family

PHOTOS BY STACY ZARIN GOLDBERG; BEFORE PHOTO COURTESY OF ANTHONY WILDER

WHEN ERICH AND AMANDA Cabe bought their home in Bethesda’s Tulip Hill neighborhood in 2013, it was hardly the house of their dreams. Built in the late 1950s, the midcentury-modern home had a small self-contained kitchen, bedrooms with tiny closets, and too few bathrooms. “We knew when we moved in that we loved the space and loved the neighborhood,” Amanda says. “But the house had some things that we wanted to change.” Moving from a townhouse in Wash-

PHOTOS BY STACY ZARIN GOLDBERG; BEFORE PHOTO COURTESY OF ANTHONY WILDER

jumped at the opportunity to move to the neighborhood. “We had only one child at the time and bought a house suited for a family of four or five, knowing that it needed renovations,” says Erich, who welcomed a second son with his wife shortly after the family moved to Tulip Hill. “We were younger, with growing incomes, and we knew we could spend a lot of money to buy a new construction or fully renovated home done to someone else’s taste and style. Instead, we decided to buy a home that was in good condition, but was dated.” The Cabes waited—and saved—for several years before they seriously considered executing the remodel they envisioned. But before turning their home into a construction site and moving their two boys, now ages 5 and 7, into temporary housing, the Cabes decided to explore the option of selling their 4,000-square-foot home and finding something new that could better suit the family’s tastes and needs.

According to Erich, his family’s decision was similar to a predicament faced by many of his clients and popularized by the HGTV show Love It or List It: If your home no longer satisfies your needs, should you remodel it to create the house of your dreams or find a new one that might be a better fit for your family? It’s a complex choice. “You have to be OK with the fact that if you add it up— the acquisition cost of the house plus the renovations—it’s not a good financial decision,” Erich says of remodeling vs. moving. “If, however, you are going to live in the home for a long time and you love where you live, then it’s the best decision.” In Erich’s experience as a real estate agent, several types of homeowners can find themselves facing such a dilemma, including growing families that may buy an affordable home that needs work and then spend a few years saving for a renovation or a move. Older homeowners who are looking to age in place either by creating a main-level master bedroom

or by relocating to a home where onelevel living is possible are another type. There are also the homeowners who are seeking a dwelling conducive to multigenerational living that includes a private area for an aging parent or an adult child. Finally, there are the homeowners who are just looking for a change—something Erich sees quite often. These homeowners may want something specific, such as an updated kitchen or a home with the latest design trends. “When people think about their homes, they may be more romantic than pragmatic,” he says.

AMERICANS SPEND MORE THAN $400 billion a year on residential renovations and repairs, according to the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University. Additionally, 69% of homeowners nationwide who contributed to the Zillow Group’s 2019 Consumer Housing Trends Report said they did some kind of home improvement project in the past year, with landscaping, the installation of new appliances,

Opposite: The Cabes’ home before and after renovations Left: Erich and Amanda Cabe with sons Brooks (left) and Maxwell in their renovated kitchen

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and interior painting being the most common. “There are a number of triggers that will make a person want to remodel— needing more space, an expanding family, improving curb appeal, safety issues. Any one of those is going to have someone in the market to remodel,” says Sean Mullin, director of design at Cabin Johnbased Anthony Wilder Design/Build,

which works with homeowners on projects ranging from powder rooms to custom homes. “Our typical client is overinvesting in their home because they are going to be in it longer than five or 10 years,” says Mullin, who cites kitchen, bathroom and landscaping renovations as projects with the highest return on investment. “If people tell us that they are going to

164 MARCH/APRIL 2020 | BETHESDAMAGAZINE.COM

be moving in five years or less, we tell them, ‘Don’t do anything to the house. Put a fresh coat of paint on it and get it ready to sell.’ ” Though the cost of home improvements varies according to the scope of work and design plans, the National Association of the Remodeling Industry found that nationally in 2019 the average complete kitchen remodel cost about

PHOTOS BY MICHAEL VENTURA

Jeff and Jenna Smith decided to knock down their 1928 dwelling in Bethesda and build a new house on the same lot.

$68,000, a bathroom remodel ran about $32,000, and the average whole house remodel was priced at just over $269,000. Locally, those projects often are more expensive, according to experts. Washington, D.C.-based Impact Remodeling and Construction estimates that in the D.C. area the average remodeling costs are $75,000 to $95,000 for a kitchen, $350,000 to $450,000 for a two-story addition, and $300 per square foot for a whole house remodel. Adding to those costs is the expense of renting temporary housing for the duration of the construction. Then there’s the stress of the process. “It could be a painful six, seven, eight months,” Mullin says. “It’s a big roller-coaster ride, but once it’s done, all of that goes away and you get to enjoy the space.”

ULTIMATELY, THE CABES DECIDED in 2017 to remodel their Tulip Hill home with the help of Wilder and his team. But before knocking down walls and pulling up carpet, the Cabes looked at other houses in and around Bethesda. “There’s some excitement to a fresh start or new beginning,” Amanda says of her initial interest in moving. “There’s a part of me that thought that it would be fun to do that.” The family’s plans were impacted by another factor: Their younger son was undergoing treatment for lymphoma; he was diagnosed when he was 17 months old. “There was a need to have something to be excited about,” says Erich, recalling his son’s treatment, which involved chemotherapy and long hospital stays. “Those were dark days.” Once their son, who is now in remission, went into the maintenance phase of his treatment, in which his therapy was less intense and his immune system was less compromised, the family entered a period where they “could breathe and start to live more normally,” Amanda says. “There was a sense of accomplishment and relief. It was a time for cautious celebration.” The Cabes decided that they didn’t

Making the Decision Here are five tips from local experts on things to consider before deciding whether to remodel or move: DO THE MATH Dana Rice, vice president of the Dana Rice Group in Chevy Chase, encourages her clients to survey what the market has to offer before making any major decisions. “The answer is always in the spreadsheet,” she says. “What is the equity that [the homeowner] has in their home, and can that be parlayed into a larger property that meets their needs?”

SAFETY FIRST Though most homeowners would rather spend their remodeling budget on a new kitchen than updated wiring, structural and safety needs, such as upgrading an electrical system or installing a new roof, sometimes come first. Doug Monsein, the founder of Douglas Construction Group in Potomac, recommends that clients prioritize their remodeling objectives this way: “Safety needs, must-haves, and then the wish list.”

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION “I believe a lifestyle analysis comes first,” says Monsein, who encourages homeowners to assess their attachment to their home and neighborhood by asking the following questions: “Do we like our neighborhood, schools, community, proximity to work and play, etc.? If we move, will we create a similar or better environment, generate great memories and enhance and improve on our current situation?”

LOT SIZE MATTERS Many owners considering whether to renovate or move are looking for a more spacious dwelling for growing families and changing lifestyles. “If your lot won’t accommodate the kind of addition that you want to do, then you have to start asking yourself, ‘Where else can I go?’ ” says real estate agent Jane Fairweather of the Jane Fairweather Team at Long & Foster in Bethesda, who cites factors such as wanting to change school districts, desiring more land, or not liking a lot’s location as other reasons to relocate. “If you’re on a busy street and want to move to a quiet neighborhood street, you’re going to try to make that happen.”

DON’T BE SHORTSIGHTED Rice urges remodeling homeowners to balance efforts to increase their resale value with creating a home they will enjoy in the years before it goes on the market. “If you’re going to pick something [to remodel], make sure it adds value later,” she says.

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love it or leave it want to leave the community that supported them through their son’s illness, and the house remodel became “the reward that we finally allowed for ourselves,” Amanda says. “At the end of the day, we decided that we really love our neighborhood. Our neighbors really rallied around us. We felt really anchored to this community, and we didn’t want to leave that.” In 2017, the Cabes put their belongings in storage and moved into a 1,600-square-foot house they rented in the neighborhood. The remodel included changing the roofline of their home to allow for more ceiling height and natural light in the living areas. In an effort to reach a compromise between Amanda’s desire for an open floor plan and Erich’s preference for partitions, the Wilder

of our meals.” It took seven months to turn the midcentury-modern dwelling into a contemporary haven. “We are really happy,” Erich says of his family’s life in the updated house. “We did a full-blown, very expensive remodel that gave me ulcers every time I wrote a check, but now we are content to stay in our home forever.”

THOUGH THE DECISION TO remodel was the right one for the Cabes, different circumstances have led homeowners to relocate when their current home no longer suited their needs. “If a homeowner doesn’t like the parts of their home that they cannot change, like the location or the neighborhood, it is worth exploring a move rather than a renovation,” says Gitika Kaul, a real estate

“We did a full-blown, very expensive remodel that gave me ulcers every time i wrote a check,” Erich Cabe says. “but now we are content to stay in our home forever.” team built a floor-to-ceiling bookshelf that separates the family’s recreation room and formal living room. In addition to allowing sight lines between the two rooms, the open bookshelf displays some of the family’s treasures, including antique statues of African fertility gods, funky vases from Erich’s fashionforward sister, and a framed souvenir map of Mount Pleasant, the couple’s old stomping grounds. Wilder’s team also upgraded the master bedroom with two walk-in closets, created a Jack and Jill-style bathroom between the boys’ rooms, and combined the formal dining room and kitchen to create a large eat-in kitchen. “We call it the control room of our house,” Erich says of what’s now his favorite room. “We have a great island where the kids read books and draw, and we eat most

agent with Compass’ Kaul Home Group. Structural or safety concerns with the property are other reasons to avoid a remodel, according to Wilder. “We try to save as much as we can of the existing house if it makes sense,” says Wilder, who advises clients not to invest in a remodel if a home has major issues, such as severe mold problems or a damaged foundation. “The foundation is always going to be a humid, mold-growing space which intensifies over time, so you are putting a really nice, expensive addition on a sponge, and 20 years later the foundation is going to be much worse. The porosity of those older houses we have to really consider.” Even if a remodel is a viable option, market conditions may inf luence whether homeowners decide to move. In October 2019, the Greater Capital Area Association of Realtors found that

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the median sale price in Montgomery County was $439,850, the highest October level in 10 years. “In most areas in Montgomer y County, values do increase over time, so if you have some equity in your home, selling may very well be a smart financial decision and, frankly, make the process of getting into something more suitable much easier,” says Kaul, who advises her clients to purchase a home only if they think it will suit their needs for the next five years. “At the end of the day, the first question homeowners should really ask themselves is what will make them happy.”

THE NEED FOR A larger home led Alex and Paul Freedman to move their two daughters, ages 12 and 16, and Alex’s mother from their cottage-style colonial in the Palisades neighborhood of Washington, D.C., to a 6,500-squarefoot house in Bethesda’s Bannockburn neighborhood. The family loved their Palisades property, but the three-bedroom house that was “cozy and fun” when their children were younger began to feel cramped as the girls approached their teenage years. “It didn’t feel as comfortable as they got older,” Alex says of the house the family bought in 2011. Already living in close quarters, the family of four became five in 2015, when Alex’s mother, who had spent the beginning of her retirement in the Dominican Republic, moved in with them. “We are Latin, and in our tradition the old folks come and live with you,” Alex says. “In the Dominican Republic, people tend to be very surrounded by family. She could have come and had an apartment by herself, but she would have been alone, and the idea was for her to be with us in a family setting.” Though the house in D.C. had an inlaw suite in the basement, Alex worried about her octogenarian mother going up and down stairs, and thought it would be safer for her to have a private space on the first floor of the house. The Freedmans were unsure whether to

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THE PROJECT Set in a mature Washington DC neighborhood, this Tudor style brick house embodied old world character. Because it possessed “good bones” it had benefited tremendously from several phases of interior renovation, however, the home exterior was incomplete. The exterior elevation was not welcoming— and gave no hint of the attractive features that awaited just inside the front door. It needed enhancements and architectural detailing to bring it to full expression. The designers determined that the front entry needed more emphasis and definition. They proposed widening the front entry and extending the brick façade beyond the existing roof line terminating in a gable. The substantive arched limestone surround now frames a new front door with sidelights that brightens the interior and invites guests to enter. The heft of the new front door and the verticality of the gable above work in unison to achieve an attractive focal point that anchors the existing bay window and the entire composition.

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love it or leave it obtain the extra space through a remodel or a move. “We’d been grappling with the decision for five years,” Alex says. “We’d been doing additions, redoing bathrooms, always doing little things. We never did the big addition, but we were getting to that point.” Before jumping into a major remodel, the Freedmans, both attorneys, decided to do some house hunting. The couple soon discovered that they had very different design tastes and priorities. Paul gravitated toward new builds near D.C.’s urban offerings, while Alex hoped to find a classic older home close to the C&O Canal. “As long as we were along the Potomac [River], I was happy,” says Alex, who doubted that she and her husband would ever find a property they both loved. “It made more economic sense to move, but we just couldn’t find the right fit…and then we did,” says Alex, who was about to sign a contract for an addition

to the Palisades home when the couple found the house in Bannockburn. The Freedmans moved into the fivebedroom, seven-bathroom home in March 2019 and report that their entire clan is loving the extra space—and the scenery. “It’s like living in a tree house,” Alex says of her home. Built in 1992, it has a modern feel that appeals to her husband, and its location near Glen Echo Park and the canal satisfies her need to be near nature. “I love the setting more than anything; it has a lot of windows, a lot of light and a lot of trees all around.”

LIKE THE FREEDMANS, OTHER potential buyers in Montgomery County may struggle to find the perfect house in a competitive market with a lot of dated stock, so the answer to the question “relocate or remodel?” may actually be “relocate then remodel.” Current trends indicate that buy-

ers are prioritizing walkability, desirable neighborhoods and urban centers close to shopping and leisure activities, according to the Zillow Group report. “There is a growing group of buyers in the last few years who might buy a house in a neighborhood because they like the school district or the proximity to work or the proximity to parks,” says Erich Cabe, who points out that buyers who prioritize the location over the house itself may look to make improvements down the road when they have the funds or bandwidth to do so. “People like the idea of making their home their own.” Wilder says he often advises clients to “go find your favorite neighborhood and wait [for a house to go on the market].” Once they have acquired a property in their dream community, his firm can step in to create a home that suits the new homeowners’ needs and tastes. Though the Remodeling Futures Pro-

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168 MARCH/APRIL 2020 | BETHESDAMAGAZINE.COM

gram at the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University predicts that home improvement and maintenance spending will decline nationally at least through the third quarter of 2020 as a result of a slowdown in home sales and new construction, there will always be homeowners in the market to remodel. In fact, the Zillow Group found that 59% of homeowners surveyed said their properties needed a little updating, and 19% of respondents reported that serious updates were required. Additionally, homeowners may become dissatisfied with their dwellings more quickly these days, as interior design trends are rapidly introduced to the mainstream through HGTV and design-focused magazines and websites. “Trends are moving at a faster pace than they used to,” Erich says. “It used to be if you remodeled your kitchen and redid your bathrooms, you were probably safe

for about 10 to 15 years. Now, you’re outdated in like five.”

WHILE SOME UNHAPPY homeowners remodel and others move, Jenna and Jeff Smith waited 16 years to take action on their property in Bethesda’s Brookmont neighborhood: They chose to knock down their 1928 dwelling and build a new house on the same lot. Jenna originally purchased the 2,500-square-foot bungalow as a starter home in 2003. After marrying Jeff in 2009 and welcoming two boys, now ages 7 and 9, the family was starting to feel constricted in the once “quaint and cozy” house. Originally built as a summer home for Washingtonians, the 90-yearold property needed major updating. There was also a water issue in the basement, and the structure’s low ceilings had never been ideal for Jeff, who’s 6 feet, 6 inches tall. “It felt like everything was

starting to go,” says Jenna, who thought a simple remodel was out of the question because of the age and condition of the house. Though the Smiths were looking for a home upgrade, they loved their familyfriendly community and didn’t want to leave Brookmont. “Our neighborhood is so comfortable. All the kids play in the street. Everyone still plays outside, and when it snows they all sled” on the Brookmont Village Green, says Jenna, describing the neighborhood’s vibe as refreshingly old-fashioned. “People stay once they come into the neighborhood. I don’t think that’s typical of this area.” Though they could have looked for another home in Brookmont, the Smiths were partial to their lot, which is adjacent to the C&O Canal, offering both privacy and abundant light. “Behind the house, it drops down to Canal Road,” Jenna says. “You can see the Potomac and the

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houses on the McLean [Virginia] side. We wanted to take advantage of that and the sunlight that comes with that.” The Smiths worked with GTM Architects and Castlewood Custom Builders, both based in Bethesda, to create a three-story colonial that capitalized on their prime location and catered to their preferences. In July 2019, after throwing a demolition party that included letting neighborhood kids loose in the house with paints and Sharpie markers, the family moved into an apartment in Friendship Heights and began the construction of their new home. The house will have four bedrooms and three bathrooms on the top floor, and a finished basement with a guest suite, workout room and playroom for the boys, Jenna says. The main floor will feature an open floor plan with a family room that opens onto a large screenedin porch. Custom touches will include a kitchen sink designed to overlook the canal, and a family heirloom chandelier hanging in the formal dining room. Building a custom home allows the Smiths the opportunity to incorporate pet projects, which include a top-of-theline shower in the master bathroom for Jeff and a master suite Jenna had never had, along with a mudroom to help keep the house tidy. Jenna is counting down the days until she can move her family into their new home in April. “I hope the house creates a place where the boys will bring friends over, and they will all be sitting at the big island together [in the kitchen] doing homework and playing,” Jenna says. “Now being away from the house, it makes me realize how much I want to be back in the neighborhood.” ■ Amanda Cherrin lives in Chevy Chase and is a former reporter for Sports Illustrated.

170 MARCH/APRIL 2020 | BETHESDAMAGAZINE.COM

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HOME SALES HIGHLIGHTS A snapshot of last yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s housing market in our area Neighborhoods

Highest Average Sale Price in 2019*

EDGEMOOR Bethesda KENWOOD BURNING TREE PALATINE SPRING VALLEY CHEVY CHASE VILLAGE WESLEY HEIGHTS BRADLEY HILLS (ZIP CODE 20814 ONLY)

Chevy Chase Bethesda Potomac Upper NW D.C. Chevy Chase Upper NW D.C. Bethesda

MARWOOD

Potomac

PINEVIEW

Bethesda

BURNING TREE VALLEY

Bethesda

FALCONHURST FLINT HILL COMMUNITY CAMOTOP WHITEHALL MANOR

Potomac Bethesda Potomac Bethesda

MERRY-GO-ROUND FARM

Potomac

KENTSDALE ESTATES

Potomac

POTOMAC MANOR

Potomac

f #o s e Sal

$2,940,625

12 6 4 41 24 15

$2,641,625 $2,474,500 $2,199,375 $2,133,500 $2,085,421 $2,071,200

7 6 3 6 4 4 6 5 4 6 7

$1,954,571 $1,913,333 $1,840,605 $1,800,375 $1,789,375 $1,743,750 $1,725,000 $1,716,992 $1,667,500 $1,632,000 $1,600,000

Average Sale Price in 2019

ZIP Codes

20016 Upper Northwest D.C. $1,675,530 20815

Chevy Chase

20015

Upper Northwest D.C.

20816

Bethesda

20817

Bethesda

20814

Bethesda

20854

Potomac

20818

Cabin John

20812

Glen Echo

20896

Garrett Park

20852

North Bethesda/Rockville

20878

North Potomac/Gaithersburg

20895

Kensington

20850

Rockville

20910

Silver Spring

20902

Silver Spring

$1,359,648 $1,269,131 $1,214,740 $1,189,278 $1,158,536 $1,090,906 $999,341 $990,000 $858,929 $729,857 $721,763 $713,417 $709,839 $663,251 $448,950

*Minimum of three sales

Neighborhoods

Where Houses Sold the Fastest in 2019* e rag Ave s on y f a o # s D rket e Ma Sal

CLAGETT FARM Potomac BROOKDALE (ZIP CODE 20815 ONLY) POTOMAC WOODS EAST

Chevy Chase Potomac

WOODSIDE HILLS

Silver Spring

MONTROSE PARK

North Bethesda/Rockville

BROOKDALE (ZIP CODE 20816 ONLY)

Bethesda

RIDGELEIGH

Potomac

WAKEFIELD

Upper Northwest D.C.

FOREST GROVE CHEVY CHASE, D.C. (ZIP CODE 20016 ONLY)

Silver Spring Upper Northwest D.C.

WILLOW RIDGE

North Potomac/Gaithersburg

DIAMOND COURTS

North Potomac/Gaithersburg

3 3 3 3 4 3 4 4 6 3 5

5 5 5 5 5 5 6 7 7 7 7

ZIP Codes

20812 Glen Echo 20015

Upper Northwest D.C.

20902

Silver Spring

20910

Silver Spring

20895

Kensington

20016

Upper Northwest D.C.

20816

Bethesda

20852

North Bethesda/Rockville

20814

Bethesda

20896

Garrett Park

20815

Chevy Chase

20878

North Potomac/Gaithersburg

*Minimum of three sales

Data is for single-family homes and was provided by Bright MLS and MarketStats for ShowingTime. Statistics generated on Jan. 15, 2020. Information deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Some numbers have been rounded. 174

MARCH/APRIL 2020 | BETHESDAMAGAZINE.COM

Where Houses Sold the Fastest in 2019* ays eD rag rket e v a A on M

10 18 28 30 32 32 33 33 35 36 38 38

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real estate Data provided by Bright MLS and MarketStats for ShowingTime. Statistics generated Jan. 15, 2020. Information deemed reliable, but not guaranteed.

HOME SALES TRENDS In 445 neighborhoods

sales during the last five years and at least one sale in the past year. The totals for each ZIP code reflect all sales in that ZIP code, not just the totals for the selected neighborhoods. Real estate agents may enter sales into the Bright MLS database retroactively; as a result, some of the historical data may vary from what has been published in previous years. Some numbers have been rounded.

2019

2018

2015

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

Average Days on Market

$916,771

$1,495,000

$927,250

$995,833

$990,000

$916,771

$1,495,000

$927,250

$995,833

$990,000

Alta Vista

$998,680

$908,972

$951,468

$982,507

$955,975

Alta Vista Gardens

$1,105,418

$1,252,292

$1,416,284

$1,313,000

$976,740

128

Battery Park

$1,251,833

$1,285,429

$1,525,000

$1,092,527

$1,445,500

126

Battery Park Hills

$1,505,000

$1,322,000

$1,292,000

$1,876,000

$1,388,000

Bradley Hills

$1,784,800

$1,774,333

$2,086,667

$1,924,000

$1,954,571

Columbia Forest

$1,666,921

$1,596,250

$1,472,667

$1,375,485

$1,482,990

Edgemoor

$2,043,125

$2,846,964

$2,893,333

$2,507,667

$2,940,625

105

English Village

$1,334,583

$1,388,750

$1,469,125

$1,431,333

$1,264,800

125

The Forest

$750,000

$944,000

$888,500

$870,000

113

Glenbrook Knolls

$900,500

$1,100,000

$847,500

$931,667

$846,500

Glenbrook Village

$857,125

$1,051,260

$927,246

$1,351,111

$981,000

Glenwood

$794,303

$879,000

$952,333

$957,875

$722,000

Greenwich Forest

$1,260,000

$1,327,688

$1,457,317

$1,093,000

$1,191,750

Grosvenor Woods

$1,072,500

$1,098,600

$985,000

$1,030,000

$1,113,500

Locust Hill Estates

$918,988

$822,800

$807,600

$940,056

$823,000

Lone Oak

$1,327,000

$1,300,000

$927,833

$1,048,750

Longmeadow

$637,500

$755,465

$737,000

$822,206

Maplewood

$645,750

$824,556

$1,009,500

$882,667

$945,000

Maplewood Estates

$759,042

$749,125

$839,786

$901,667

$839,777

Maplewood Manor

$784,333

$1,377,500

$575,000

$880,000

$1,420,000

Subdivision

2017

Average Sale Price

No. of Homes Sold

2017

Are more homes being sold? In what neighborhoods are homes selling the fastest? The following chart answers these questions with data on the number of sales, the average sale price and the average number of days on the market for single-family homes in 445 Bethesda-area neighborhoods from 2015 to 2019. The neighborhoods included had at least five total

2016

ARE HOUSING PRICES RISING?

GLEN ECHO 20812 Glen Echo 20812 TOTAL

BETHESDA 20814

176

MARCH/APRIL 2020 | BETHESDAMAGAZINE.COM

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real estate 2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

Average Days on Market

Meadowbrook Village

$1,000,000

$865,000

$900,000

$865,833

$760,000

North Bethesda

$1,582,963

$820,000

$888,500

$1,107,175

$1,202,750

116

North Bethesda Grove

$850,611

$649,667

$859,579

$1,063,200

$1,139,038

Parkview

$685,667

$723,929

$689,200

$765,000

$750,188

Parkwood

$826,500

$882,869

$693,050

$891,254

$899,325

Rosedale Park

$932,818

$730,620

$1,162,492

$1,052,827

$1,003,450

West Chevy Chase Heights 4

$1,395,000

$1,378,500

$908,333

$1,347,000

$1,350,250

Westboro

$1,070,643

$1,017,000

$1,495,200

$1,198,580

$1,300,167

Wheatley Hills

$1,255,500

$1,490,000

$1,046,000

$1,900,000

$890,000

Whitehall Manor

$2,290,000

$1,282,250

$1,739,000

$1,345,844

$1,716,992

122

Wildwood Estates

$861,000

$685,975

$1,167,000

$735,000

$725,000

Wildwood Manor

Subdivision

2017

Average Sale Price

No. of Homes Sold

$762,000

$906,251

$784,500

$856,677

$939,853

198 203 186 193 194

$1,070,452

$1,150,664

$1,166,519

$1,191,211

$1,158,536

Bradley Hills

$1,271,250

$1,173,250

$1,227,000

$1,874,500

$866,000

Brookdale

$1,164,000

$1,062,875

$1,152,500

$1,296,667

Chevy Chase

$1,393,513

$1,397,336

$1,459,702

$1,581,404

$1,417,620

Chevy Chase Commons

$1,875,000

$1,255,000

$1,505,000

$1,550,000

$1,487,500

114

Chevy Chase Gardens

$1,202,857

$1,510,000

$995,700

$1,511,000

$1,262,000

131

Chevy Chase Manor

$1,363,272

$2,150,000

$1,458,000

$1,070,333

$1,256,000

Chevy Chase Park

$1,193,083

$2,064,262

$1,411,080

$1,340,000

$1,554,000

Chevy Chase Terrace

$1,473,761

$1,136,714

$1,211,167

$1,159,500

$1,076,250

Chevy Chase Village

$2,089,000

$2,263,750

$1,808,000

$1,983,500

$2,085,421

101

Donneybrook

$664,875

$625,500

$700,133

$693,500

$785,000

Drummond

$2,675,000

$1,500,000

$1,469,167

$1,000,000

107

152

Dunlop Hills

$863,000

$894,357

$904,600

$1,098,800

$912,000

Farmington

$830,000

$1,385,000

$1,089,667

$1,605,000

$1,563,333

426

125

Kenwood

$1,985,000

$1,997,778

$2,214,750

$2,763,750

$2,641,625

Martins Additions

$1,430,683

$1,199,813

$1,181,375

$1,235,103

$1,127,636

Meadowbrook Village

$1,288,000

$820,000

$880,475

$1,095,000

North Chevy Chase

$844,070

$816,972

$979,567

$881,700

$1,016,541

Norwood Heights

$1,409,167

$1,515,583

$1,047,500

$1,167,000

$1,273,700

20814 TOTAL

CHEVY CHASE 20815

178

Orchardale

$934,464

$1,108,667

$1,015,250

Otterbourne/Chevy Chase Section 5

$1,315,000

$1,144,667

$1,790,000

$1,362,500

$1,730,000

Parkcrest

$915,000

$827,500

$737,500

$795,000

$875,000

Pinehurst Village

$1,050,200

$823,700

$886,667

$882,500

$987,904

Ridgewood Village

$949,500

$1,850,000

$1,575,000

$1,323,000

$975,000

Rock Creek Estates

$829,000

$1,150,000

$732,525

$1,200,000

$699,900

Rock Creek Forest

$699,850

$701,795

$753,865

$789,393

$876,352

Rock Creek Knolls

$699,429

$758,750

$570,000

$747,928

$1,107,167

104

Rollingwood

$1,363,722

$1,096,950

$1,012,300

$1,404,500

$1,215,291

Rollingwood Terrace

$1,024,500

$1,161,000

$1,104,000

Sacks

$1,225,000

$2,055,000

$1,212,500

$1,407,500

170

Somerset

$2,265,000

$1,325,000

$1,484,200

Somerset Heights

$1,874,458

$1,620,087

$1,368,121

$1,748,115

$1,455,571

Springhill

$994,000

$1,022,500

$747,667

$701,500

Town of Chevy Chase

$1,228,750

$1,868,432

$1,602,000

$981,740

$1,521,627

124

MARCH/APRIL 2020 | BETHESDAMAGAZINE.COM

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real estate 2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

2019

Average Days on Market

2018

2016

2017

2015

2016

West Chevy Chase

2015

Subdivision

2017

Average Sale Price

No. of Homes Sold

$1,352,764

$1,138,333

$1,279,167

$1,659,038

$1,565,555

254 263 249 244 289

$1,286,914

$1,256,388

$1,320,747

$1,422,498

$1,359,648

Beacon Hill

$1,372,500

$1,375,000

$1,650,000

$1,595,000

Brookdale

$1,022,500

$1,205,667

$674,000

$985,001

$1,008,775

Brookmont

$1,236,250

$1,016,500

$1,583,000

$1,288,000

$1,366,750

109

Crestview

$753,333

$724,250

$940,286

$921,328

$812,757

Fairway Hills

$1,195,722

$800,667

$811,000

$1,130,000

$685,000

Fort Sumner

$966,750

$1,015,000

$1,175,000

$1,034,667

$1,575,000

Glen Cove

$730,000

$1,267,000

$1,254,031

$1,323,333

$1,634,797

183

Glen Echo Heights

$1,242,417

$1,188,580

$1,093,609

$1,276,846

$1,477,324

Glen Mar Park

$1,250,667

$1,116,300

$976,195

$1,013,063

$1,181,100

Greenacres

$894,833

$817,314

$862,080

$1,170,625

$1,048,750

High Point

$887,333

$1,727,500

$909,333

$945,000

$860,000

131

Mass. Ave. Hills

$1,169,667

$1,108,333

$1,095,000

$1,210,000

$1,245,000

Springfield

$989,500

$1,034,087

$1,340,091

$1,105,602

$1,125,129

Sumner

$1,064,045

$1,121,980

$1,204,000

$1,177,067

$1,198,024

Tulip Hill

$1,576,000

$1,141,667

$2,256,633

$1,164,500

$1,094,150

156

Westgate

$974,050

$1,049,290

$1,074,526

$1,197,678

$1,088,631

Westhaven

$947,500

$1,153,800

$1,084,667

$1,102,500

$1,088,500

Westmoreland Hills

$1,263,522

$1,261,864

$1,466,852

$1,357,375

$1,242,639

Westwood

$1,023,600

$1,137,000

$839,000

$1,581,667

$867,500

Woodacres

$1,022,173

$883,561

$954,174

$943,518

$1,012,750

163 196 197 175 189

$1,134,063

$1,091,650

$1,179,015

$1,164,053

$1,214,740

Al Marah

$1,050,000

$998,063

$1,031,667

$1,001,000

$1,135,388

354

Alta Vista

$794,667

$977,619

$911,980

$853,250

$1,038,833

Alta Vista Terrace

$982,813

$1,075,900

$1,011,600

$993,333

$1,140,523

Ashburton

$687,719

$754,857

$748,958

$766,500

$733,798

Ashleigh

$1,233,000

$945,833

$1,032,500

$1,148,667

$1,131,143

Avenel

$1,486,581

$1,617,700

$1,442,500

$1,989,484

$1,504,857

123

103

175

Ayrlawn

$1,111,965

$1,147,603

$1,053,250

$1,148,350

$1,105,353

Bannockburn

$1,009,800

$1,406,423

$1,490,222

$883,333

$1,451,839

Bannockburn Coop

$950,238

$1,057,000

$1,123,339

$762,500

$1,342,250

Bannockburn Estates

$1,231,000

$1,142,000

$1,464,214

$1,115,833

$1,268,501

Bannockburn Heights

$2,146,333

$1,506,250

$1,421,250

$1,384,725

$2,690,000

110

Bethesda

$1,512,500

$1,105,000

$1,400,000

106

Bradley Hills

$1,966,071

$996,000

$1,312,143

$1,358,100

$1,446,800

Bradley Hills Grove

$1,893,318

$2,057,400

$2,079,000

$2,303,019

$1,390,231

132

Bradley Manor

$1,063,333

$1,137,500

$1,106,383

$1,042,500

$1,178,750

Bradley Park

$1,305,800

$1,224,972

$928,333

$1,065,000

$1,236,000

103

Bradley Woods

$1,562,539

$1,545,625

$1,339,980

$1,159,167

131

Bradmoor

$987,385

$936,967

$1,248,917

$1,030,621

$1,073,699

Burning Tree

$2,775,000

$4,800,000

$1,160,000

$1,150,000

$2,474,500

148

554

101

Burning Tree Estates

$881,167

$1,056,875

$931,150

$815,775

$841,821

Burning Tree Valley

$1,232,143

$1,363,286

$1,289,750

$1,340,625

$1,800,375

20815 TOTAL

BETHESDA 20816

20816 TOTAL

BETHESDA 20817

180

MARCH/APRIL 2020 | BETHESDAMAGAZINE.COM

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

2019

2018

2017

Carderock Springs

$925,804

$941,693

$891,890

$1,000,432

$955,960

Charred Oak Estates

$1,106,878

$889,889

$1,100,300

$1,176,667

$871,714

Cohasset

$873,989

$1,045,583

$901,483

$848,750

$1,152,063

Cong. Country Club Estates 4

$943,750

$887,500

$849,800

$1,065,667

$1,169,667

Congressional Forest

$1,083,750

$1,723,125

$1,276,000

$1,510,000

$1,262,500

113

Country Club Forest

$993,000

$787,333

$871,000

$950,000

Country Club Village

$842,500

$1,476,667

$906,333

$1,403,459

$825,000

158

Courts of Wyngate

$841,333

$813,600

$864,000

$836,875

$882,600

Devonshire

$725,000

$1,262,500

$975,000

$1,392,500

English Village

$1,657,714

$1,840,900

$945,000

$1,703,000

$1,507,500

Fairway Hills

$1,309,500

$1,256,667

$1,375,000

Fernwood

$709,926

$787,857

$733,545

$770,388

$869,250

Flint Hill Community

$2,250,000

$1,019,001

$1,743,750

Foggys Pasture

$1,492,500

$1,455,000

$1,110,000

$1,340,000

$972,500

177

187

Georgetown Village

$763,329

$760,135

$702,482

$730,396

$775,850

Green Tree Manor

$816,319

$732,500

$862,667

$827,500

$915,099

Hendry Estates

$852,286

$1,044,200

$736,400

$896,125

$1,153,000

Hillmead

$882,750

$1,187,312

$1,245,417

$1,064,059

$1,057,427

Huntington Terrace

$1,291,923

$1,377,820

$1,181,108

$1,190,372

$1,143,156

SONDRA MULHERON & PA M S C H I AT TA R E G G I A

2016

2015

Subdivision

2015

Average Days on Market

2018

Average Sale Price

No. of Homes Sold

TOP PRODUCING TEAM in the BILLION - DOLL AR

SUCCESSFULLY HELPING

BE THESDA GATEWAY OFFICE

SINCE 2003

BUYERS & SELLERS

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181

real estate 2019

2016

2018

2015

2017

2019

2016

2018

2015

2017

2019

2016

$1,760,000

$1,677,500

$909,667

$1,699,000

$1,672,500

194

Kenwood Park

$1,371,196

$1,186,276

$1,376,158

$1,289,759

$1,272,480

Landon Woods

$1,506,000

$1,578,000

$798,167

$1,621,250

$1,415,250

Locust Ridge

$1,332,667

$1,500,000

$1,388,333

$1,650,000

Longwood

$1,600,000

$1,712,500

$1,397,214

$1,802,500

$1,542,143

113

118

Lybrook

$1,783,300

$1,625,625

$1,150,000

$1,474,000

$3,540,000

309

Marymount

$942,500

$524,000

$967,500

$774,500

$800,000

Mass. Ave. Forest

$790,000

$1,131,333

$1,300,000

$1,289,000

$1,380,000

Merrimack Park

$1,135,000

$940,500

$1,262,843

$763,100

$1,016,310

Oakmont

$1,299,000

$920,000

$962,800

$998,100

$1,277,167

123

Oakwood Knolls

$1,163,414

$1,378,864

$1,192,211

$1,251,931

$1,358,900

129

The Palisades

$1,262,240

$1,367,000

$1,161,667

$1,281,333

135

123

Pineview

$1,410,000

$1,715,000

$1,427,500

$1,643,669

$1,840,605

Smithfield

$1,199,000

$1,196,500

$1,215,000

$1,183,333

$1,410,000

112

Sonoma

$1,044,750

$965,500

$1,327,904

$955,500

$873,625

Stratton Commons

$936,000

$895,000

$952,500

Stratton Woods

$656,100

$677,583

$721,915

$776,942

$740,333

West Bethesda Park

$1,725,000

$2,145,000

$1,160,000

$1,400,000

125

Wilson Knolls

$790,000

$740,000

$1,254,544

$1,044,800

$1,422,500

Woodburn

$814,667

$914,625

$759,000

$872,000

$1,103,725

Woodhaven

$1,164,444

$1,070,111

$1,168,613

$1,208,830

$1,233,774

Wyngate

$882,358

$962,915

$1,026,688

$969,877

$1,021,499

448 436 456 428 470

$1,135,845

$1,160,686

$1,134,967

$1,155,185

$1,189,278

Cabin John

$699,000

$1,064,943

Cabin John Gardens

$643,500

$745,500

$470,667

$643,750

Cabin John Park

$1,035,566

$1,007,778

$1,167,069

$1,245,400

$1,189,722

$1,064,989

$907,706

$1,130,190

$1,133,702

$999,341

Bai Nola Woods

$630,500

$800,000

$687,000

$701,250

Burgundy Hills

$356,750

$262,000

$450,000

$393,725

117

Burgundy Knolls

$371,500

$408,050

$487,633

$413,633

$408,800

Carter Hill

$575,000

$665,000

$681,000

$668,333

Chestnut Lodge

$1,014,313

$1,070,000

$1,200,000

$1,140,000

College Gardens

$613,800

$611,144

$622,042

$636,988

$638,727

Croydon Park

$407,800

$443,419

$402,211

$425,354

$415,333

Englands

$399,167

$330,000

$484,800

$381,000

$482,500

Fallsgrove

$1,015,250

$978,948

$1,007,000

$1,012,773

$950,213

Fallsmead

$730,000

$822,500

$804,000

$825,000

$870,905

Glen Hills

$1,049,900

$809,536

$815,110

$773,000

$853,444

Glen Park

$709,980

$649,900

$802,100

$709,975

$748,557

115

Glenora Hills

$700,000

$672,450

$586,667

$660,000

Harriett Park

$435,667

$357,400

$380,000

$551,367

$334,500

141

Hunting Hills Woods

$768,000

$763,750

$759,750

$815,714

$880,200

King Farm

$766,250

$815,000

$877,500

King Farm Baileys Common 0

$762,500

$734,270

$745,000

$751,250

125

146

138

20817 TOTAL

2018

2015

Average Days on Market

Kafauver Tract

Subdivision

2017

Average Sale Price

No. of Homes Sold

CABIN JOHN 20818

20818 TOTAL

ROCKVILLE 20850

182

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real estate 2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

2019

2018

2016

$701,000

$675,000

$699,000

$570,000

139

$794,688

$871,667

$839,045

$814,333

$820,980

Lakewood Estates

$936,000

$1,550,000

$840,000

$1,211,667

$908,750

Lakewood Glen

$895,000

$869,967

$1,422,500

$980,000

$1,113,333

Lincoln Park

$307,286

$294,967

$394,590

$350,722

$385,380

Maryvale

$298,289

$310,322

$323,807

$369,700

$347,006

New Mark Commons

$601,445

$549,994

$618,056

$658,750

$686,500

Piney Glen Village

$1,247,000

$1,236,267

$1,200,000

$1,228,900

$1,069,000

Potomac Oaks

$836,750

$861,667

$888,800

$843,000

$904,750

119

Rockshire

$646,786

$663,142

$663,591

$701,769

$712,563

Rockville

$899,900

$608,875

225

Rockville Estates

$624,590

$571,161

$686,000

$647,571

$654,357

Rockville Park

$403,000

$602,745

$458,478

$672,500

$539,000

151

Rose Hill

$860,000

$940,000

$976,667

$949,000

$975,000

105

Rose Hill Falls

$905,000

$868,333

$928,750

120

123

Roxboro

$504,188

$605,000

$626,240

$560,000

$507,083

Travilah Grove

$1,250,000

$1,211,500

$1,035,000

$1,180,000

Watts Branch Meadows

$757,667

$715,000

$770,000

$693,780

$707,750

119

West End Park

$571,090

$566,093

$603,569

$612,483

$620,395

Willows of Potomac

$1,094,727

$1,065,938

$1,111,000

$1,157,800

$1,003,200

Woodley Gardens

$603,750

$601,500

$625,357

$636,313

$632,500

Woodley Woods

218 220 237 212 226

2015

2017

20850 TOTAL

2019

2016

King Farm Irvington

2018

2015

Average Days on Market

King Farm Watkins Pond 8

Subdivision

2017

Average Sale Price

No. of Homes Sold

$599,900

$612,833

$632,450

$650,000

$625,000

$645,869

$682,474

$685,452

$695,580

$709,839

NORTH BETHESDA/ROCKVILLE 20852 Franklin Park

$380,100

$386,750

$420,279

$438,500

$483,798

Heritage Walk

$769,500

$820,000

$1,042,857

$953,000

$869,000

Hungerford

$459,846

$466,123

$492,138

$510,460

$546,887

Luxmanor

$1,087,079

$1,120,158

$1,382,417

$1,577,789

$1,343,867

Montrose

$619,750

$574,967

$655,291

$652,333

$664,667

Montrose Park

$388,380

$407,250

$484,333

$422,900

$423,333

Montrose Village

$846,515

$833,600

$785,000

$873,500

119

Montrose Woods

$688,750

$777,375

$854,125

$875,200

Neilwood

$820,000

$949,500

$1,175,000

$1,415,000

156

175

North Farm

$852,667

$831,571

$826,667

$826,850

$888,625

Old Farm

$810,544

$790,611

$819,048

$851,963

$843,878

Old Georgetown Estates 4

$1,332,500

$1,088,000

$1,205,000

$1,124,750

$1,246,150

133

Randolph Farms

$382,500

$395,725

$511,000

$439,000

$494,250

Randolph Hills

$373,183

$394,239

$427,201

$455,036

$448,444

Tilden Woods

$718,263

$722,222

$772,833

$720,000

$784,161

Timberlawn

$1,225,000

$1,053,750

$1,083,875

$1,040,125

$1,076,875

Windermere

$963,600

$908,333

$887,625

$886,418

$1,047,250

110

138 160 176 161 164

$671,955

$672,708

$716,749

$785,015

$729,857

Avenel

$1,672,015

$1,451,711

$1,537,633

$1,533,000

$1,444,371

101

Beallmount

$1,212,500

$962,500

$938,000

$1,084,125

$1,108,800

182

Beallmount Grove

$1,580,000

$1,191,250

$1,442,500

$1,435,000

20852 TOTAL

POTOMAC 20854

184

MARCH/APRIL 2020 | BETHESDAMAGAZINE.COM

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real estate

186

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

2019

2018

2017

$903,900

$819,250

$857,381

$883,818

$923,180

Bells Mill Estates

$1,225,083

$1,229,500

$1,217,860

$1,255,450

$1,249,967

176

Bells Mill Village

$753,297

$790,000

$801,667

$810,000

$777,067

Beverly Farms

$709,250

$1,020,584

$838,333

$997,500

Blenheim

$1,191,000

$1,257,500

$1,228,750

$1,277,500

$1,161,250

Bradley Farms

$2,062,500

$2,581,250

$3,061,250

$2,368,750

$2,892,500

291

349

303

Camotop

$1,540,000

$1,817,333

$1,475,000

$1,725,000

158

104

136

Clagett Farm

$1,252,600

$1,321,000

$1,365,000

$1,360,000

$1,355,000

Concord

$883,000

$935,000

$1,237,450

Copenhaver

$853,269

$879,471

$902,658

$876,964

$876,500

Country Place

$875,000

$895,000

$953,000

$943,000

East Gate of Potomac

$855,597

$994,860

$885,991

$911,077

$860,600

Esworthy Park

$964,000

$1,399,999

$996,667

$1,037,500

112

152

177

Falconhurst

$1,845,000

$2,409,000

$1,990,357

$2,596,875

$1,789,375

220

102

143

Falls Bend

$802,500

$977,180

$790,500

Falls Orchard

$657,500

$722,629

$704,667

$940,000

Fallsberry

$681,000

$1,040,000

$989,500

$1,000,533

$979,333

Fallsmead

$788,875

$734,236

$736,833

$759,914

$802,805

Fallsreach

$915,000

$905,818

$933,875

$935,929

$890,190

Fallswood

$680,000

$679,325

$692,500

$694,275

$638,000

Fawcett Farms

$951,225

$1,073,000

$1,207,500

$1,414,167

$1,267,471

171

131

Fox Hills

$804,329

$806,975

$889,504

$836,475

$876,818

Fox Hills West

$825,000

$825,750

$756,375

$722,271

Glen Meadows

$1,423,333

$1,192,500

$1,300,000

163

Glen Mill Village

$1,150,000

$1,310,000

$1,260,000

$1,124,500

$1,236,250

237

103

Glen Oaks

$872,286

$866,500

$825,571

$1,030,750

$873,600

Glen Park

$721,250

$682,200

$797,720

$852,333

$728,500

Great Falls Estates

$1,317,000

$2,169,284

$1,366,641

$1,545,000

$1,447,500

137

107

Greenbriar Preserve

$1,400,000

$1,411,000

122

Heritage Farm

$1,125,833

$1,078,000

$1,145,000

$985,000

$999,400

Highland Stone

$672,470

$688,450

$736,714

$735,250

$716,206

Hollinridge

$869,500

$830,180

$829,000

Horizon Hill

$704,818

$682,201

$720,268

$706,967

$736,556

Inverness Forest

$897,333

$849,756

$854,571

$898,050

$862,167

Kentsdale Estates

$1,119,333

$1,563,750

$1,586,667

$1,292,500

$1,632,000

Lake Normandy Estates

$840,500

$869,500

$762,050

$864,125

$868,375

Lake Potomac

$1,323,400

$1,311,000

$1,108,750

$1,217,500

$1,618,944

151

104

275

Marwood

$1,897,500

$1,851,000

$1,993,833

$1,708,333

$1,913,333

141

Mass. Ave. Highlands

$1,137,500

$1,100,000

$1,289,000

$1,174,000

Mazza Woods

$1,219,667

$1,289,000

$1,536,750

$1,151,500

$1,252,500

McAuley Park

$1,215,625

$1,100,125

$1,305,613

$1,392,750

$1,336,818

Merry-Go-Round Farm

$1,977,000

$1,250,000

$1,585,000

$1,715,625

$1,667,500

215

113

147

Montgomery Square

$650,000

$644,993

$676,900

$690,393

$737,752

Oldfield

$784,667

$889,167

$813,267

$1,100,000

$862,667

Orchard Ridge

$775,000

$730,000

$763,600

$710,983

$817,488

Palatine

$1,734,000

$1,646,333

$1,738,750

$1,529,688

$2,199,375

146

108

Pine Knolls

$977,143

$1,121,500

$933,600

$1,102,667

$920,625

Piney Glen Farms

$1,392,500

$1,651,250

$1,038,750

$3,000,000

$1,031,000

125

189

903

103

MARCH/APRIL 2020 | BETHESDAMAGAZINE.COM

2016

2015

Average Days on Market

Bedfordshire

Subdivision

2017

Average Sale Price

No. of Homes Sold

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real estate

$1,060,833

$1,018,333

$1,470,600

$1,049,500

$933,300

135

$813,682

$817,837

$832,024

$874,800

$827,445

Potomac Crest

$1,100,000

$1,077,500

$1,450,000

$1,311,627

$1,239,667

159

124

Potomac Falls

$3,017,500

$3,730,000

$1,801,000

$1,622,250

$2,150,000

103

355

108

213

114

Potomac Glen

$960,000

$950,000

$1,091,667

$1,124,000

Potomac Hills

$1,131,719

$1,205,000

$897,667

$1,211,666

212

Potomac Manor

$1,890,000

$1,797,778

$1,621,650

$1,625,000

$1,600,000

139

107

Potomac Ranch

$1,050,000

$1,547,890

$1,184,750

$1,547,500

103

146

Potomac View Estates

$1,354,397

$1,105,625

$1,456,020

$1,296,450

$1,373,333

102

259

Potomac Village

$1,125,438

$1,106,364

$1,200,071

$1,391,273

$1,180,950

Potomac Woods

$631,075

$664,235

$692,629

$677,480

$678,429

Potomac Woods East

$713,983

$795,000

$748,975

$750,000

$786,667

Red Coat Woods

$850,000

$784,083

$747,505

$892,500

$842,500

Regency Estates

$672,937

$662,038

$678,493

$723,974

$692,975

Regent Park

$635,028

$715,000

$662,500

$729,333

$717,822

Ridgeleigh

$1,065,000

$912,500

$800,000

$960,000

River Falls

$1,232,367

$1,128,700

$1,220,537

$1,213,700

$1,303,861

River Oaks Farm

$1,665,000

$1,332,500

$1,305,000

$1,525,000

$1,336,000

102

141

Rivers Edge

$998,000

$1,285,000

$1,078,500

$1,164,286

$1,091,750

Roberts Glen

$742,150

$695,000

$799,500

$854,800

$839,100

Saddle Ridge

$1,675,000

$1,097,667

$1,684,500

$1,377,000

$1,358,333

102

Saddlebrook

$628,933

$653,857

$633,750

$654,000

Stoney Creek Estates

2019

Potomac Commons

2018

Potomac

2017

$1,022,750

2016

$1,081,550

2015

2019

$1,054,478

2019

2018

$941,960

2018

2017

$1,086,625

2016

2015

Average Days on Market

Piney Glen Village

Subdivision

2017

Average Sale Price

No. of Homes Sold

$998,367

$1,335,000

141

Timberwood of Potomac 1

$750,000

$837,000

$790,000

$881,167

$865,000

123

Travilah Meadows

$1,028,500

$1,181,000

$1,150,000

$1,031,500

$1,312,917

Willerburn Acres

$766,571

$869,200

$915,318

$893,556

$778,200

Williamsburg Gardens

$1,442,750

$1,587,000

$1,266,667

$905,000

Willowbrook

$675,000

$830,000

$761,119

$823,900

$699,000

130

Windsor Hills

$950,440

$1,005,000

$865,000

$972,500

$800,000

Winterset

$978,000

$1,289,098

$1,127,500

$956,000

$1,370,000

Woodrock

$1,187,600

$1,177,500

$1,048,745

$1,125,000

$1,060,333

$1,039,357

$1,099,746

$1,081,827

$1,090,906

20854 TOTAL

476 510 490 533 544

NORTH POTOMAC/GAITHERSBURG 20878

188

Amberlea Farm

$920,000

$960,000

$967,500

$937,450

109

Ancient Oak

$644,000

$567,838

$615,546

$634,722

$602,656

Belvedere

$1,257,500

$1,161,000

$1,157,000

$1,244,250

$1,288,500

Big Pines Village

$935,000

$1,027,500

$1,050,000

Bondbrook

$690,333

$707,450

$743,960

$667,000

$728,300

Crown

$1,663,093

$1,754,940

$1,400,595

$1,896,364

176

505

Darnestown Hills

$651,625

$645,000

$717,500

$600,000

$733,000

112

108

Diamond Courts

$430,010

$467,250

$458,167

$454,467

$515,050

Dufief

$577,760

$626,829

$638,249

$635,243

$624,595

Dufief Mill

$705,100

$813,199

$720,277

$734,100

$742,406

Dufief Mill Estates

$731,878

$763,333

$744,414

$753,500

$712,625

Farmlands

$1,009,950

$699,900

$838,225

$850,000

$1,019,980

106

Fernshire Farms

$430,000

$526,878

$515,200

$543,556

$542,000

MARCH/APRIL 2020 | BETHESDAMAGAZINE.COM

UPPERVILLE $4,850,000 | 1388 Crenshaw Road Jonathan Taylor +1 202 276 3344

ANNAPOLIS $3,500,000 | 1820 Milvale Road Glenn Sutton +1 410 507 4370

BETHESDA $2,950,000 | 7405 Fairfax Road Lauren Davis +1 202 549 8784

BETHESDA Price Upon Request | 9118 Redwood Avenue ARLINGTON $2,995,000 | 1881 N Nash Street #2204 POTOMAC $2,495,000 | 10605 Willowbrook Drive Jeff Wilson +1 301 442 8533 Dana Cruz +1 301 825 2382 Jonathan Taylor +1 202 276 3344

BETHESDA $1,258,888 | 9912 Holmhurst Road Peg Mancuso +1 301 996 5953

BETHESDA $3,395,000 | 5110 Wessling Lane Lauren Davis +1 202 549 8784

BETHESDA $1,695,000 | 7909 Tilbury Street Brent Jackson +1 202 263 9200

WASHINGTON, DC $1,999,000 4800 Foxhall Crescent NW Michael Rankin +1 202 271 3344

POTOMAC $1,255,000 12500 Park Potomac Avenue #508N VJ Derbarghamian +1 240 630 1019

WASHINGTON, DC $3,500,000 2136 Wyoming Avenue NW Jonathan Taylor +1 202 276 3344

SILVER SPRING $530,000 2901 S Leisure World Boulevard #126 Kirsten Williams +1 202 657 2022 Frank Snodgrass +1 202 257 0978

BETHESDA $929,000 | 6634 Eames Way Lauren Davis +1 202 549 8784

NORTH BETHESDA $1,190,000 10884 Symphony Park Drive Peg Mancuso +1 301 996 5953

C H EV Y C H AS E , M D •

T T RS I R .CO M | B RO K E RAG ES : B E T H ES DA R OW — 4 8 0 9 B E T H ES DA AV E N U E , B E T H ES DA , M D — + 1 3 0 1 5 1 6 1 2 1 2 A N N A P O L I S, M D • G EO RG E TOW N , D C • D OW N TOW N , D C • M c L E A N , VA • A L E X A N D R I A , VA • A R L I N GTO N , VA • T H E P L A I N S, VA

©2020 TTR Sotheby’s International Realty, licensed real estate broker. Sotheby’s International Realty and the Sotheby’s International Realty logo are registered service marks used with permission. Each Office Is Independently Owned And Operated. Equal housing opportunity. All information deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Price and availability subject to change.

real estate 2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

2019

2018

2017

$513,000

$422,500

$468,300

$422,450

$380,000

248

Haddonfield

$905,000

$930,000

$940,000

$938,000

$965,300

112

Harvest Hunt Farm

$635,000

$710,000

$799,000

$893,333

$762,500

Hidden Ponds

$1,059,250

$1,108,750

$1,104,500

129

Highlands of Darnestown 5

$712,190

$711,000

$703,400

$944,000

$658,333

Hunters Trace

$500,000

$595,833

$540,333

$608,000

Kentlands

$771,140

$796,150

$903,211

$913,293

$889,625

Kentlands Gatehouse

$982,000

$912,250

$908,200

$841,917

$938,887

Kentlands Hill District

$756,550

$622,500

$797,475

$676,000

$781,500

Kentlands Upper

$825,000

$960,000

$875,000

$758,950

$1,100,000

Lakelands

$780,940

$807,296

$913,577

$840,440

$746,659

Lakelands Great Seneca 4

$596,875

$584,333

$631,500

$647,500

$665,000

Mills Farm

$536,082

$577,238

$582,178

$620,363

$586,667

Mission Hills

$655,000

$641,000

$706,833

$770,000

Mountain View Estates

$565,000

$851,833

$599,750

$686,286

$759,300

Natalie Estates

$937,000

$937,667

$913,500

$957,020

$944,967

Orchard Hills

$621,500

$628,400

$531,100

$644,700

$676,114

Owens Glen

$775,000

$698,125

$738,500

$739,947

$655,000

Parkridge

$523,300

$493,500

$518,750

$540,000

Parkridge Estates

$620,500

$617,000

$557,667

$625,000

112

Pheasant Run

$505,811

$493,200

$516,950

$564,975

$495,025

Potomac Chase

$635,609

$696,613

$691,456

$669,456

$768,127

Potomac Grove

$736,127

$718,233

$716,944

$684,000

Potomac Ridge

$600,771

$600,708

$611,769

$621,800

$603,454

Quail Run

$752,429

$1,200,000

$780,000

$738,500

$766,000

335

Quince Haven

$687,488

$651,967

$684,133

$725,245

$640,000

Quince Orchard Estates

$629,500

$694,000

$655,000

$659,086

$616,500

Quince Orchard Knolls

$550,120

$543,542

$570,794

$697,231

$612,598

Quince Orchard Manor

$459,765

$477,786

$476,844

$504,283

$529,250

Quince Orchard Park

$599,250

$597,862

$599,833

$616,361

$645,173

Quince Orchard Valley

$454,794

$474,500

$515,921

$547,994

$504,767

Relda Square

$365,000

$455,500

$382,180

$420,000

$436,225

Roberts Landing

$1,270,000

$1,210,000

$910,000

$1,045,000

233

147

Rollinmead

$974,800

$1,006,944

$1,065,000

$906,000

$941,333

Stonebridge

$788,914

$824,600

$816,500

$815,835

$830,778

Washingtonian Village

$482,688

$472,843

$466,667

$544,500

$515,750

Washingtonian Woods

$677,287

$666,001

$663,292

$720,450

$728,817

West Riding

$450,000

$445,725

$470,483

$452,250

$485,567

Westleigh

$633,164

$660,650

$646,401

$638,155

$650,695

Willow Ridge

$814,619

$694,167

$689,843

$625,250

$631,600

Woodlands

$841,000

$940,600

$1,037,500

$1,010,000

$943,125

$669,162

$695,390

$676,612

$705,375

$721,763

374 359 351 376 343

2016

20878 TOTAL

2015

Average Days on Market

Gaithersburg Town

Subdivision

2017

Average Sale Price

No. of Homes Sold

KENSINGTON 20895

190

Byeforde

$731,000

$790,286

$760,000

$769,375

$809,429

Chevy Chase View

$940,478

$1,035,000

$915,394

$1,057,293

$1,076,078

Garrett Park Estates

$619,411

$619,685

$631,875

$638,636

$668,815

Homewood

$449,533

$491,756

$506,272

$547,090

$530,447

MARCH/APRIL 2020 | BETHESDAMAGAZINE.COM

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

2019

Average Days on Market

2018

2016

2015

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

Subdivision

2017

Average Sale Price

No. of Homes Sold

Ken-Gar

$414,500

$301,485

$525,000

Kensington

$698,764

$826,524

$725,943

$952,258

$754,473

Kensington Estates

$705,500

$788,833

$841,448

$902,675

$929,750

Kensington Heights

$499,877

$475,802

$530,926

$584,841

$506,140

Kensington Knolls

$451,667

$437,500

$447,235

$491,500

$501,800

Kensington View

$462,673

$625,507

$526,214

$528,917

$612,583

143

102

Larchmont Knolls

$859,950

$935,000

$925,000

$825,000

$1,099,000

Newport Hills

$434,375

$437,408

$463,455

$478,500

$508,557

North Kensington

$504,279

$456,590

$495,150

$418,429

$510,538

Oakland Terrace

$386,980

$428,558

$425,267

$469,125

$473,764

Parkwood

$780,592

$833,617

$719,409

$797,418

$918,244

Rock Creek Highlands

$754,643

$898,786

$980,374

$956,050

$945,984

Rock Creek Hills

$843,604

$847,083

$887,864

$873,185

$945,292

Rock Creek Palisades

$446,977

$435,761

$474,208

$493,108

$508,434

Warners/Kensington

$539,000

$659,000

$951,378

$727,317

$875,000

White Flint Park

$604,313

$666,500

$709,300

$697,725

$646,625

$615,252

$640,474

$651,273

$718,451

$713,417

20895 TOTAL

282 259 281 241 289

Uncover discounts on a mortgage with a Citi relationship.

See how choosing Citi can pay off. Call us today. Francesca Costello Home Lending Officer 301-919-9308 francesca.costello@citi.com citi.com/francescacostello NMLS# 755930

Mike Kidwell Home Lending Officer 301-370-0738 m.kidwell@citi.com citi.com/mkidwell NMLS# 431321

When you bank with Citi and choose a Citi® mortgage, you get: • Mortgage discounts with Relationship Pricing1 • Dedicated support every step of the way • Decades of industry experience finding mortgage solutions Terms, conditions and fees for accounts, programs, products and services are subject to change. This is not a commitment to lend. All loans are subject to credit and property approval. Certain restrictions may apply on all programs. Offer cannot be combined with any other mortgage offer. This offer contains information about U.S. domestic financial services provided by Citibank, N.A. and is intended for use domestically in the U.S. A Citibank deposit account and automated monthly transfers of the mortgage payment from a Citibank personal deposit account using automated drafting will be required to receive Citibank mortgage Relationship Pricing. Ask a Mortgage Representative for details on eligible balances and the qualifying closing cost credit or rate discount. Availability of the Citibank mortgage Relationship Pricing for Citibank account holders is subject to change without notice.

© 2020 Citibank, N.A. NMLS# 412915. Member FDIC and Equal Housing Lender. Citi, Citi and Arc Design and other marks used herein are service marks of Citigroup Inc. or its affiliates, used and registered throughout the world.

BETHESDAMAGAZINE.COM | MARCH/APRIL 2020 Bethesda Magazine 01312020 v2.indd 1

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real estate 2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

2019

2018

2019

2017

2018

$810,071

$774,707

$888,434

$868,855

$858,929

$810,071

$774,707

$888,434

$868,855

$858,929

Arcola

$415,167

$444,110

$459,571

$444,000

$533,667

197

Arville

$291,500

$399,633

$406,000

205

Blueridge Manor

$413,633

$398,800

$395,500

$448,330

$484,000

Cameron Heights

$379,127

$375,660

$365,700

$397,491

$428,380

Carroll Knolls

$376,196

$375,454

$413,345

$446,732

$445,095

Chestnut Hills

$316,750

$325,500

$400,163

$384,800

$386,711

Chestnut Ridge Manor

$365,318

$380,614

$395,091

$436,082

$421,875

College View

$431,738

$510,475

$438,330

$419,500

$435,000

Conn. Ave. Estates

$287,929

$321,059

$328,530

$361,518

$336,519

Conn. Ave. Hills

$340,386

$406,032

$401,754

$386,250

Connecticut Gardens

$354,293

$380,193

$394,728

$400,750

$437,551

Evans Parkway

$382,333

$395,500

$449,000

$391,280

$439,240

244

Forest Estates

$448,292

$434,214

$463,481

$505,740

$526,096

Forest Glen

$421,000

$423,583

$524,000

$495,625

$521,780

Forest Grove

$525,250

$600,000

$585,817

$688,750

$712,138

Glen Allen

$623,000

$626,275

$667,450

Glen Haven

$345,000

$373,333

$414,000

$443,100

$469,666

Glenfield Manor

$429,675

$436,778

$436,000

$444,200

$466,261

Glenmont Forest

$304,181

$346,870

$361,156

$363,000

$392,993

Glenview

$460,636

$422,588

$486,833

$456,015

$467,114

Hammond Wood

$377,883

$476,188

$458,750

$561,000

$400,000

Highland Woods

$317,700

$347,938

$358,900

$373,333

$400,000

126

Kemp Mill

$571,481

$591,125

$571,500

$537,000

Kemp Mill Estates

$444,500

$423,583

$437,853

$487,810

$488,552

Kemp Mill Forest

$479,333

$458,099

$540,000

$531,250

$572,833

Kemp Mill Hills

$325,000

$417,950

$409,500

$430,000

$423,000

Kensington Heights

$340,000

$368,000

$550,000

$429,750

Kensington Knolls

$433,967

$501,500

Kingswell

$365,250

$372,667

$368,429

$357,786

$409,000

McKenney Hills

$489,533

$472,478

$530,932

$467,646

$520,125

Northbrook Estates

$445,780

$431,156

$463,817

$453,333

$451,167

Oakland Terrace

$477,000

$470,000

$536,000

$476,000

$508,633

Parkway

$424,375

$331,963

$440,507

$453,900

$419,667

Plyers Mill Estates

$416,000

$440,000

$452,000

$470,000

$525,000

123

Regnid

$374,450

$447,333

$475,000

Rock Creek Palisades

$587,000

$619,000

$643,775

$680,000

$691,500

Springbrook Forest

$564,000

$544,004

$597,500

$895,000

$920,000

176

136

Stephen Knolls

$453,333

$329,667

$361,250

$418,264

$380,500

Weismans

$272,400

$290,714

$356,000

$329,000

$364,500

Westchester

$414,500

$350,000

$427,780

$512,500

Wheaton Crest

$319,688

$345,560

$368,355

$405,399

$344,667

Wheaton Forest

$346,484

$400,625

$419,271

$421,180

$414,960

Subdivision

2015

2017

Average Days on Market

2016

Average Sale Price

2015

2016 2015

No. of Homes Sold

GARRETT PARK 20896 Garrett Park 20896 TOTAL

SILVER SPRING 20902

192

MARCH/APRIL 2020 | BETHESDAMAGAZINE.COM

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

2019

2018

2017

2016

$352,167

$345,676

$366,351

$395,085

$404,225

Wheaton View

$397,333

$406,000

$469,250

$427,000

$670,000

370 363 348 336 344

$390,211

$404,912

$423,980

$443,336

$448,950

Blair

$557,731

$567,793

$560,797

$708,238

$622,310

Capitol View Park

$553,297

$439,522

$629,889

$488,695

$639,851

Carroll Springs

$515,000

$480,000

$599,000

$535,750

$559,000

Forest Glen

$496,000

$446,400

$607,833

$677,500

$565,463

Forest Glen Knolls

$467,500

$544,600

$432,750

$629,000

$505,000

Forest Glen Park

$453,250

$480,500

$556,313

$583,550

$684,667

Linden

$540,000

$584,000

$675,500

$642,467

$599,900

Mcneills

$598,833

$499,333

$613,900

$634,667

$630,714

Montgomery Hills

$582,000

$683,800

$658,333

$657,000

$543,200

Montgomery Hills Forest 3

$564,333

$561,500

$505,000

$582,500

North Woodside

$515,188

$640,583

$533,978

$599,556

$760,600

Northmont

$454,155

$528,071

$523,725

$557,071

$494,700

P & B/Linden

$390,000

$367,500

$584,667

$357,000

Rock Creek Forest

$559,000

$633,167

$584,333

$621,333

$614,200

20902 TOTAL

2015

Average Days on Market

Wheaton Hills

Subdivision

2017

Average Sale Price

No. of Homes Sold

SILVER SPRING 20910

7735 old georgetown road, suite 700 bethesda, md 20814 240.333.2000

GTMARCHITECTS.COM

Readers’ Pick, Winner, Best Architect for Custom Homes

Readers’ Pick, A Top Vote Getter, Best Architect for Custom Home Renovations

BETHESDAMAGAZINE.COM | MARCH/APRIL 2020

193

real estate 2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

2019

2018

2017

$542,250

$666,000

$536,667

$609,875

$639,000

$493,317

$389,000

$476,333

$421,600

Seven Oaks

$596,500

$623,456

$618,817

$750,000

$716,100

Silver Spring

$656,405

$559,891

$581,851

$711,440

$810,232

Sixteenth Street Village

$430,000

$494,667

$519,888

$629,000

$701,000

Sligo Park Hills

$610,149

$593,410

$539,722

$607,167

$581,092

South Woodside Park

$697,667

$991,500

$814,750

$672,400

$582,500

Takoma Park

$610,000

$523,111

$575,335

$653,625

$630,167

Woodside

$610,264

$615,158

$639,688

$634,338

$684,002

Woodside Forest

$603,138

$655,830

$660,591

$699,915

$702,590

Woodside Hills

$262,000

$655,000

$591,875

$548,175

$670,000

Woodside Knolls

$469,000

$508,614

$525,000

$518,333

$500,000

Woodside Park

$700,525

$764,068

$820,678

$819,736

$798,708

$588,862

$586,896

$614,002

$645,967

$663,251

$1,375,000

$995,000

$1,125,656

$1,094,384

$1,105,176

$1,139,453

$1,242,486

$1,305,535

219 233 198 200 214

2016

Rosemary Knolls

20910 TOTAL

2015

Average Days on Market

Rosemary Hills

Subdivision

2017

Average Sale Price

No. of Homes Sold

UPPER NORTHWEST D.C. 20015 Barnaby Woods

Chevy Chase

147 148 147 134 151

You’re welcome to join us– and bring family and friends– to It’za Pizza Party at Maplewood on Thursday, March 26, 2020, 12-3pm, for an experience that can’t be topped: lively conversation, freshly made pizza from our stone hearth oven, and the warm congeniality of our Resident Ambassadors and Team Members. - Plus, a brief overview of the Maplewood lifestyle and tour of homes.

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2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

2019

2017

2018

153 156 152 140 176

2016

2017

2015

2016

Hawthorne 20015 TOTAL

2015

Subdivision

Average Days on Market

2018

Average Sale Price

No. of Homes Sold

$789,864

$999,124

$789,350

$1,146,000

$1,014,231

$1,086,593

$1,102,147

$1,130,408

$1,237,272

$1,269,131

$1,051,675

$1,112,654

$1,102,434

$1,132,152

$1,238,868

UPPER NORTHWEST D.C. 20016 American University Park 86

Chevy Chase

$1,012,375

$1,129,934

$1,287,050

$1,462,544

$1,472,542

Spring Valley

$1,618,429

$1,812,029

$1,989,397

$1,718,329

$2,133,500

Wakefield

$1,111,200

$1,003,578

$1,047,179

$1,378,125

$1,096,250

Wesley Heights

$1,716,417

$2,371,750

$2,040,344

$1,896,068

$2,071,200

$1,402,199

$1,616,035

$1,572,406

$1,572,382

$1,675,530

20016 TOTAL

219 209 246 234 219

Data for this section was provided by Bright MLS—the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) for the D.C. Metro area—and ShowingTime.

ABOUT BRIGHT MLS

ABOUT SHOWINGTIME

The Bright MLS real estate service area spans 40,000 square miles throughout the mid-Atlantic region, including Delaware, Maryland, Washington, D.C., and parts of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia. As a leading Multiple Listing Service (MLS), Bright serves approximately 85,000 real estate professionals who in turn serve more than 20 million consumers. For more information, visit brightmlshomes.com.

ShowingTime is the leading showing management and market reporting technology provider to the residential real estate industry. Its showing products take the inefficiencies out of the appointment scheduling process, while its analytics tools help subscribers generate interactive, easy-to-read local market reports.

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195

real estate

198

MARCH/APRIL 2020 | BETHESDAMAGAZINE.COM

The Top

PRODUCERS

A list of the real estate agents and teams with the top total sales in Montgomery County and Upper Northwest D.C. RESIDENTIAL REAL ESTATE IS big business in Montgomery County and Upper Northwest D.C. (ZIP codes 20015 and 20016). Last year, 7,388 single-family homes were sold in those areas for a total of $7.9 billion. Not surprisingly, Montgomery County has a large number of real estate agents who live here—8,470 agents, according to the Maryland Real Estate Commission. But not all real estate agents are created equal. A small percentage of the agents sell a large percentage of the homes. On the following pages we list the top producers—the individual agents with total sales in the county and Upper Northwest D.C. (ZIP codes 20015 and 20016) of at least $8 million from Nov. 1, 2018, through

Oct. 31, 2019; and teams with at least $16 million in sales during the same period. In the list, we tag an elite group of agents and teams as “top tier producers.” Agents with that designation had at least $15 million in sales, and teams had average sales of at least $7.5 million per licensed team member. Top tier producers are designated with the TOP symbol. The agents and teams are listed in alphabetical order under the offices where they work. The list reflects the brokerage the agents/teams were affiliated with and includes any changes that were reported to Bethesda Magazine as of Jan. 20, 2020. The sales data was provided by the real estate brokerages and offices that are listed.

BETHESDAMAGAZINE.COM | MARCH/APRIL 2020

199

THE TOP PRODUCERS 2020 ALLIED REALTY CORP. AGENT Mary J. Murphy

COAKLEY REALTY AGENTS Lori Maggin TOP Michael P. Rose

TOP

COLDWELL BANKER BETHESDA AGENT Lorin Culver TEAM The Aisenbergs

TOP

COMPASS BETHESDA AGENTS Mike Aubrey Steve Baumgartner Annabel Burch-Murton Traudel Lange TOP Carrie Mann Michael Matese TOP Kyle Richards TOP Pam Ryan-Brye TOP Laura Steuart TOP Lynne Tucker Steve Withrow TEAMS Aret & Associates Atlas Group Ferguson Group TOP The Friedson Group Galanti Group TOP Margie Halem Group

COMPASS CHEVY CHASE

TOP

Christy Bakaly Eva Davis Chad Dudley TOP Jennifer Knoll Rina Kunk TOP Cheryl Kurss Lindsay Lucas TOP Meredith Margolis TOP Michael Shapiro Susan Van Nostrand Maureen Weaver Rebecca Weiner TEAMS Cara Pearlman Group Carmen Fontecilla Group Casaday Allison Group TOP Dana Rice Group TOP Donovan & Wye Group TOP Erich Cabe Team Ferris Levin Collaborative The Fleisher Group TOP The Mary Lynn White Team The Reishman Group Sam Solovey Group TOP The Shorb Team TOP Taylor Agostino Group TOP Trent & Co. Wydler Brothers

COMPASS GEORGETOWN AGENT J.P. Montalvan

COMPASS LOGAN CIRCLE AGENTS Lukas Iraola Ross Vann TEAMS Babbington Team Jenn Smira Team

AGENTS Koki Adasi

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MARCH/APRIL 2020 | BETHESDAMAGAZINE.COM

= TOP TIER PRODUCER

COMPASS MCLEAN AGENT Claudia Kern

FORUM PROPERTIES AGENTS Paul Biciocchi Antoinette King

KELLER WILLIAMS CAPITAL PROPERTIES BETHESDA/ CHEVY CHASE AGENTS Greg Ford Timothy Phelps Jared Russell TOP Martin Signore TOP Theresa Taylor TOP TEAMS Dana Global Advantage The Dwellus Group TOP Mynor & Associates

TOP

KELLER WILLIAMS CAPITAL PROPERTIES ROCKVILLE AGENTS Doug Lunenfeld Alex Saenger

LONG & FOSTER BETHESDA AGENTS Lily Cole Adam Gelb TOP Todd Harris TOP Cheryl Leahy TOP Stacey Styslinger Denise Szczur Kathy Whalen TEAMS The Bacchus Group The Sky Group

RE/MAX TEAM IN MD & DC METRO AREA

TEAM NURIT'S

SALES IN 2019

$230 560 M I L L I O N

H O M E S

WE ASKED NURIT COOMBE WHAT SETS HER APART FROM THE COMPETITION At Team Nurit, we believe in providing full concierge service to every client at every price point. We offer a customized marketing plan utilizing the latest in technology including social media with artificial intelligence, the Alexa ”Open House” experience, high-resolution video brochures, national TV exposure and more. We provide every client with their own dedicated transaction coordinator to make sure all deadlines are met, questions are answered, and problems are solved. We help with home renovations, staging, curb appeal, estate sales, and the million other things that come up in the process of buying or selling a home. Along the way, we become an integral part of our client’s lives. We love what we do, we work with our heart, and our clients become our family.

NURIT COOMBE | 301.346.5252

WWW.TEAMNURIT.COM

THE TOP PRODUCERS 2020 LONG & FOSTER BETHESDA ALL POINTS

LONG & FOSTER BETHESDA GATEWAY

AGENTS Andy Alderdice TOP Kenneth Bennett Tammy Gruner Durbin Susan Jaquet Nancy Mannino Pam Potolicchio Michael Seay

AGENTS Genie Asmuth Sherry Brennan JT Burton Meghan Crowley Sarah Funt Alexa Goulding Elley Kott Linda Lizzio Mary Magner Ilia Menocal Sondra Mulheron Glen Sutcliffe Helen Trybus Yaya Zhang

TEAM Emmett Homes

TOP

LONG & FOSTER BETHESDA/ CHEVY CHASE TEAM Murtagh Properties

TOP

TEAMS The Banner Team TOP The Ditto Group The Donna Karpa Team The Estridge Group TOP The Fitzpatrick Group The Jane Fairweather Team The Pennye Green Team TOP The Rozansky Group TOP Smart Living Associates The Souza Group Umanzor and Associates The Wiesenfelder Group

LONG & FOSTER CHEVY CHASE/UPTOWN AGENTS Cindy Holland Julie Roberts

Ellen Abrams The Abrams Group 2020 TOP PRODUCER Extraordinary Results Unmatched Service at Every Price Point Serving DC MD VA with an unwavering commitment to our clients.

www.abramsrealestategroup.com Courtney Abrams Vice President m +1 202 253 0109 o + 1 202 234 3344 cabrams@ttrsir.com

Sotheby’s International Realty® is a licensed trademark to Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates LLC. Each Office Is Independently Owned And Operated.

202

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Ellen Abrams Senior Vice President m +1 202 255 8219 o +1 301 967 3344 eabrams@ttrsir.com

TEAM The Ron Sitrin Team

LONG & FOSTER CHRISTIE’S BETHESDA AGENTS Greta Nicoletti Lynda O’Dea TOP TEAMS Elaine Koch Group Heller Coley Reed The Speicher Group

LONG & FOSTER EVERS & CO./UPTOWN AGENTS Laura McCaffrey Phil Sturm

LONG & FOSTER GREATER SILVER SPRING AGENT Marta Granados TEAM Pirovic Team

LONG & FOSTER NORTH POTOMAC/ROCKVILLE AGENTS Bob Graves Lily Huang Philip Piantone Kellie Plucinski Audrey Romano Franco Saladino Trish Stovall

TEAMS The Roman Group Seth Shapero & Danny Troupos

TOP

LONG & FOSTER NORTHROP REALTY AGENT Creig Northrop

LONG & FOSTER PARK POTOMAC AGENTS Teresa Burton Stacey Sauter Susan Verner

Simply the Best Andy Alderdice Jessica Alderdice READERS PICK, TOP VOTE GETTER, TOP REAL ESTATE AGENT, 2019 TOP PRODUCER, 2019 & 2020 READERS PICK, WINNER, LONG & FOSTER, BEST REAL ESTATE BROKERAGE FOR LUXURY HOMES, 2020

11/21/2019

LOGO%20LF%20RE%20CIRE%20Box%20White%20bBox.jpg

Contact Andy today for a free consultation and customized list of available properties 301-466-5898 | 301-229-4000 | andy4homes.com https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?tab=rm&ogbl#inbox/FMfcgxwGBmxNphtxqcBZDFzKTPcrVBbW?projector=1&messagePartId=0.1

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THE TOP PRODUCERS 2020 TEAM Michelle Yu Team

LONG & FOSTER POTOMAC VILLAGE AGENTS Krystyna Kazerouni Theres Kellermann Toni Koeber Chris Koons-Byrne TOP Holly Smith TEAM Jennifer Chow Group

LONG & FOSTER ROCKVILLE CENTRE

LONG & FOSTER SILVER SPRING DOWNTOWN

AGENTS Russell Brazil Molly Carter Edmund Ko Anna Masica Corey Savelson Nazir Ullah

AGENT Paul Marston

LONG & FOSTER SILVER SPRING/LAUREL/ BURTONSVILLE

TEAMS The Barbara Ciment Team The Bowers Group The Eric Stewart Group TOP George Papakostas Group Joe Huff Team The MaryAnne Fiorita Team Powers Brothers The Robert Qawar Group Scott Team International TOP Victor Llewellyn Group TOP

AGENT David Savercool

LONG & FOSTER TAKOMA PARK OLD TOWN AGENTS Judy Kogod Dan Metcalf

TOP

EXPERIENCE. SUCCESS. INTEGRITY.

It’s in everything we do.

Selling, buying, investing. The perfect home, new or old, or the land where you can build it. We can find it, we can get you there.

Marzi Kahnamelli, Brett Souza, Cindy Souza Bethesda Gateway Office•Long & Foster Real Estate 301-332-5032 mobile/text 301-907-7600 office Cindy.Souza@LNF.com

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CHERYL LEAHY REALTOR® C. 301.370.2484 | E. cheryl.leahy@LNF.com | W. CherylLeahyHomes.com Q. What are the most significant changes in real estate during your career? A. The biggest change I’ve seen during my career in real estate is the shift in supply and demand. Buyers used to spend multiple weekends touring every house on the market and agonizing over their choices, often going back to their favorites later for another look. The luxury of spending weeks considering a home is no longer an option. The lack of inventory has caused a decided shift to a Sellers’ market, and there’s little indication that will change any time soon. It’s more important than ever that Buyers understand the market and are educated about the process, so they are prepared to move quickly to submit a competitive offer, while still making a wise purchase. Despite the Sellers’ market, Buyers’ expectations remain high. Twenty years ago people were excited about all the home improvement shows on TV and looked at properties with an eye to “what if,” excited by the possibilities. Now I see Buyers who prefer to spend their free time and disposable income on experiences, not home improvement projects. Purchasing a well-maintained home that requires little work is a priority. As a result, preparing a home to sell has never been more important. Updated, de-cluttered and properly staged homes sell quickly and net the Seller more, despite the outlay of funds to prepare the home.

AC T

WORKING WITH BUYERS AND SELLERS IN LOWER MONTGOMERY COUNTY FOR NEARLY 20 YEARS! #1 Individual Agent In The Region #10 Individual Agent In Maryland

10513 AUBINOE FARM DR

AC T

Bethesda, MD 20814 | $1,259,000

6204 MADAWASKA RD

Bethesda Magazine Top Producers 2019 & 2020 Washingtonian Magazine Best Agents 2019 Real Trends America’s Best Agents List 2019 Long & Foster, Readers’ Pick Winner: Best Real Estate Brokerage for Luxury Homes

Bethesda, MD 20814 | $1,749,000

Bethesda Office | O. 240.497.1700

THE TOP PRODUCERS 2020 MCENEARNEY ASSOCIATES AGENTS Kelly Garrett Sue Hill Mark Hudson Katherine Martin Ann McClure Anslie Stokes Milligan Thomas Williams

REDFIN AGENTS Nick Chaconas TOP Russell Chandler Emily Cottone Gene Cutter Delilah Dane TOP

Catherine Davila Michael Gonzalez TOP Lisa Greaves Carly Guirola Eric Hovanky Mandy Kaur TOP Bryan Kerrigan TOP Antonia Ketabchi TOP Litsa Laddbush Amanda Lasko TOP Rheetuparna Pal Mahajan Matt Modesitt TOP John Monen Long Ngo TOP Kris Paolini TOP Anna Pikalova Annette Sante TOP Ruby Styslinger TOP Marcus Wilson

RE/MAX ELITE SERVICES TEAM The Nurit Coombe Team

TOP

RE/MAX REALTY SERVICES BETHESDA

TOP

AGENTS Vahe Ghazarian Alex Goumilevski TOP Jeremy Lichtenstein John Williams

TOP

TEAMS Alex Stefan & Helena Pulyaeva Carolyn Homes Team TOP

TOP

HELPING CLIENTS FIND AND SELL HOMES FOR OVER 20 YEARS A Full-Service Realtor in Maryland, D.C. and Virginia — nothing is too small or too big. Teresa attributes her success not only to her passion for homes, but also to her intuition regarding the psychology of buying and selling. Her business has grown successfully and consistently thanks to the repeat business of happy clients and their introductions to friends, family and neighbors. This track record is only possible because Teresa delivers both results and an enjoyable experience.

TERESA BURTON

A Top Producer 2019 & 2020

Readers’ Pick Winner Long & Foster Best Real Estate Brokerage for Luxury Homes 2020

For listing information and/or to sell/buy your home, call 240-286-7493 or visit:

WWW.LONGANDFOSTER.COM/TERESABURTON 206

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FIVE YEARS IN A ROW!

E IZ M O ST U C

Best Real Estate Team!

! W O N

6124 SWANSEA STREET, BETHESDA Whitman School District $1,695,000 5 Bedrooms, 4.5 Bathrooms

! CT A TR N CO

If you’re thinking about moving, let’s talk!

! CT RA T N CO

Full Size Riding Arena

4817 PARK AVENUE, BETHESDA $1,575,000 ! CT A TR N CO

10019 KINROSS AVENUE, SILVER SPRING $475,000 ! LD O S

4550 N PARK AVE #308, CHEVY CHASE $735,000

5 BEALL SPRING CT, POTOMAC $1,395,000 ! LD SO

4550 N PARK AVE #304, CHEVY CHASE $750,000 ! LD O S

4318 ROSEDALE AVENUE, BETHESDA $1,625,000

Getting top dollar requires preparation. From staging, home repairs and marketing recommendations, we do it all! Experience and success matter -- I bring over 15 years of award-winning service to the table.

CAROLYN SAPPENFIELD 240.353.7601 Visit CarolynHomes.com for Reviews, Recent Sales and to Checkout our Blog!

Ranked Top 1%

RE/MAX Realty Services • Bethesda Row • 301.652.0400 4825 Bethesda Avenue #200 • Bethesda, MD 20814

THE TOP PRODUCERS 2020 RE/MAX REALTY SERVICES GAITHERSBURG AGENT Rudden/Bobruska Team

RE/MAX REALTY SERVICES ROCKVILLE AGENTS Audrey June-Forshey Frances McGlaughlin Miguel Ruiz Garfield Walker

TOP

AGENTS Melissa Bernstein Andrew Essreg TOP Amalia Morales Garicoits Daniel Llerena Jeffrey Reese Jill Schwartz TEAM The Washingtonian Group

STUART & MAURY REALTORS

TEAMS The Butterfield Group TOP Nathan Dart Team TOP Robert Myers Team TOP Ross Residential TOP

AGENTS Robert Jenets TOP Matthew Maury TOP Kate Slawta

RE/MAX TOWN CENTER CLARKSBURG

TTR SOTHEBY’S INTERNATIONAL REALTY BETHESDA

TEAM Sabelhaus Team

RE/MAX TOWN CENTER GERMANTOWN AGENTS Donna Pfeiffer Saji Sebastian TEAM The Ken Abramowitz Group

RE/MAX TOWN CENTER POTOMAC AGENT Sunita Bali TEAM Leyla Torres Team

208

RLAH REAL ESTATE

AGENTS VJ Derbarghamian Adam Isaacson TOP Barbara Nalls TOP TEAM Lauren Davis Team

TOP

TTR SOTHEBY’S INTERNATIONAL REALTY CHEVY CHASE AGENTS Ellen Abrams Katherine Buckley Adrienne Deming TEAMS Burr Group Finnell Lee Homes

MARCH/APRIL 2020 | BETHESDAMAGAZINE.COM

TOP

WASHINGTON FINE PROPERTIES AGENTS Boucie Addison Kira Epstein Begal TOP Lisa Stransky Brown TOP Nancy Taylor Bubes TOP Kerry Fortune Carlsen Connie Carter TOP Alyssa Crilley TOP Kellyann Dorfman TOP Ellen Hatoum Chuck Holzwarth Cynthia Howar Nancy Itteilag TOP Anne Killeen TOP Lori Leasure Susie Gordon Maguire TOP Eileen McGrath Kay McGrath TOP Adaline Neely Joanne Pinover Kara Sheehan TOP Liz Lavette Shorb Jennifer Sproul Jennifer Wellde Kari Wilner Margot Wilson TOP TEAMS The Hatfield Weir Gale Team HRL Partners TOP The McCormick Gregory Team The Meg & Alison Team TOP The Morrell Roth Team The Schuman Team TOP

TOP

C O M PA S S TO P P R O D U C E R S

AGENTS ANNABEL BURCH-MURTON CARRIE MANN CHAD DUDLEY CHERYL KURSS CHRIST Y BAKALY CLAUDIA KERN E VA DAVIS J.P. MONTALVAN JENNIFER KNOLL KOKI ADASI KYLE RICHARDS LAURA STEUART LINDSAY LUCAS LUKAS IRAOLA LYNNE TUCKER MAUREEN WEAVER MEREDITH MARGOLIS MICHAEL MATESE MICHAEL SHAPIRO MIKE AUBREY PAM RYAN-BRYE REBECCA WEINER RINA KUNK ROSS VANN STE VE BAUMGARTNER STE VE WITHROW SUSAN VAN NOSTRAND TRAUDEL LANGE TEAM

Real estate, reimagined. By pairing knowledgeable agents with intuitive technology, Compass delivers a modern real estate experience in Maryland and beyond.

ARET & ASSOCIATES ATLAS GROUP CARA PEARLMAN GROUP CARMEN FONTECILLA GROUP CASADAY ALLISON GROUP DANA RICE GROUP DONOVAN-W YE GROUP ERICH CABE TEAM FERGUSON GROUP FERRIS LE VIN COLLABORATIVE GALANTI GROUP JENN SMIRA TEAM MARGIE HALEM GROUP SAM SOLOVEY GROUP TAYLOR AGOSTINO GROUP THE BABBINGTON TEAM THE FLEISHER GROUP THE FRIEDSON GROUP THE MARY LYNN WHITE TEAM THE REISHMAN GROUP THE SHORB TEAM TRENT & CO. W YDLER BROTHERS

Compass is a licensed real estate brokerage that abides by Equal Housing Opportunity laws. This is not intended to solicit property already listed. Compass is licensed as Compass Real Estate in DC and as Compass in Virginia and Maryland. 1313 14th Street NW, Washington, DC 20005, 202.386.6330 | 5471 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 300, Chevy Chase, MD 20815 | 301.298.1001 | 1232 31st Street NW, Washington, DC 20007, 202.448.9002 | 660 Pennsylvania Avenue SE, Suite 300, Washington, DC 20003, 202.545.6900 | 6849 Old Dominion Drive, Suite 360, McLean, VA 22101, 703.310.6111 | 3100 Clarendon Boulevard. Suite 200, Arlington, VA 22201 703.266.7277

C O M PA S S TO P P R O D U C E R

Unparalleled enthusiasm and energy to provide her clients with exceptional service. Pam has lived in the Washington, DC area for many years and enjoys sharing her extensive knowledge of the greater metropolitan area, from the city to the nearby suburbs. Above all, she is committed to providing exceptional service for every client she advises by leveraging her vast expertise to make the process of selling a home as enjoyable as possible. Pam’s background in interior design enables her to counsel buyers effectively on potential value-enhancing improvements to properties, while advising sellers on how to prepare their home to maximize the return on their investment. Whether you’re a first time buyer or a seasoned seller, Pam’s experience and passion for what she does make her an invaluable advisor to have on your side as you navigate your next real estate journey.

Pam Ryan-Brye 202.276.6902 pam.ryanbrye@compass.com

$550M+

Real estate is Traudel Lange’s passion. She loves being there for her clients, and helping them to navigate the complexities of the home buying or selling process. Endlessly reliable and determined, she is a proven negotiating pro and puts that expertise to work for her clients to drive the best outcomes along the way. Traudel’s strong work ethic, knowledge, and perseverance impress her clients, while her sense of humor, intuition, and business savvy help clients to feel comfortable and confident in what their future holds.

Career sales to date

600+ Transactions to date

Years in Real Estate

240.463.6918 traudel.lange@compass.com C O M PA S S TO P P R O D U C E R

Traudel Lange

C O M PA S S TO P P R O D U C E R

202.438.4880 marc.fleisher@compass.com

The Fleisher Group

Led by Marc Fleisher, an industry icon of over 40 years, The Fleisher Group is the go-to choice for clients who demand the very best. With over $4 billion in career sales, their team of nine professionals offers agent expertise across the DC metro region with the support and creativity of dedicated marketing, listing, and contract professionals. Whether selling or buying, their clients receive a standard of service that is simply unparalleled. The depth and breadth of their team — complemented by a wealth of

trusted outside resources — allow them to expertly guide buyers and sellers through the inevitable complexities of a real estate transaction. In everything they do, they’re guided by core values of transparency and client interest. Recognizing the responsibility with which they are entrusted on each and every deal — no matter the size — they are proud of their hard-won reputation for responsiveness and results.

C O M PA S S TO P P R O D U C E R

Our goal is to exceed expectations. 202.320.6469 erich.cabe@compass.com

Erich Cabe It’s often said that you can’t sell something unless you believe in it. Not only does Erich Cabe believe in Bethesda and the surrounding neighborhoods, he’s helping others discover just what makes it such an amazing place to call home. Erich’s story, however, begins in a colder climate. A native of ski country, Erich thrived both on and off the slopes. It was his experience coaching elite athletes and managing 135 instructors that helped him hone his capacity to relate to people, and to earn their trust.

Now one of the region’s top producing, most highly-decorated agents and the face of Chevy Chase and Bethesda real estate, Erich and his team put their interpersonal skills to work at all phases of all transactions. From customized marketing plans to complimentary staging consultations to skillful negotiations to seeing through every detail, Erich’s approach is collaborative. “We form partnerships with our clients,” Erich says. “Our goal is to exceed expectations.” They look forward to exceeding yours.

C O M PA S S TO P P R O D U C E R

Do you have a client success story to share? Several years ago, I listed a home in Bethesda for my clients who were looking to downsize. During my first open house a family came in and fell in love with the home, but they hadnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t really started the buying process yet and they still needed to sell their home. I started asking them questions and discovered that they owned an adorable Cape Cod just a few blocks away, which is exactly what my sellers were looking to purchase. After a lot of coordination and some friendly negotiations, both families loaded up their moving trucks and swapped houses! Tell us about a charity you support.

carrie.mann@compass.com

Carrie Mann

Michael Matese 301.806.6829 mike@michaelmatese.com Michael prides himself on exceptional customer service and client individuality, and is known for his honest and thoughtful guidance. Creating a pleasant customer experience is fundamental to his business. Michaelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s success is not only attributed to his first-class service, but also to his integrity and extensive knowledge of the areas real estate market. C O M PA S S TO P P R O D U C E R

301.792.3135

For the past 17 years Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve enjoyed working with a committee of very dedicated women planning the successful annual fundraiser for cancer research, Daffodils and Diamonds. Now in its 39th year, this event, a luncheon, silent auction, and fashion show, has raised over a million dollars to support cutting-edge cancer research. Specifically, the funds are used to support not only finding a cure, but also developing the latest treatments for breast, ovarian, and other cancers affecting women.

$35M+ 30+ Annual Sales Volume

Years Servicing Clients

C O M PA S S TO P P R O D U C E R S

The Friedson Group 301.455.4506 | info@thefriedsongroup.com

Let our experience move you. Helping clients reach their real estate goals is the first priority of The Friedson Group of Compass. Our decades of real estate know-how combines with best-in-industry tools and technology, insightful data analysis, and powerful negotiating skills to bring the highest level of service and commitment to each and every client. As trusted advisors, our associations do not end at settlement. Often, what starts as a business relationship ends as a lifelong friendship. The Friedson Group invites you to reach out to them for a free consultation!

99.71% List price to sale price in 2019

$23M+ C O M PA S S TO P P R O D U C E R

Total sales volume in 2019

Lindsay Lucas

For Lindsay Lucas — a tenured agent on the Bethesda scene — real estate isn’t about a single transaction, but rather the difference she’s making in the lives of her clients. Lindsay recognizes that buying or selling a home can be a very emotional process, which is why she cherishes her role as a trusted advisor that is there to help her clients navigate every real estate milestone with ease. Having grown up in Potomac, Lindsay offers an intimate understanding of the community she calls home, enabling her to deliver unrivaled expertise on anything and everything — from market conditions, to neighborhood considerations, the local dining scene, and beyond. Prior to launching her career in real estate, Lindsay worked as an accountant, where she gained the knowledge base that she leverages for her clients day in and day out to help them make informed financial decisions. Above all, Lindsay is dedicated to providing an unmatched level of service, evidenced by the enduring relationships she has cultivated with her clients through the years. Although the market may change and your goals may evolve, wherever you are in your real estate journey, you can count on Lindsay to be with you every step of the way. 301.467.4090 | lindsay.lucas@compass.com

C O M PA S S TO P P R O D U C E R

Dana Rice Group 202.669.6908 danaricegroup@compass.com

Complimentary staging? Done. Need someone to grab your mail? Absolutely. Your dog needs a bath? Why not! When it comes to your next real estate move, Dana Rice Group isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t your typical real estate team. With savvy and smart agents, an on-staff designer, and not to mention complimentary staging, you have a full-service team dedicated to you from search to settlement. And a bit of fun thrown in. In this new era of elevated real estate needs, why not tap into the expertise of Dana Rice Group for yourself? And who knows, your dog might end up a little cleaner, too.

C O M PA S S TO P P R O D U C E R

Why do you love what you do? I love having a direct impact on our clients’ lives every day. Being a team leader, I also aspire to empower everyone on my team to be successful. I take responsibility for everyone around me. Finally, I love running a top team as the leader of a women-owned company in the DMV. 202.340.7675 jsmira@compass.com

Best career advice you’ve ever received? It doesn’t cost to ask, and don’t be afraid of rejection. My aunt ingrained this in me from an early age and I run my life in every aspect of what I do by that philosophy. What sets you apart from other agents? My hustle, tenacity, and my relentlessness. I’m not about the noise, I’m about the results. That’s all that matters. No fluff!

Jenn Smira

The P&rtners

Above asking on closed listings

202.345.6942 | molly.peter@compass.com 202.607.5877 | meredith.margolis@compass.com

$15M+

Meredith Margolis and Molly Peter have been real estate P&rtners for over 10 years, and have been recognized nationally, locally, and by their peers, for their stellar real estate acumen. What sets them apart is their warm, reassuring, and yes, humorous approach to walking side by side with each of their clients. Whether you are buying or selling an estate in Glen Echo Heights, or a condo in downtown Bethesda, they look forward to partnering with you on your real estate journey.

In Bethesda Sales in 2019

C O M PA S S TO P P R O D U C E R S

Median Days on Market

From the White House to your house

Christy Bakaly 301.412.8830 christy.bakaly@compass.com C O M PA S S TO P P R O D U C E R

White House, spearheading marketing and media campaigns for national and internal conferences. In this capacity and her tenure on several Los Angeles boards of cultural and medical foundations and institutions, she cultivated invaluable communication Prior to real estate, she worked with high-level and negotiation skills, which she political figures and business leaders at the demonstrates daily for her clients.

Christy is passionate about helping buyers and sellers navigate their most valuable asset. Consistently acknowledged on the short list of Top Producers in the top Washington, DC Metro Area, Christy has sold over $80 million.

C O M PA S S TO P P R O D U C E R

Michael Shapiro

When Michael and his family moved back to Washington in 2005, he started looking for a resource on mid-century modern homes and neighborhoods in the area as part of their own home search. He couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t find anything, so he started the site Modern Capital. The creation of the site moderncapitaldc.com, which has been recognized by Bethesda Magazine, The Washington Post, DC Magazine and other publications as the go-to source for mid-century modern real estate in the DC area, launched Michael into the world of real estate. Since 2009, Michael has focused exclusively on listing and marketing mid-century modern and modern homes, and has sold more than $100 million in modern real estate in Maryland, Washington, and Virginia. Michael brings a strong personal passion to everything he does â&#x20AC;&#x201D; from building his own furniture collection, to helping renovate and save endangered mid-century homes, to his work helping sellers market their mid-century modern homes and helping buyers find just the right location and design they are seeking.

301.503.6171 michael.shapiro@compass.com

Laura Steuart 202.288.8010

Laura understands your (already) busy life. Buying or selling a home can seem daunting, or perhaps even overwhelming. Her mission is to help make every experience as seamless, worry-free, and enjoyable as possible. Given that we live in one of the most dynamic housing markets in our country, the expertise and service that Laura

brings to the table is often what makes all the difference. Above all, Laura’s clients know that she is motivated, dedicated, and singularly focused on providing them with the best service and results possible — all while having some fun along the way!

C O M PA S S TO P P R O D U C E R

laura.steuart@compass.com

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Lynne Tucker 301.404.0464 lynne.tucker@compass.com Best career advice you’ve ever received?

What does home mean to you?

Real estate isn’t about sales, it’s about service. At the end of the day, it’s all about connecting with people. That’s what creates the most joy.

Home is the place we go to recharge and rejuvenate so we can go into the world and give generously, create confidently, and contribute to a better community.

C O M PA S S TO P P R O D U C E R

Koki Adasi As a Senior Vice President at Compass, Koki Adasi serves his clients with knowledge and compassion. He understands that above all, real estate is about guiding people through life’s most notable milestones — from the decision to build a home to accommodate a growing family, to the choice to downsize years later. Alongside his team of tenured Realtors, Koki creates tailored experiences where his clients’ distinct needs are always at the core of the decision making process.

C O M PA S S TO P P R O D U C E R

Families helped in DC, MD, & VA

$56M

In sales volume

Best career advice you’ve ever received? My dad spent many years “smiling and dialing” as a stockbroker and he always says that the ones that get knocked down and keep getting up can’t lose. This advice has been critical to my success in this business! Why do you love where you live? If I said it was because of the weather, I would be lying! My family is here, my husband’s family is here, and my lifelong friends all live here. At the end of the day, that’s really all that matters. It’s home to me and many generations before me.

301.357.0272 maureen.weaver@compass.com

Maureen Weaver

240.994.3941 koki.adasi@compass.com

C O M PA S S TO P P R O D U C E R S

Hans and Steve Wydlerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mission is to provide their clients with sound business advice, and to represent their interests with the highest level of professionalism, intelligence, and integrity. They take their role as trusted advisors seriously, but never themselves. Or at least, Hans doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t take Steve seriously, and Steve doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t take Hans seriously.

The Wydler Brothers 301.640.5701 | hans@wydlerbrothers.com 703.348.6326 | steve@wydlerbrothers.com

Casaday Allison Group C O M PA S S TO P P R O D U C E R S

The Casaday Allison Group takes a fresh and innovative approach to real estate, combining technology and best-in-class service for all their clients, no matter the price range or location. The Casaday Allison Group has been awarded “Top Agent” and “Top Producer” by Washingtonian Magazine, and “30 Under 30” by Realtor Magazine. They are licensed in DC, MD, and VA and, together, have closed over 700 transactions. The Casaday Allison Group pairs their passion for real estate with their high level of customer service to create a real estate experience unlike any other.

104 $72M+

301.461.0084 | brittany@casadayallison.com

Homes sold in 2019

2019 sales volume

C O M PA S S TO P P R O D U C E R

301.787.4147 | elysia@casadayallison.com

A mind for law. A passion for real estate. With 21+ years of experience as a Realtor, Cheryl’s legal training makes her an outstanding advocate for her clients. She is well-versed in contracts, titles, title insurance, and the transfer of property rights. She is detail oriented, diligent, and thorough in her research, and a great problem solver. You can always count on her tenacious negotiating skills, yet she is a seasoned mediator as well.

Cheryl Kurss 301.346.6615 cheryl.kurss@compass.com

C O M PA S S TO P P R O D U C E R S

240.401.4720 | alana.aschenbach@compass.com

Atlas Group If you don’t believe that real estate can be fun, then you’ve never worked with the Atlas Group. Atlas creates tailored experiences for every client they serve, while infusing each part of the process with just the right amount of humor and cheer. For Atlas, clients quickly become lifelong friends who they support and guide through each of life’s most notable real

estate milestones — from a first home purchase, to the decision to downsize years later. Characterized by an unrelenting poise and deep sense of professionalism, the team is revered — by both clients and industry professionals—as leaders and experts in the communities they serve, a role they don’t take lightly. They prioritize collaboration

and innovation, believing in the power of sharing ideas and in challenging outdated norms to strengthen client outcomes. Wherever your next real estate journey may take you, you can count on Atlas to help you navigate it with ease while guiding you to the results you deserve.

301.775.4196 | margie@compass.com

C O M PA S S TO P P R O D U C E R

Margie

Halem Why do you love what you do? I love what I do when I see the smiles of pure joy and hear the words thank you Margie for finding our dream home or hear that I made a difference in helping my clients sell their home with less stress and tremendous support. I love when I get a personal referral, which my business is built on, because I did a stellar job for a client. I love the relationships I have built along the way, and the clients I have helped who mean so much to me even years after a transaction.

What sets you apart from other agents? From the moment I list your home, I am committed to you 100%. I provide staging suggestions, complimentary accessories, pricing and unparalleled marketing strategies, and a professional network. I am involved every step of the way. You are regularly updated with market research, web statistics on virtual visits, industry feedback, ways to maximize exposure and more. We stay on the cutting edge of social media and marketing. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a big advantage in marketing homes for sellers and finding

homes for buyers. Whatever your price range, we provide excellent representation and the highest level of service and professionalism. I am completely accessible and a valuable resource for everything you may need for buying, selling, and moving. What advice would you give to someone looking to navigate the market today or in the near future? To consult with me and determine together the best approach for them.

Cara Pearlman Group

C O M PA S S TO P P R O D U C E R

202.641.3008 | cara@compass.com

Why do you love what you do?

Best career advice you’ve ever received?

Helping clients with typically their largest investment is a privilege. Being present when they find “home” — that place they want to come back to each day, host dinners, use as a refuge — that’s something special.

Do what is right and the rest will fall into place. Working with clients who want your services, believe in your value, and trust you makes all the difference.

C O M PA S S TO P P R O D U C E R

Kyle Richards 301.675.3677 | kyle.richards@compass.com Why Hire Kyle? Kyle is not your typical Realtor! She is a multi-lingual Yale graduate, trusted real estate adviser, and your go to resource for all things real estate. Over her twenty-year career, Kyle has developed a unique skill set to serve her clients. She is a former NYC bank VP, a certified Smart Home Technology expert, and an accredited home stager with an eye for design and smart home renovation. Her listings are staged at no cost to the seller!

She is also a historic home and luxury property specialist. Kyle helps her clients downsize, upsize, and right size to find their ideal home. When you hire Kyle, you work with Kyle one on one every step of the transaction. She provides the highest level of personal service dealing with your largest asset, your home — where you build wealth and make memories. Kyle is consistently a top producer and ranks in the top 1% of Realtors nationwide.

Trent & Co. C O M PA S S TO P P R O D U C E R S

What advice would you give to someone looking to navigate the market today or in the near future? Talk to someone sooner rather than later! On the sellers’ end, Compass offers Compass Concierge — which allows you to make updates without paying a dime until closing. For buyers, work with a lender now to navigate a bridge loan that will allow you to smoothly transition to your next home. When you go to sell, minor changes like de-cluttering will allow the biggest return. That’s why we are here: to support your success!

Any home decor/design tips or inspiration you want to share? We take pride in our staging specialty. Buyers’ expectations are high, especially in this region, and we know people work hard and don’t have time to renovate or redecorate. Buyers are looking for move-in ready the minute they walk in the door. Therefore, bathrooms and kitchens should be neutral, light, and airy. Replace your granite counters with a white quartz and you’ll get a whole new, trendy look!

202.210.6448 trent@compass.com 240.461.3928 mary.noone@compass.com

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

TOP PRODUCER

Real Estate Agents PROFILES

Barbara Carnemark Nalls VICE PRESIDENT, TTR SOTHEBY'S INTERNATIONAL REALTY What has been the most significant change in real estate over the course of your career? That's a great question. It would be easy to say technology but I don't know that tech has had as much of an impact on our industry as people like to say. Sure, it's a new way of searching and staying in touch and it speeds up transactions, but being a Realtor is more about people than search engines. How homes feel, and where and how we find value is what really matters. What I find remarkably different now than when I began my career is the general expectation that every aspect of a property be absolutely current. "Instagram-ready," as I like to tell my sellers. Predictably, and despite TV fixer-upper shows, the delta between what it costs to buy an "updated" home and what it costs to get it there has never been higher. That's a huge change from the beginning of my career when people—young people particularly—were all looking for homes with the potential for sweat equity. People today want turnkey, move-in ready homes. My job is to respect that—and still find the value. What brings you the most satisfaction in your work? Without question it's working with clients during major life transitions, such as first-time buyers, unexpected family events, and particularly downsizing seniors. I love taking the time to help people imagine best case outcomes—and accepting the challenge to get them there! Sometimes there are trade-offs, and often options that were not immediately obvious; but regardless, it's fun to really get to know people and then apply my experience to their unique situation.

PHOTO CREDIT TONY J. LEWIS

AWARDS AND HONORS Top Producer, Bethesda Magazine, 2019–2020; Top Individual Agent, TTR Sotheby's International Realty Maryland Offices 2018–2019; Top Agent, Washingtonian, 2014–2019; Top Montgomery County Listing Team L&F, 2015

4809 Bethesda Ave., Bethesda, MD 20814 301-516-1212 | D: 240-602-9035 barbaranalls@ttrsir.com | www.barbaranalls.com BETHESDAMAGAZINE.COM | MARCH/APRIL 2020

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Left to right: Andy and Jessica Alderdice

Andy Alderdice LONG & FOSTER | CHRISTIE'S INTERNATIONAL REAL ESTATE How would your clients describe you? Let's let them tell you: "Jessie and Andy are an absolutely phenomenal team that helped make a complicated process as easy to navigate as possible." "They took the time to learn and understand our needs. They were also gentle in prodding us a bit beyond our original 'wish list,' in terms of neighborhoods. We're so happy they did." "From our very first meeting, both Andy and Jessie were energized, pro-active and very personally attentive. Nothing was ever too much trouble to explain the D.C. sales process to an overseas novice!" "When it came to negotiating, Andy was both tenacious and unflappable. I'd say we made good decisions all around in our house purchase. Highly recommend!"

"From our very first meeting, both Andy and Jessie were energized, pro-active, and very personally attentive." AWARDS AND HONORS #1 Agent, Bethesda All Points Office, 2019; A Top Vote Getter, “Best Real Estate Agent”, Best of Bethesda Readers’ Poll, Bethesda Magazine, 2019

"Andy helped me find and buy my first house over 15 years ago, and she’s been my Realtor ever since. I’ve used her both as a buyer and seller. Each time she’s provided outstanding customer service. I love her smart, professional demeanor, and warm, friendly personality." "As sixth generation locals, they are also highly knowledgeable about the Montgomery County and D.C. housing markets and were a continuous source of knowledge about amenities and services in the area." 228

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4701 Sangamore Road, LL1 Bethesda, MD 20816 D: 301-466-5898 | O: 301-229-4000 andy4homes@gmail.com www.andy4homes.com

COURTESY PHOTO

"We initially reached out to them after hearing positive things in our local community, and they far exceeded our expectations. From searching for a home, to walking us through the contract, to advising on negotiations, they went above and beyond at every stage of the process."

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

PROFILES

Real Estate Agents

TOP PRODUCER

Lauren Davis LAUREN DAVIS TEAM, TTR SOTHEBY'S What advice would you offer someone just starting out in your profession? I recommend new agents work for a more experienced agent before going out on their own. They get exposure to more deals and learn more. Contracts are complicated, as are transactions themselves, so having a trusted mentor to guide you is invaluable. What brings you the most satisfaction in your work? I love to “win” for my clients. By “win” I mean getting buyers the house they want or sellers the best price and terms for their home. I was a collegiate swimmer and I guess you could say I am still chasing that feeling of a personal best. What is the one thing that your clients should know about you? I grew up in this business. My mom was a successful agent for 40 years, 15 of which she was my partner. I remember days when clients would call our home phone during dinner and my mom would have to run out and get signatures on a contract at all hours. You could say real estate is in my blood. What are your interests outside of real estate? I took up tennis a few years back. It's a challenge— and frustrating at times. But I like having a goal and working hard at getting better. I now play on my club team and in USTA matches. I also love watching my daughter, Georgia, 10, play lacrosse. She is so determined—the game face is priceless—but smiling ear to ear between plays. I love that she has found something that lights her up like that. I think we all strive for that feeling.

MICHAEL VENTURA

SPECIALTIES, AWARDS AND HONORS #1 Realtor Maryland—Individual Volume, Top 50 Region, REAL Trends, 2017; Top 100 Residential Agent, Washingtonian, 20152019; Readers’ Pick, “A Top Vote Getter,” Bethesda Magazine Best of Bethesda Readers’ Poll, 2019

4809 Bethesda Ave. Bethesda, MD 20814 202-549-8784 | ldavis@ttrsir.com www.LaurenDavisTeam.com BETHESDAMAGAZINE.COM | MARCH/APRIL 2020

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SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION L-R: Ashley Townsend, Judi Casey, Jared Maites, Amy Gordon, Margie Halem, Harrison Halem, Elizabeth Meltzer, Lori Silverman and Justin Stuart

Margie Halem Group What is the one thing that your clients should know about you? Each home and client is unique, and I treat each as such, listening and looking for qualities that make your situation different. I ask questions so I can understand your needs and expectations. I then tailor a marketing platform including staging, pricing strategy and guidance for current market conditions in your neighborhood. As part of Compass's National Private Client Network, we deliver a seamless experience across our clients’ entire real estate portfolio, including strategic advice and consultation. Because real estate is so dynamic and hyper-local, we've built a unique nationwide network of high-performing associates to serve client needs—wherever they might be. Via Network Partners, we operate in 40 markets across the country—and we sell over $1.5B in luxury real estate annually. What makes you different than other real estate agents? From the moment I list your home I am committed to you 100 percent. I provide staging suggestions, complimentary accessories, pricing and marketing strategies, and a professional network. I do whatever it takes to get your home sold in the timeframe you want at the best possible price. I’m involved every step of the way. You're regularly updated with market research, web statistics on virtual visits, industry feedback, ways to maximize exposure and more. We stay on the cutting edge of social media and marketing. That’s a big advantage in marketing homes for sellers and finding homes for buyers. Whatever your price range, we provide excellent representation and my highest level of service and professionalism. I’m completely accessible and a valuable resource for everything you may need for buying, selling and moving. 230

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“As part of Compass's National Private Client Network, we deliver a seamless experience across our clients' entire real estate portfolio, including strategic advice and consultation." AWARDS AND HONORS “A Top Vote Getter,” “Best Real Estate Agent,” Bethesda Magazine’s Best of Bethesda Readers Poll, 2010-2018; Top 1% Agents Nationwide; Top 20 Team, Compass; Top Agent, Washingtonian, 20152019; America’s Best Agents, REAL TRENDS, 2019; Faces of Washingtonian, 2020; SRES® - Senior Real Estate Specialist

7200 Wisconsin Ave., Suite 500, Bethesda, MD 20814 301-775-4196 Margie@compass.com www.margiehalemgroup.com

MICHAEL VENTURA

COMPASS

PROFILES

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

Real Estate Agents TOP

Front L-R: Brooke Bassin, Emily Moritt, Wendy Banner, Gail Gordon, Ilene Gordon, Julia Fortin, Sharyn Goldman. Back L-R: Michelle Teichberg, Jody Aucamp, Pat Karta

PRODUCER

The Banner Team

LISA HELFERT

What makes you different than other real estate agents? We love being a part of our community. Whether we’re helping friends and neighbors buy and sell homes, donating part of every commission to local charities through our Pay It Forward program, hosting community events, or serving local organizations, we find joy in being part of the neighborhood. As one of the most successful, award-winning teams locally and nationally, with 10 experienced full-time agents and five full-time staff behind the scenes, we pride ourselves on unsurpassed commitment to clients. We understand that buying and selling a home, while exciting, can also be stressful, so we strive to make it stress-free and enjoyable. How would your clients describe you? "The Banner Team treated us like family. They are professional, expert negotiators, and attentive." —Marirose & Mark U. "…One of the most professional, organized and effective real estate teams I've known.” “I highly recommend the Banner Team to all who need to sell their property for the best possible value…truly our Dream Team.” —Roshan S. “We felt part of the team as soon as we signed the papers to sell our home. The communication from Wendy and her team was excellent." —Cynthia & Phillip G. "Communication, multi-tasking, attention to detail and organization made this normally stressful process of quickly moving halfway across the country enjoyable, efficient and successful." —Divya A. "We have been represented by the Banner Team on both the purchase of a home and the sale of a home in recent years. In both cases, they exceeded our expectations in strategy, responsiveness, business savvy, collaboration and interpersonal skill in getting us the best value in our transactions." —Diane M. We’d be thrilled to help you buy or sell your next home!

“We'd be thrilled to help you buy or sell your next home!"

AWARDS AND HONORS $1 Billion+ Sold & Settled; Best Team, Washingtonian, 2019; #1 Group in #1 Long & Foster Office, 2019; Top 10 Groups in Maryland, 2019 – Real Trends; Top 250 Teams, U.S. – Real Trends, 2019.

Bethesda Gateway Office 4650 East West Highway Bethesda, MD 20814 301-365-9090 | Info@bannerteam.com www.BannerTeam.com

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VJ Derbarghamian TTR SOTHEBY'S INTERNATIONAL REALTY What makes you different than other real estate agents? I understand construction processes very well, as my resume includes serving as project manager for one of the area’s top luxury builders. Whether it's a simple cosmetic renovation or new build from the ground up, I can help my clients bring projects in on time and within their budget. I can quickly identify quality builds if it's a turnkey solution or assist in the design/renovation phase for an existing home so that my clients maximize their investment. What's a challenge that you've faced in your life and how did you overcome it? Prior to joining TTR Sotheby’s International Realty, I was an associate with a Sotheby’s affiliate in a completely different market. The needs of our growing family brought my wife and me back to the D.C. area. Starting over was a bit overwhelming, but I credit my once being a "newbie” in the D.C. area as the proponent for knowing the region so well. That knowledge helps me better assist my clients in the same situation. Years of research and discovery allow me to better understand and exceed client expectations. What brings you the most satisfaction in your work? Whether you’re buying or selling a home, for most people it's not only a daunting task but one of the most significant financial decisions of their lives. The ability to deliver a successful and seamless result is extremely satisfying for me. For my sellers, it's getting their home sold in the least amount of time for a sales price beyond their expectations. For my buyer clients, it's finding “the one”— the home that checks off all the boxes and they can happily call home.

4809 Bethesda Ave., Bethesda, MD 20814 1206 30th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20007 6723 Whittier Ave., McLean, VA 22101 D: 240-630-1019 | O: 301-516-1212 vderbarghamian@ttrsir.com www.mydcmetrorealtor.com 232

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LISA HELFERT

AWARDS AND HONORS Top Agent, Washingtonian

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SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

Real Estate Agents TOP PRODUCER

Nancy Shahin Itteilag WASHINGTON FINE PROPERTIES How would your clients describe you? "Nancy knows real estate..it's her passion! There's no substitute for her hard work." “Nancy has a great reputation amongst her peers and the Washington-area real estate community. Other agents we interviewed enjoy working with her.” “She is well known as the developer's and builder's choice of real estate agents.” What is your professional and educational background? I hold a Bachelors in Foreign Service from Georgetown University and an MBA in Marketing and Market Research from the Wharton Graduate School at the University of Pennsylvania. I am licensed in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, DC. Previous to my real estate career, I ranked in the Top Five Teams at IBM in the National Marketing Division specializing in banking and associations.

TONY J. LEWIS

What makes you different than other real estate agents? I offer an extensive background in marketing and market research, which we constantly refine to reach every potential buyer for our sellers. With over two decades of working with highvalue clients and their luxury real estate needs, I've been a highly effective broker at the highest levels, with record sales (see below) as testament. I'm proud to represent diplomats, embassies, corporations, developers and resale homeowners. The vast majority of my business is repeat and referral clients. What's an example of something in your professional life that you're particularly proud of? Record-Setting Sales: In Montgomery County in 2018, I sold 7013 Natelli Woods for $5,625,000. In 2015, I sold 3107 Fessenden House in D.C. for $18 million. In Virginia in 2010, I sold 2540 Zulla Road for more than $12.5 million. I also hold a certification from the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

“With over two decades of working with highvalue clients and their luxury real estate needs, I've been a highly effective broker at the highest levels, with record sales as testament." AWARDS AND HONORS Top 10 Agents, Wall Street Journal, 2007; Top Agents, Washingtonian magazine, 2015-2018. Co-author “The Art of Selling Million Dollar Properties,” Realtor magazine; Co-author “Somerset House,” 2018; Wharton Alumni Award, 2016.

3201 New Mexico Ave. NW, Suite 220 Washington, DC 20016 202-905-7762 itteilag@gmail.com | www.WFP.com

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"We do so much more than help people find their home—we help them find their community!"

Trent Heminger & Mary Noone TRENT & CO. / A TEAM AT COMPASS REAL ESTATE What brings you the most satisfaction in your work? Helping people navigate through what can be one of the most stressful times in their lives, from downsizing to right-sizing, our mission is to find the right home to fit all your needs. Often we're managing our clients’ current home sale to help them into their next property. Bridging that gap is easy for us. We make the process as seamless as possible and aid our clients long after settlement with contractor recommendations and renovation assistance to neighborhood events, school sponsorships and charities. We do so much more than help people find their home—we help them find their community! How do you employ new technology to help your clients? Buyer expectations are high, in the D.C. area especially, where not everyone has time to renovate or redecorate. They want move-in ready when they walk in the door. If you're considering selling in the next two to 10 years, make the investment in new baths and "trend-right" kitchens now and enjoy it! If you don’t have the luxury of time or money, we can do amazing things with either virtual staging or interest-free loan options to finance pre-market renovations through Compass Concierge. Our systems help sellers successfully get the best price and our technology tracks comps for buyers well after settlement with a few clicks.

5471 Wisconsin Ave., Suite 300 Chevy Chase, MD 20815 O: 301-298-1001 | D: 240-461-3928 mary.noone@compass.com | www.trentandco.com 234

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TONY J. LEWIS

What's an example of something in your professional life that you're particularly proud of? We truly invest in our community! Instead of sending postcards or mailers, our marketing dollars pay for school and neighborhood directories, foundation events and kids’ movie nights. It's our way of giving back to the Bethesda neighborhoods and schools that we treasure.

PROFILES

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

Real Estate Agents TOP PRODUCER

L-R: Jacqui Quila, Carolyn Sappenfield, Isabella Schnider, Saydee Schnider

Carolyn Sappenfield CAROLYN HOMES, RE/MAX REALTY SERVICES What brings you the most satisfaction in your work? Buying or selling a home is one of the most emotionally resonant and financially intimidating experiences you’ll go through in your lifetime. The most rewarding aspect of my job is helping my clients as they navigate through this process, whether they are firsttime home buyers, custom building their dream home, investing or downsizing, and seeing their real estate goals come to fruition.

HILARY SCHWAB

What is your professional and educational background? After earning my BA in Education from American University, I spent several years as an elementary school teacher before transitioning into my career in real estate. I've applied many of the skills I gained as a teacher to my current profession, especially my ability to problem solve, handle unexpected challenges with patience and pragmatism, and facilitate my clients' understanding throughout the process. What makes you different than other real estate agents? I'm proud to run a woman-led team of native Washingtonians who all have deep-rooted networks in this region. The intimate understanding we have developed from decades of living and working in this community allows us to deliver unparalleled expertise to our clients, not only on market conditions but also on schools, vibes of various neighborhoods, local dining and recreation options, and much more. Above all, we are committed to providing an unmatched level of service and dedication to our clients, and developing lifelong relationships with them long after their real estate transactions are closed.

“The intimate understanding we have developed from decades of living and working in this community allows us to deliver unparalleled expertise to our clients.” AWARDS AND HONORS “Best Real Estate Agent,” Washingtonian, 2015-2019; “A Top Vote Getter,” “Best Real Estate Team,” Bethesda Magazine’s Best of Bethesda Readers' Poll, 2019; RE/MAX Diamond Club, Lifetime Achievement Award

4825 Bethesda Ave., Suite 200 Bethesda, MD 20814 301-652-0400 | D: 240-353-7601 carolyn@carolynhomes.com www.carolynhomes.com

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SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

Susan Verner LONG & FOSTER PARK POTOMAC What makes you different than other real estate agents? For me, it’s all about the people and places we call “Home.” While we act as advisors on the important nuts and bolts of each transaction, including marketing, staging, showings, contracts, paperwork and contingencies, home purchases and sales are personal. With years of experience buying and selling homes, I bring my steady hand, strong negotiating skills developed as a California lawyer, along with empathy, patience and care, to ensure the best possible outcome for each client. Success for my clients is my “why.”

12500 Park Potomac Ave., Suite 101S | Potomac, MD 20854 O: 301-469-4700 | D: 240-381-8853 | Susan.Verner@LongandFoster.com Twitter @SusanVerner | www.susanverner.realtor

TOP PRODUCER

TONY J. LEWIS

How would your clients describe you? “Susan’s negotiating skills are second to none.” “Susan is hardworking, detail oriented and highly professional.” “Susan surpassed all of our expectations for an agent.” “Susan gave us excellent guidance, unflagging availability and deep knowledge about a wide range of homes. Susan is approachable, personable, endlessly patient and incredibly generous with her time.”

Chris Koons-Byrne LONG & FOSTER POTOMAC VILLAGE How would your clients describe you? In the 12 years of my real estate practice, my clients have recognized my commitment to integrity, honesty and determination, with a strong drive to listen and meet their goals. They are also vastly appreciative of my market knowledge and my powerful communicating and negotiating skills. They contribute to my Five Stars on Zillow. "We recommend her highly to anyone looking to buy a home in the BethesdaPotomac-Rockville area." "She worked patiently with us around our schedule, early morning, lunch time, evenings!" "Anyone looking for a hassle-free transaction in either buying or selling a house should have no hesitation in linking up with Chris."

D: 240-672-6628 |O: 301-983-0060 Chris.koonsbyrne@longandfoster.com www.longandfoster.com/ChrisKoonsByrne 236

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LISA HELFERT

AWARDS AND HONORS Long and Foster Gold Team; Long and Foster Gold Team Board Member; Potomac Village Office Top Producer; Certified Relocation Expert

PROFILES

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

TOP PRODUCER

Real Estate Agents

Paul E. Biciocchi PRINCIPAL BROKER/OWNER, FORUM PROPERTIES, INC. What makes you different than other real estate agents? I lead clients through transactionsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;I don't push them. With a career sales record of over $1 billion, I help with the most critical aspects of your transaction. Sellers: It's a data-driven market. Are you pricing your home correctly? Staging properly? Getting good counsel? Experience truly counts! Buyers: It's a difficult market to make a prudent investment. Analysis doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t stop with social media. Homesnap, Zillow, Trulia, Realtor.com and other sites only repeat seller/agent-fed information. Design, construction and quality affect values. You need technical know-how and insights from an experienced broker.

COURTESY PHOTO

What brings you the most satisfaction in your work? I hear this all the time: "Paul, we couldn't have bought/sold this home without you." The trust of a personal referral is the highest compliment. I'm proud to have earned Top Producer, Bethesda Magazine, 2019, 2020; and of "Billion Dollar Agents" on Amazon Prime.

10411 Motor City Drive, Suite 500, Bethesda, MD 20817 301-518-6999 paulbiciocchiforum@gmail.com | www.ForumPropertiesInc.com

TOP PRODUCER

Antoinette King REALTOR ASSOCIATE/DIRECTOR OF MARKETING FORUM PROPERTIES, INC. How would you clients describe you? My client's needs are paramount. Minimizing the stress in the buying and selling process is my forte! I highly value the trust that clients place in me and I strive to exceed their expectations. My clients love that I'm accessible 24/7, highly organized, with strong industry contacts and a skilled negotiator. These also illustrate my dedicated work ethic! I'm proud to be a Bethesda Magazine Top Producer for 2020.

COURTESY PHOTO

What is the biggest challenge in your job? My biggest challenge also plays to one of my best personal strengths. Today's market is a visual/virtual market. Whether it's guiding builders and developers in choosing paint colors for their products, assisting homeowners with the personal and professional staging of their homes, or selecting material finishes for home renovations, our market is ever-changing. It's very challenging and I thrive in it!

10411 Motor City Drive, Suite 500, Bethesda, MD 20817 301-910-5448 a.king1agent@gmail.com | www.ForumPropertiesInc.com BETHESDAMAGAZINE.COM | MARCH/APRIL 2020

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Greg Ford KELLER WILLIAMS CAPITAL PROPERTIES What makes you different than other real estate agents? I have built my business on results and I'm confident that I can deliver for you. I love helping clients find their dream home. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s why I work with each client individually, taking the time to understand their unique lifestyles needs and wishes. This is about much more than the number of bedrooms or a Zip code. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s about you and that's important to me. When selling, I'm committed to working closely with you to navigate the entire process; taking the time and using my expertise to understand the unique selling points of your home and neighborhood. That means that we will sell your home smoothly and for a top price.

7801 Woodmont Ave., Bethesda, MD 20814 Direct: 301-706-3388 Office: 240-383-1350 greg@gregfordgroup.com | www.gregfordgroup.com

TOP PRODUCER

LISA HELFERT

AWARDS AND HONORS Former president, Greater Capital Area Association of Realtors; Washingtonian Top Producer, 2019; GCAAR Gold 2019; HomeLight Top Negotiator, 2018; Certified Luxury Home Marketing Specialist; Graduate, Realtor Institute.

Adam Isaacson VICE PRESIDENT, TTR SOTHEBY'S INTERNATIONAL REALTY What's the one thing your clients should know about you? When I graduated from the University of Maryland, I drove straight to Aspen, Colorado to live. I got very into snowboarding, and it's still my favorite thing to do! My kids are into it as well, which has been amazing. My clients appreciate my services: "I've moved 19 times and working with Adam was by far the best experience I've ever had selling a home." "Adam treated us like family. He met with us to provide a buyer 101, always protected our interests and made it so much fun!" "If you want a straight shooter and a true expert in the details of structuring an offer to win a home, hire Adam."

4809 Bethesda Ave., Bethesda, MD 20814 D: 301-775-0900 O: 301-516-1212 aisaacson@ttrsir.com | www.adamisaacson.com 238

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TONY J. LEWIS

AWARDS AND HONORS Americans Top 100 Residential Real Estate Agents, Washington, DC; Top Producer, Bethesda Magazine, 2018-2019; Top Agent, Washingtonian magazine, 2014-2019; Main sponsor, Bethesda Elementary School Fundraising Race

fitness. wellness. medicine.

PHOTO BY LISA HELFERT

health

At Lung Bioengineering in Silver Spring, specialists Erin Larrabee (left) and Sam Popa prepare donated lungs for a procedure that helps determine their suitability for transplant. For more, turn to page 242.

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health | BE WELL

NEEDLE WORK

IN HER OWN WORDS...

After a career as a TV news producer, Robin Gellman shifted gears and became an acupuncturist BY CARALEE ADAMS | PHOTO BY LIZ LYNCH

BEFORE ANY NEEDLES COME out, Robin Gellman does a check-in. “How are you doing? Anything talking to you today?” the Bethesda-based acupuncturist asks her patient. “I’m doing mostly OK,” says Wendy McGrath, a yoga instructor who has been seeing Gellman weekly for a year and a half. “My left shoulder is a little bit unhappy. And my big toe, you know, I have some arthritis.” They discuss diet, sleep and energy level before Gellman takes McGrath’s pulse and looks at her tongue, which Gellman says reflects the health of the body’s main organ systems. “It’s a little swollen on the sides, which is a bit of stress maybe. Overall, the luster is healthy,” Gellman tells her. “You have good ying, you have good yang.” As the sound of ocean waves plays in the background, one heat lamp is directed at McGrath’s feet and another over her back to create a warm beach feel. She lies facedown and draped with a blanket on the padded table as Gellman silently places 14 tiny needles from the back of her neck to her ankles. “There might be a sensation when the needle goes in, but oftentimes I’ll start inserting the needle and people will say, ‘Oh, there’s a needle in me already?’ and I’ve already done five,” Gellman says. After about 20 minutes of stillness, the needles are removed and Gellman performs the treatment on the front while McGrath lies on her back. The session ends with a short neck and back massage. “There are few things for me that are as relaxing as acupuncture,” says McGrath, 49, of Northwest D.C. 240

This is a second career for Gellman, 52, who is originally from Long Island, New York, and now lives in Chevy Chase, D.C., with her husband and two teenage sons. In the 1990s, she was a television producer at CNBC, covering politics during the early days of the 24-hour cable news cycle. She realized the intensity of the job wasn’t for her long term, and became intrigued by the philosophy of Chinese medicine. Gellman attended the now-closed Maryland Institute for Traditional Chinese Medicine in Bethesda for three years to become a licensed acupuncturist, while also doing communications for an herbal products association. She learned how the ancient Chinese believed an energy system called “qi” (pronounced “chee”) circulates throughout the body along a network of acupuncture channels connected to specific organs. “When the energy network is blocked, we start to have problems,” says Gellman, an acupuncturist for 16 years. “It’s like the needles are giving the body a little nudge to clear out blockages and help the energy flow more steadily.” Lower back and neck pain are the most common complaints that bring people into her office, but Gellman uses acupuncture to treat everything from digestive issues and autoimmune disorders to insomnia and headaches. Her clients range from teenagers—often athletes recovering from injuries—to patients in their 80s. She says it’s rewarding to have a job that is stressreducing, rather than stress-inducing. “I was looking to contribute to society in a different way and was drawn to it as a way of serving as a catalyst for change,” she says. ■

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STAYING ON TRACK “Many folks come in and they want a longer-term relationship. They’ve decided they want to do a 180 on their health. They are looking for relief and partnership. So, oftentimes I can be an accountability coach for them as they create new healthy habits. Acupuncture can do all these wonderful things, but if folks continue on their processed food and sedentary lifestyle, it can only do so much.”

ALTERNATIVE PATH “People are looking for a more holistic alternative—not only one that will reduce their pain, but also help to reduce stress, which usually go hand in hand. We have the opioid crisis and antibiotic resistance. So people are understanding that medication comes with side effects. Sometimes it’s absolutely necessary, but [it’s better] if there is a way to limit the amount they have to take—or not take it at all. Acupuncture can be an effective alternative in many cases.”

NO QUICK FIX “I always manage expectations. Acupuncture is not a miracle cure, and a lot of people come after they have tried everything else. In an acute situation, we might be able to calm that down in a couple of sessions. With a chronic, persistent issue, it can take more time. It takes, on average, six to 12 treatments to get some traction and get some shifting in the pattern of disease that has developed over the course of several years.”

GOING MAINSTREAM “Since I started, doctors are suggesting acupuncture more [often] for patients. When my kids were in preschool and I was this mother who just graduated from acupuncture school, people looked at me as a little bit fringe. And now some of them are coming to me. It’s becoming more mainstream.”

HEALING POWER “I had one patient who had an acupuncture appointment scheduled for shingles and pain management. He called me on the way home from the hospital—a grown man, crying—to say he had to cancel his appointment because he had facial paralysis, Bell’s palsy. I said, ‘Turn your car around and come right in—we are going to work for the next 14 days.’ It really accelerated the healing process. Within two weeks, his doctor was super impressed with his recovery—his eye and mouth were no longer drooping.”

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ONE BREATH AT A TIME Lung Bioengineering in Silver Spring is treating donated lungs to give them a chance at transplant BY MICHAEL S. GERBER | PHOTOS BY LISA HELFERT

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Specialists Sam Popa (left) and Erin Larrabee prepare a set of lungs in a Lung Bioengineering operating room.

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HEATHER PHILLIPS WAS SUPPOSED to be getting ready to join her extended family at its annual pumpkin carving celebration in Clarksburg, but instead she was still at work at Lung Bioengineering in downtown Silver Spring. It was late on a Saturday morning in October, and she’d been working all night. Now she stood inside the loading dock of the two-story building awaiting, for the third time in 12 hours, the delivery of an insulated cardboard box filled with ice and a pair of human lungs. Upon arrival, the driver carried the box inside and helped Phillips place it in a plastic bag on a metal cart, which she wheeled into a nearby elevator. When the doors opened on the second floor, Phillips rolled the cart into one of the six operating rooms at the company’s headquarters. The operating room was outfitted like other ORs—with bright lights, a ventilator and surgical tools, among other equipment—but the table in the center was far too small to hold a human body, and neither of the two colleagues who’d been waiting for Phillips was a physician. Wearing gray scrubs, surgical masks and gowns, Jesse Kontra and Sam Popa were ready to begin a procedure called ex vivo lung perfusion, which artificially revives the lungs for a few hours. The on-call team—Phillips is an ex vivo lung perfusion technician whose job is to support the team’s specialists, in this case Kontra and Popa—had gotten only a few hours of sleep on bunks downstairs since being summoned at 7 the night before. It was rare to have three cases back-to-back on a weekend, but not unheard of. The lungs were in limbo, not good enough to be transplanted immediately into a recipient, but not so damaged that they could be ruled out for use. Over the next several hours, the three would work meticulously to slowly bring the lungs back to life, hopeful that the surgical 244

team 21 miles away at Inova Fairfax Hospital would accept them and transplant them later that day into someone whose own lungs were failing. The team carefully took the lungs from the box. The surgeons who harvested them had placed the lungs on ice immediately for the flight to BWI Airport in Baltimore and the drive to Silver Spring. Now hundreds of miles from the body in which they had spent decades inhaling and exhaling, the lungs sat exposed on a steel table, cold and lifeless. “That’s when we begin to do our magic,” Phillips says.

LUNG BIOENGINEERING SITS IN the shadow of United Therapeutics Corp., the global biotech parent company whose headquarters occupy two blocks across Spring Street. Inside the smaller building’s operating rooms, the Lung Bioengineering team runs the only facility in the world dedicated solely to ex vivo lung perfusion, according to the company. Also known as EVLP, the procedure allows surgeons, who monitor remotely, more time to evaluate the donated lungs’ appearance and function to determine if they are suitable for transplant. First performed successfully by a medical team in Sweden in 2005, EVLP was refined by physicians in Toronto, and the “Toronto protocol” is now used by others performing EVLP around the world. The world’s first single lung transplant that resulted in long-term survival took place in Toronto in 1983, after two decades of unsuccessful attempts. Three years later, the Toronto Lung Transplant Program at Toronto General Hospital performed the first successful doublelung transplant. That program is now led by Dr. Shaf Keshavjee, who helped develop the EVLP procedure and who has transplanted hundreds of lungs after EVLP.

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In February 2013, Keshavjee met with Martine Rothblatt, the founder of Sirius Satellite Radio who serves as United Therapeutics’ chairman and CEO. Rothblatt, a resident of Silver Spring, created United Therapeutics in 1996 soon after her young daughter was diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension, characterized by increased blood pressure in the lungs. Since then, United Therapeutics has introduced several medications for the condition while also supporting research to address what the company calls the “acute national shortage of transplantable lungs.” Rothblatt invited Keshavjee to her office and asked him what needed to happen to make more lungs available for transplant. Keshavjee says he told her

he would increase the use of EVLP by creating specialized centers that would perform the procedure on donated lungs and then send them to hospitals for transplant. “I said I think this will make more lungs more available than anything [else] we could do. And I said I’d like to build a lung hospital,” recalls Keshavjee, who says he and Rothblatt walked onto the office’s balcony, where she pointed to the two-story building across the street. “She said, ‘How about we do that over there?’ ” A few months later, in the summer of 2013, renovations on the building began, transforming the nondescript former home of private medical and dental

Above: Larrabee inspects the blood vessels of donated lungs before ex vivo lung perfusion (EVLP) begins. Right: Technician Heather Phillips prepares the EVLP system while Popa, back left, and Larrabee prep the lungs for the procedure.

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health offices into a state-of-the-art facility dedicated to EVLP. Keshavjee’s Toronto team remains involved as consultants to Lung Bioengineering, available around the clock for questions during procedures; many of Lung Bioengineering’s staff traveled to Toronto to learn EVLP techniques from the specialists there. Unlike the handful of hospitals around the world that perform EVLP, Lung Bioengineering does nothing else: Once a set of lungs is delivered, the procedure begins and, if all goes well, the lungs are then placed back on ice for delivery to a surgical team for immediate transplant. The first transplant of a lung that had been treated at Lung Bioengineering occurred in the fall of 2014. Although EVLP has been performed at hospitals around the country for more than a decade, Lung Bioengineering’s unique setup outside of a hospital required approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The work it is performing now is part of a clinical trial, but Lung Bioengineering has received permission from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to be reimbursed, according to company officials. Lung Bioengineering says it charges $30,000 to $40,000 for EVLP per transplant; the cost of a single lung transplant can average around $600,000 for the procurement, transplant and recovery in the hospital, with double lung transplants averaging nearly $200,000 more, according to a 2017 report by Milliman, an international actuarial and consulting firm based in Seattle. Lung Bioengineering’s goal is to eventually perform hundreds of procedures each year if the concept is approved by the FDA once the trial is completed, according to the company. Lung Bioengineering is in the process of opening a second facility in Jacksonville, Florida, and plans to operate at least four centers nationally. “With a vision and the mind and the resources and the experience in commercializing biotech, [Rothblatt] was able to make it happen,” Keshavjee says 246

During EVLP, Phillips (left) and Larrabee monitor results of tests performed on the lungs.

of the idea the two shared in her office seven years ago. “It’s going to transform the entire field of transplantation.”

ON A MONDAY MORNING last September, Popa stood in a hallway at Lung Bioengineering’s headquarters in front of a screen displaying the number “101.” The figure represented the number of people who had received a lung or lungs that had undergone EVLP in the building—No. 101 had received his lung early that morning after Lung Bioengineering specialists had performed EVLP on it the night before. As of mid-January, the number of recipients stood at 118. Popa, 38, joined the company in 2013 to help create policies and procedures before the first lungs arrived; he also trained as an EVLP specialist. Although he had little clinical health care experience, he did have extensive knowledge of the organ transplant process, having spent eight years coordinating transplants for the Indiana Donor Network, one of 58 organ procurement organizations (OPO) in the U.S. officially designated by the federal government to manage the organ donation process. When doctors decide a patient needs

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a lung transplant, often due to conditions such as cystic fibrosis or severe emphysema, they place the patient’s name on a list maintained by the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS). The list contains information about the potential recipient, including details about their condition. When an OPO is informed of a potential donor in its region, it enters information about the donor into the UNOS database. A computerized algorithm then determines the best recipient based on a number of factors, including blood type, height and weight, medical urgency, distance from the donor hospital, and how long the recipients have been on the waiting list. The OPO then uses the list to contact the selected recipient’s medical team. Ultimately, the decision on whether to accept the donated lung or lungs is up to the transplant surgeons. If the donor isn’t located near the recipient, his or her surgeon might make that determination based on a review of the donor’s information and conversations with the surgeons who are removing the organs. In other cases, the transplant team will travel to the location of the donor and harvest the lungs themselves. If the

Phillips transports a box containing a set of donated lungs.

doctors decide the lungs can be transplanted, they are packed in ice and must be implanted in the recipient within four to six hours if EVLP is not performed. Working for the Indiana Donor Network, Popa found that lungs and other organs often were rejected as too damaged or diseased for transplant, a disappointment even though he knew that sick lungs could be worse for a recipient than getting none at all. According to UNOS, more than 2,700 people in the United States received donated lungs in 2019. Of all the organs used for transplant, lungs are among the most difficult to harvest—the American Lung Association says that only about 28% of donor lungs are deemed suitable for transplant. The lungs are susceptible to injury both before and after a donor’s brain death, and they are often

rejected by transplant surgeons looking to avoid giving damaged lungs to a recipient who’s already gravely ill. Many of the rejected lungs—some research has indicated up to 40%—may be healthy enough for transplant, surgeons say, but it can be difficult to determine the exact health of the lungs while they’re still inside the donor. That’s why EVLP is seen as a potential solution, according to Lung Bioengineering. During the procedure, the specialists begin by prepping the lungs for reperfusion—the process of pumping fluid through the blood vessels—and oxygenation. They first suture clear tubing to the piece of the large blood vessel that normally carries blood from the heart to the lungs to obtain oxygen. The team then attaches another piece of tubing, this one shaped at one

end like a small funnel, to the four pulmonary veins. Both tubes are connected to a machine that will mimic the heart by pumping fluid through the lungs. Finally, the specialist places a breathing tube into the small portion of the airway left in place by the surgeons who removed the lungs and connects it to a mechanical ventilator, the same type of machine that likely kept the donor alive until just before the removal of the lungs. Instead of blood, the tubes carry Steen Solution, a protein- and oxygen-rich fluid developed by a Swedish physician specifically for EVLP. Setting up the lungs on the EVLP system typically takes about 40 minutes, but it’s the next hour that’s the most critical. As the Lung Bioengineering team slowly begins to increase the flow of the Steen Solution and the temperature of the lungs, the specialists begin assessing the organs. With the lungs sitting under a clear plastic dome, rhythmically expanding and contracting with each simulated breath, the specialists periodically measure the levels of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the Steen Solution, which tells them how well the lungs are exchanging gases. During this time, they perform bronchoscopies by inserting a flexible camera into the airways to check for fluid or damage. They also take X-rays that provide clearer pictures than the images taken when the lungs were still in a body where ribs and other organs potentially obscure the view. “I tell my patients, ‘I’ll know more about that donor lung than I’ll ever know about a lung that we don’t put on [EVLP],’ ” says Dr. Bartley Griffith, director of the cardiac and lung transplant programs for the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore, one of more than a dozen sites partnering with Lung Bioengineering as part of the clinical trial. “We have a much better look at that organ than one that’s in a human patient.” During the EVLP procedure, transplant surgeons can log in on a phone or other device and view the results of

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health every test that’s conducted. They also can see the lungs and talk to the specialists in the room via a system resembling FaceTime. The team in the operating suite can move a set of cameras to provide surgeons with the views they need to make their decision. “There clearly is a wow factor—the first time you see it, you can’t believe it,” Griffith says of observing the procedure. Part of the genius of Lung Bioengineering, he says, is its plan to create specialized centers that focus on EVLP alone, allowing its teams to improve clinical expertise and economic efficiency in ways that might not be possible at centers where the procedure is performed occasionally. The University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore, for example, had its own EVLP program, but shut it down after the doctor who ran it left for another position. At the time, the volume of cases was relatively low. “We don’t know [the full potential]” of Lung Bioengineering’s model, Griffith says. “But it’s brilliant. And what’s good for the lung could be good for the kidney or liver.”

LIKE MANY OF HER colleagues at Lung Bioengineering, specialist Erin Larrabee does not have a formal medical education. She first learned about the company through her mother, Pat Larrabee, president of Burtonsville-based consulting firm Facility Logix, which helped Lung Bioengineering set up its facility. At the time, the Paint Branch High School graduate was studying biology at St. Mary’s College of Maryland and considering applying to physician assistant school; she worked part time sourcing and stocking some of the same equipment she now uses in the operating rooms. Fascinated by the little she knew about Lung Bioengineering, Larrabee researched the company and decided almost immediately that she wanted to be involved. In 2014, she became one of its first interns, and soon after she was hired full time as an EVLP technician. 248

More than five years later, Larrabee has moved into the specialist role, the first employee at Lung Bioengineering to do so without any significant health care or organ procurement experience, according to the company. While Lung Bioengineering’s EVLP specialists aren’t required to have specific degrees or professional certifications, all have taken basic college-level science courses, and some have health care experience. Though Larrabee will never meet the donors, she easily recalls the information she learns about them, like the age of the youngest donor—11—and that a significant number died after drug overdoses. “I really want the full picture. I want to remember each time that lungs are coming in here that they’re not just lungs, like, they’re from a person…somebody loved them. I don’t want that part to ever be lost on me,” she says. “What’s so neat about EVLP is that you’re kind of taking somebody’s very worst day and turning it into another family’s very best day.” For Heather Leverington, that very best day came in 2016. Ten years earlier, at age 27, the track and field coach at Lock Haven University in central Pennsylvania was diagnosed with a rare inflammatory condition called polymyositis that sometimes impacts the lungs. By 2015, the five-time NCAA Division II shot put champion was wheelchair bound and using oxygen at home. In March 2016, Leverington’s physicians added her name to the transplant waiting list. Twice, her medical team called to say that a set of lungs might be available for transplant. Doctors rejected the organs the first time; the second time, the donated lungs went to someone else. On Nov. 7, 2016, the team called again, telling her a set of lungs was available, but there was a catch: The lungs were coming from a company called Lung Bioengineering, and because the FDA had not yet approved EVLP conducted outside of a hospital, she would have to consent to being part of the clinical trial in order to receive them.

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“I said yes with no hesitation,” says Leverington, who was told to go to the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center for the transplant operation. The next morning she had a new set of lungs. Later, she reached out to the donor’s family through the OPO, but never heard back. Receiving the transplant transformed the daily lives of Leverington and her husband, allowing her to return to coaching and even travel to Newcastle, England, last summer to participate in the World Transplant Games, an Olympic-style competition for recipients of donated organs, where she won a silver medal in the shot put and a bronze in the discus in her age group. She also visited Lung Bioengineering and met some of the people who kept her new lungs artificially alive before they were flown to Pittsburgh and implanted in her chest. “It kind of gave me chills,” she says of the visit. “It was really kind of surreal, seeing where everything happened, and thinking that a part of me had been there before.” Larrabee was in the operating room at Lung Bioengineering when the lungs received by Leverington sat under the dome during EVLP. Meeting Leverington was a rare opportunity to see a recipient she had helped keep alive. Oh my God, I’ve seen what your lungs look like, Larrabee thought. “It was really surreal to think that she was so sick that she might not be standing here” if the lungs hadn’t been judged suitable for transplant after undergoing EVLP, Larrabee says. Not all lungs that Larrabee works on end up transforming the life of a recipient. Even when a lung or set of lungs is rejected by a transplant team, Larrabee sees the case as a success. “At least if lungs are going to fail, they fail on our system, and not in a recipient,” she says. “Ex vivo lung perfusion allows the lungs to show their true colors.” n Michael S. Gerber is a consultant and writer in Washington, D.C.

Anticipate a wide circle of friends, including happy ones with tails. At Asbury, there’s even a sunny park where they can romp. From pets to Strathmore performances to continuing education, life here will keep you connected and fulfilled. At Asbury, you’ll always find more.

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2019

CAMP JOJO Less than two years after the death of Whitman student Jojo Greenberg, her mother found a special way to honor her—and help other teens affected by mental health struggles BY ANDREW SCHOTZ

JORDANA GREENBERG BOUNDED THROUGH 16 years of life. She rappelled down a waterfall in Costa Rica, toured Europe, camped in Colorado. She painted and taught yoga. At Walt Whitman High School in Bethesda, she joined an animal rights group and became a “Best Buddy” for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities. She studied Arabic and wanted to be a paratrooper. Or a travel blogger. Everyone knew her as “Jojo,” a dynamo of energy, light and fun, with a deep, husky laugh. She was the kind of person who would bring home a classmate who needed help with a college essay and didn’t have family support. Or befriend a juice bar employee who felt out of place after moving to the area. But she was also a teenager weighted down by mental illness. She was being treated for symptoms of bipolar disorder, a condition marked by extreme highs and lows, and taking medication for depression. She’d struggled with alcohol addiction, spending time at a wilderness program in North Carolina, then a therapeutic boarding school to regain her footing. Jojo’s dual existence—exuberant and vibrant, but privately struggling—ended with her death by suicide in Bethesda in November 2017. “I don’t know what was going on in her mind when she made the decision that she made,” her mother, Sonya Spielberg, says. Now Spielberg and her older daughter, Carina, 21, are looking for ways to help end the stigma of mental illness. 250

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“It’s so important to speak out,” Spielberg says, “because if [Jojo] had felt like she could discuss how she felt, like it was OK to be bipolar, like it was OK to discuss her pain and how scared she was, and talk about suicide—she wouldn’t talk about suicide. She wouldn’t.”

IN JUNE 2018, SPIELBERG and about 25 of Jojo’s friends and former camp counselors hiked Mount Royal near Frisco, Colorado, to honor the teen. Spielberg had already held two memorial services for her daughter—one in Austin, Texas, where the family spent several years when Jojo was younger, and one in Bethesda, where they lived when Jojo was born and returned later as she neared high school age. But she was looking for another way to celebrate Jojo’s life, somewhere outdoors. Spielberg used to bring Jojo and Carina to Mount Royal when they were kids, coaxing them to the top with gummy bears and other treats. The family had spent summers in Colorado, and Jojo went to the Keystone Science School, a camp west of Denver, for several years. It was a difficult mile-long trek, Spielberg says, but the payoff was the grand 360-degree view at the top. The group shared memories, sang camp songs and held a ceremony for Jojo. Some wore superhero capes, tutus and sparkly clothes, appropriately goofy to match Jojo’s personality and style. She once bought an oversize shirt with images of flying cats, and to her mother’s surprise wore it to school with her pink Crocs.

PHOTO COURTESY OF SONYA SPIELBERG

A group hike at Camp Jojo in Colorado

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Above: Jojo, in her favorite space cat shirt, with her sister, Carina Left: Jojo (right) with her mom and sister on Easter in 2017

PHOTOS COURTESY OF SONYA SPIELBERG

Spielberg made sure Jojo’s favorite camp director, Joel Van Egbert, was on the memorial hike. He and Jojo understood each other; Van Egbert took her death personally. Away from the group, Spielberg approached him: Would he scatter some of Jojo’s ashes over the beautiful vista? “I don’t think I’ve ever felt more honored in my career,” he recalls. Then, together, they came up with an idea. Spielberg, 51, had been thinking about a memorial scholarship or foundation for Jojo, but wasn’t sure what she wanted to do. Van Egbert, a father of two, had run camps for people bound together by grief: kids whose parents had died suddenly, parents who lost infants, chronically ill children. He’d seen how being outdoors could help the healing process. They decided to organize a camp in Jojo’s honor. “Camp Jojo” would help youths struggling with mental health challenges, either their own or those of someone close to them. It would be a place to work out anger, anxiety and frustration through nature therapy. “I kind of felt this electrical current in my body,” Spielberg says, “because [the camp was] what I had been searching for.” Their plan included self-adventure— having campers push through physical boundaries and mental discomfort. There would be counseling sessions, and lessons taught through a program called safeTALK, which Carina chose for the camp. TALK stands for four elements of the curriculum: Tell someone about changes in a friend or relative. Ask the person directly if they are OK or have considered harming themselves. Listen without judgment. Keep someone safe by connecting them to expert help. Participants would learn how to recognize signs of suicidal thoughts and help people struggling with them. With the help of volunteers, Spielberg and Van Egbert created a nonprofit, built a website and started raising money. When Jojo’s close friend Justin Chen and others shared the GoFundMe link with Whitman friends on Snapchat, it brought in more than $1,500 in just a few days.

PHOTOS BY LISA HELFERT

Months later, the GoFundMe account had collected more than $15,000. Camp Jojo was planned for July 2019 at Cal-Wood, a 1,200-acre outdoor classroom northwest of Boulder, Colorado. Participants didn’t have to pay, but parents could make donations. It would be a cellphone-free six days of hiking, rock climbing, fishing, mountain biking, whitewater rafting and absorbing the natural world. The kinds of things Jojo loved to do.

SPIELBERG REMEMBERS A FAMILY game of pingpong when Jojo was about 9 years old. Wound up and giddy, Jojo launched herself onto the pingpong table—which collapsed around her, scaring everyone else but making her laugh harder. In an essay Jojo wrote for a sophomore English class at Whitman, she talked about a scar on the bridge of her nose that she’d gotten during a fake fight with her sister. It happened when she was in second grade and Carina was in fifth. The girls were bored and tired while waiting for their mom at a country club. Carina pretended to slap Jojo in the face but actually smacked her sister’s hand. Jojo dramatically whipped her head around, accidentally cracking it on a chair, making her woozy and drawing blood. “This mark is a permanent part of me, a physical expression of my true inner hellion,” she wrote in the essay entitled Scar Memoir. “Every bone in my body aches to cause trouble, to make a decision with no fear of consequences. Some days I choose to ignore those impulses. Other days, I act on them without thinking twice.” While Jojo could be a devilish prankster, hiding a mannequin-like head around the house for her family to discover, she was also caring and thoughtful. She basked in big birthday surprises; for her mother’s 49th, she put up streamers and made chocolatecovered strawberries and pancakes for breakfast. She once painted a sun scene that included the lyrics to “You Are My

Sunshine,” which her mother used to sing to her. Kate Snedeker met Jojo in eighth grade at Thomas W. Pyle Middle School in Bethesda after Jojo’s family moved back to Bethesda. They had an instant connection and liked watching sunsets together. “I could tell anything to her and there would be no judgment, and she would be there to help,” Kate, now 18, says. As much as Jojo radiated life, few people knew about her deep struggle with mental illness, which Spielberg

likens to “cancer of the brain.” “We feel like we’re experiencing feelings deeply,” she says, but “people who have bipolar [disorder] have a whole different channel. And that’s for creativity and for genius and for their gifts, as well as for the pain. So that’s why they’re so vulnerable.” Lily Tender, who attended the camp, was among those aware of Jojo’s struggle. Tender, 19, was a senior at Whitman and Jojo was a sophomore when they met through Best Buddies and got to know each other better through an animal advocacy group at school. When the

Above: Sonya Spielberg holds a photo of Jojo Right: From left, Jojo’s friends Justin Chen and Kate Snedeker, family friend Lynne DeSarbo, and Spielberg

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group rode to the Poplar Spring Animal Sanctuary in Poolesville, Jojo opened up. Tender says she, too, was dealing with mental health struggles, so it was comforting and inspirational to hear Jojo speak about her own battle. After Jojo’s freshman year at The Academy of the Holy Cross, an all-girls school in Kensington, her mental health declined and drinking was a problem. She knew she needed help and asked for it, her mom says. At 15, Jojo spent eight weeks at a therapeutic wilderness program in Asheville, North Carolina, where she camped, prepared meals, and went on hikes in the snow. Spielberg, who is divorced from Jojo’s father, says her daughter embraced the experience and was proud of her outdoor skills. But when the program ended, she wasn’t ready to go home. Spielberg found a therapeutic boarding school for Jojo, also in North Carolina, for the next six months. When it was over, Jojo was eager to come back to Bethesda. Looking for a fresh start 254

after eight months away, she enrolled as a sophomore at Whitman, which Carina enjoyed before graduating in 2017. Spielberg says she and Jojo didn’t want her return to life in Bethesda to be too difficult, so they didn’t pack her schedule with Advanced Placement courses. Jojo played junior varsity volleyball that fall, and started cheerleading. “She had just made the team,” before she died, Spielberg says. “She never got to even wear the uniform.”

NO ONE KNEW WHAT to expect on the first day of Camp Jojo last July. Some of Jojo’s Whitman friends came, including Justin, Kate and Lily, and other campers and counselors arrived from Colorado, Texas, Arizona and other states. Many of the 13 campers didn’t know each other. Several had lost someone close to them to suicide. For some, the mental health struggle was their own. After introductions and icebreakers, the group went on its first hike. That night, there was a candlelight chat. Everyone sat in a circle in the dark and

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passed around a small lamp for each speaker to hold. “I’m here in honor of Jojo—and for Sonya,” Justin, now 17, recalls saying. It was jarring for him to hear people describe their experience with suicide and suicidal thoughts. Two brothers lost their father; one teen lost her boyfriend. Justin tried to stay stoic but couldn’t. “I started crying so hard,” he says. “I was sobbing. Everyone was sobbing.” Camp Jojo continued with five more days of fireside chats, hikes and activities such as archery and fishing. A 5-mile dedication hike on Wednesday was an emotional milestone for some. “It’s done silently to allow deep mental processing,” Van Egbert, 39, says. Everyone had picked a person or people motivating them to hike. “You could only see or hear your heartbeat and the thoughts in your head,” says Grace Maxwell, 24, a counselor at Camp Jojo. Jojo’s friend Lily chose “people who tried to stop me from summiting my mountains.” Whenever she doubted she

PHOTOS COURTESY OF SONYA SPIELBERG

The Camp Jojo group, including teens, counselors and camp leaders, at the end of the six-day session in Colorado

PHOTOS COURTESY OF SONYA SPIELBERG

would complete the hot uphill trek she reminded herself that she could, and she did. At the top of the mountain, hikers broke their silence, revealing their prehike selections for motivation and the inspirational word they’d chosen in advance, such as power, resilience or love. There was laughing, crying and screaming. They threw powdered paint into the air. “There’s this wonderful swirl of really primal emotions happening at the same time,” Van Egbert explains. Rock climbing on Thursday was a breakthrough for Maxwell, who swore she’d never do it. She waited until after everyone else had climbed and most people weren’t paying attention. Then she tried. She felt stuck, with nowhere to put a hand or a foot, and then Van Egbert, standing on a ridge above her, noticed her holding on, shaking and breathing hard. He coached her; she accepted it. “That moment signified a huge change for me,” she says. “Every day, there is a cliff that we have to climb. …If you don’t let people guide you, then you’re on your own.” She thought about a relative’s attempts at suicide. “In her climb,” she says, “what if I was there to help her navigate?” Spielberg recalls many meaningful moments at the camp, from an incredible lightning storm that seemed to symbolize life and its struggles, to the revelation of intimate and honest feelings. The evolution of one camper from pained, angry and walled off to expressive and connected to the group was “the most miraculous thing I had ever witnessed,” she says. Lynne DeSarbo, a close friend of Spielberg’s from Bethesda, was one of several adults who traveled to Colorado to help run the camp and offer support. DeSarbo worked as an attorney for the Children’s Law Center in Washington, D.C., and has experience understanding trauma. She says she found the teens at Camp Jojo remarkably forthcoming and vulnerable after only a short time. Spielberg’s sister, Freya, a family medicine physician, was also on hand to help with counseling. Everyone went through Camp Jojo at

their own pace. At the start, Jojo’s friend Kate didn’t share much, but after two or three days she started to feel comfortable. “At Camp Jojo, I opened up more to people that I had known for three days than to my therapist,” she says. “They actually, truly, had gone through the same things that I did.” Based on the good that came out of the first year of Camp Jojo, Spielberg hopes to expand it this summer and offer two or three one-week sessions in Colorado. She eventually wants to bring the camp to Texas and to the D.C. area. Long after their time in Colorado, many of the Camp Jojo participants are staying connected through a Snapchat group. They check in with each other often, they say, especially on the hard days, treating “How are you?” as a real inquiry, worth a frank answer and not small talk.

BESIDES THE ASHES Van Egbert spread in Colorado, Jojo’s ashes grace other places. Her mother and sister traveled to Thailand at Christmastime in 2018. “So we went on a kayak trip,” Spielberg says. “[Jojo’s] in the Gulf of Thailand because I knew she would love it. It was so beautiful. “And then she is in D.C. Well, Virginia. There’s a bench where my [late] dad is. Some of her ashes are there. …A memorial bench, so there’s urns. And she’s there. And she’s in Austin. There’s a memorial stone for her in Austin at the school she loved. It’s a garden. “And then she’s in my closet, quite frankly. Because I’m thinking about where else she might like to be.” ■ Andrew Schotz is the managing editor of Bethesda Beat.

Spielberg (right) with her friend Lynne DeSarbo after an emotional closing ceremony

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health wellness

CALENDAR COMPILED BY JENNIFER BEEKMAN

Turbo, which sends “Boxes of Home” to deployed U.S. military members stationed around the world. 8 a.m. half marathon; 8:15 a.m. 10K; 8:30 a.m. 5K. $25-$65. Carderock Recreation Area, Potomac. bishopseventregistrations.com/event/2020care-packages-at-carderock-5k-10k--half.

April 25

RUNNING/WALKING March 7 SENECA CREEK GREENWAY TRAIL MARATHON & 50K. This Montgomery County Road Runners Club race featuring single-track trails and rolling hills takes runners around Clopper Lake in Seneca Creek State Park. Participants can choose their final distance when returning to the finish, either stopping at 27.7 miles for the “marathon” or continuing on to complete the 50K. 8 a.m. $35. Nuthatch Pavilion in Seneca Creek State Park, Gaithersburg. senecacreekgreenwayrace.com.

March 15 LUCKY DOG 5K. Take your dog for a run through Malcolm King Park in support of the Delores C. Swoyer Camp Scholarship fund, which provides financial assistance to help City of Gaithersburg families send their children to summer camp. 8:30-10 a.m. $30-$40. Malcolm King Park, Gaithersburg. runsignup.com/race/md/gaithersburg/ luckydog5k.

March 22 PIECE OF CAKE 2020. Celebrate the Montgomery County Road Runners Club’s birthday with the 24th annual race through 256

Seneca Creek State Park. Includes a 10K championship series race, 5K run/walk and two fun runs (2.8K and 1.4K). 7:30 a.m. 10K; 7:45 a.m. 5K; 7:50 a.m. fun runs. $10 ages 18 and older; $5 younger than 18; free for MCRRC members. Seneca Creek State Park, Gaithersburg. mcrrc.org/calendar-event/ piece-of-cake-2020.

March 29 SPIN IN THE WOODS 4 MILER. Runners take two loops on Wheaton Regional Park’s Equestrian Trail. 8-9:30 a.m. $10 ages 18 and older; $5 younger than 18; free for MCRRC members. Wheaton Regional Park, Wheaton. mcrrc.org/calendar-event/spin-inthe-woods-4-miler-2020.

March 29-May 3 HEALTHY KIDS RUNNING SERIES. This inclusive five-week program for kids ages 2 to 14 is designed to encourage children to get active and feel accomplished and to lay the foundation for a lifetime of healthy living. Sundays (there is no event on April 12). See website for details. Wood Middle School Park, Rockville, and Seven Locks Local Park, Cabin John. healthykidsrunningseries.org.

April 11 CARE PACKAGES AT CARDEROCK 5K, 10K & HALF. Held in partnership with Operation

MARCH/APRIL 2020 | BETHESDAMAGAZINE.COM

April 25 LIONS’ ROAR KATE TRUAX 5K. The 12th annual event, which includes food, music and games, honors the life of Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School teacher Kate Truax, who lost her long battle with leukemia in 2012. Trophies are awarded to top age group winners; overall male and female winners receive cash prizes. See website for details. bethesda-lourdes.org/lionsroar.html.

April 26 PIKE’S PEEK 10K. One of Montgomery County Road Runners Club’s premier racing events, Pike’s Peek follows a straight passage down Rockville Pike. The finish festival, hosted by Pike & Rose, will feature food, family activities, music and exhibits, as well as a ¼-mile kids fun run and 50-meter toddler trot. 7:50 a.m. $45-$55 10K; $10$15 fun run/toddler trot. Race start is on Redland Road near the Shady Grove Metro, Rockville. pikespeek10k.org.

Ongoing KENSINGTON PARKRUN. A weekly timed 5K through Rock Creek Regional Park. Open to runners of all levels. 9 a.m. Saturdays. Free; one-time parkrun registration required before first race. Beach Drive and Cedar Lane, Bethesda. parkrun.us/kensington.

PHOTO BY DAN REICHMANN COURTESY OF MCRRC

At the Pike’s Peek 10K on April 26, runners will start near the Shady Grove Metro and follow a route on Rockville Pike.

BEN’S RUN. Honoring Ben Goldfogle, who passed away in 2009 after a six-year battle with leukemia, just before his 12th birthday. Proceeds benefit Children’s National Medical Center. In nine years, Ben’s Run has donated $747,500 to help improve treatment for children with cancer. The Goldfogle family hopes to reach $1 million with this year’s 10th and final event. The day includes 5-mile and 5K courses, plus a fun run for kids. See website for details. Stonegate Elementary School, Silver Spring. bensrun.org.

SCREENINGS/CLASSES/ WORKSHOPS March 2-13 RAJA YOGA MEDITATION FOUNDATION COURSE. Learn about this ancient system of meditation and spiritual understanding that, at its core, is taught as a method of self-awareness. The introductory course, taught over six sessions, will cover such topics as understanding the nature of the self, the philosophy of karma and the cycle of time, and incorporating meditation and spirituality into daily life. Noon-1 p.m. or 6:309 p.m. Mondays/Wednesdays/Fridays. Free. Meditation Museum, Silver Spring. 301-5880144, meditationmuseum.org.

March 4 DIABETES A-Z: SELF-MANAGEMENT EDUCATION. In this interactive class, a multidisciplinary team from Suburban Hospital discusses the basics for effective diabetes self-management. The class is for those who were recently diagnosed with diabetes or who need a refresher course. 2-4 p.m. $10; registration required. Suburban

Hospital, Bethesda. 301-896-3939, events.suburbanhospital.org.

March 7 LET’S COOK@CASEY: VEGAN BRUNCH FEAST. Join chef Myeshia Cloud for a handson exploration of vegan cooking. This class will feature recipes for winter salad with dressing; tofu scramble; and tofu and grits. 11 a.m.-1 p.m. $55 (includes one glass of wine or beer). Casey Community Center, Gaithersburg. 301-258-6366, gaithersburgmd.gov.

March 11 MECHANICS OF BACK PAIN. Learn the keys to maintaining a healthy spine and back, including proper lifting techniques and posture, from Kaylie Nielson, PT, DPT, at NRH Rehabilitation in this class sponsored by Suburban Hospital. 1-2 p.m. Free; registration requested. Friendship Heights Village Center, Chevy Chase. 301-896-3939, events.suburbanhospital.org.

March 26 KEEPING WITH THE BEAT. In this class, presented by Suburban Hospital, cardiologist Edward Healy reviews the signs and

symptoms of partial fibrillation—an irregular heartbeat or arrhythmia that can lead to blood clots, stroke or heart failure—as well as nonsurgical and surgical treatment options. 1-2 p.m. Free; registration requested. Rockville Senior Center, Rockville. 301-896-3939, events.suburbanhospital.org.

March 31 TURNING 65? Join representatives from the Senior Health Insurance Assistance Program to learn about Medicare and your health care options. 6-8 p.m. Free. Rockville Senior Center, Rockville. 240-314-5000, rockvillemd.gov.

April 15 NARCAN TRAINING. This free course, presented by the City of Rockville, Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services and the Montgomery County Collaboration Council, will teach attendees how to identify an opioid overdose and how to properly administer the rescue drug Narcan (also known as Naloxone). Participants must be 18 or older. 11 a.m.1:30 p.m. Free; registration required. Lincoln Park Community Center, Rockville. 240-7771836, rockvillemd.gov.

Menopa u s e & M ood Are you a post-menopausal woman age 45 to 65 who struggled with irritability, anxiety, sadness, or depression during the menopause transition? Did you find relief from hormone therapy? Help us better understand this depression. This 7-week outpatient research study at the NIH Clinical Center in Bethesda, MD, includes daily ratings on the computer, study medications, procedures, and weekly appointments including routine laboratory tests and clinical questionnaires. This study will test whether an experimental drug can prevent depression that may occur after suddenly stopping Estrogen Therapy (ET). This drug acts like estrogen, but has a more limited range of effects. There is no cost to participate. Compensation is provided.

Join A Study

301-496-9576

TTY: 1-866-411-1010

www.clinicaltrials.gov Protocol # 18-M-0144

www.nimh.nih.gov/JoinAStudy

Faith Idakwoji, MSN, CRNP, FNP-BC Faith Idakwoji, NP is a Dual Board-Certified Family Nurse Practitioner who is dedicated to continuous learning and keeping abreast of the latest advancement in medicine. Her areas of interest are health promotion and disease prevention. She relies on evidence-based practice to provide high-quality and personalized patient care. Faith encourages healthy lifestyle modifications and the use of proper fitness and nutrition in disease prevention and/or progression. She obtained her nurse practitioner degree from Coppin State University and has worked with different populations within the state of Maryland.

Faith sees patients in Rockville Monday through Friday and offers Same-Day walk-in Sick Visits on a first come, firstserve basis from 7:30 am – 9:30 am. 6000 Executive Blvd., Ste. 300, Rockville, MD 20852 301.468.8999 BETHESDAMAGAZINE.COM | MARCH/APRIL 2020

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SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

DENTIST

FINDER

Your Guide to Leading Dentists in the Bethesda Area

PERIODONTICS, DENTAL IMPLANTS

DR. ROY ESKOW

Bethesda Dental Implant Center

5626 Shields Drive Bethesda, MD 20817 301-493-6200 www.bethesdadentalimplantcenter.com

Dental School: University of Maryland School of Dentistry Expertise: We provide state of the art periodontal therapy in a comfortable and caring environment. 30 years experience in dental implant surgery, periodontics, oral medicine, dental sleep apnea. Paramount is building a quality relationship with each and every patient.

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Dental School: Georgetown University Expertise: Provide patients with excellent care and health education in a contemporary and comfortable atmosphere

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health

Ongoing KNOW YOUR NUMBERS. Meet with a Suburban Hospital HeartWell nurse for counseling on the numbers that are important for managing your health. 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Tuesdays (Benjamin Gaither Center, Gaithersburg); 9 a.m.-noon Wednesdays (Holiday Park Senior Center, Wheaton); 10 a.m.-noon Wednesdays (Margaret Schweinhaut Senior Center, Silver Spring). Free. 301-896-3939, events. suburbanhospital.org.

SUPPORT GROUPS Ongoing MEMORY CAFE. Bring your own lunch and meet and connect with other people living with early stage memory loss at the Alzheimer’s Association Memory Cafe. Noon-1 p.m. first and third Monday of every month. Free; registration required. Rockville Senior Center, Rockville. 240-428-1342, rockvillemd.gov.

Ongoing WOMEN LIVING ALONE. Members of this longstanding, open-enrollment group support each other through listening and offering advice. 1-2:30 p.m. first and third Thursday of every month. Free. Rockville Senior Center, Rockville. 240-314-5000, rockvillemd.gov.

Ongoing SENIOR COPING SKILLS. Discuss the best and most-used coping skills with others in the senior stage of their lives. 1-2:30 p.m. second and fourth Tuesday of every month. Free. Rockville Senior Center, Rockville. 240-314-5000, rockvillemd.gov.

Ongoing ALL CANCERS. Explore ways of coping with the stress of a cancer diagnosis and treatment and learn how to take an active role in your own health. Facilitated by a licensed clinician. Noon-1:30 p.m. and 6:30-8 p.m. first and third Tuesday of the month. Free. Hope Connections for Cancer Support, Bethesda. 301-634-7500, hopeconnectionsforcancer.org.

Ongoing

ORDER YOUR OFFICIAL CUSTOM PLAQUE BETHESDAMAGAZINEPLAQUES.COM 258

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OVARIAN/GYNECOLOGICAL CANCERS. Connect with and support others facing similar diagnoses and treatments. 12:302 p.m. second and fourth Monday of the month. Free. Hope Connections for Cancer Support, Bethesda. 301-634-7500, hopeconnectionsforcancer.org. ■

restaurants. cooking. food. drinks.

PHOTO BY DEB LINDSEY

dine

Profiteroles with vanilla ice cream, hazelnuts and chocolate sauce are a standout on the dessert menu at The Little Beet Table, which opened in November in Chevy Chase. For our review, turn the page.

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WELL INTENTIONED Gluten-free restaurant The Little Beet Table in Chevy Chase banks on the wellness trend BY DAVID HAGEDORN | PHOTOS BY DEB LINDSEY

“IS THIS YOUR FIRST visit to The Little Beet Table?” an affable server asks. Although the answer is yes, it feels like it’s no as I look around at the 5,000-squarefoot space with its reclaimed wood floors, floor-to-ceiling windows, gray brick walls and hanging plants. The menu promises “honest, delicious and nourishing food” that will “make you feel energized and joyful.” Five offerings on a cocktail list each have something 260

in them I don’t want. This is the restaurant critic’s version of the 1993 movie Groundhog Day, in which I return over and over to a farmhouse chic restaurant that is devoted to my wellness and puts dill in martinis, fennel in margaritas and beet juice in gin and tonics. Like Bethesda’s True Food Kitchen and Terrain Café, The Little Beet Table, which opened in November in the Collection at Chevy Chase, is part of a chain

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capitalizing on the wellness craze, especially in affluent areas. The Little Beet Table markets itself as 100% gluten-free. Its flagship location opened in New York City in 2014. Now there are locations in Chicago and Greenwich, Connecticut. The parent company, Aurify Brands, also has 12 outposts of The Little Beet, a fast-casual version of full-service The Little Beet Table, including one in Rosslyn and one in Pentagon City. (Aurify

Starters at The Little Beet Table include salmon tartare served over a marinade of beet, lime and grapefruit juices, jalapeno, red onion and coconut water.

Brands also owns Five Guys.) I don’t have a sensitivity to gluten, a group of proteins found in several grains, particularly wheat, so I can’t speak to the sense of relief diners who do must feel in a restaurant where they have abundant choice and no risk of gluten exposure. (According to Dr. Alessio Fasano, who directs the Center for Celiac Research at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, gluten sensitivity affects 6 to 7% of the U.S. population.) There are things to like at The Little Beet Table, which seats 100 inside and 50 outside, but the food and decor feel generic. If there’s artwork on the walls, I don’t notice it. There is nothing that connects the space to its community, no indication whether I’m in Chevy Chase or Greenwich or Chicago. Like at True Food Kitchen and Terrain Café, the menu’s dishes are the brainchild of a culinary director. In The Little Beet Table’s case, it’s Matt Aita in New York City. The chef in Chevy Chase, Zach Bondy, reproduces those dishes rather than expressing his own creative abilities. That being said, several starters designed for sharing are quite tasty, among them a version of guacamole that has watercress in it and is topped with a sauce made with charred jalapenos and scallions, lime juice, parsley, coriander and Aleppo pepper. Dark blue corn tortilla chips stud the dip. Sunflower seed hummus is emboldened with garlic confit (the cloves cooked slowly in oil until soft) and za’atar, a Middle Eastern spice mix of fresh thyme, sumac, cumin and sesame seeds. Sheep’s milk ricotta cheese with dried figs, wine syrup and watercress leaves served with very good grilled country bread is an ode to simplicity, even if the bread and cheese could use a sprinkle of finishing salt on top. A delicious rendition of salmon tartare is a visual stunner. A circle of coral-hued, hand-chopped raw salmon

Overall Rating:

C+

The Little Beet Table 5471 Wisconsin Ave., Chevy Chase, 240-283-0603, thelittlebeettable.com

FAVORITE DISHES: Sheep’s milk ricotta with figs, saba (wine syrup) and grilled bread; crispy rice cake with shiitake mushrooms, scallions and a fried egg; salmon tartare with beet aguachile; New York strip steak with grilled radicchio and beet and balsamic vinaigrette; profiteroles with vanilla ice cream, hazelnuts and chocolate sauce PRICES: Appetizers: $10 to $18; Entrees: $19 to $39; Desserts: $10 to $12 LIBATIONS: Drinks include twists on classic cocktails (margarita, martini, gin and tonic, whiskey sour and a boulevardier); 16 wines offered by the glass ($11 to $18) and bottle ($44 to $72); four selections from Maryland-based B.C. Brewery; and four nonalcoholic “natural refreshers,” including a rosemary-infused riff on an Arnold Palmer. (General manager Aric Sandoval says the wine list will soon expand to 44 bottles.) SERVICE: Pleasant and efficient

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sits on a vibrant magenta aguachile (usually a citrus-based marinade for ceviche) of beet, lime and grapefruit juices, jalapeno, red onion and coconut water. Red radish slices, nasturtium leaves and dollops of avocado puree top the salmon. My companions and I thoroughly enjoyed a crispy pan-fried brown rice cake with a fried egg and sauteed shiitake mushrooms and scallion slivers, a marked improvement over a drab, underdressed salad of greens and apple that’s topped with a desert-dry plank of overcooked grilled chicken. Entrees are a mixed bag. My favorite here is a tender New York strip steak perfectly grilled to medium rare and served with grilled radicchio, the vegetable’s bitterness balanced with a balsamic vinegar and beet vinaigrette studded with candied walnuts. For a dish featuring cavatelli in a hearty mushroom Bolognese sauce, The Little Beet Table has Everfresh Food Corp. in Chicago hand roll and ship the pasta to 262

Top left: Diners at The Little Beet Table on a Saturday night Above: Chef Zach Bondy plates a dish

all their restaurants. The quality is so good, with just the right al dente bite, that I would never have guessed it was gluten-free. The dish would be enjoyable were it not topped with “mushroom bacon,” roasted and dehydrated maitake mushrooms transformed into burnt, rubbery and truly horrible slivers that

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in no way resemble bacon. Mushroom bacon also ruins what would have been a nice dish of tubular, pleasantly chewy Korean rice cakes in a sauce made with gochujang, a fermented red chili paste. The skin is nicely rendered and crispy on a roasted chicken breast with butternut squash, but the underseasoned flesh has little flavor, and I detect no trace of spice in what’s billed as a Madras curry sauce. The nice thing I can say about the unpleasantly mushy mushroom and black bean burger is that its bun from the brand OMG…It’s Gluten-Free is top-notch. An excellent choice for dessert is profiteroles filled with vanilla ice cream and topped with toasted hazelnuts and

Clockwise from left: Sheepâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s milk ricotta with figs, wine syrup and grilled bread, and a lemongrass and beet gin and tonic; New York strip steak with grilled radicchio and beet and balsamic vinaigrette; crispy rice cake with shiitake mushrooms, scallions and a fried egg.

chocolate sauce. Cinnamon and cardamom imbue a dense chocolate cake served with candied clementine oranges, candied walnuts and whipped cream, a satisfying way to feed a chocolate urge. Warm chocolate chip cookies remind me of something found at 7-Eleven. There are nice touches at The Little Beet Table, such as complimentary bottled still or sparkling Vero water. Service is consistently warm and efficient. If I were gluten-sensitive, maybe I would have felt energized and joyful after my visits there, as promised. Instead, I looked longingly at Sushiko next door. n David Hagedorn is the restaurant critic for Bethesda Magazine. BETHESDAMAGAZINE.COM | MARCH/APRIL 2020

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BY DAVID HAGEDORN | PHOTOS BY DEB LINDSEY

MARKET LEADER WHEN THE OWNER OF Dawson’s Market announced that he would close the 19,000-square-foot Rockville Town Square store in October 2018 after a six-year run, it was a crushing blow to the community. Enter Bart Yablonsky, the store’s general manager, who put together a deal, bought the store and reopened seven weeks later. Yablonsky, who lives in North Potomac with his wife, Paige, is dedicated to having the very best products for his customers, especially locally produced items, but there is something that drives him more: creating, nurturing and serving a community. “We are passionate about local vendors and hiring people who may otherwise have difficulty getting hired—people with physical and mental disabilities or people on work-release,” Yablonsky says. “We

make space available for political speakers, storytelling, cooking classes. I’m very involved in the food community. I’ve been a member of the Montgomery County Food Council for four years, which is where I make the connection to local products. I make myself available for panels at natural food shows when requested.” On the second Tuesday of every month from 5 to 7 p.m., Dawson’s hosts Meet the Locals. “We bring in 10 to 15 vendors. It’s a free event where customers can meet the people making local products, learn their stories and try everything. We always have two or three beer and wine vendors in that mix as well,” he says. Yablonsky shared details with us on some of the Montgomery County–produced items (and one from Frederick County) at Dawson’s. Here are some of our favorites.

YAÜ CARAMOOLIZED VIETNAMESE YOGURT “Rockville residents Phuong and Fred Chen are in the store all the time. We were their first retail location. Every family in their native Vietnam makes yogurt in their house. They used the family recipe to create theirs, made only with whole milk, cane sugar and cultures. It has a slightly caramelized flavor because they slow cook milk and sugar to make it. We carry their plain yogurt.”

TSIONA DIPS “We carry Tsion Bellete’s dips—mild and hot red split lentil; mild yellow split pea; and mild and hot brown lentil. Plus four flavors of her amazing injera chips: medium; spicy; gar264

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lic; and sea salt cinnamon.” (Tsion Bellete started packaging Tsionabrand gourmet Ethiopian foods made in her restaurant, Sheba Ethiopian Restaurant in Rockville, in 2014. They became so successful, she had to move to a licensed food processing facility in Rockville.)

SAVVY TREATS “Cheryl Savastano is one of our longest-standing vendors. She has a retail store, also called Savvy Treats, two blocks from us. She does all our cupcakes and cakes, a vegan muffin, zucchini bread with chocolate chips. She uses no artificial flavors or sweeteners and no bleach or bromated flour. They’re really high quality and delicious.”

DIP-N-DILL “I met the owners of Germantown’s Dip-n-Dill, Martha and Bern Stapleton, at a product expo we did for Montgomery County Food Council at [the Universities at Shady Grove]. These are powdered mixes you add to yogurt or sour cream to make dip. If you’re vegan, you can use vegan cream cheese, which we sell. The best sellers are fresh vegetable with dill; chili cheese; and roasted garlic.”

CAULFIELD PROVISION COMPANY “Caulfield Provision Company, which makes bottled hot sauces, is a woman-owned [Connie Caulfield] family business out of Potomac. The flavors we carry are smoky red pepper chipotle; minty jalapeno tomatillo; pineapple habanero; and citrus.”

ELEMENTAL MEAD “This is the newest product we have; it’s out of Orchid Cellar Meadery and Winery in Middletown, Maryland. They have unique flavors of mead, which is a fermented honey drink. I like the cool packaging and that they’re introducing people to mead with interesting flavors. We had to reorder three times in the first three weeks we had it. We carry strawberry, lemon vanilla, heirloom cider and grapefruit hops.” Dawson’s Market, 225 N. Washington St., Rockville, 240-428-1386, dawsonsmarket.com

Dawsonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Market owner Bart Yablonsky sells a variety of locally made products in his Rockville Town Square store.

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Gumbo Yes Yes AS I DRAW MY spoon through the large bowl of “Super Gumbo” at Gumbo Ya Ya, a Rockville Town Square spot that husband-and-wife chefs and owners Rick Ferrell and Elizaida Galarza-Ferrell opened in November, it passes a first inspection. I spot chunks of chicken, tiny curled crawfish tails, plenty of sliced andouille sausage, lots of shrimp and, most important of all, a deep mahogany color to the liquid holding it all together. That’s an indication that the roux, a flour and oil concoction used as a thickener, has been cooked just right. “I add file [dried, ground sassafras leaves, a thickener that imparts a faint, licorice-like flavor] to the roux to take out the bitterness, and lots of pureed garlic,” says Ferrell, a New Orleans native. What he doesn’t add are okra and the “holy trinity” of finely diced onions, celery and green pepper—ingredients many consider de rigueur in gumbo-making. He explains that when he first started selling his gumbo, at Andrews Air Force Base in Prince George’s County, the military personnel were more familiar with traditional gumbo and loved those ingredients, but customers in Rockville complained about them, so he took them out. Though I like tradition, I have no complaints with Ferrell’s gumbo. It’s full flavored and chock-full of goodies. Ferrell and Galarza-Ferrell met in 2015. Galarza-Ferrell’s empanadas, a specialty of her Puerto Rican heritage, inspired Ferrell. “Man, we can sell these things,” he told her and they started Gumbo Ya Ya, a food truck featuring Galarza-Ferrell’s empanadas and Ferrell’s New Orleans gumbo and po’ boys. Soon Ferrell retired from the military after a 23-year career to concentrate on the nascent enterprise. GalarzaFerrell, who has been in the pharmaceuti266

Rick Ferrell and Elizaida GalarzaFerrell recently opened Gumbo Ya Ya, a fast-casual restaurant in Rockville. Their menu includes plantain fritters, empanadas and gumbo.

cal business for 25 years, still works full time at her regulatory job at AstraZeneca in Gaithersburg. When an opportunity arose to open a brick and mortar spot in Gaithersburg in 2017, the couple did just that. It turned out that the space was too large for them to handle and the foot traffic wasn’t sufficient. The smaller Rockville Town Square space was a good deal, so they moved the eatery. The restaurant, which has a full liquor license, seats 66. You order at the counter, and the food is brought to your table. While you wait, peruse the paintings depicting jazz scenes that the couple purchased in New Orleans. Ferrell explains the restaurant’s name: “In New Orleans, Ya Ya means ‘everything else,’ as in, ‘What are we eating today? Gumbo. What else? Ya Ya.’ To Elizaida and me, the what else is

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the Puerto Rican food.” The menu offers a variety of gumbos and flaky empanadas (the ones with beef ribeye cubes, peppers, onions and garlic are excellent), as well as baked-then-fried chicken wings and authentic New Orleans po’ boys. Lightly fried and succulent catfish strips dusted with Zatarain’s Creole seasoning star in one of those sandwiches, served on a toasted bun with shredded lettuce, pickles and Ferrell’s 16-ingredient condiment, a sriracha, mayonnaise and ketchup– based remoulade sauce. At brunch, don’t miss Galarza-Ferrell’s oxtail guisada (stew), slow-braised for hours with beer, wine and bay leaves. At any meal, start with an order of her delicate plantain fritters (tostones). Gumbo Ya Ya, 101C Gibbs St., Rockville, gumbo-yaya.com

COMINGS GOINGS Paris in Town, a French bistro out of North Palm Beach, Florida, will open in the former Fuse Taco space in Bethesda this spring.

Local chainlet Quincy’s Bar & Grille will open an outlet in the former Amici Miei space in the Potomac Woods Plaza shopping center this fall.

Italian restaurant Gregorio’s Trattoria, located in Potomac and Reston, will open a branch in Bethesda’s Shops at Sumner Place in the spring.

Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana, a legendary New Haven, Connecticut, establishment considered by many foodies to be the Valhalla of thin-crust-centric pizzerias, will open in Bethesda’s Westfield Montgomery mall late this year.

In late spring, celebrity chef and restaurateur Michael Schlow will open a location of his Washington, D.C., restaurant The Riggsby next to his fast-casual spot Prima in Bethesda Row, taking over the space formerly occupied by Kapnos Kouzina. Indian restaurant Spice Street will open in the Solaire apartments in downtown Silver Spring in late spring or early summer.

Rockville fast-casual restaurant Cheeburger Cheeburger closed in December, as did the Friendship Heights bakery and coffee shop The Kindred Cup. Mediterranean restaurant Zoës Kitchen closed in Potomac in January. The Germantown outpost is the only remaining Montgomery County location of the fastcasual chain. n

Spring into Savings Hundreds of beer, wine, and spirits on sale every month.

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dine

DINING GUIDE

CHECK OUT THE ONLINE VERSION OF THE DINING GUIDE AT BETHESDAMAGAZINE.COM

BETHESDA AJI-NIPPON 6937 Arlington Road, 301-654-0213. A calm oasis on a busy street, where chef Kazuo Honma serves patrons several kinds of sushi, sashimi, noodle soups, teriyaki and more. Try a dinner box, which includes an entree, vegetables, California roll, tempura and rice. L D $$

ALATRI BROS. (EDITORS’ PICK) 4926 Cordell Ave., 301-718-6427, alatribros.com. The folks behind Olazzo and Gringos & Mariachis bought Mia’s Pizzas and revamped it with a new name and decor. They kept the Naples-style pies that come from a wood-burning oven, but added small plates and healthy options. Sit in the cheery dining room with green, gray and white accents or under an umbrella on the patio.  L D $$

&PIZZA 7614 Old Georgetown Road, 240-800-4783, andpizza.com. Create your own designer pizza from a choice of two crusts (both are vegan and one is also gluten-, soy- and dairy-free), three cheeses (including a vegan option) and five sauces or spreads. Toppings for the thin, crispy crusts range from the usual suspects to Beyond Meat sausage and tater tots. This location of the hip, fast-casual chain has limited seating. L D $

ANTHONY’S COAL FIRED PIZZA (NEW) 7776 Norfolk Ave., 240-781-6943, acfp.com. A fullservice restaurant in Woodmont Triangle serving coal-fired pizzas and other Italian fare, Anthony’s is part of a Florida-based chain. The corner restaurant includes a large bar area with TVs. L D $

BACCHUS OF LEBANON (EDITORS’ PICK) 7945 Norfolk Ave., 301-657-1722, bacchusoflebanon.com. This friendly and elegant Lebanese staple has a large, sunny patio that beckons lunch and dinner patrons outside when the weather is good to try garlicky hummus, stuffed grape leaves, chicken kabobs, veal chops and dozens of small-plate dishes. ❂ L D $$

BANGKOK GARDEN 4906 St. Elmo Ave., 301-951-0670, bkkgarden. com. This real-deal, family-run Thai restaurant turns out authentic cuisine, including curries, soups and noodle dishes, in a dining room decorated with traditional statues of the gods. L D $

THE BARKING DOG 4723 Elm St., 301-654-0022, barkingdogbar.com. A fun place for young adults, with drink specials nearly every night and bar food such as quesadillas and burgers. Karaoke night is held weekly. ❂ L D $

BARREL + CROW 4867 Cordell Ave., 240-800-3253, barrelandcrow. com. Contemporary regional and southern cuisine served in a comfortable setting with charcoal gray banquettes and elements of wood and brick. Menu

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highlights include Maryland crab beignets, shrimp and grits and roasted trout. ❂ R L D $$

BEEFSTEAK 7101 Democracy Blvd. (Westfield Montgomery mall), 301-365-0608, beefsteakveggies.com. The fastcasual spot from chef José Andrés is heavily focused on seasonal vegetables for build-your-own bowls and salads (or pick one of their suggested combinations). Toppings such as poached egg, chicken sausage and salt-cured salmon are also in the lineup. L D $

BENIHANA 7935 Wisconsin Ave., 301-652-5391, benihana. com. Experience dinner-as-theater as the chef chops and cooks beef, chicken, vegetables and seafood tableside on the hibachi. This popular national chain serves sushi, too. The kids’ menu includes a California roll and hibachi chicken, steak and shrimp entrees. J L D $$

BETHESDA CRAB HOUSE 4958 Bethesda Ave., 301-652-3382, bethesdacrab house.com. In the same location since 1961, this casual, family-owned dining spot features jumbo lump crabcakes, oysters on the half shell and jumbo spiced shrimp. Extra large and jumbo-sized crabs available year-round; call ahead to reserve.

Key Price designations are for a threecourse dinner for two including tip and tax, but excluding alcohol. $ up to $50 $$ $51-$100 $$$ $101-$150 $$$$ $151+ Outdoor Dining b  Children’s Menu B Breakfast R Brunch L Lunch D Dinner

❂ L D $$

BETHESDA CURRY KITCHEN 4860 Cordell Ave., 301-656-0062, bethesda currykitchen.com. The restaurant offers lunch buffet and Southern Indian vegan specialties, served in a spare and casual setting. There are plenty of choices from the tandoor oven, as well as vegetarian, seafood and meat curries. L D $$

BGR: THE BURGER JOINT 4827 Fairmont Ave., 301-358-6137, bgrtheburger joint.com. The burgers are good and the vibe is great. Protein choices include beef, chicken and Beyond Meat. Pick your own toppings or choose from a handful of selected combos, such as the Wagyu Wellington, with caramelized onions, roasted mushrooms, black truffles, blue cheese and BGR’s mayonnaise-horseradish “mojo” sauce.

❂ JLD$

THE BIG GREEK CAFE 4806 Rugby Ave., 301-907-4976, biggreekcafe. com. Owned by the Marmaras brothers, the cafe serves Greek specialties, including a top-notch chicken souvlaki pita. L D $

BISTRO PROVENCE (EDITORS’ PICK) 4933 Fairmont Ave., 301-656-7373, bistroprovence.org. Chef Yannick Cam brings his formidable experience to a casual French bistro with a lovely courtyard. The Dinner Bistro Fare, served daily from 5 to 6:30 p.m., offers a choice of appetizer, main course and dessert for $35.

❂ R L D $$$

BLACK’S BAR & KITCHEN (EDITORS’ PICK) 7750 Woodmont Ave., 301-652-5525, blacksbar andkitchen.com. Customers count on the

MARCH/APRIL 2020 | BETHESDAMAGAZINE.COM

impeccable use of fresh and local ingredients and enjoy dining on the expansive patio. The bar draws crowds for happy hour. ❂ R L D $$$

BRICKSIDE FOOD & DRINK 4866 Cordell Ave., 301-312-6160, brickside bethesda.com. Prohibition-era drinks meet Italian bar bites and entrees. Dishes range from fried pork and waffles to short ribs. Try one of the colorfully named punches, which include Pink Murder Punch and Snow Cone Punch. ❂ R L D $$

CADDIES ON CORDELL 4922 Cordell Ave., 301-215-7730, caddieson cordell.com. Twentysomethings gather at this golfthemed spot to enjoy beer and wings specials in a casual, rowdy atmosphere that frequently spills onto the large patio. Voted “Best Bar/Restaurant to Watch a Caps Game” by Bethesda Magazine readers in 2019. ❂ J R L D $

CAFÉ DELUXE 4910 Elm St., 301-656-3131, cafedeluxe.com. This local chain serves bistro-style American comfort food in a fun and noisy setting with wood fans and colorful, oversized European liquor posters. Menu options include burgers, entrees, four varieties of flatbread and mussels served three different ways.

❂ J R L D $$ CASA OAXACA

4905 Fairmont Ave., 240-858-6181. The focus is on tacos at this family-owned Mexican restaurant, but you’ll also find fajitas, salads, quesadillas and more on the menu. There’s an indoor bar and an outdoor beer garden. ❂ J L D $$

Fired by coal. Fueled by passion.

DINE IN DELIVERY CATERING

Bethesda, feed your soul with Coal Fired Pizza , Wings and More. At Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza, everything is cooked in our 900-degree coal fired oven which gives our signature pizzas and dishes a flavorful taste you can’t replicate.

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Woodmont Triangle 7776 Norfolk Ave • 240-781-6943

dine DAILY GRILL

CAVA 7101 Democracy Blvd., Suite 2360 (Westfield Montgomery mall), 301-658-2233; 4832 Bethesda Ave., 301-656-1772; cava.com. The guys from CAVA Mezze restaurant have created a Greek version of Chipotle. Choose the meat, dip or spread for a pita, bowl or salad. House-made juices and teas provide a healthful beverage option. ❂ (Bethesda Avenue location) L D $

CESCO OSTERIA 7401 Woodmont Ave., 301-654-8333, cesco-osteria.com. Longtime chef Francesco Ricchi turns out Tuscan specialties, including pizza, pasta and focaccia in a big, jazzy space. Stop by the restaurant’s Co2 Lounge for an artisan cocktail before dinner. ❂ L D $$

CHEESY PIZZI 8021 Wisconsin Ave., 240-497-0000, cheesypizzibethesda.com. In addition to the standard offerings of a pizza joint, this spot (formerly Pizza Tempo under different owners) has sandwiches and boat-shaped Turkish pizza known as pide. L D $

CHEF TONY’S 4926 St. Elmo Ave., 301-654-3737, cheftonys bethesda.com. Chef-owner Tony Marciante focuses on Mediterranean seafood tapas, offering dishes ranging from fish and seafood to chicken, steak and pasta. Desserts include Drunken Strawberries and Classic Creme Brulée. J R L D $$

CHERCHER ETHIOPIAN 4921 Bethesda Ave., 301-652-6500, chercherrestaurant.com. The second branch of a D.C. Ethiopian spot, this restaurant and bar took over the space housing Suma. The decor is moderncontemporary and the menu features dishes—from beef to vegan—served on one large platter, meant for sharing, and Ethiopian wine. L D $

CITY LIGHTS OF CHINA 4953 Bethesda Ave., 301-913-9501, bethesda citylights.com. Longtime Chinese eatery serves familiar Sichuan and Beijing fare, including six types of dumplings and seven handmade noodle dishes. Red walls and chocolate-colored booths give the place a sharp look. L D $$

COOPER’S MILL 5151 Pooks Hill Road, 301-897-9400, coopersmillrestaurant.com/bethesda. The restaurant showcases a modern, stylish menu with stone-oven flatbreads, homemade tater tots and locally sourced produce. Local beers on draft and by the bottle, plus regional bourbon and gin. Happy hour and private dining are offered.

B R L D $$

THE CORNER SLICE 7901 Norfolk Ave., 301-907-7542, thecornerslice. net. New York-style pizza, available by the slice or as a 20-inch pie. Specialty pizzas include the spinachartichoke white pie with ricotta, mozzarella and parmesan and the Buffalo Chicken Pie with blue cheese and hot sauce. ❂ L D $

CURRY PLACE 7345-A Wisconsin Ave., 301-656-4444, curryplacebethesda.com. Northern Indian and Nepali specialties such as butter chicken and fresh flatbreads known as naan shine here. The extensive menu ranges from soups and salads to tandoori and kabobs.J L D $

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One Bethesda Metro Center, 301-656-6100, dailygrill.com. Everyone from families to expenseaccount lunchers can find something to like about the big portions of fresh American fare, including chicken pot pie and jumbo lump crabcakes.

❂ J B R L D $$

DOG HAUS BIERGARTEN 7904 Woodmont Ave., 301-652-4287, bethesda. doghaus.com. This fast-casual California-based chain serves hot dogs, sausages, burgers and chicken sandwiches. The hot dogs are all beef and hormone- and antibiotic-free. The industrial-chic space includes picnic tables, TVs, a bar and more than two dozen beer choices. J L D $

DON POLLO 10321 Westlake Drive, 301-347-6175; donpollogroup.com. Juicy, spiced birds and reasonable prices make this Peruvian chicken eatery a go-to place any night of the week. Family meals that serve four or six people are available.

❂LD$

DUCK DUCK GOOSE (EDITORS’ PICK) 7929 Norfolk Ave., 301-312-8837, ddgbethesda. com. Thirty-five-seat French brasserie owned by chef Ashish Alfred. Small plates include steak tartare, and squid ink spaghetti with Manila clams and Fresno chilies. Among the entrees, look for updates of French classics, such as dry-aged duck with Bing cherries, and halibut with scallop mousse and puff pastry. ❂ L D $$

FARYAB AFGHAN CUISINE 4917 Cordell Ave., 301-951-3484. After closing for more than a year, Faryab reopened in 2017 and serves well-prepared Afghani country food, including Afghanistan’s answer to Middle Eastern kabobs, vegetarian entrees and unique sauteed pumpkin dishes, in a whitewashed dining room with native art on the walls. D $$

FISH TACO 7251 Woodmont Ave., 301-652-0010; 10305 Old Georgetown Road (Wildwood Shopping Center), 301-564-6000, fishtacoonline.com. This counterservice taqueria features a full roster of seafood as well as non-aquatic tacos, plus margaritas and other Mexican specialties. Voted “Best Tacos” by Bethesda Magazine readers in 2020. J L D $

FLANAGAN'S HARP & FIDDLE 4844 Cordell Ave., 301-951-0115, flanagansharp andfiddle.com. This stylish pub features live music several days a week, Tuesday night poker and Monday quiz nights. In addition to traditional stews and fried fish, Flanagan's offers smoked ribs, salmon and traditional Irish breakfast on weekends. ❂ J B L D $$

FLOWER CHILD 10205 Old Georgetown Road, 301-664-4971, iamaflowerchild.com. A fast-casual restaurant that’s part of a national chain, Flower Child has an emphasis on vegetarian eating (grain-based bowls, vegetable plates, salads) but also offers protein add-ons such as chicken, salmon and steak. Voted “Best New Fast-Casual Restaurant” by Bethesda Magazine readers in 2020. ❂ L D $

GARDEN GRILLE & BAR 7301 Waverly St. (Hilton Garden Inn), 301-6548111. Aside from a breakfast buffet featuring cooked-to-order omelets, waffles, fruit and more, the restaurant offers an extensive menu, from burgers to pasta dishes. J B D $$

MARCH/APRIL 2020 | BETHESDAMAGAZINE.COM

GEORGE’S CHOPHOUSE 4935 Cordell Ave., 240-534-2675, georgesbethesda.com. This modern bistro with pop-culture decor features a seasonally changing menu of house-made pastas, plus a raw bar and a variety of steaks. The braised beef cheek fettucine combines two specialties: house-made pastas and slow-cooked meat. L D $$$

GRINGOS & MARIACHIS (EDITORS’ PICK) 4928 Cordell Ave., 240-800-4266, gringosand mariachis.com. The owners of the popular Olazzo Italian restaurants in Bethesda and Silver Spring trade in the red sauce for salsa at this hip taqueria with edgy murals and plenty of tequila. LD$

GUAPO’S RESTAURANT 8130 Wisconsin Ave., 301-656-0888, guapos restaurant.com. This outpost of a local chain has everything you’d expect: margaritas and chips galore, as well as a handful of daily specials served in festive Mexican surroundings. Perfect for families and dates. J R L D $

GUARDADO’S 4918 Del Ray Ave., 301-986-4920, guardados.com. Chef-owner Nicolas Guardado, who trained at Jaleo, opened this hidden gem devoted to Latin-Spanish cooking in 2007 and has developed a following with tapas specialties like shrimp and sausage, stuffed red peppers and paella. J L D $

GUSTO FARM TO STREET 7101 Democracy Blvd. (Westfield Montgomery mall), 301-312-6509; 4733 Elm St., 240-3966398; eatgusto.com. The fast-casual eatery aims to serve healthy fare, with a focus on pizzas and salads. The menu includes suggested combos but you can also build your own. Pizza crust comes in cauliflower, whole grain or traditional. ❂ (Elm Street location only) L D $

HANARO RESTAURANT & LOUNGE 7820 Norfolk Ave., 301-654-7851, hanarobethesda. com. The restaurant’s modern dark woods combined with a light-filled dining room brighten its corner location, and the menu includes sushi and Asian fusion main courses such as pad Thai and galbi (Korean ribs). The bar offers a daily happy hour. ❂ L D $$

HIMALAYAN HERITAGE 4925 Bethesda Ave., 301-654-1858, himalayan heritagebethesda.com. The menu includes North Indian, Nepali, Indo-Chinese and Tibetan cuisines, featuring momos (Nepalese dumplings), Indian takes on Chinese chow mein and a large selection of curry dishes. L D $

HOUSE OF FOONG LIN 4613 Willow Lane, 301-656-3427, foonglin.com. The Chinese restaurant features Cantonese, Hunan and Sichuan cuisine, including chef’s recommendations, low-fat choices and lots of traditional noodle dishes. L D $$

HOUSE OF MILAE 4932 St. Elmo Ave., 301-654-1997. The Kang family, who own Milae Cleaners in Bethesda, bring simple Korean dishes to their first food foray. Chef “M&M” Kang prepares home-style fare such as bulgogi, galbi and bibimbap. The kids’ menu has one item: spaghetti, made from the recipe of owner Thomas Kang’s former college roommate’s mother. JLD$

THE IRISH INN AT GLEN ECHO 6119 Tulane Ave., 301-229-6600, irishinnglenecho.

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dine com. This historic tavern has been a family home and a biker bar, but its incarnation as the Irish Inn has been delivering smiles and hearty food since 2003. Traditional Irish music on Monday nights, The 19th Street Band or other live music on Wednesday nights and live jazz on Sunday nights. ❂ J R L D $$

JALEO (EDITORS’ PICK) 7271 Woodmont Ave., 301-913-0003, jaleo.com. The restaurant that launched the American career of chef José Andrés and popularized Spanish tapas for a Washington, D.C., audience offers hot, cold, spicy and creative small plates served with outstanding Spanish wines. Voted “Best Small Plates” by Bethesda Magazine readers in 2019. ❂ R L D $$

JETTIES 4829 Fairmont Ave., 301-769-6844, jettiesdc. com. The only suburban location of the popular Nantucket-inspired sandwich shop, which has five restaurants in Northwest Washington, D.C. Aside from the signature Nobadeer sandwich (roasted turkey and stuffing with cranberry sauce and mayonnaise on sourdough), look for large salads and an innovative children’s menu. ❂ J L D $

KADHAI (EDITORS’ PICK) 7905 Norfolk Ave., 301-718-0121, kadhai.com. This popular Indian restaurant formerly known as Haandi serves a variety of traditional chicken, lamb and seafood dishes, plus rice and vegetarian dishes and a selection of breads. An extensive lunch buffet is offered daily. ❂ L D $$

LA PANETTERIA 4921 Cordell Ave., 301-951-6433, lapanetteria. com. La Panetteria transports diners to a quaint Italian villa with its impeccable service and Old World atmosphere, serving Italian and Argentinian dishes, such as homemade pasta, pizzas and Argentinian meats. There are vegan options on the menu. L D $$

LE PAIN QUOTIDIEN 7140 Bethesda Lane, 301-913-2902; 10217 Old Georgetown Road (Wildwood Shopping Center), 240-752-8737, lepainquotidien.com. New Yorkbased Belgian-born bakery/restaurant chain with farmhouse vibe, featuring organic breads, European breakfast and dessert pastries, savory egg dishes, soups, Belgian open-faced sandwiches, entree salads, wine and Belgian beer by the bottle. ❂ JBRLD$

LE VIEUX LOGIS 7925 Old Georgetown Road, 301-652-6816, levieuxlogisrestaurantmd.com. The colorful exterior will draw you into this family-run Bethesda institution, but classic French dishes such as Dover sole meunière and mussels in a white wine broth will keep you coming back. ❂ D $$$

LEO & LIV 8120 Wisconsin Ave. (Bethesdan Hotel), 301652-2000, tapestrycollection3.hilton.com/tc/thebethesdan-hotel. Set in a hotel, this farm-to-table restaurant serves Mediterranean and American cuisine, from filet mignon and Moroccan lamb shank to butternut squash ravioli. There are also flatbreads and sandwiches, and a bar called But First Drinks (BFD). B D $$

LOTUS GRILL & BAR 4929 Elm St., 301-312-8191, lotusbethesda. com. You have your pick of traditional Indian fare (including pork chops, chicken and other items cooked in a tandoor oven), tacos (lunch only) and

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pizza (some with elements of Indian food) at this downtown Bethesda spot. L D $$

LUCY ETHIOPIAN RESTAURANT 4865 Cordell Ave., 301-347-7999. The authentic Ethiopian menu here includes beef and lamb plates, such as kitfo (raw beef) sandwiches and boneless braised yebeg alicha (Ethiopian mild lamb stew). The interior is decorated with Ethiopian-inspired art and features a full bar. Beef and vegan samplers are available at the Bethesda location. L D $

LUKE’S LOBSTER 7129 Bethesda Lane, 301-718-1005, lukeslobster. com. This upscale carryout features authentic lobster, shrimp and crab rolls; the seafood is shipped directly from Maine. Try the Taste of Maine, which offers all three kinds of rolls, plus two crab claws.❂ L D $

MAKI BAR 6831 Wisconsin Ave. (Shops of Wisconsin), 301907-9888, makibarbethesda.com. This tiny 30-seat Japanese restaurant and sushi bar offers 60-plus kinds of maki rolls, categorized as Classic (tuna roll), Crunch Lover (spicy crunch California roll) and Signature (eel, avocado, tobiko, crab), along with sushi, sashimi, noodle bowls and rice-based entrees. L D $$

MAMMA LUCIA 4916 Elm St., 301-907-3399, mammalucia restaurants.com. New York-style pizza dripping with cheese and crowd-pleasing red sauce, and favorites like chicken Parmesan and linguini with clams draw the crowds to this local chain. Gluten-free options available. ❂ L D $$

MATCHBOX 7278 Woodmont Ave., 240-465-0500, matchboxrestaurants.com. At this local chain, look for mini-burgers, a “ginormous meatball” appetizer and thin-crust pizza with toppings, including herbroasted chicken, roasted mushrooms, fire-roasted red peppers and Spanish onions. ❂ J R L D $$

MEDIUM RARE 4904 Fairmont Ave., 301-215-8739, mediumrare restaurant.com. A prix fixe menu that comes with bread, salad, steak and fries is the sole option at this small chain outpost (there are two Medium Rares in D.C.). Desserts cost extra. Weekend brunch also features a prix fixe menu. D $$

MOMO CHICKEN & GRILL 4862 Cordell Ave., Bethesda, 240-483-0801, momofc.com. Skip the breasts, and head for the wings or drumsticks at Bethesda’s first Korean fried chicken spot. Options such as seafood pancakes, bulgogi and bibimbap are part of the extensive offerings, all served in a hip space with framed record albums gracing the walls. ❂ J L D $$

MON AMI GABI (EDITORS’ PICK) 7239 Woodmont Ave., 301-654-1234, monamigabi. com. Waiters serve bistro classics such as escargot, steak frites and profiteroles in a dark and boisterous spot that doesn’t feel like a chain. Live jazz Thursday nights. Voted “Best Restaurant Wine List” by Bethesda Magazine readers in 2019. ❂ J R L D $$

MORTON’S, THE STEAKHOUSE 7400 Wisconsin Ave., 301-657-2650, mortons. com. An ultra-sophisticated steak house serving pricey, large portions of prime-aged beef and drinks. The restaurant is known for a top-notch dinner experience but also offers lunch and a bar menu. L D $$$

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MUSSEL BAR & GRILLE 7262 Woodmont Ave., 301-215-7817, musselbar. com. Kensington resident and big-name chef Robert Wiedmaier serves his signature mussels, plus wood-fired tarts, salads and sandwiches. Wash them all down with a choice of 40 Belgian beers. ❂ R L D $$

NOT YOUR AVERAGE JOE’S 10400 Old Georgetown Road, 240-316-4555, notyouraveragejoes.com. This Massachusettsbased chain’s moderately priced menu offers burgers, big salads and stone-hearth pizzas, plus entrees including Anything But Average Meatloaf. ❂ J L D $$

OLAZZO (EDITORS’ PICK) 7921 Norfolk Ave., 301-654-9496, olazzo.com. This well-priced, romantic restaurant is the place for couples seeking red-sauce classics at reasonable prices. Founded by brothers Riccardo and Roberto Pietrobono, it was voted “Best Italian Restaurant” by Bethesda Magazine readers in 2020. ❂ L D $$

THE ORIGINAL PANCAKE HOUSE 7700 Wisconsin Ave., Store D, 301-986-0285, ophrestaurants.com. Along with the classic flapjacks on this chain’s menu, you’ll find flavorpacked items such as apple pancakes with a cinnamon sugar glaze. And it’s not just pancakes to pick from: The restaurant serves a variety of waffles, crepes, eggs and omelets. J B L $

PASSAGE TO INDIA (EDITORS’ PICK) 4931 Cordell Ave., 301-656-3373, passagetoindia. info. Top-notch, pan-Indian fare by chef-owner Sudhir Seth, with everything from garlic naan to fish curry made to order. ❂ R L D $$

PASSIONFISH BETHESDA 7187 Woodmont Ave., 301-358-6116, passionfish bethesda.com. The second location of Passion Food Hospitality’s splashy seafood restaurant features stunning coastal-themed decor and an extensive menu of shellfish, caviar, sushi, chef’s specialties and fresh catches of the day. Voted “Best Happy Hour” and “Best Restaurant for Eating at the Bar” by Bethesda Magazine readers in 2020. J L D $$$

PAUL 4760 Bethesda Ave., 301-656-3285, paul-usa. com. Fifth-generation, family-owned French bakery becomes an international chain, with locations in close to 35 countries. Aside from breads and pastries, look for soups, sandwiches and quiche. ❂BLD$

PINES OF ROME 4918 Cordell Ave., 301-657-8775. Longtime Italian restaurant, formerly on Hampden Lane, still serves traditional pasta, pizza, fish and seafood at prices that are easy on the wallet. The white pizza is a hit, and don’t forget the spaghetti and meatballs. LD$

PIZZERIA DA MARCO (EDITORS’ PICK) 8008 Woodmont Ave., 301-654-6083, pizzeria damarco.net. Authentic Neapolitan pizzas fired in a 900-degree Italian brick oven range from the Siciliana with eggplant confit and black olives to the Solo Carne with sausage, pepperoni and salame. Salads, antipasti and calzones available, too. ❂LD$

POKE DOJO 7110 Bethesda Lane, 240-696-0990, pokedojo. com. The owners of Bethesda’s Hanaro Restaurant & Lounge opened this poke place at Bethesda Row.

The menu includes a handful of signature bowls, or you can build your own from the raw fish, rice and toppings offered. L D $

POSITANO RISTORANTE ITALIANO 4940-48 Fairmont Ave., 301-654-1717, epositano.com. An authentic Italian, family-run restaurant popular for private events, large and small. Colorful rooms are decorated with Italian landscapes, copper pots and hanging plants, and the outdoor patio is one of the most beautiful in the county. ❂ L D $$

PRALINE BAKERY & BISTRO 4611 Sangamore Road, 301-229-8180, praline-bakery.com. This sunny restaurant offers a tempting bakery takeout counter, full dining service and a patio. The food, which includes chicken pot pie and pralines, is French with an American accent. ❂  B R L D $$

PRIMA 7280 Woodmont Ave., 301-215-8300, craveprima. com. Renowned chef Michael Schlow aims to put a healthful spin on Italian food at this fast-casual eatery featuring bowls (no pizza or pasta here). Pick a suggested bowl (the della nonna has meatballs, ricotta, brown rice, roasted cauliflower, roasted zucchini and spicy tomato-basil vinaigrette) or create your own. Menu items are gluten-free and include local vegetables, fresh herbs, legumes and sustainable meat and fish. L D $

Q BY PETER CHANG (EDITORS’ PICK) 4500 East West Highway, 240-800-3722,

qbypeterchang.com. Notable chef Peter Chang’s high-end flagship restaurant offers traditional Chinese dishes in an attractive, modern space. Peking duck, double-cooked pork belly and other authentic Sichuan cuisine are served, and some dishes are “ultimate spicy” for brave palates. ❂  L D $$

RAKU (EDITORS’ PICK) 7240 Woodmont Ave., 301-718-8680, rakuasian dining.com. Voted “Best Sushi” by Bethesda Magazine readers in 2020, this casual restaurant has bamboo walls that do little to dampen the noise, but the menu satisfies with everything from sushi to kung pao chicken. ❂ L D $$

RICE PADDIES GRILL & PHO 4706 Bethesda Ave., 301-718-1862, ricepaddies grill.com. This cute copper-and-green eat-in/carryout makes quick work of Vietnamese favorites such as pork, beef and vegetable skewers infused with lemongrass and the classic beef noodle soup known as pho. L D $

ROCK BOTTOM RESTAURANT & BREWERY 7900 Norfolk Ave., 301-652-1311, rockbottom.com. India Pale Ales and specialty dark brews are among the award-winning beers crafted in-house at this cavernous yet welcoming chain, which offers a vast menu. The burgers are the real deal. ❂  L D $$

RUTH’S CHRIS STEAK HOUSE 7315 Wisconsin Ave., 301-652-7877, ruthschris. com. A dark and clubby feel makes this elegant

chain popular with families as well as the happyhour crowd. Don’t skip the fresh seafood choices, which include Caribbean lobster tail and barbecued shrimp. D $$$

SALA THAI 4828 Cordell Ave., 301-654-4676, salathaidc. com. This Thai mainstay cooks the classics and offers diners a nearly panoramic view of Woodmont Avenue through huge, curved windows. Live jazz Friday and Saturday evenings. L D $$

SAPHIRE CAFÉ 7940 Wisconsin Ave., 301-986-9708. A relaxing spot for tasting everything from Maryland-style crab soup to Argentine skirt steak, Saphire pumps it up a notch on Friday and Saturday nights with drink specials and DJs. Tiki bar open Wednesdays through Saturdays. ❂ L D $

SATSUMA 8003 Norfolk Ave., 301-652-1400, satsumajp. com. Bethesda’s first yakiniku (Japanese barbecue) restaurant has built-in grills at each table. Diners select a cut—short rib, chuck rib, skirt or tongue— and prepare it themselves. There’s also an extensive sushi and sashimi menu, as well as interesting cooked dishes. L D $$

SILVER (EDITORS’ PICK) 7150 Woodmont Ave., 301-652-9780, eatatsilver. com. Upscale, tonier version of the homegrown Silver Diner chain, with modern takes on American classics and an emphasis on healthy, local and

Exquisite French food, charming atmosphere, and attentive service. In the heart of Chevy Chase, the charm of the country side at your door step.

“La Ferme is one of the area’s most pleasant places to catch up with friends, do business or toast a big day.” Tom Sietsema, Food critique of the Washington Post (March 4, 2018)

7101 Brookville Road Chevy Chase, MD 301-986-5255

LaFermeRestaurant.com

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dine organic ingredients. Sleek interior takes its cue from the 1920s. ❂ J B R L D $$

SMOKE BBQ BETHESDA 4858 Cordell Ave., 301-656-2011, smokebbq.com. Pulled pork, beef brisket, smoked chicken, ribs and all the fixin’s, plus starters including smoked tomato soup and fried pickles served in a friendly, casual space. J L D $

ST. ARNOLD'S MUSSEL BAR 7525 Old Georgetown Road, 240-821-6830, starnoldsmussel.com. Czech, German and Belgian brews served in an authentic beer-hall setting, furnished with the same benches as those used in the Hofbrau brewhouse in Munich. Pub menu features mussels, hearty sandwiches, schnitzel and goulash. R L D $$

SWEETGREEN 4831 Bethesda Ave.301-654-7336, sweetgreen. com. The sweetgreen fast-casual chain—with its focus on local and organic ingredients— concentrates on salads (devise your own, or pick from a list) and soups. Look for eco-friendly decor and a healthy sensibility. ❂ L D $

TAKO GRILL 4914 Hampden Lane (The Shoppes of Bethesda), 301-652-7030, takogrill.com. Longtime, popular sushi destination relocated to the space formerly occupied by Hinode Japanese Restaurant. Look for the same traditional sushi menu, plus some new options, such as griddle-cooked teppanyaki at lunch, and more varieties of yakitori at dinner. L D $$

TANDOORI NIGHTS 7236 Woodmont Ave., 301-656-4002, tandoorinightsmd.com. Located in the heart of downtown Bethesda, the restaurant serves traditional Indian fare ranging from tandoori chicken, marinated in yogurt and spices, to a biryani flavored with saffron, nuts and raisins. ❂ L D $$

TARA THAI 7101 Democracy Blvd. (Westfield Montgomery mall), 301-657-0488, tarathai.com. Thai cuisine goes high style at Bethesda Magazine readers’ pick for “Best Thai Restaurant” in 2020. With colorful murals of ocean creatures looking on, diners can try dishes ranging from mild to adventurous. L D $$

TASTEE DINER 7731 Woodmont Ave., 301-652-3970, tasteediner. com. For 80 years, this crowd-pleasing if slightly sagging spot has served up everything from breakfast to burgers to blue-plate specials such as steak and crabcakes to crowds of loyal customers. Open 24 hours. J B L D $

TERRAIN CAFÉ (EDITORS’ PICK) 7228 Woodmont Ave., 240-345-9492, shopterrain. com/restaurants. Located inside the Anthropologie & Co. at Bethesda Row, this quaint cafe changes its menu with the seasons. Look for cheese boards; salads; toast topped with eggplant, smoked salmon or fig; and entrees such as duck breast and a fried cauliflower sandwich. ❂ R L D $$

TIA QUETA 4839 Del Ray Ave., 301-654-4443, tiaqueta.com. This longtime family and happy-hour favorite offers authentic Mexican food such as moles and fish dishes, as well as the usual Tex-Mex options. Drink menu includes American and Mexican beers. ❂ J L D $$

TOMMY JOE’S 7940 Norfolk Ave., 301-654-3801, tommyjoes.com. This Bethesda institution is now in the space

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formerly housing Urban Heights. The second-floor, window-filled corner location suits its sports bar persona, and the vast rooftop is ideal for outdoor drinking and snacking. Fare includes wings (Pohostyle, grilled and smoky, are a good option), burgers, crabcakes and ribs. Chunky brisket chili, on its own or on nachos, is a winner. ❂ L D $$

TRATTORIA SORRENTO (EDITORS’ PICK) 4930 Cordell Ave., 301-718-0344, trattoriasorrento. com. This family-run Italian favorite offers homemade pastas, baked eggplant and fresh fish dishes. Half-price bottles of wine on Wednesdays. D $$

TRUE FOOD KITCHEN (EDITORS’ PICK) 7100 Wisconsin Ave., 240-200-1257, truefoodkitchen.com. Health-focused chain prides itself on serving fresh ingredients and features an open kitchen. The eclectic, multicultural menu changes from season to season, and includes sandwiches, salads and pizza. Beer, wine and freshfruit and vegetable cocktails are also available. Voted “Best Restaurant for Vegetarian Dishes” by Bethesda Magazine readers in 2020. ❂ R L D $$

URBAN PLATES 7101 Democracy Blvd. (Westfield Montgomery mall), 301-690-9540, urbanplates.com. The fastcasual chain’s wide-ranging menu includes salads, soups, sandwiches, entrees such as grass-fed steak and striped sea bass, plus seasonal items. Meals are offered at stations—customers grab a plate and get in their desired line where chefs serve the made-from-scratch dishes. J L D $

UNCLE JULIO’S 4870 Bethesda Ave., 301-656-2981, unclejulios. com. Loud and large, this Tex-Mex eatery packs in families and revelers fueling up on fajitas, tacos and more. Kids love to watch the tortilla machine. Voted “Best Mexican Restaurant” by Bethesda Magazine readers in 2020. ❂ J R L D $$

VÜK 4924 St. Elmo Ave., 301-652-8000, vukpinball. com. VÜK owner (and MOM’S Organic Market CEO) Scott Nash consulted restaurateur Mark Bucher for the only thing offered on the short menu of his Bethesda pinball arcade other than Trickling Springs Creamery’s soft-serve ice cream: thin-crust New York-style pizza and thick-crust Sicilian pizza sold by the slice or as whole pies: cheese, sausage, pepperoni and mushroom/onion. L D $

WANG DYNASTY 4929 Bethesda Ave., 301-654-1188. A mix of dishes from Shanghai and Taiwan—sweet and sour chicken, crispy shrimp with minced pork, Peking duck, pan-fried noodles with beef—fill the long menu at this Chinese restaurant in the space that housed Shanghai Village. Weekend dim sum is offered. R L D $$

WILDWOOD KITCHEN (EDITORS’ PICK) 10223 Old Georgetown Road (Wildwood Shopping Center), 301-571-1700, wildwoodkitchenrw.com. Chef Robert Wiedmaier’s attractive neighborhood bistro serving fresh and light modern cuisine. Entrees range from Amish chicken with a scallion potato cake to grilled Atlantic salmon with creamy polenta. L D $$

WOODMONT GRILL (EDITORS’ PICK) 7715 Woodmont Ave., 301-656-9755, hillstone. com. Part of the Houston’s chain, the eatery offers such classics as spinach-and-artichoke dip and its famous burgers, but also house-baked breads, more exotic dishes, live jazz and a granite bar.

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Voted “Best Restaurant in Bethesda” by Bethesda Magazine readers in 2019, and “Best Overall Restaurant,” “Restaurant With Best Service” and “Best Burger” by readers in 2020. ❂ L D $$$

WORLD OF BEER 7200 Wisconsin Ave., 240-389-9317, worldofbeer. com. Craft beer-focused tavern chain offers 50 brews on tap rotating daily and hundreds of bottled options. Food is classic pub fare, including hamburgers, wings and bratwurst sandwiches, as well as flatbreads and salads. ❂ J R L D $

YUZU 7345-B Wisconsin Ave., 301-656-5234, yuzu bethesda.com. Diners will find authentic Japanese dishes, including sushi, sashimi and cooked tofu, vegetable, tempura, meat and fish dishes, prepared by sushi chef and owner Yoshihisa Ota. L D $$

CABIN JOHN FISH TACO 7945 MacArthur Blvd., 301-229-0900, fishtacoonline.com. See Bethesda listing. ❂JLD$

SAL’S ITALIAN KITCHEN (EDITORS’ PICK) 7945 MacArthur Blvd., 240-802-2370, salsitalian kitchen.net. Persimmon and Wild Tomato owners Damian and Stephanie Salvatore replaced their Asian concept Indigo House with a return to their roots. Find traditional Italian fare, such as bruschetta, risotto balls, Caprese salad, meatball subs, fettuccine Alfredo, chicken cacciatore and shrimp scampi. ❂ L D $$

WILD TOMATO (EDITORS’ PICK) 7945 MacArthur Blvd., 301-229-0680, wildtomatorestaurant.com. A family-friendly neighborhood restaurant from Persimmon owners Damian and Stephanie Salvatore, serving salads, sandwiches and pizza. Voted “Best Neighborhood Restaurant” by Bethesda Magazine readers in 2019. ❂ J L D $

CHEVY CHASE ALFIO’S LA TRATTORIA 4515 Willard Ave., 301-657-9133, alfios.com. This Northern Italian classic on the first floor of The Willoughby of Chevy Chase Condominium has been feeding families and casual diners for more than 30 years. Look for traditional pasta, veal and chicken dishes (plus pizza), served in an Old World environment. J L D $$

THE CAPITAL GRILLE 5310 Western Ave., 301-718-7812, capitalgrille. com. The upscale steak-house chain, known for its He-Man-sized portions and extensive wine list, is located in The Shops at Wisconsin Place. Entrees also include chicken, lamb chops, salmon and lobster. Voted “Best Private Dining Room” by Bethesda Magazine readers in 2020. L D $$$$

CLYDE’S 5441 Wisconsin Ave., 301-951-9600, clydes. com. The popular restaurant features a frequently changing menu of American favorites and a collection of vintage airplanes and cars, as well as

a model train running on a track around the ceiling. ❂  R L D $$

DON POLLO 7007 Wisconsin Ave., 301-652-0001, donpolloonline.com. See Bethesda listing. L D $

LA FERME (EDITORS’ PICK) 7101 Brookville Road, 301-986-5255, laferme restaurant.com. This charming Provence-style restaurant serving classic French cuisine is a popular choice for an intimate dinner. Cognac Le Bar at La Ferme, a bar within the restaurant, opened in fall 2016. The bar serves small plates and cocktails. Voted “Best Romantic Restaurant” by Bethesda Magazine readers in 2020 and “Best Restaurant in Chevy Chase” and “Best SpecialOccasion Restaurant” by readers in 2019. ❂ R L D $$$

LIA'S 4435 Willard Ave., 240-223-5427, chefgeoff.com. Owner Geoff Tracy focuses on high-quality, low-fuss modern Italian-American fare at this modern space with a wine room. Pizzas, house-made pastas and fresh fish please business lunchers and dinner crowds. ❂  R L D $

THE LITTLE BEET TABLE 5471 Wisconsin Ave., 240-283-0603, thelittlebeettable.com/chevychase. Part of a small chain that started in New York City, The Little Beet Table serves an entirely gluten-free lineup of dishes, including chicken, salmon, Korean rice cakes, a mushroom-and-black-bean burger and a whole branzino fish. The 100-seat full-service restaurant is in The Collection shopping area in Chevy Chase’s Friendship Heights neighborhood. See our review on page 260. ❂ L D $$

MANOLI CANOLI RESTAURANT 8540 Connecticut Ave., 301-951-1818, manolicanoli.com. Italian and Greek specialties abound at a fun family eatery that features a large prepared foods section, dishes made with olive oil from owner Stavros Manolakos’ family farm in Greece and homemade mozzarella on pizza and subs. ❂  L D $

MEIWAH RESTAURANT 4457 Willard Ave., 301-652-9882, meiwah restaurant.com. This modern restaurant on the second floor of a Friendship Heights office building offers top-quality Chinese dishes that are hard to beat. There’s also a sushi bar with an extensive menu. A fountain sparkles on the outdoor patio. ❂ L D $$

MOBY DICK HOUSE OF KABOB 7023 Wisconsin Ave., 301-654-1838, mobyskabob. com. This kabob takeout/eat-in mainstay was one of the first kabob places in the area. It makes its own pita bread. The menu includes a variety of salads and vegetarian sandwiches and platters. LD$

PERSIMMON (EDITORS’ PICK) 7003 Wisconsin Ave., 301-654-9860, persimmon restaurant.com. Owners Damian and Stephanie Salvatore’s popular restaurant offers casual fare from salads to sandwiches to meat and seafood entrees in a bistro setting featuring a lively bar, cozy booths and bright paintings on the walls. ❂ R L D $$

POTOMAC PIZZA 19 Wisconsin Circle, 301-951-1127, potomac pizza.com. This cheery, casual dining room provides

a break from the ultra-posh shopping surrounding it. In addition to pizza, subs and pastas are popular. Beer and wine available. ❂  L D $

SUSHIKO (EDITORS’ PICK) 5455 Wisconsin Ave., 301-961-1644, sushiko restaurants.com. Known as one of the Washington, D.C., area’s most respected sushi restaurants, Sushiko offers a wide range of sushi and other dishes. Kōbō, a restaurant within the restaurant, allows eight people to dine on 12- to 15-course tasting menus. ❂ L D $$

TAVIRA

Great LUNCH SPECIAL $14.95 HAPPY HOUR at the bar every day 4pm–7pm 50% OFF ALL BOTTLES OF WINES on Wednesday 4pm–close 50% OFF ALL BUBBLES AND BEERS by the bottle ON THURSDAY (not valid for beers on tap) 4pm–close

8401 Connecticut Ave., 301-652-8684, tavira restaurant.com. Fish stews and several versions of bacalhau (salted cod) figure prominently on the menu of this intriguing Portuguese restaurant, which manages to be charming and attractive despite its location in an office building basement. L D $$

GARRETT PARK BLACK MARKET BISTRO (EDITORS’ PICK) 4600 Waverly Ave., 301-933-3000, blackmarket restaurant.com. Sublime American bistro fare served in a restored Victorian building next to railroad tracks; the building once served as a general store and still houses a post office. Entrees range from swordfish to a burger and pizza, including several vegetable options. Voted “Best Restaurant in Garrett Park/Kensington” by Bethesda Magazine readers in 2019. ❂  R L D $$

8008 Woodmont Avenue Bethesda, Md 20814 301-654-6083

PIZZERIADAMARCO.NET

KENSINGTON THE BIG GREEK CAFE 5268 Nicholson Lane, 301-881-4976, biggreekcafe.com. See Bethesda listing. L D $

THE DISH & DRAM 10301 Kensington Parkway, 301-962-4046, thedishanddram.com. The owners of The Daily Dish in Silver Spring serve comfort food made with local ingredients in a 2,800-square-foot space in Kensington. Steak frites, Maryland crab soup, burgers and house-made desserts are on the menu.  R L D $$

FRANKLY…PIZZA! (EDITORS’ PICK) 10417 Armory Ave., 301-832-1065, franklypizza. com. Owner Frank Linn turns out high-quality pizza in a rustic brick-and-mortar restaurant. The menu offers wood-fired pies topped with home-cured meats and tomato sauce made from an 80-yearold family recipe. Wines and homemade sodas served on tap, too. Voted “Best Pizza” by Bethesda Magazine readers in 2020. ❂ L D $

JAVA NATION 10516 Connecticut Ave., 301-327-6580, javanation.com. There’s a brunch menu at this coffee shop tucked into a strip mall. Beer, wine and liquor are served, along with coffee that’s roasted on-site. R L $$

K TOWN BISTRO 3784 Howard Ave., 301-933-1211, ktownbistro. com. Try filet mignon, duck breast à l’orange, chicken marsala and other classic continental dishes from this family-run eatery owned by Gonzalo Barba, former longtime captain of the restaurant in the Watergate Hotel. L D $$

Chef Guo

Founder of Chinese Imperial Banquet Cuisine, Elite Master Chef of Chinese Culinary Arts The Finest Personalized Gourmet Chinese Cuisine in America 6259 Little River Turnpike, Alexandria VA 22312 Reservation: ChefGuo.com (703) 256-8886

For every special event in your life!

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dine KNOWLES STATION WINE & CO. 10414 Detrick Ave., Suite 100; 301-272-9080; knowlesstation.com. Part retail wine shop, part restaurant, part bar, this spot near the intersection of Knowles and Summit avenues features a short menu with meat and cheese plates, appetizers, salads and sandwiches (including grilled chicken, roast pork and crabcake). Find more than a dozen beers on draft and more than two dozen wines by the glass, plus lots of beer and wine to go. ❂ JL D $$

NORTH POTOMAC/ GAITHERSBURG ASIA NINE 254 Crown Park Ave. (Downtown Crown), 301-3309997, asianinemd.com. Pan Asian restaurant with a first location in Washington, D.C.’s Penn Quarter offers dishes from Vietnam, China, Thailand and Japan. Specialties include grilled lamb chops served with mango-soy coulis and miso honey duck breast drizzled with a sake butter sauce. R L D $$

ATHENS GRILL 9124 Rothbury Drive, 301-975-0757, athensgrill. com. This casual, friendly, family-run restaurant specializes in authentic Greek cooking, using recipes handed down through generations. Specialties such as rotisserie chicken, chargrilled salmon with a lemon dill sauce and lamb kabobs are cooked on a hardwood grill. L D $

BARKING MAD CAFE 239 Spectrum Ave., 240-297-6230, barkingmad cafe.com. Cooking from a wood hearth and selecting vegetables, herbs and edible flowers from its aeroponic (grown in air/mist but without soil) organic garden, Barking Mad Cafe has a corner spot in Watkins Mill Town Center. Look for madefrom-scratch brunch, lunch and dinner sweets and savories, such as breakfast pizza, watermelon salad and farro salad. ❂ R L D $$

BUCA DI BEPPO 122 Kentlands Blvd., 301-947-7346, bucadibeppo. com. The Kentlands outpost of this national chain serves huge, family-style portions of Italian specialties from fresh breads to antipasti and pasta dishes amid a sea of Italian kitsch. Desserts include Italian Creme Cake and tiramisu. J L D $$

COAL FIRE 116 Main St., 301-519-2625, coalfireonline.com. Homemade crusts fired by coal and topped with your choice of toppings and three different sauces: classic, spicy and signature, which is slightly sweet with a hint of spice. Salads, sandwiches and pasta also available, plus a full bar. ❂ L D $

COASTAL FLATS 135 Crown Park Ave. (Downtown Crown), 301869-8800, greatamericanrestaurants.com. First Maryland locale for Great American Restaurants, a Fairfax-based chain. Seaside-inspired decor extends to the menu, which offers lobster and shrimp rolls, fried grouper and Key lime pie. Steaks, pasta and burgers also served. ❂ J R L D $$

COPPER CANYON GRILL 100 Boardwalk Place (Rio), 240-631-0003, ccgrill. com. Large portions of American classics such as salads, ribs and rotisserie chicken prepared with seasonal ingredients at family-friendly prices are

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the bill of fare at this spacious and casual chain restaurant. J L D $$

DOGFISH HEAD ALEHOUSE 800 W. Diamond Ave., 301-963-4847, dogfishale house.com. The first Maryland outpost of the popular Rehoboth Beach brewpub, the restaurant is packed with revelers and families clamoring for the Dogfish Head brews, burgers, pizzas and ribs. Check out the burger of the week. ❂ J L D $$

DOG HAUS BIERGARTEN (NEW) 644 Center Point Way, 240-690-6090, kentlands. doghaus.com. See Bethesda listing. L D $

DON POLLO 9083 Gaither Road, 301-990-0981, donpollogroup. com. See Bethesda listing. ❂ L D $

FIREBIRDS WOOD FIRED GRILL 390 Spectrum Ave., 301-284-1770, gaithersburg. firebirdsrestaurants.com. Part of a chain, this restaurant in the Watkins Mill Town Center cooks steaks and seafood over a wood-fired grill. Designed to look like a Colorado lodge, the eatery tends toward classic fare for entrees (surf-and-turf, salmon, burgers) and dessert (chocolate cake, Key lime pie, carrot cake). ❂ J L D $$

GREGORIO’S TRATTORIA 7745 Tuckerman Lane (Cabin John Village), 301296-6168, gregoriostrattoria.com. A full slate of Italian dishes—from lasagna and baked ziti to frutti di mare and New York-style pizza—fills the menu at this Cabin John Village restaurant. J L D $$

GUAPO’S RESTAURANT 9811 Washingtonian Blvd., L-17 (Rio), 301-9775655, guaposrestaurant.com. See Bethesda listing. ❂JRLD$

HERSHEY’S RESTAURANT & BAR 17030 Oakmont Ave., 301-948-9893, hersheysat thegrove.com. Fried chicken that tastes like it was made by an aproned elder is served up in a clapboard building constructed in 1889. Besides the fab fried chicken, Hershey’s serves up warm rolls, inexpensive prices and live music. ❂ J B R L D $$

IL PORTO RESTAURANT 245 Muddy Branch Road, 301-590-0735, ilporto restaurant.com. A classic red-sauce menu, elegant murals of Venice and an authentic thincrust pizza are hallmarks of this friendly, unfussy Italian restaurant tucked in the Festival Shopping Center. Fried calamari and the white pizza are among customer favorites. Voted “Best Restaurant in Gaithersburg/North Potomac” by Bethesda Magazine readers in 2019. ❂ L D $

INFERNO PIZZERIA NAPOLETANA (EDITORS’ PICK) 12207 Darnestown Road, 301-963-0115, inferno-pizzeria.com. Tony Conte, former executive chef of Washington, D.C.’s Oval Room, goes casual with his first restaurant, an authentic Neapolitan pizzeria offering sophisticated toppings such as shaved truffles and garlic confit. Cozy dining room seats 39, with a tiled, wood-burning pizza oven as the centerpiece. D $$

IXTAPALAPA TAQUERIA 411 N. Frederick Ave., 240-702-0217, ixtataqueria.com. The owners of Taco Bar (in a Gaithersburg gas station) serve Mexican street food at this fast-casual spot. Pick a protein to go on corn tortillas, then head to the fixings bar. Or try a taco that comes already topped (the alambre

MARCH/APRIL 2020 | BETHESDAMAGAZINE.COM

with bacon, grilled onions and red peppers and Oaxaca cheese is good). ❂ L D $

KENAKI SUSHI 706 Center Point Way, 240-224-7189, kenakisushi. com. This sushi counter at Kentlands Market Square offers what the owners call a “modern take on traditional sushi.” Experiment with the Black Magic roll, which comes with truffle oil and black sushi rice. Lunch is more informal, but at dinner there’s full service. L D $

LANZHOU HAND PULL NOODLE 3 Grand Corner Ave. (Rio), 240-403-7486, lanzhounoodlemd.com. The made-to-order noodles (choose hand-pulled or knife-sliced) at this fastcasual spot are served in soups and stir-fries with beef, chicken, duck and other proteins. Rice dishes, dumplings and pork buns are also available. L D $

THE MELTING POT 9021 Gaither Road, 301-519-3638, themeltingpot. com. There’s nothing like dipping bits of bread, vegetables and apples into a communal pot of hot cheese to get a date or a party started. The Melting Pot chain also offers wine, oil or broth to cook meat tableside and chocolate fondue for dessert. J D $$

MOBY DICK HOUSE OF KABOB 105 Market St., 301-978-7770, mobyskabob. com. See Chevy Chase listing. L D $

MOD PIZZA 145 Commerce Square Place, 240-552-9850, modpizza.com. The Bellevue, Washington-based chain offers design-your-own fast-casual pies (hence, Made on Demand, or MOD). Pizzas, cooked at 800 degrees for three minutes, can be topped with a choice of nearly 40 sauces, cheeses, meats, spices and veggies. ❂ L D $

NOT YOUR AVERAGE JOE’S 245 Kentlands Blvd., 240-477-1040, notyouraveragejoes.com. See Bethesda listing. ❂ J L D $$

OLD TOWN POUR HOUSE 212 Ellington Blvd. (Downtown Crown), 301-9636281, oldtownpourhouse.com. One of the eateries from Chicago’s Bottleneck Management restaurant company, this place features more than 90 local and international brews on tap. Classic American cuisine is served in a setting with copper-inlaid bars and high ceilings. ❂ L D $$

PALADAR LATIN KITCHEN & RUM BAR 203 Crown Park Ave., 301-330-4400, paladarlatinkitchen.com. This Cleveland-based chain covers the spectrum of Latin cuisine, with dishes from Cuba, the Caribbean and Central and South America. From Brazil, there’s feijoada stew; from Cuba, ropa vieja; and from Jamaica, jerk chicken. Bar selections includes 50 varieties of rum, 15 tequilas and six types of mojitos. ❂ J R L D $$

QUINCY’S BAR & GRILLE 616 Quince Orchard Road, 301-869-8200, quincysgroup.com. Energetic neighborhood pub with a sports bar atmosphere, Quincy’s also has an extensive menu with wings, pizza, build-yourown burgers and chicken sandwiches, plus entrees including Guinness-braised brisket. Live music is also a big draw. L D $

RUTH’S CHRIS STEAK HOUSE 106 Crown Park Ave. (Downtown Crown), 301-9901926, ruthschris.com. See Bethesda listing. D $$$

SILVER DINER 9811 Washingtonian Blvd. (Rio), 301-321-3530, silverdiner.com. This branch of the trendy diner includes a full bar and brasserie-style interior. The latest food trends (think quinoa coconut pancakes) share company on the enormous menu with diner staples such as meatloaf and mashed potatoes. ❂ J B R L D $$

TACO DADDY 555 Quince Orchard Road, 240-261-9777, tacodaddycantina.com. Tacos and tequila are the focus at this branch of a restaurant based in Frederick, Maryland. Other Mexican food (such as enchiladas and fajitas) round out the offerings in the brightly painted space with kitschy decor. A mariachi band plays on Thursdays. ❂ L D $$

TANDOORI NIGHTS 106 Market St., 301-947-4007, tandoorinightsmd. com. See Bethesda listing. ❂ L D $

TED’S BULLETIN 220 Ellington Blvd. (Downtown Crown), 301990-0600, tedsbulletin.com. First Maryland location of the modern diner chainlet from the folks at Matchbox Food Group. Boozy milkshakes, homemade pop tarts and the Cinnamon Roll As Big As Ya Head (served weekends only) are among the specialties. ❂ J B R L D $$

TED’S MONTANA GRILL 105 Ellington Blvd. (Downtown Crown), 301-3300777, tedsmontanagrill.com. First Maryland location of billionaire and bison rancher Ted Turner’s restaurant chain, which uses bison as the showpiece in a humongous selection of dishes, including burgers, meatloaf, nachos and chili. Soups, salads, American classics and spiked milkshakes also available at this saloon-style eatery. ❂ J L D $$

THAI TANIUM 657 Center Point Way, 301-990-3699, thaitanium restaurant.com. Authentic Thai food laced with lots of chilies and garlic as hot as you like. Try one of the Thai street food dishes, such as roasted pork with Thai herbed sweet sauce and noodle soups. ❂JLD$

UNCLE JULIO’S 231 Rio Blvd. (Rio), 240-632-2150, unclejulios.com. See Bethesda listing. ❂ J R L D $$

UNION JACK'S 9811 Washingtonian Blvd. (Rio), 240-780-7139, unionjacksrio.com. With a British pub theme, this spot includes lots of drink specials, live music events and a menu with fish and chips, citrus salmon, burgers, pizzas and pub fare. Billiards, darts and a slew of TVs are also here. ❂ R L D $$

VASILI'S KITCHEN 705 Center Point Way, 301-977-1011, vasilis kitchen.com. Tan and brown decor lends a cozy vibe to this 4,700-square-foot Kentlands restaurant. The owners ran the popular Vasili’s Mediterranean Grill in another Kentlands location for more than a decade before closing it to focus on Vasili’s Kitchen. The Mediterranean menu is heavy on seafood dishes. ❂ J D $$

YARD HOUSE 211 Rio Blvd. (Rio), 240-683-8790, yardhouse. com. Part of a chain with locations in California, Illinois and Texas, this RIO Washingtonian Center spot is big: The 13,000-square-foot restaurant has more than 100 beers on draft, and more than 100

items on its menu, from poke nachos and Nashville hot chicken to Parmesan-crusted pork loin and ginger-crusted salmon. ❂ J L D $$

YOYOGI SUSHI 317 Main St., 301-963-0001. yoyogisushi.wixsite. com/yoyogisushi. A no-nonsense neighborhood sushi place offering the familiar sushi, teriyaki, tempura and green tea or red bean ice cream. ❂ LD$

ZIKI JAPANESE STEAK HOUSE 10009 Fields Road, 301-330-3868, zikisteakhouse. com. This large steak house on a busy corner charms patrons with its fountains, stone Buddhas and geisha mannequins. Food offerings include sushi, as well as meats cooked on a tableside hibachi. J L D $$

gluten-free menu offers pizza, cheese ravioli and quinoa pastas. J L D $$

THE GRILLED OYSTER CO. (EDITORS’ PICK) 7943 Tuckerman Lane (Cabin John Village), 301299-9888, thegrilledoystercompany.com. This Chesapeake-style seafood eatery features small plates, salads, sandwiches and entrees. The sampler of four grilled oysters—with ingredients such as coconut rum and cucumber relish— showcases the namesake item. ❂ J R L D $$

GRINGOS & MARIACHIS (EDITORS’ PICK) 12435 Park Potomac Ave., 301-339-8855, gringosandmariachis.com. See Bethesda listing. This location voted “Best New Restaurant” by Bethesda Magazine readers in 2019. ❂ D $

HUNTER’S BAR AND GRILL 10123 River Road, 301-299-9300, thehuntersinn. com. At this Potomac institution and popular English hunt-themed spot, try a big salad or hamburger for lunch and a traditional pasta dish or filet mignon for dinner with the family. ❂ J R L D $$

POTOMAC ADDIE’S (EDITORS’ PICK) 12435 Park Potomac Ave., 301-340-0081, addies restaurant.com. Longtime North Bethesda restaurant from the Black Restaurant Group that closed in 2013 is reborn in the Park Potomac development. Date nights call for the signature entrees for two. ❂ R L D $$

ATTMAN’S DELICATESSEN 7913 Tuckerman Lane (Cabin John Village), 301765-3354, cabinjohn.attmansdeli.com. This landmark Baltimore deli has run a second location in Potomac since 2013. The menu offers the same legendary corned beef, pastrami and other deli specialties. Third-generation owner Marc Attman is at the helm. J B L D $

BROOKLYN’S DELI & CATERING 1089 Seven Locks Road, 301-340-3354, brooklyns delimd.com. From chopped liver to chicken soup, Brooklyn’s serves all the deli specialties, plus more. Think hot pastrami with coleslaw and Russian dressing on pumpernickel. ❂ J B L D $

LAHINCH TAVERN AND GRILL 7747 Tuckerman Lane (Cabin John Village), 240499-8922, lahinchtavernandgrill.com. The menu of this sister restaurant to The Irish Inn at Glen Echo commingles Irish standards (traditional sausage roll, shepherd’s pie, bangers and mash, lamb stew) with fare such as Alaskan halibut. Lahinch is a coastal town in Ireland’s County Clare. J R L D $$$

LE PAIN QUOTIDIEN 7991 Tuckerman Lane (Cabin John Village), 240205-7429, lepainquotidien.com. See Bethesda listing. ❂ J B R L D $

LOCK 72 KITCHEN & BAR (EDITORS’ PICK) 10128 River Road, 301-299-0481, lock72.com. Well-known chef Robert Wiedmaier’s RW Restaurant Group runs this upscale American pub (formerly called River Falls Tavern). Entrees include panroasted duck breast, crabcake, rockfish and New York strip steak. ❂ R L D $$

MOBY DICK HOUSE OF KABOB

CAVA 7991 Tuckerman Lane (Cabin John Village), 301200-5398, cava.com. See Bethesda listing. ❂LD$

ELEVATION BURGER 12525-D Park Potomac Ave., 301-838-4010, elevationburger.com. Fast-food burgers go organic and grass-fed at this Northern Virginia-founded chain. Veggie burgers, chicken sandwiches, grilled cheese and a BLT available, too. Shake flavors range from banana to Key lime and cheesecake. ❂LD$

GRAND FUSION CUISINE 350 East Fortune Terrace, 301-838-2862, grand fusionrestaurant.com. Diners will find something for everyone seeking a taste of the Asian continent, a full sushi bar, and Chinese, Malaysian and Singaporean specialties. Chef’s specials include Crispy Eggplant in Spicy Orange Sauce and Double Flavored Shrimp. ❂ L D $

GREGORIO’S TRATTORIA 7745 Tuckerman Lane (Cabin John Village), 301296-6168, gregoriostrattoria.com. Proprietor Greg Kahn aims to make everyone feel at home at this family-owned restaurant serving a hit parade of traditional Italian favorites, with all the familiar pasta, pizza, chicken, veal and seafood dishes; the

9812 Falls Road, 240-660-2626, mobyskabob.com. See Chevy Chase listing. L D $

MOCO’S FOUNDING FARMERS 12505 Park Potomac Ave., 301-340-8783, wearefoundingfarmers.com. Farm-inspired fare in a modern and casual setting; this is the sister restaurant to the phenomenally popular downtown D.C. Founding Farmers. Try the warm cookies for dessert. Voted “Best Craft Cocktails” and “Best Brunch” by Bethesda Magazine readers in 2020, and also “Best Brunch” in 2019. ❂ B R L D $$

NORMANDIE FARM RESTAURANT 10710 Falls Road, 301-983-8838, popovers.com. This fine-dining French restaurant, open since 1931, strives to preserve its classical heritage while embracing new traditions. Dinner entrees run from seafood to beef and lamb. The restaurant offers quick service, a casual cafe option and a violinist at afternoon tea. ❂ J R L D $$

O’DONNELL’S MARKET 1073 Seven Locks Road, 301-251-6355, odonnells market.com. This market, from the family that ran O’Donnell’s restaurants in Montgomery County for decades, features a 10-seat bar for lunch and happy hour. The menu includes a raw bar, salads and many O’Donnell’s classics, among them a lump-filled crabcake sandwich, salmon BLT, seafood bisque

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dine and crab gumbo. ❂ L $

OLD ANGLER’S INN 10801 MacArthur Blvd., 301-365-2425, oldanglers inn.com. Open since 1860 and known for its refined American food and beautiful fireplaces and grounds, it features live music on weekends. Signature cocktails include hard cider sangria and a pumpkin pie martini. Voted “Best Outdoor Dining” by Bethesda Magazine readers in 2020. ❂ R L D $$$

POTOMAC PIZZA 9812 Falls Road, 301-299-7700, potomacpizza. com. See Chevy Chase listing. J L D $

RENATO’S AT RIVER FALLS 10120 River Road, 301-365-1900, renatosatriver falls.net. The Italian restaurant offers fish dishes among its menu of pastas and classics such as penne with eggplant, and chicken parmigiana. Traditional Italian desserts include tiramisu, profiteroles and cannolis. Voted “Best Restaurant in Potomac” by Bethesda Magazine readers in 2019. ❂ J L D $$

SISTERS THAI 7995 Tuckerman Lane (Cabin John Village), 301299-4157. The owners of a Thai restaurant and bakery in Virginia serve classic Thai dishes in a setting that mixes several decor styles (one room has a fireplace and looks like a living room filled with books). A dessert counter offers coffee and tea drinks along with ice cream, snow ice and other treats. ❂ L D $$

SUGO OSTERIA 12505 Park Potomac Ave., 240-386-8080, eatsugo.com. This stylish spot starts you off with honey-thyme butter on rustic bread. The menu focuses on Italian small plates, meatballs, sliders, pizza and pasta. Chef specialties include blue crab gnocchi and charred octopus. ❂ R L D $$

TALLY-HO RESTAURANT 9923 Falls Road, 301-299-6825, tallyhorestaurant. com. A local fixture since 1968, the eatery serves an expansive diner-style menu with Greek and Italian specialties. Choose from options ranging from burgers and deli sandwiches to pizza, calzones and dinner entrees. ❂ J B L D $

THE WINE HARVEST 12525-B Park Potomac Ave., 240-314-0177, thewineharvest.com. Stop by this popular Cheerslike wine bar for a glass of wine or a Belgian beer. The menu includes salads, sandwiches and cheese plates. ❂ L D $

ROCKVILLE/ NORTH BETHESDA A & J RESTAURANT (EDITORS’ PICK) 1319-C Rockville Pike, 301-251-7878, aj-restaurant. com. Northern dim sum is the specialty at this hard-to-find cash-only spot in the Woodmont Station shopping center. Warm-colored walls surround the crowd digging into thousand-layer pancakes and fresh tofu. R L D $

AKIRA RAMEN & IZAKAYA 1800 Rockville Pike, 240-242-3669, akiraramen. com. This minimalist Japanese eatery serves house-made noodles and vibrant food such as a poke salad. The sleek establishment, located on

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the first floor of the Galvan at Twinbrook building, features an open kitchen and several variations of ramen to choose from. L D $

AL CARBÓN 200 Park Road, 301-738-0003, alcarbonrestaurant. com. Serving authentic Latin American fare across the street from the Rockville Metro station, this unassuming roadhouse has a loyal following for its arepas, empanadas, tapas and more. Try one of the natural juices including mango and tamarindo. ❂BLD$

AL HA'ESH 4860 Boiling Brook Parkway (Randolph Hills Shopping Center), 301-231-0839, al-haesh.com. Kosher Israeli grill serves vegetable and protein skewers (including chicken, lamb, beef, chicken livers and sweetbreads). All entrees come with small ramekins of salads (think curried chickpeas; marinated red cabbage; and balsamic marinated mushrooms). ❂ L D $$

AMALFI RISTORANTE ITALIANO 12307 Wilkins Ave., 301-770-7888, amalfirockville. com. A family-run, red-sauce Italian restaurant with specialties including white pizza and lasagna. Lots of antipasti choices, too. The gazebo is a charming spot to dine during the summer. J L D $$

AMICI MIEI RISTORANTE 6 N. Washington St., 301-545-0966, amicimieiristorante.com. Previously located at the Potomac Woods Plaza, this upscale Italian restaurant serves wood-fired pizzas, homemade pastas and creative salads. The new, smaller establishment is cozier than the last with a menu that changes twice a year. L D $

AMINA THAI RESTAURANT 5065 Nicholson Lane, 301-770-9509. Pleasant and bright, Amina Thai is run by a husband-andwife team and bills itself as the first Muslim Thai restaurant in the area, using only halal meats and serving familiar Thai dishes. Chef’s specials include pineapple fried rice and grilled salmon. L D $

&PIZZA 11626 Old Georgetown Road (Pike & Rose), 240621-7016, andpizza.com. See Bethesda listing. ❂LD$

BANGKOK GARDEN THAI STREET EATS 891-D Rockville Pike (Wintergreen Plaza), 301-5452848. This fast-casual spot is a sister to Bangkok Garden in Bethesda and offers Thai classics (drunken noodles, pad Thai, fried rice, and curries served with chicken or pork belly) alongside Thai street fare, such as a mussel omelet. L D $

BARONESSA ITALIAN RESTAURANT 1302 E. Gude Drive, 301-838-9050, baronessarestaurant.com. Pizzas made in a woodburning oven and more than two dozen Italian entrees star on the menu at this 100-seat stripmall restaurant. Trivia nights and kids pizza-making classes are offered. J R L D $$

BB.Q CHICKEN 9712 Traville Gateway Drive, 301-309-0962, bbqchickenrockville.com. This Korean chain uses olive oil for frying its chicken, which you can order as whole, half, wings or boneless. Other Korean and fusion entrees and sides—including kimchi fried rice, calamari and fried dumplings—are on the menu too. There’s also a full bar. L D $

THE BLOCK (NEW) 967 Rose Ave. (Pike & Rose), theblockfoodhall.com. This Asian food hall is a sibling of an Annandale

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spot that helped launch the food hall trend. Find poke, Korean barbecue, shaved ice cream and more from a half dozen stalls. The center of the space houses a bar with TVs. ❂ L D $

BOB'S SHANGHAI 66 305 N. Washington St., 301-251-6652. Dim sum and rice and noodle dishes are the specialties at this popular eatery offering Taiwanese, Shanghai and Sichuan cuisine. It’s also one of the area’s top destinations for soup dumplings, where you can even watch the chefs making them in a glassenclosed booth. R L D $

BOMBAY BISTRO 98 W. Montgomery Ave., 301-762-8798, bombaybistro.com. Bombay Bistro opened in 1991 as one of the first Indian restaurants in the area to combine high style, reasonable prices and a fresh take on traditional Indian, and it has been packed ever since. House specialties include tandoori lamb chops and shrimp and scallops masala. J L D $$

BONCHON CHICKEN 107 Gibbs St., Unit A (Rockville Town Square), 301637-9079, bonchon.com. International fried chicken franchise with Korean roots serves up wings, drumsticks and strips with soy-garlic or spicy hot garlic sauce, plus other traditional offerings such as bulgogi, bibimbap and scallion seafood pancakes. LD$

BOTANERO 800 Pleasant Drive, Suite 160, 240-474-5461, botanerorockville.com. Located in the King Farm neighborhood, this small plates restaurant and wine bar features cuisine that changes seasonally. Some recent offerings include a fig and prosciutto flatbread and quinoa grilled salmon. B L D $

CAVA 12037 Rockville Pike (Montrose Crossing), 240235-0627; 28 Upper Rock Circle, 301-200-5530; cava.com. See Bethesda listing. ❂ L D $

CAVA MEZZE (EDITORS’ PICK) 9713 Traville Gateway Drive, 301-309-9090, cavamezze.com. The dark and elegant CAVA Mezze offers small plates of everything from fried Greek cheese, octopus and orzo in cinnamon tomato sauce to crispy pork belly and macaroni and cheese. There are martini specials, too. Voted “Best Middle Eastern Restaurant” by Bethesda Magazine readers in 2020. ❂ R L D $$

CHINA BISTRO 755 Hungerford Drive, 301-294-0808. Extensive Chinese menu features many familiar favorites, but this is the place to go for dumplings. With tender dough wrappers and chock-full interiors, these beauties come 12 to an order and with 16 different filling choices. Fresh, uncooked dumplings are also available for carryout. L D $

CHINA GARDEN 11333 Woodglen Drive, 301-881-2800, chinagardenhg.com. The Cantonese restaurant moved from Rosslyn, Virginia, to the former Paladar Latin Kitchen & Rum Bar space. The lunch menu includes dim sum items (they are on a pushcart on weekends). L D $$

CITY PERCH KITCHEN + BAR 11830 Grand Park Ave. (Pike & Rose), 301-2312310, cityperch.com. Located above the entrance to the iPic Theaters at Pike & Rose, City Perch offers creative, seasonal American cuisine in a rustic, inviting space. The menu includes raw-bar selections, small plates, shareable salads and

entree options such as grilled shrimp and Long Island duck. ❂ R L D $$$

CLYDE'S TOWER OAKS LODGE 2 Preserve Parkway, 301-294-0200, clydes.com/ tower. Here is Clyde’s version of a lodge in the mountains. Well-prepared food runs the gamut of American desires, from burgers to fish, plus a raw bar. Check out the twig sculpture spanning the ceiling of The Saranac Room. J R L D $$

COMMONWEALTH INDIAN 11610 Old Georgetown Road (Pike & Rose), 240833-3055. The owner of two Bollywood Bistro restaurants in Virginia opened this fine-dining spot that serves traditional Indian favorites such as curry chicken and butter chicken, along with fresh-baked bread and Indian salad. The bar has Indian-inspired cocktails and Indian beers and wines. ❂ R L D $$$

COOPER'S HAWK 1403 Research Blvd. (Research Row), 301-5179463, chwinery.com/locations/maryland/rockvillemd. Part of a national chain, this restaurant and winery lists which of its wines to pair with the contemporary American dishes on the sprawling menu (pasta, steak, seafood, burgers, 600-calorie or less dishes). There’s also a tasting room and a retail space. ❂ J L D $$$

CSNY PIZZA 1020 Rockville Pike, 301-298-3650, csnypizza. wixisite.com/sneaksite. Carry out a New York-style pizza from this spot by the owners of Pizza CS. Their second Rockville location also offers six seats for guests to dine in, and serves whole pies, hot subs and pizza by the slice. L D $

DOMOISHI 201 E. Middle Lane, 301-666-6685, domoishi. com. This Rockville Town Center restaurant lets diners customize their bowls of ramen, and also sells poke and wings. The eatery shares an address with Pearl Lady, a bubble tea shop. LD$

DON POLLO 2206 Veirs Mill Road, 301-309-1608, donpollogroup.com. See Bethesda listing. L D $

EAST PEARL RESTAURANT 838-B Rockville Pike, 301-838-8663, eastpearl restaurant.com. Choose from many options of Hong Kong cuisine, including familiar dishes featuring chicken, beef, poultry, pork and even duck, as well as those for adventurous tastes. Try the soups ranging from egg drop to seafood with bean curd. LD$

EL MARIACHI RESTAURANT 765-D Rockville Pike, 301-738-7177, elmariachi rockville.com. Serving Tex-Mex and South American food in a bright, pleasant space made lively with colorful art. In addition to the usual enchiladas, tacos and burritos, look for Peruvian seafood and Cuban beef specialties. L D $

EL PATIO 5240 Randolph Road, 301-231-9225. This bustling cafe with pretty green umbrellas on the patio serves up the traditional meat-heavy dishes of Argentina, as well as pizzas and freshly made baked goods. Look for mouth-watering empanadas, beef tongue and sausage specialties. ❂ J B L D $

FAR EAST RESTAURANT 5055 Nicholson Lane, 301-881-5552, fareastrockvillemd.com. Owned and operated by the same family since 1974, this classic Chinese

restaurant greets customers with two royal stone lions out front and sticks to the familiar ChineseAmerican basics. Check out the daily specials and dim sum menu. L D $$

FARMSOOK 800 King Farm Blvd., 301-258-8829, farmsookthaikitchen.com. A tastefully modern dining room soaked in a soothing yellow light. The usual suspects are on the menu here, but chef’s suggestions include an intriguing broiled fish wrapped in banana leaf and stir-fried duck. L D $$

FINNEGAN’S WAKE IRISH PUB 100 Gibbs St. (Rockville Town Square), 301-3398267, finneganswakerockville.com. Irish pub with a nice selection of bourbons, whiskeys and Irish beers and a very limited bar menu offering such fare as bangers and mash, poutine (french fries, gravy and cheese curds), a chicken club sandwich, fish and chips, wings and a burger. L D $

FLOR DE LUNA 11417 Woodglen Drive, 240-242-4066, flordeluna md.com. Latin American fare includes tamales and lomo saltado (a stir-fry of beef and peppers) at this 75-seat restaurant near Whole Foods Market. Tacos, nachos and quesadillas are also in the lineup. Finish off your meal with the tres leches (three milks) cake. ❂ J R L D $$

FLOWER CHILD 10072 Darnestown Road (Travilah Square Shopping Center), 301-545-6750, iamaflowerchild.com. See Bethesda listing. ❂ L D $

FOGO DE CHÃO 11600 Old Georgetown Road (Pike & Rose), 301841-9200, fogodechao.com. Part of an international chain, the Brazilian steakhouse offers cuts of meat—plus a salad and vegetable station—at allyou-can-eat prices. ❂ R L D $$$

FONTINA GRILLE 801 Pleasant Drive, 301-947-5400, fontinagrille. com. A trendy spot with its curvy maple bar and wood-burning pizza oven, Fontina Grille is a favorite gathering place for the King Farm neighborhood. Pizza, pasta and salads are the main attractions. Three-dollar pasta dishes available on Monday nights and half-price bottles of wine on Tuesdays. ❂ J R L D $$

GORDON BIERSCH 200-A E. Middle Lane (Rockville Town Square), 301340-7159, gordonbiersch.com/restaurants. The national brewpub chain prides itself on house beers and friendly service. The shiny bar is boisterous, and the menu includes bar favorites with some barbecue and Asian touches, small plates, salads, pizza and flatbreads. J L D $$

GUMBO YA YA 101 Gibbs Unit C (Rockville Town Square), gumbo-yaya.com. Fusing New Orleans and Puerto Rican cuisine, this casual spot offers empanadas, jambalaya, po’ boys, blackened catfish and more. JRLD$

GYROLAND 1701-B3 Rockville Pike, 301-816-7829, gyrolandmd.com. Build-your-own salads, open-face and wrapped sandwiches, and other Greek choices star at this fast-casual spot near Congressional Plaza. For dessert, Gyroland serves loukoumades, a bite-size fluffy Greek doughnut soaked in hot honey syrup. L D $

HARD TIMES CAFÉ 1117 Nelson St., 301-294-9720, hardtimes.com. Good American beer selections, hearty chili styles ranging from Cincinnati (cinnamon and tomato) to Texas (beef and hot peppers), and hefty salads and wings bring families to this Wild West-style saloon for lunch and dinner. L D $

HINODE JAPANESE RESTAURANT 134 Congressional Lane, 301-816-2190, hinode restaurant.com. Serving traditional Japanese cuisine since 1992. All-you-can-eat lunch and weekend dinner buffet offers 40 types of sushi, 14 hot foods and a salad bar. Check out the patio with full bar service. L D $$

IL PIZZICO (EDITORS’ PICK) 15209 Frederick Road, 301-309-0610, ilpizzico. com. Setting aside the strip mall location and lack of pizza (il pizzico means “the pinch” in Italian), chef-owner Enzo Livia’s house-made pasta dishes, gracious service and extensive wine list of mainly Italian wines make even a weeknight meal feel special. L D $$

IRON AGE 1054 Rockville Pike, 301-424-1474, ironagekoreansteakhouse.com. Part of a small chain of all-you-can-eat Korean barbecue restaurants, this branch opened in 2012. Garlic pork belly, spicy chicken and beef brisket are among the dozen-plus offerings. There are two menu options (the pricier one includes a few more items, such as steak and octopus). J L D $$

JAVA NATION (NEW) 11120 Rockville Pike, 301-836-6022, java-nation. com. An offshoot of a coffeeshop in Kensington, this Rockville Pike restaurant in the space that once housed Addie’s serves a full-service menu of fish, oysters and other seafood. There’s a 10-seat bar for beer, wine, liquor—and coffee. ❂ J R L D $$

JINYA RAMEN BAR 910 Prose St. (Pike & Rose), 301-816-3029, jinyaramenbar.com. A 74-seat eatery that’s part of a chain, Jinya serves 12 different types of ramen, ranging from the classic wonton chicken to a creamy vegan option. Try the Jinya Mini Tacos, which come with a choice of salmon poke, pork chashu and kimchee, or spicy tuna. Voted “Best Ramen” by Bethesda Magazine readers in 2020. J L D $

JOE’S NOODLE HOUSE 1488-C Rockville Pike, 301-881-5518, joesnoodlehouse.com. Chinese expats and many other customers consider the Sichuan specialties (soft bean curd with spicy sauce and hot beef jerky) among the area’s best examples of gourmet Chinese cooking. L D $

JULII (EDITORS’ PICK) 11915 Grand Park Ave. (Pike & Rose), 301-5179090, julii.com. A French Mediterranean bistro from the owners of CAVA, Julii looks like a glass box from the outside and serves fare such as salmon crudo, roasted bone marrow, crispy trout, New York strip au poivre and tableside nitrogen ice cream. Voted “Best New Restaurant” by Bethesda Magazine readers in 2020. L D $$

KUSSHI 11826 Trade St. (Pike & Rose), 240-770-0355, kusshisushi.com. The owners of Hanaro Restaurant & Lounge, a Japanese restaurant in Bethesda, serve up similar sushi offerings here. A boat-shaped platter with 64 to 128 pieces of sushi or sashimi is a fun shareable option. L D $$

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dine KUYA JA’S LECHON BELLY 5268-H Nicholson Lane, 240-669-4383, kuyajas. com. This fast-casual restaurant that started as a pop-up in the Rockville area specializes in serving lechon, a Filipino pork belly dish. Chef and owner Javier J. Fernandez, a native of the Philippines, shares the flavors of his home country through ricebowls, spiced wings and homemade pastries. LD$

LA BRASA LATIN CUISINE 12401 Parklawn Drive, 301-468-8850, labrasa rockville.com. A bold, yellow awning marks the unlikely industrial location of the popular La Brasa. Customers rave about the rotisserie chicken, lomo saltado (Peruvian marinated steak), Salvadoran pupusas and Tres Leches. ❂ L D $

LA CANELA (EDITORS’ PICK) 141-D Gibbs St. (Rockville Town Square), 301-2511550, lacanelaperu.com. Sophisticated, modern Peruvian cooking shines in a regally furnished dining room in a yellow stucco building graced with curvy black ironwork. The menu includes artfully prepared seafood, pork, chicken and beef dishes. ❂ L D $

LA LIMEÑA GRILL 1093 Rockville Pike, 301-417-4922. An offshoot of nearby La Limeña Restaurant, this Peruvian eatery with a spacious patio serves several traditional seafood dishes, including Ceviche Mixto, an appetizer of lime-marinated tilapia served with glazed potatoes and crispy dried corn kernels. The Chicha Morada, a sweet corn-based drink, pairs nicely with authentic and tender braised-beef entrees. ❂ J L D $$

LA LIMEÑA RESTAURANT 765 Rockville Pike, 301-424-8066, lalimena restaurant.com. Diners can choose dishes such as beef hearts, tripe and homemade pastries in this tiny but well-appointed eatery. Desserts include passion fruit mousse and vanilla flan. And of course, there’s rotisserie chicken to go. L D $

LA TASCA 141 Gibbs St., Suite 305 (Rockville Town Square), 301-279-7011, latascausa.com. The Rockville location of this regional chain strives to keep things interesting with 45 tapas dishes and six kinds of paella, including Paella Mixta with chicken, shrimp, chorizo, scallops, mussels, squid and clams. ❂ R L D $$

LEBANESE TAVERNA CAFÉ 115 Gibbs St. (Rockville Town Square), 301-3098681, lebanesetaverna.com. A casual and pleasant family spot for lunch or dinner, the cafe is a more casual offshoot of the local Lebanese Taverna chain, serving hummus, pita, falafel, lamb kabobs, salmon and chicken. ❂ J L D $

LEBTAV 1605 Rockville Pike, 301-468-9086, lebanesetaverna.com. LEBTAV has a shorter menu than its fast-casual sibling Lebanese Taverna Café. You’ll find sandwiches, bowls, hummus, falafel, chicken and lamb kabobs. L D $

LIGHTHOUSE TOFU & BBQ 12710 Twinbrook Parkway, 301-881-1178. In addition to the numerous tofu dishes ranging from Mushroom Tofu Pot to Seafood Beef Tofu Pot, diners at this Korean stalwart can try barbecue, stirfried specialties and kimchee, the national dish of pickled cabbage. L D $

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MAMMA LUCIA 12274-M Rockville Pike, 301-770-4894; 14921-J Shady Grove Road, 301-762-8805; mammalucia restaurants.com. See Bethesda listing. ❂ L D $$

MATCHBOX 1699 Rockville Pike, 301-816-0369, matchbox restaurants.com. See Bethesda listing. ❂ J R L D $$

MISSION BBQ 885 Rockville Pike, 301-444-5574, mission-bbq. com. This outpost of a national chain, known for its support of U.S. military troops and veterans, serves its barbecue—including brisket, ribs and pulled pork—alongside a slew of add-your-own sauces. Come for lunch and stay to recite the national anthem at noon. J L D $

MOBY DICK HOUSE OF KABOB 14929-A Shady Grove Road, 301-738-0005, mobyskabob.com. See Chevy Chase listing. L D $

MOD PIZZA 12027 Rockville Pike, 301-287-4284. modpizza. com. See North Potomac/Gaithersburg listing. ❂ LD$

MOSAIC CUISINE & CAFÉ 186 Halpine Road, 301-468-0682, mosaiccuisine. com. A diner with a soft European accent. Try the fresh Belgian waffles for breakfast. For those with hefty appetites, the waffle sandwiches are worth the trip, but don’t overlook the homemade soups or light dinner entrees. J B R L D $$

MYKONOS GRILL 121 Congressional Lane, 301-770-5999, mykonosgrill.com. An authentic Greek taverna with whitewashed walls with Mediterranean blue accents on a busy street, Mykonos Grill turns out legs of lamb and fresh seafood expected at any good Greek restaurant. ❂ L D $$

NADA 11886 Grand Park Ave. (Pike & Rose), 301-7714040, eatdrinknada.com/n-bethesda. Part of a small national chain, Nada serves street tacos with fillings such as caramelized cauliflower, fried tofu and pork carnitas. The brief menu also includes soups, salads and a fajita plate. Margaritas and seasonal cocktails are available. R L D $$

NAGOYA SUSHI 402 King Farm Blvd., Suite 130, 301-990-6778, nagoyasushirockville.com. Cheery yellow walls decorated with shelves of Japanese knickknacks greet customers who come for the large selection of sushi at this unassuming sushi spot in King Farm. L D $$

NANTUCKET’S REEF 9755 Traville Gateway Drive, Rockville, 301279-7333, nantucketsreef.com. This casual New England-style eatery offers a wide range of reasonably priced seafood dishes, including raw and baked oysters, stuffed cod, fried Ipswitch clams, seafood tacos, tuna and salmon salads, and lobster items. Signature cocktails are made with Nantucket Nectars juices. ❂ R L D $$

NICK’S CHOPHOUSE 700 King Farm Blvd., 301-926-8869, nickschop houserockville.com. Aged Angus beef cooked over an open fire is the specialty at this upscale spot, but seafood lovers can get their fill from big crabcakes. Signature steaks include slow-roasted prime rib weighing 10 to 32 ounces. Separate bar menu. ❂ L D $$

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NIWANO HANA JAPANESE RESTAURANT 887 Rockville Pike, 301-294-0553, niwanohana. com. Clean Asian decor and elegant wooden screens greet diners at this friendly and busy sushi spot located in Wintergreen Plaza. There are the usual sushi rolls, plus creative options such as a Spicy Scallop Roll with mayonnaise and chili peppers, noodle dishes, teriyaki and yakitori. L D $$

THE ORIGINAL PANCAKE HOUSE 12224 Rockville Pike, 301-468-0886, ophrestaurants.com. See Bethesda listing. This location stays open until 9 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. J B L D $

OWEN’S ORDINARY (EDITORS’ PICK) 11820 Trade St. (Pike & Rose), 301-2451226, owensordinarymd.com. This Americanstyle restaurant, barroom and beer garden from Neighborhood Restaurant Group boasts 50 rotating drafts and more than 150 types of bottled beer. The 175-seat restaurant serves salads, burgers, pork, seafood and fondue entrees, and those looking to grab a drink can make the most of the space’s 60seat beer garden. Voted “Best Restaurant Beer Selection” by Bethesda Magazine readers in 2019. R L D $$

PETER CHANG (EDITORS’ PICK) 20-A Maryland Ave. (Rockville Town Square), 301838-9188, peterchangarlington.com. Chef Peter Chang’s Sichuan specialties are showcased in an apricot-walled dining space. Garnering a cult-like following over the years, Chang is best known for dishes such as dry-fried eggplant, crispy pork belly and duck in a stone pot. L D $$

PHO 75 771 Hungerford Drive, 301-309-8873. The restaurant is one of the Washington area’s favorite spots for the Vietnamese beef noodle soup known as pho. Soup can be customized with bean sprouts, Thai basil, chilies, lime, and hot and hoisin sauces. Beverages include interesting options such as Iced Salty Pickled Lemon Juice. L D $

PHO HOA BINH 11782 Parklawn Drive, 301-770-5576. This pleasant pho restaurant offers the full gamut of variations on the beef noodle soup, plus about a dozen grilled entrees. The Adventurer’s Choice features “unusual” meats, including tendon, tripe and fatty flank. The Vietnamese iced coffee is divine. L D $

PHO NOM NOM 842 Rockville Pike, 301-610-0232, phonomnom. net. As the name suggests, the specialty is pho, but there are also grilled dishes, noodles and the Vietnamese sandwich known as banh mi. House specials include Vietnamese beef stew and pork and shrimp wontons. L D $

PHOLUSCIOUS VIETNAMESE GRILL 10048 Darnestown Road, 301-762-2226, pholuscious.com. This casual restaurant and bar is home to traditional Vietnamese cooking, with fresh ingredients, minimal use of oil and many herbs and vegetables. The menu features pho, noodle dishes, rice plates and lots of protein dishes. Beverages include bubble tea, smoothies, beer and wine. L D $$

PIKE KITCHEN 1066 Rockville Pike, 301-603-2279, pikekitchen. com. The 6,200-square-foot, 100-seat Asian food hall at the Edmonston Crossing shopping center

includes eateries dishing up Vietnamese banh mi sandwiches, pho, poke, ramen, bibimbap and more. ❂ LD$

PIZZA CS 1596-B Rockville Pike, 240-833-8090, pizzacs.com. Authentic Neapolitan pies are offered in a sub-shop atmosphere. Choose from a list of red and white pizza options, or build your own pie with herbs, cheeses, meats and vegetables. ❂ J L D $

POTOMAC PIZZA 9709 Traville Gateway Drive, 301-279-2234, potomacpizza.com. See Chevy Chase listing. ❂ JLD$

QUINCY’S SOUTH BAR & GRILLE 11401 Woodglen Drive, 240-669-3270, quincysgroup.com. See North Potomac/ Gaithersburg listing. ❂ L D $

SADAF HALAL RESTAURANT 1327-K Rockville Pike, 301-424-4040. An elegant alternative to the run-of-the-mill kabob places dotting Rockville Pike, Sadaf is pristine, with lace curtains and glass mosaic tiles in front. In addition to kabobs, it offers Persian curries and fish dishes. ❂ JLD$

SAM CAFÉ & MARKET 844 Rockville Pike, 301-424-1600, samcafemarket. com. Fill up on the kitchen’s juicy skewered meats or interesting entrees, including pomegranate molasses stew and marinated grilled salmon, then have a gelato and check out the hookahs. ❂ LD$

SEASONS 52 11414 Rockville Pike, 301-984-5252, seasons52. com. A fresh, seasonal menu featuring items under 475 calories. Choose from flatbreads including Blackened Steak & Blue Cheese and Grilled Garlic Pesto Chicken to entree salads to meat and seafood dishes. Nightly piano music. ❂ L D $$

SHANGHAI TASTE 1121 Nelson St., 301-279-0806. Co-owner and chef Wei Sun, a Shanghai native, specializes in preparing three different flavors of soup dumplings at this small restaurant in a strip mall. The menu also includes traditional Chinese-American dishes, such as General Tso’s chicken and fried rice. LD$

SHEBA RESTAURANT 5071 Nicholson Lane, 301-881-8882, sheba rockville.com. The menu features authentic Ethiopian cuisine with lots of vegetarian and vegan options. House specialties include Dulet Assa, chopped tilapia mixed with onion, garlic and jalapeno and served with a side of homemade cheese. L D $

SICHUAN JIN RIVER 410 Hungerford Drive, 240-403-7351, sichuanjin river.com. Customers find terrific Sichuan cuisine served in a no-frills setting. Take the plunge and try something new with the authentic Chinese menu, including 23 small cold plates. L D $

SILVER DINER 12276 Rockville Pike, 301-770-2828, silverdiner. com. Customers flock to this trendy diner that still offers tableside jukeboxes. The latest food trends (think quinoa coconut pancakes) share company on the enormous menu with diner staples such as meatloaf and mashed potatoes. Voted “Best

Kid-Friendly Restaurant” by Bethesda Magazine readers in 2019. J B R L D $

SPICE XING 100-B Gibbs St. (Rockville Town Square), 301-6100303, spicexing.com. Chef and owner Sudhir Seth, who also owns Bethesda’s Passage to India, serves up small plates and dishes that reflect the history of culinary influences on India. Try the all-you-can-eat lunchtime buffet. ❂ J R L D $$

THE SPOT 255 N. Washington St., thespotdmv.com. This 6,200-square-foot, 200-seat Asian food hall, not far from Rockville Town Square, includes a handful of vendors, including Mian Pull Noodle (dumplings and noodle dishes), Poki DC (the Hawaiian-inspired raw fish dish called poke) and Alpaca Dessert (shaved snow ice and ice cream-filled waffle cones). LD$

STANFORD GRILL 2000 Tower Oaks Blvd., 240-582-1000, thestanford grill.com. From the Blueridge Restaurant Group, owner of Copper Canyon Grill restaurants, comes this 300-seat American eatery on the ground floor of an office building. Salads, burgers, steaks and seafood, plus sushi, with an eye toward high quality. ❂ R L D $$

STELLA BARRA PIZZERIA 11825 Grand Park Ave. (Pike & Rose), 301-7708609, stellabarra.com. Adjacent to its sister restaurant, Summer House Santa Monica, Stella Barra is an artisan pizzeria with a hip, urban vibe. Look for crisp crusts with chewy centers topped with butternut squash and candied bacon or housemade pork sausage and fennel pollen. Italian wines available. ❂ R D $$

SUMMER HOUSE SANTA MONICA (EDITORS’ PICK)

11825 Grand Park Ave. (Pike & Rose), 301881-2381, summerhousesm.com. An airy, light and stunning space sets the scene for modern American cuisine with a West Coast sensibility. Fare includes salads, sushi, tacos, sandwiches and steak frites. Do not miss the bakery counter. Voted “Best Restaurant in Rockville/North Bethesda” by Bethesda Magazine readers in 2019, and “Restaurant With Best Decor” by readers in 2020. ❂ J R L D $$

SUPER BOWL NOODLE HOUSE 785 Rockville Pike, 301-738-0086, superbowl noodlehouse.com. Look for a large variety of Asian noodle dishes in super-size portions, plus a wide selection of appetizers. Also, bubble tea and desserts, including Sweet Taro Root Roll and Black Sugar Shaved Ice. ❂ L D $

SUSHI DAMO 36-G Maryland Ave. (Rockville Town Square), 301340-8010, sushidamo.com. A slice of New York sophistication, this elegant restaurant offers sushi à la carte or omakase, chef’s choice, plus beef and seafood entrees and an impressive sake list. L D $$

SUSHI HOUSE JAPANESE RESTAURANT 1331-D Rockville Pike, 301-309-0043, sushihouse1331.com. A tiny, plain restaurant serving a large selection of fresh sushi, including sushi and sashimi combinations. Lunch specials for under $7. It’s popular, so be prepared to wait. L D $$

SUSHI OISHII 9706 Traville Gateway Drive, 301-251-1177, sushioishii.com. This charming sushi bar in the Traville Gateway Center offers friendly service and 24 specialty sushi rolls, bento boxes and a few grilled items, including beef, poultry and seafood teriyaki. L D $$

TAIPEI TOKYO 14921-D Shady Grove Road (Fallsgrove Village Center), 301-738-8813; 11510-A Rockville Pike, 301-881-8388; taipei-tokyo.net. These sister restaurants offer a sizable roster of Chinese, Japanese and Thai dishes. The Fallsgrove Village location is the younger and sleeker of the two, with full sit-down service. The older sister, opened in 1993, is more like a noodle shop/cafeteria. L D $$

TARA THAI 12071 Rockville Pike, 301-231-9899, tarathai.com. See Bethesda listing. ❂ L D $$

TEMARI CAFÉ 1043 Rockville Pike, 301-340-7720. Deep-fried oysters, classic rice balls, ramen noodle soup, sushi and sashimi and comic books to peruse while you await your order set this Japanese restaurant apart from the rest. L D $$

THAI PAVILION 29 Maryland Ave., Unit 308 (Rockville Town Square), 301-545-0244, thaipavilionrestaurant.com. The soaring ceilings decorated with red chandeliers shaped like giant, stationary spinning tops give the feel of a modern museum. When the menu says spicy, believe it. ❂ J L D $$

THAT’S AMORE 15201 Shady Grove Road, 240-268-0682, thatsamore.com. This local chain focuses on familystyle portions of classic Neapolitan dishes such as lasagna and chicken Parmesan in a more elegant setting than might be expected. Good for groups and large families. J L D $$

TRAPEZARIA 11 N. Washington St., 301-339-8962, thetrapezaria. com. This down-to-earth and hospitable Greek/ Mediterranean restaurant serves top-notch and unfussy small plates and entrees. Choose among a variety of dips, vegetarian mezze, souvlaki, sausages and more-involved fish and lamb dishes. Save room for the baklava. L D $$

URBAN BAR-B-QUE COMPANY 2007 Chapman Ave., 240-290-4827; 5566 Norbeck Road, 301-460-0050, urbanbarbq.com. Urban BarB-Que Company, a tiny joint run by a couple of local friends, has a winning formula and features fingerlicking ribs, burgers and wings, plus salads, chili and smothered fries. Staff is friendly, too. J L D $

URBAN HOT POT 1800 Rockville Pike, 240-669-6710, urbanhotpot. com. On the first floor of the Galvan at Twinbrook building, this hot pot spot features a conveyor belt where food travels to diners. A prix fixe all-you-caneat menu allows you to create your meal at your table using one of the stationed iPads. Choose from a selection of noodles, vegetables and meat to add to a bowl of hot stock, then do it again if you’re still hungry. L D $$

VILLA MAYA 5532 Norbeck Road (Rock Creek Village Center), 301-460-1247. Here you’ll find all the traditional Mexican and Tex-Mex favorites from quesadillas to

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dine fajitas that are sure to please the whole family. R L D $$

THE WOODSIDE DELI 4 N. Washington St., 301-444-4478, thewoodside deli.com. Though the original location of the venerable Silver Spring eatery and caterer that dished up matzo ball soup from 1947 to 2019 closed, this location is still open. Choose from a wide selection of sandwiches, burgers and entrees. There’s also a pickle bar. ❂ J B R L D $

XI’AN GOURMET 316 N. Washington St., 301-875-5144, xian-gourmet.business.site. This casual diner prides itself on its comfort food. Named after an ancient city, Xi’an heavily features Sichuan and Shaanxi cuisines, after the chefs’ regional heritage. Go for the Shaanxi cold steamed noodles or the Shanghai soup dumplings. L D $

YEKTA 1488 Rockville Pike, 301-984-1190, yekta.com. Persian cuisine, including a selection of beef, chicken and lamb kabobs, is served in a beautiful dining room. Try a dessert such as frozen noodle sorbet or saffron ice cream. Check out the adjacent market after polishing off your kabob. L D $$

YUAN FU VEGETARIAN 798 Rockville Pike, 301-762-5937, yuanfuvegetarian.com. From tea-smoked “duck” to kung pao “chicken,” the whole menu is meatless, made from Chinese vegetable products. There is a large selection of chef’s specials, including Pumpkin Chicken with Mushrooms in a hot pot. L D $

SILVER SPRING ADDIS ABABA 8233 Fenton St., 301-589-1400, addisababa cuisine.com. Authentic Ethiopian-style vegetables and fiery meats are served atop spongy bread in communal bowls. Traditional woven tables and a roof deck add to the ambience. There’s a weekday lunch buffet, too. ❂ R L D $

ALL SET RESTAURANT & BAR 8630 Fenton St., 301-495-8800, allsetrestaurant. com. American cuisine with a focus on New England specialties. Look for clams, oysters and lobster, plus crabcakes, and beef and vegetarian options. ❂ J R L D $$

AMINA THAI 8624 Colesville Road, 301-588-3588, aminathai silverspring.com. See Rockville/North Bethesda listing. L D $

ASTRO LAB BREWING 8216 Georgia Ave., 301-273-9684, astrolabbrewing.com. A menu of about a dozen items—including handheld savory pies, a sausage roll and a hummus platter—are served in the downtown Silver Spring brewery’s taproom. Grab one of the hop-forward beers brewed on-site to sip at the communal tables or on the patio. ❂JLD$

AZÚCAR RESTAURANT BAR & GRILL 14418 Layhill Road, 301-438-3293, azucarrestaurant.net. The name means sugar, and it fits: The colorful Salvadoran spot is decorated in bright purple and orange with Cubist-style paintings. The pork-stuffed corn pupusas are stars. Also look

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for more elegant dinners, including fried whole trout. L D $$

BETE ETHIOPIAN CUISINE 811 Roeder Road, 301-588-2225, beteethiopia. com. Family-run Ethiopian restaurant with a modest dining room but some exemplary cooking. Don’t miss the vegetarian sampler, and in nice weather, opt for eating outside in the lovely, shaded back patio. ❂ J B L D $$

BUENA VIDA (EDITORS’ PICK) 8407 Ramsey Ave., 301-755-6132, buenavidarestaurant.com. The second-floor fullservice restaurant (its sister restaurant Tacos, Tortas & Tequila fills the first floor) has a menu with à la carte items, or you can pay a set price for unlimited Mexican small plates. Offerings include ceviche, guacamole, salads, tacos and enchiladas. The space is light-filled, with vibrant murals and a 720-bottle tequila and wine rack. R L D $$

COPPER CANYON GRILL 928 Ellsworth Drive, 301-589-1330, ccgrill.com. See Gaithersburg listing. ❂ J R L D $$

CRISFIELD SEAFOOD RESTAURANT 8012 Georgia Ave., 301-589-1306, crisfieldseafood.com. With its U-shaped counter and kitschy, oyster-plate-covered walls, this landmark seafood diner has customers lining up for the Eastern Shore specialties such as oysters and crabmeat-stuffed lobster that it has served since the 1940s. L D $$

CUBANO’S 1201 Fidler Lane, 301-563-4020, cubanos restaurant.com. The brightly colored tropical dining room and the authentic Cuban cooking evident in dishes such as ropa vieja (shredded beef in onions, peppers and garlic) and fried plantains keep customers coming back. ❂ L D $$

THE DAILY DISH 8301 Grubb Road, 301-588-6300, thedailydish restaurant.com. A neighborhood favorite serving seasonally inspired, locally sourced comfort food, including bar bites and brunch dishes. Full-service catering is available, too. ❂ J R L D $$

DENIZENS BREWING CO. (EDITORS’ PICK) 1115 East West Highway, 301-557-9818, denizens brewingco.com. The bright-orange building houses Montgomery County’s largest brewery, featuring core beers and seasonal offerings, along with drafts from other regional breweries. Menu of snacks, sandwiches and salads includes vegetarian options. There is a large outdoor beer garden and indoor seating overlooking the brewery. ❂ D $

DISTRICT TACO 1310 East West Highway, 240-531-1880, districttaco.com. This branch of a local chain of eateries that grew out of a food truck serves fastcasual fare, from egg-filled tacos for breakfast to quesadillas, burritos and tacos for later in the day. ❂ JBLD$

DON POLLO 12345 Georgia Ave., 301-933-9515; 13881 Outlet Drive, 240-560-7376, donpollogroup.com. See Bethesda listing. L D $

EGGSPECTATION 923 Ellsworth Drive, 301-585-1700, eggspectation. com. This Canadian import features fresh and creative egg plates in an elegant yet casual dining room complete with a fireplace and colorful

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Harlequin-themed art. It also serves great salads, dinners and dessert. ❂ B L D $$

EL AGUILA RESTAURANT 8649 16th St., 301-588-9063, elaguilarestaurant. com. A cheery bar and generous plates of TexMex favorites such as enchiladas and Salvadoran seafood soup make this eatery popular with families and others looking for a lively night out. ❂ L D $

EL GAVILAN 8805 Flower Ave., 301-587-4197, gavilan restaurant.com. The walls are bright, the music’s upbeat, the margaritas are fine and the service is friendly. The usual Tex-Mex fare is here, as well as Salvadoran specialties such as tasty cheese- or pork-filled pupusas. J L D $

EL GOLFO 8739 Flower Ave., 301-608-2121, elgolforestaurant. com. Friendly, home-style Latin service is the hallmark, as attested to by the many Salvadorans who stop in for lunch and dinner. Pupusas, soups and beef dishes such as carne asada as well as more adventurous choices can be found in the charming, raspberry-colored dining room. ❂ JRLD$

EL SAPO CUBAN SOCIAL CLUB (EDITORS’ PICK)

8455 Fenton St., 301-326-1063, elsaporestaurant. com. Cuban specialties are the focus at this restaurant from owner and chef Raynold Mendizábal, who also owns Urban Butcher in Silver Spring. Small bites such as empanadas and cod croquettes are on the menu with dishes that Cuba is known for, including the beef entree ropa vieja and puerco asado (roasted pork). L D $$$

FENTON CAFÉ 8311 Fenton St., 301-326-1841, fentoncafesilver spring.com. An out-of-the-way crêperie serving 31 kinds of sweet crêpes and 16 varieties of savory crêpes. Savory versions range from cheese and ham to roasted eggplant with zucchini, bell pepper, sundried tomato, garlic and onion. B L D $

FIRE STATION 1 RESTAURANT & BREWING CO. 8131 Georgia Ave., 301-585-1370, firestation1md. com. A historic firehouse made over as an eatery serves 21st-century pizza, sandwiches, meat, seafood and vegetarian entrees. Try the Cuban sandwich with seasoned pork, chipotle mayo, Dijon mustard, pickles and Swiss cheese on a ciabatta roll. L D $

GHAR-E-KABAB 944 Wayne Ave., 301-587-4427, gharekabab.com. This spot offers a mix of authentic Indian and Nepali cuisine. From Indian staples such as chicken tikka masala and lamb curry to Nepalese appetizers such as furaula (vegetable fritters) and cho-e-la (marinated duck), there are a variety of South Asian flavors. J L D $$

THE GREEK PLACE 8417 Georgia Ave., 301-495-2912, thegreekplace. net. Here are big portions of better-than-average food at reasonable prices. The bifteki pita sandwich, a seasoned ground lamb and beef patty with tzatziki, tomatoes and red onions, is especially good. L D $

GUSTO FARM TO STREET 8512 Fenton St., 301-565-2800, eatgusto.com. See Bethesda listing. ❂ J L D $

ITALIAN KITCHEN 8201 Fenton St., 301-588-7800, italiankitchenmd. com. Casual, attractive pizzeria with bar seating also turns out homemade sandwiches, calzones, salads and pasta dishes. L D $

JEWEL OF INDIA 10151 New Hampshire Ave., 301-408-2200, jewelofindiamd.com. Elegant decor and excellent northern Indian cuisine make this shopping center restaurant a real find. Diners will find a good selection of curries, and rice and biryani dishes. L D $$

KAO THAI 8650 Colesville Road, 301-495-1234, kaothai restaurant.com. This restaurant turns out top-notch curries, noodle dishes and vegetarian options, plus house specialties, such as Siam Salmon with Spicy Thai Basil Sauce and Thai Chili Tilapia. Dishes are cooked medium spicy. ❂ L D $$

LA CASITA PUPUSERIA & MARKET 8214 Piney Branch Road, 301-588-6656, lacasita pupusas.com. Homemade pupusas, tamales and other Salvadoran specialties are available, plus a full breakfast menu and a small selection of grocery items. B L D $

LA MALINCHE 8622 Colesville Road, 301-562-8622, lamalinche tapas.com. Diners will find an interesting selection of Spanish and Mexican tapas, plus a full Saturday and Sunday brunch featuring huevos rancheros, variations of tortillas Espanola and more. R L D $$

LANGANO ETHIOPIAN RESTAURANT 8305 Georgia Ave., 301-563-6700, langano restaurant.com. Named for the popular Ethiopian vacation spot, Lake Langano, this longtime restaurant offers fine Ethiopian cuisine such as doro wat (spicy chicken stew) and tibs (stewed meat) in a cozy white- and red-accented dining room. Lunch specials on weekdays. L D $

LEBTAV 8535 Fenton St., 301-588-1192, lebanesetaverna. com. See Rockville listing. ❂ L D $

LOCAVINO 8519 Fenton St., 301-448-1819, locavino.com. In the space that overlooks Veterans Plaza and that once housed Adega Wine Cellars & Cafe, this wine bar focuses on local wines and beer but includes offerings from other regions. Salads, burgers, sandwiches, pasta and flatbreads fill the menu. LD$

LUCY ETHIOPIAN RESTAURANT 8301 Georgia Ave., 301-589-6700. See Bethesda listing. L D $

MAMMA LUCIA 1302 East West Highway, 301-562-0693, mammaluciarestaurants.com. See Bethesda listing. ❂ L D $$

MANDALAY RESTAURANT & CAFÉ 930 Bonifant St., 301-585-0500, mandalay restaurantcafe.com. The modest dining room is packed most evenings with families and large groups who come for the Burmese food, a cross between Indian and Thai. L D $

MATCHBOX 919 Ellsworth Drive, 240-247-8969, matchboxrestaurants.com. See Bethesda listing. ❂ J R L D $$

PHO TAN VINH

MCGINTY’S PUBLIC HOUSE 911 Ellsworth Drive, 301-587-1270, mcgintys publichouse.com. Traditional Irish pub and restaurant features corned beef and cabbage, live music and dancing. Early-bird special, three-course menu for $15, from 5 to 7 p.m. ❂ J R L D $$

MELEKET 1907 Seminary Road, 301-755-5768, meleketrestaurant.com. This family-owned, Ethiopian-Italian restaurant serves classic vegetarian, beef and chicken Ethiopian plates, alongside Italian entrees such as pesto pasta with chicken. For breakfast, try a traditional Ethiopian dish of kinche (a buttery grain porridge) or firfir (bread mixed with vegetables in a red pepper sauce). B L D $

MI RANCHO 8701 Ramsey Ave., 301-588-4872, miranchomd.com. You'll find a boisterous party atmosphere every night at a place where customers can count on standard Tex-Mex fare at good prices. The outdoor patio, strung with colorful lights, is the place to be in nice weather. ❂ L D $

8705-A Colesville Road, 301-588-8188, photanvinh. com. A family-owned Vietnamese restaurant, Pho Tan Vinh was opened in 2014 by Tiffany Chu, who sought the traditional food she ate in her youth. She and her chef mother serve emergent classics such as pho and put their own spin on items such as the Tan Vinh special, a “deconstructed” banh mi sandwich. L D $

PLNT BURGER 833 Wayne Ave. (Whole Foods Market), 301-6089373, plntburger.com. This vegan fast-casual eatery within Whole Foods Market serves cooked-to-order plant-based Beyond Meat burgers, fries and softserve dairy-free ice cream. ❂ J L D $

PORT-AU-PRINCE AUTHENTIC HAITIAN CUISINE 7912 Georgia Ave., 301-565-2006, paphaitiancuisine.com. The eatery serves a small menu of Haitian fare: five appetizers, five entrees (plus an entree salad) and two desserts. Chicken wings, fritters, whole red snapper, fried turkey and legume casserole are among the highlights. A Sunday brunch buffet draws crowds. R D $$

QUARRY HOUSE TAVERN (EDITORS’ PICK)

MIX BAR & GRILLE 8241 Georgia Ave., #200, 301-326-1333. Modern American bistro with charcuterie and cheese plates, brick-oven flatbreads, ceviche and other light fare. Look for lots of wines by the glass and beers on tap. ❂  R L D $$

MOD PIZZA

8401 Georgia Ave., 301-844-5380, facebook. com/quarryhouse. Closed for nearly three years after a fire, this basement-level dive bar reopened in its original space. The inside holds the same 1930s-era feel as the original bar, and burgers and Tater Tots are still on the menu. D $

SAMANTHA’S

909 Ellsworth Drive, 240-485-1570, modpizza.com. See North Potomac/Gaithersburg listing. ❂ L D $

MRS. K’S RESTAURANT 9201 Colesville Road, 301-589-3500, mrsks.com. Here’s an elegant, antique-filled option for special occasions and brunch. This historic restaurant beckons a younger crowd with the Wine Press, a European-style wine bar downstairs, which has its own more casual menu. ❂ R L D $$$

NOT YOUR AVERAGE JOE'S 8661 Colesville Road, 240-839-3400, notyouraveragejoes.com. See Bethesda listing. ❂ J L D $$

OLAZZO (EDITORS’ PICK) 8235 Georgia Ave., 301-588-2540, olazzo.com. See Bethesda listing. ❂ J L D $

PACCI’S TRATTORIA & PASTICCERIA 6 Old Post Office Road, 301-588-0867, paccis trattoria.com. Diners will find a range of classic Italian dishes, including homemade meatballs and sausage. L D $$

PARKWAY DELI & RESTAURANT 8317 Grubb Road, 301-587-1427, theparkway deli.com. Parkway features a bustling back dining room that makes this popular spot so much more than a deli. Longtime waitresses greet regular customers and kids with hugs during busy weekend breakfasts. All-you-can-eat pickle bar. ❂ B L D $

PHO HIEP HOA 921-G Ellsworth Drive, 301-588-5808, phohiephoa. com. Seventeen kinds of Vietnamese soup called pho can be customized to taste in this upbeat restaurant overlooking the action in the downtown area. ❂ L D $

631 University Blvd. East, 301-445-7300, samanthasrestaurante.com. This white-tablecloth, Latin-Salvadoran spot in an industrial neighborhood is popular because of its welcoming attitude toward families with young children. The steak and fish specialties are good. L D $$

SERGIOS RISTORANTE ITALIANO 8727 Colesville Road, 301-585-1040. A classic red-sauce Italian restaurant that manages to feel special, with soothing wall murals and high-quality service, despite a basement location inside the DoubleTree Hotel. Ravioli with asparagus and cheese in a tarragon sauce is popular. L D $$

SILVER STRINGS 8630 Colesville Road, 301-587-0596. Serving classic American food in downtown Silver Spring, this spot features live music in the evenings by mostly jazz, blues and classic rock musicians. ❂ L D $$

SLIGO PIT BBQ 9701 Sligo Creek Parkway (Sligo Creek Golf Course), 301-585-9511, sligopit.com. This opento-anyone spot at Sligo Creek Golf Course serves meats—turkey, pork, brisket and chicken—cooked in wood-fired smokers. Burgers, hot dogs, classic sides and beer are available. J ❂ B L D $$

THE SOCIETY RESTAURANT & LOUNGE 8229 Georgia Ave., 301-565-8864, societyss. com. A sleek and modern atmosphere catering to a nightlife crowd, Society offers fare with a Caribbean accent. Check out the rooftop seating and daily drink specials, which include $25 beer buckets. ❂ L D $$

SUSHI JIN NEXT DOOR 8555 Fenton St., 301-608-0990, sushijinnextdoor. com. The eatery is spare, clean and modern, and

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dine

offers terrific udon noodle soup and impeccable raw fish. Choose from 11 appetizers and seven soups and salads. L D $$

SWEETGREEN 8517 Georgia Ave., 301-244-5402, sweetgreen. com. See Bethesda listing. L D $

TACOS, TORTAS & TEQUILA 8407 Ramsey Ave., 301-755-6132. Also called TTT, this first-floor fast-casual spot is below its fancier sister restaurant, Buena Vida. The focus is on quesadillas, tortas and tacos—carne asada, garlic shrimp and house-made chorizo among them. There’s a full-service bar and an outdoor patio. ❂ BLD$

TASTEE DINER 8601 Cameron St., 301-589-8171, tasteediner. com. See Bethesda listing. ❂ J B L D $

THAI AT SILVER SPRING 921-E Ellsworth Drive, 301-650-0666, thaiatsilver spring.com. The Americanized Thai food is second to the location, which is superb for people-watching on the street below. A modern and stylish dining room with a hip bar in bold colors and good service add to the appeal. ❂ L D $$

URBAN BAR-B-QUE COMPANY 10163 New Hampshire Ave., 301-434-7427, urbanbarbq.com. See Rockville listing. L D $

URBAN BUTCHER (EDITORS’ PICK) 8226 Georgia Ave., 301-585-5800, urbanbutcher. com. Hip, eclectic setting is the backdrop for this New Age steak house, with its home-cured salamis, sausages and other charcuterie, plus meat dishes made from local animals of yesteryear breeds. There’s a lounge, bar, meat curing room, retail counter and dining area. Voted “Best Restaurant in Silver Spring” by Bethesda Magazine readers in 2019. R D $$

URBAN WINERY 949 Bonifant St., 301-585-4100, theurbanwinery. com. This tasting facility offers craft wines made with local and international grapes, and customers can even create their own wines (by appointment). Light menu includes artisan cheese, charcuterie and smoked seafood platters, plus Greek mezze. D $

VEGETABLE GARDEN 3830 International Drive (Leisure World Plaza), 301598-6868, vegetablegarden.com. The popular vegan, vegetarian and macrobiotic Asian restaurant features a wide variety of eggplant and asparagus dishes, plus vegetarian “beef,” and “chicken” dishes often made with soy and wheat gluten. L D $$

VICINO RISTORANTE ITALIANO 959 Sligo Ave., 301-588-3372, vicinoitaliano.com. A favorite neighborhood red-sauce joint that hasn’t changed in decades, Vicino features some fine seafood choices in addition to classic pasta dishes. Families are welcome. ❂ L D $$

UPPER NW D.C. THE AVENUE 5540 Connecticut Ave. NW, 202-244-4567, theavenuedc.com. A family-friendly neighborhood restaurant and bar with dishes such as crab pasta, poutine, burgers and baby back ribs. Fun decor

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includes classic posters and a giant magnetic scrabble board. ❂ J B L D $$

BLUE 44 5507 Connecticut Ave. NW, 202-362-2583, blue44dc.com. The menu features classic American favorites infused with the flavors of Italy and France, including ratatouille, pork schnitzel and bouillabaisse. ❂ J R L D $$

BUCK’S FISHING AND CAMPING 5031 Connecticut Ave. NW, 202-364-0777, bucksfishingandcamping.com. Diners can enjoy a seasonal menu that changes daily, and offers hip takes on comfort food such as roast chicken (locally raised) in an artsy-chic setting. D $$$

CAFÉ OF INDIA 4909 Wisconsin Ave. NW, 202-244-1395, cafeofindiadc.com. Here’s a cute corner cafe with two levels of dining and an extensive menu that includes vegetarian and tandoori entrees, dosas, samosas, tikkas, curries and kabobs. ❂ L D $$

CAPITAL CRAB AND SEAFOOD CO. 5534 Connecticut Ave. NW, 202-966-2722, capitalcrab.com. The owners of a food truck and catering business opened this Chevy Chase, D.C., restaurant. There’s a large patio for cracking crabs and eating classic crab house fare, including hush puppies, corn and coleslaw. Carryout with curbside pickup available. ❂ D $$$

COMET PING PONG (EDITORS’ PICK) 5037 Connecticut Ave. NW, 202-364-0404, cometpingpong.com. Landmark fun spot where you can play Ping-Pong or admire local art while you wait for your wood-fired pizza. Choose from more than 30 toppings to design your own pie. ❂ R L D $

DECARLO’S RESTAURANT 4822 Yuma St. NW, 202-363-4220, decarlosrestaurant.com. This is a family-owned neighborhood staple, with a traditional Italian menu and upscale/casual atmosphere. Signature dishes include agnolotti, veal scallopini, broiled salmon and hand-made pasta. ❂ L D $$

GUAPO’S RESTAURANT 4515 Wisconsin Ave. NW, 202-686-3588, guaposrestaurant.com. See Bethesda listing. ❂ R L D $$

I’M EDDIE CANO (EDITORS’ PICK) 5014 Connecticut Ave. NW, 202-890-4995, imeddiecano.com. A play on the way “Americano” is pronounced, I’m Eddie Cano is an Italian joint with nostalgic 1970s-themed decor. The standouts on executive chef James Gee’s menu include fried zucchini, spaghetti and meatballs, spaghetti with clams, escarole salad and eggplant parmigiana. D $$

LE CHAT NOIR 4907 Wisconsin Ave. NW, 202-244-2044, lechatnoirrestaurant.com. This cute, cozy neighborhood bistro is run by French restaurateurs, who cook traditional fare such as steak frites, bouillabaisse and braised lamb cheeks. R L D $$

LITTLE BEAST CAFÉ & BISTRO 5600 Connecticut Ave. NW, 202-741-4599, littlebeastdc.com. At this dinner spot on the corner of McKinley Street NW, find pizza cooked in a woodburning oven, sharable dishes such as Brussels sprouts, and entrees such as lamb ragu. ❂ D $$

MARCH/APRIL 2020 | BETHESDAMAGAZINE.COM

MACON BISTRO & LARDER (EDITORS’ PICK) 5520 Connecticut Ave. NW, 202-248-7807, macon bistro.com. Southern and French cuisine converge at this airy, charming restaurant in the historic Chevy Chase Arcade. Appetizers include raclette and fried green tomatoes, and steak frites is offered alongside short ribs with grits for main courses. ❂ R L D $$

MAGGIANO’S LITTLE ITALY 5333 Wisconsin Ave. NW, 202-966-5500, maggianos.com. The restaurant features oldstyle Italian fare that’s a favorite for large groups and private celebrations. Check out the signature flatbreads and specialty pastas, including lobster carbonara. J R L D $$

MASALA ART 4441-B Wisconsin Ave. NW, 202-362-4441, masalaartdc.com. Here is fine Indian dining featuring tandoor-oven specialties and masterful Indian spicing. Start off by choosing from a selection of nine breads and 17 appetizers. L D $$

MILLIE’S (EDITORS’ PICK) 4866 Massachusetts Ave. NW, 202-733-5789, milliesdc.com. This eatery in the Spring Valley neighborhood may be from up north—it’s the second location of a popular Nantucket restaurant—but its flavors are distinctly south-of-the-border. The menu offers coastal takes on tacos, quesadillas and salads that are as summery as the bright, nautical décor of the dining room. Voted “Best Restaurant in Upper Northwest D.C.” by Bethesda Magazine readers in 2019. ❂ J R L D $$

PARTHENON RESTAURANT 5510 Connecticut Ave. NW, 202-966-7600, parthenon-restaurant.com. This is a neighborhood eatery taken up a couple notches, with an extensive menu full of authentic selections familiar and exotic, including avgolemono (egg/lemon soup), tzatziki, moussaka, dolmades and souvlaki. ❂ L D $$

PETE’S NEW HAVEN STYLE APIZZA 4940 Wisconsin Ave. NW, 202-237-7383, petesapizza.com. The crunchy-crusted New Havenstyle pizzas can be topped with a choice of almost three dozen ingredients. There's also pasta, panini, salads and house-made desserts. ❂ J L D $

PIZZERIA PARADISO 4850 Massachusetts Ave. NW, 202-885-9101, eatyourpizza.com. An outpost of the small chain started by chef and owner Ruth Gresser, this Spring Valley spot has the same style of woodfired Neapolitan pizza as the original Paradiso that opened in D.C. in 1991. Try the Di Mare pizza, which has spicy garlic pesto, mussels, shrimp, spinach, red onions and Grana Padano cheese. ❂ L D $$

SATAY CLUB ASIAN RESTAURANT AND BAR 4654 Wisconsin Ave. NW, 202-363-8888, asiansatayclub.com. The restaurant prides itself on providing a comfortable/casual setting with a menu that spans Japanese sushi, Chinese moo-shi vegetables, Thai curries and Vietnamese spring rolls. L D $

WAGSHAL’S RESTAURANT 4855 Massachusetts Ave. NW, 202-363-5698, wagshals.com. Longtime popular deli expands grocery and carryout section, and adds a casual sit-down restaurant in the Spring Valley Shopping Center. Same high-quality fare, including the overstuffed sandwiches. L D $ n

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DATE

Bethesda Magazine’s 7th Annual

PRESENTED BY

GOLD SPONSORS

Tuesday, June 30, 2020 Bethesda North Marriott Hotel & Conference Center 6:00 - 9:00 PM

P Live Music by the 19th Street Band

Specialty Cocktails

Complimentary Parking

Food Provided by 20+ Best of Bethesda-Winning Restaurants

AUTOMOBILE SPONSOR

EVENT MANAGEMENT PARTNER

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

Summer Camps CAMP

TYPE

GENDER

AGES

LOCATION

WEBSITE

PHONE

Adventure Theatre's Summer Musical Theater Camp

Day

Coed

6 - 12

Glen Echo

www.adventuretheatre-mtc.org/ camps.html

301-251-5766

Adventure Theatre's Summer Musical Theater Training Program

Day

Coed

12 - 17

Rockville

www.adventuretheatre-mtc.org/ camps.html

301-251-5766

American Volleyball Camp

Day

Coed

9 - 18

Washington, DC

www.americanvolleyballcamps.com 202-885-3031

Barrie Camp

Day

Coed

4 - 14

Silver Spring

www.barrie.org/camp

Beauvoir Summer

Day

Coed

3 - 17

Washington, DC

www.beauvoirschool.org/summer 202-537-6485

Bullis Summer Programs

Day

Coed

3.5 - 17

Potomac

www.bullis.org/summerprograms

301-983-5741

Calleva

Day

Coed

4 - 17

DC Metro area

www.calleva.org

301-216-1248

Camp Arena Stage

Day

Coed

8 - 15

Washington, DC

www.arenastage.org/camp

202-600-4064

Camp Horizons

Overnight

Coed

6 - 16

Harrisonburg, VA

www.camphorizonsva.com

540-896-7600

Camp JCC

Day

Coed

4 - 21

Rockville

www.benderjccgw.org/camp

301-348-3883

Camp Olympia

Day

Coed

3.5 - 15

Rockville

www.camp-olympia.com

301-926-9281

Camp Rim Rock for Girls

Overnight

Girls

6 - 15

Yellow Spring, WV www.camprimrock.com

347-RIM-ROCK

Green Acres School Summer Camp

Day

Coed

3 - 12

N. Bethesda

www.greenacres.org

301-468-8110

Imagination Stage Summer Camp

Day

Coed

3.5 - 18

Bethesda

www.imaginationstage.org

301-280-1636

Lowell School Summer Programs

Day

Coed

3 - 14

Washington, DC

www.lowellschool.org

202-577-2006

www.mocorec.com/guide

240-777-6840

www.onenessfamilyschool.org

301-652-7751

https://rivermountain.org

615-383-0984

www.roundhousetheatre.org

301-585-1225

www.GoSilverStars.com

301-589-0938

301-576-2818

Montgomery County Recreation

Day

Coed

3 - 16

multiple MoCo locations

Oneness-Family School Summer Programs

Day

Coed

3.5 - 11

Chevy Chase

River Mountain Retreat

Overnight

Coed

10 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 15

Round House Theatre Summer Camps

Day

Coed

5 - 18

Silver Stars Gymnastics

Day

Coed

3.5 - 16

Strathmore Summer Art Camp

Day

Coed

grades 1-10

N. Bethesda

www.strathmore.org/artcamp

301-581-5100

Summer at Norwood

Day

Coed

3.5 - 14

Bethesda

www.summeratnorwood.org

301-841-2254

Summer at Sandy Spring

Day

Coed

3 - 16

Sandy Spring

www.summeratsandyspring.org

301-774-7455

Summer at WES

Day & Overnight

Coed

3.5 - 14

Bethesda

www.w-e-s.org/summer-at-wes/

301-652-7878

SummerEdge at McLean School

Day

Coed

3 - 18

Potomac

www.summeredge.org

240-395-0676

The St. James Summer Sports Camps

Day

Coed

3 - 15

Springfield

www.thestjames.com/camps

703-239-6982

Tru2Form Hoops

Day

Coed

5 - 18

Bethesda

www.tru2formhoops.com

240-459-0949

Valley Mill Camp

Day

Boys camp Girls camp

4 - 14

Darnestown

www.valleymill.com

301-948-0220

Washington International School Summer Camp

Day

Coed

3 - 17

Washington, DC

www.wis.edu/summer-camp

202-243-1792

Washington Sailing Marina Summer Camps and Programs

Day

Coed

8 - 15

Alexandria

www.washingtonsailingmarina.com 703-505-9353

Westmoreland Children's Center

Day

Coed

2-5

Bethesda

www.wccbethesda.com

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Bedford County, PA Bethesda, Silver Spring Silver Spring, Bowie

301-229-7161

HORSES

FIELD TRIPS

WATER SPORTS

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

Essential information on

summer camps

SPECIALTIES

Celebrating 41 years, it will be an unforgettable summer as they take their final bow in a musical theater show! Two weeks of singing, dancing, costumes, props and acting.

With a trip to NYC or a role in Addams Family to choose from based upon your choice of session, this inclusive three-week training program develops students’ performance training by providing focused instruction in an immersive musical theatre environment. Ask about our scholarships.

American Volleyball Camps are the most fun and challenging camps in the DMV. From beginner to elite, all levels (youth, middle school, high school) are welcome.

●

● ●

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On-site swimming, horseback riding, canoeing, sports, archery, arts, nature, outdoor living skills, STEM, coding, overnights, karate, science, video production, baking, theatrics, music and leadership training. Swim instruction/pool, before/after care, outdoor excursions, crafts, dance/music, cooking, coding, robotics, chess, drones, parkour and sports for PK-8th graders. Counselor-in-Training leadership experiences for 6th-12th graders. Traditional day camps; sports/athletic camps; specialty camps; Pick 3. Calleva focuses on empowering kids through exciting outdoor adventure experiences, with hubs in Maryland & Virginia. Transportation included. Some programs include overnight. Camp Arena Stage is a place to explore, discover and create art, with over 75 arts activities including acting, filmmaking, dance, theater, sculpture and more! We encourage campers to be creative and independent, have fun and make friendships that last a lifetime. Activities include aquatics, sports, outdoors adventures,

●

Horseback riding, swimming, soccer, tennis, gymnastics, basketball, track and field and more. Transportation and extended care available!

●

All girls overnight camp with horses, private lake, sports and arts.

●

● ●

Camp JCC is the place to be this summer. Explore everything we have to offer from arts, sports, theater, STEM, daily swimming and so much more.

Daily, on-site swimming instruction; create your own path in science & technology, sports, music and art.

horseback riding, performing/visual arts and more.

More than 100 1, 2, 3, & 4-week camps in drama, dance, musical theatre and filmmaking. ●

●

Horsemanship, outdoor program, onsite swimming pool, newly expanded teen, STEM and theater arts programs, and extended programs into August including an aquatics camp. Specialties include art, adventure, business, cheer, cooking, dance, gaming, leadership, music, sports, STEM, performing arts and much more. SSL, volunteer opportunities and junior counselor positions also available. Daily nature exploration (1st-5th grade), pool trips & water-play, yoga, thrilling creative arts & sciences, low camper to counselor ratio and extended care! Screen-free, outdoor adventures, designed in partnership with Penn State. Empowering kids to create tech-life balance. Incredible accommodations in the mountains of Pennsylvania. Transportation provided. 1-week and multi-week camps for youth and teens. Focus on acting, playwriting, storytelling, design and more. Inspire creativity and explore your imagination! With 18,000 square feet of space, Silver Stars Gymnastics offers kids the opportunity to learn cartwheels, climb the ropes, flip on the trampolines and make memories with

new and old friends.

Young artists spend summer days in a working gallery on a vibrant arts campus with excellent instruction and room for inspiration! Aftercare is available.

●

Early childhood, specialty day camps in STEM, art, dance, cooking, sports, academic enrichment, kayaking, rock climbing, hiking, CIT.

●

Campers can choose from a wide variety of workshops and specialty camps that include sports, adventure, arts, technology, academics, music, robotics and much more!

●

Nine sessions that include archery, robotics, cooking, sculpture, animation and video game development, basketball, hiking, entrepreneurship, dance and more!

From producing a blockbuster movie to conducting eye-opening science experiments, SummerEdge at McLean School offers some fun and learning for everyone. The St. James offers 15 sport specific camps plus our specialty Ultimate Sports and Adventure Gaming camps. 3-day and 5-day options; transportation and before and after

●

care are available.

We are the premier basketball organization for kids from K-12, on all skill levels. Kids who want to improve their game and have fun come to us. ●

●

Kayaking, canoeing, swimming, horseback riding, rock climbing, archery, air rifle, gymnastics and more. Adventure program for children 10 -14. Transportation provided.

●

STEAM camps in English; language instruction in Spanish, ESOL, Mandarin Chinese & French.

Great summer days spent learning the wonderful sport of sailing on the Potomac River. It is empowering, fun and healthy! Camps available for beginners through advanced.

●

Each theme oriented session includes water play, special events, special projects and music. Outdoor playground and well-equipped pre-school classrooms. Low teacher to child ratio.

BETHESDAMAGAZINE.COM | MARCH/APRIL 2020

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summer camps

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

: p m a C Summer ged Unplug GY

C H N O LO E T M O R F D ECT H E WO R L T DISCONN H T I W T NNEC AND RECO

THIS SUMMER, HIT ‘RESET’ ON YOUR KID’S RELATIONSHIP WITH TECHNOLOGY. At River Mountain, we replace screen time with outdoor adventure. Designed in partnership with Penn State, our summer camps empower young people to have fun, experience the natural world, and create a healthier relationship with technology. We’re excited to welcome your child to camp! Space is limited. Reserve today. RIVERMOUNTAIN.ORG/UNPLUG (615) 383-0984

Fun-Paced Learning at McLean School

STEM ACADEMICS SPORTS ARTS COMMUNITY SERVICE TRAVEL BEFORE & AFTER CARE

PreK - Grade 12 June 15 - August 7 240.395.0676 288

summeredge.org

MARCH/APRIL 2020 | BETHESDAMAGAZINE.COM

summer camps

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

BE THE BEST WITH US Voted “Best of Bethesda” 3 years in a row! Our professional instructors are dedicated to helping boys and girls K through 12th grade, to become better players. Our programs include: • Individual and Group Training • Competitive Boys and Girls teams • Presidents Day and MLK Day Camps • Multiple Weeks of Summer Camps Ask us about our multi-week or sibling discount available until May 15th.

Readers’ Pick, Best Youth Sports Program

CALL 240-459-0949 OR VISIT WWW.TRU2FORMHOOPS.COM

SUMMER 2020

! OV R P

DANCE!

THEATRE

VISIT RoundHouseTheatre.Org/Camp for more information and registration. BETHESDAMAGAZINE.COM | MARCH/APRIL 2020

289

summer camps

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

summer camp forr boys fo boy bo ys and an d girls girrls Pre-K gi P rere-K K - Grade Grad Gr adee 8

NINE WEEKLY SESSIONS June 8 - August 7, 2020 Awesome adventures include archery, robotics, cooking, sports, and more. There’s something for everyone. Day camp located in the heart of Bethesda on the Washington Episcopal School campus – open rain, shine, or heat wave! Before Care and After Care available. Check out the Sleepaway Camp for children entering Grades 3-8. Starting March 1, private tours of campus facilities available. Please call 301-652-7878 to schedule a tour.

WASHINGTON EPISCOPAL SCHOOL 5600 Little Falls Parkway, Bethesda, MD 20816 | www.w-e-s.org | 301-652-7878

Valley Mill Day Camp www.valleymill.com

Spring and Summer Programs

Ages 4-14

Transportation Included

info at valleymill.com 290

MARCH/APRIL 2020 | BETHESDAMAGAZINE.COM

SUMMERSPORTSCAMPS JUNE 8–AUGUST 28 F U L L- DAY & H A L F - DAY C A M PS AGES 3–15 15% OFF ALL CAMPS THROUGH MARCH 31ST TR A N S PO RTAT ION AVAILABLE FROM D C/M D /VA th es tjames.com/summe rcamps

6 8 0 5 I n du st ri al Road | Sprin gfield, VA 2 2 1 51 | 703.2 39.6870

summer camps

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

s ’ ’ t t e LLe s vee !! LLiiv r r e e m m m um SSu 5

June 1

st 21 – Augu Two ient conven in ns locatio a d Bethes

Join Westmoreland Children’s Center for ten weeks of summer camp fun for children ages 2-5. We offer age appropriate and fantastically fun weekly themes.

Outdoor Outdoor play play Arts Arts & & Crafts Crafts Music Music & & Movement Movement Onsite Onsite Field Field Trips Trips Water Water play play Sports Sports Cooking Cooking

For more details, check out our website

www.wccbethesda.com Register now! Prices increase May 1

2020 Camp Dates Young artists spend summer days immersed in an actual gallery on an arts campus, surrounded by the beauty and power of creativity.

July 25-26 Hitter, Setter, Libero Camps

TEEN ART CAMP

Aug. 1-2

Prospects, Serving, Defense

Week of July 27

Aug. 3-6

All Skills Camp

Aug. 8-9

Hitter, Setter, Libero Camps

Grades 7–10

KIDS ART CAMP Weeks of August 3 & 10 Grades 1–6 Late pickup available for all camps.

STRATHMORE.ORG/ARTCAMP | 301.581.5100 10701 Rockville Pike, North Bethesda, MD 20852 292

MARCH/APRIL 2020 | BETHESDAMAGAZINE.COM

July 27-31 Various Position Camps Youth & Middle School

Head Coach, Barry Goldberg 2019 Inducted into AU Athletics Hall of Fame 2013 NCAA Regional Coach of the Year, Sweet 16 7x Patriot League Coach of the Year 18 NCAA tournament appearances 31 seasons at American University

www.AmericanVolleyballCamps.com On The Campus of American University Washington, DC

summer camps

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

t s i l t e buck

S N UP ROW G R E S FO N TU R ADVE tober ay-Oc M , le b inner o Ta arm t lt Beg F u – d s A r g– Dinne yakin Dirty res Ka er u t n e ust Adv temb & Aug e n Liquid May – Sep u J s, rm – he Fa Classe es s on t t h erienc ig yN g Exp in d il Famil u eamb rate T Corpo ound R – Year

Award-winning sleepaway camp in The beautiful shenandoah valley for ages 6-16. camp horizons offers 50+ activities that challenge our campers to reach their fullest potential, and experience their best summer ever!

540.896.7600 • www.camphorizonsva.com

calleva.org Classes • Birthday Parties • Open Gym • Competitive Team • Camps

Half & Full Day Camps!

It’s Not Just Gymnastics, It’s Gymtastic!

NO SCHOOL! DAY CAMP • SPRING BREAK CAMP SUMMER CAMP Register online at www.gosilverstars.com

Athletic~Specialty~ Pick 3~ Bulldog Day Camps Extended Day and Lunch Plan Available AGES 3½–17 ~ JUNE 15–AUGUST 7

Two Great Locations! 2701 Pittman Drive, Silver Spring, MD 301-589-0938 301-589-1717 fax 14201 Woodcliff Ct, Bowie, MD 301-352-5777 301-352-8414 fax 294

MARCH/APRIL 2020 | BETHESDAMAGAZINE.COM

summer camps

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

Bender Early Childhood Center

PRESCHOOL A Place For Families

Session 1 | June 22 – July 2 Session 2 | July 6 – 17 Session 3 | July 20 – August 7

2020

• Preschool for children 18 months-5 years • Various program options, 7:00 AM-6:00 PM

• On site daily swim instruction • Low counselor-to-camper ratio

2017

• Extended day & transportation • Sports, arts & technology options available

Readers’ Pick, A Top Vote Getter, Best Camp Four years running!

• Free family membership with full day enrollment • Conveniently located in Rockville, Maryland

2020

Readers’ Pick, A Top Vote Getter, Best Preschool

CAMP 2020 APPLICATIONS NOW OPEN!

2020/2021 APPLICATIONS NOW OPEN!

Apply Today at benderjccgw.org/camp

Apply Today at benderjccgw.org/ecc

6125 Montrose Road Rockville, MD 20852

Visit benderjccgw.org or call 301.881.0100

SUMMER PROGRAMS CAMP 2020 DATES: JUNE 22-JULY 31

LEARN MORE & REGISTER! www.OnenessFamily MontessoriSchool.org

REGISTRATION

DAY-CAMPS

Begins January 24 Early-Bird Ends March 2

PEACE WEAVERS (Ages 3½-6½ years old) • Unique weekly themes with related arts, play and projects • Water-play and trips • Fun-fitness games, creative movement and yoga • In-house entertainment and off-campus field trips EARTH KEEPERS (Rising 1st-R Rising 5th+ graders) • Daily outdoor excursions to wilderness areas of MD, VA and D.C. • Interactive exhibits at nature centers and museums • Exploring with fossils, animal tracks, fishing nets and bird-calls • Swimming and climbing time

Pool & Water Play

Moon Bo Field Trips Yo g a unce A r t works Mindfulness Environmental Education

Hikes

Chesapeake Bay

295

summer camps

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

WIS SUMMER CAMP IS EVERYTHING

June 22, 2020 - July 31, 2020

Beauvoir Summer offers an array of exciting activities for pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade campers, all led by experienced adult counselors! Field trips • Swimming lessons • Outdoor camps • Delicious daily lunches • Leadership programs • Specialty camps in technology, art, dance, fencing, sports, and more.

Language Immersion STEM Sports Visual Arts and Culture Classes

Beauvoir Summer runs June 8 to July 31, 2020. www.beauvoirschool.org/summer

Our programs are located at Beauvoir, The National Cathedral Elementary School 3500 Woodley Road NW, Washington, DC 20016

Gallop to the beat of Summer fun!

Camp Olympia

Lowell Summer:

CELEBRATING DC! Home is Where the Fun is!

Co-Ed Instructional Sports Program Camp

ONLINE REGISTRATION NOW OPEN

Spring Break Camp:

Session 1: June 22–July 10 8:00 am–3:15 pm

NEW! Early Bird! Mini Camp: June 15–19

June 15 - August 28

8:00 am–4:00 pm

April 6-10 & 13

Session 2: July 13–31 8:00 am–3:15 pm

Open House Dates:

Last Call!: August 3–7 9:00 am–3:15 pm

March 7 & 21, April 18 week minimum Ages 3-1/2 - 15yrs Door to Door Transporation Extended Care Available

Activities Include: nclude:

• Horseback Riding • Football ball • Basketball • Gymnastics • Swimming • Soccer

• Tennis T nnis Te • Mountain Biking • Games and more!

5511 Muncaster Mill Road, Rockville, MD 20855

www.camp-olympia.com • 301-926-9281 296

NE C a m W! Music p Rock Progra m

Aftercare Available (S1 & S2 ONLY) Aftercar

STEAM Offerings to include: • Robotics • •Welding • •Drone Camp • •Programming • •Museum Curator • Camp AND MORE!

Onsite pool and swim lessons Eight-acre campus bordering Rock Creek Park

DJ and Music Production Programs, Pop Band Camp, Wiz Summer Musical: The Wiz, and more...

Counselor-in-Training Opportunities

1640 Kalmia Road NW Washington, DC 20012 202-577-2006

www.lowellschool.org

MARCH/APRIL 2020 | BETHESDAMAGAZINE.COM Low1920_CampAd_Mag 3.56x4.812_mtf.indd 1

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summer camps

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

2020 SUMMER CAMP -week camps for ages 3.5 -18 4 d n a , 3 1, 2,

ACTING | MUSICAL THEATRE | DANCE | FILMMAKING imaginationstage.org | 301-280-1636

9510 Hemswell Place $4,450,000 | 7 BD | 6F 3H BA | 10,062 SQ FT

Compass is a licensed real estate brokerage that abides by Equal Housing Opportunity laws. Information is compiled from sources deemed reliable but is not guaranteed. All measurements and square footages are approximate. This is not intended to solicit property already listed. Compass is licensed as Compass Real Estate in DC and as Compass in Virginia and Maryland. 1232 31st Street NW, Washington, DC 20007 |202.448.9002

BETHESDAMAGAZINE.COM | MARCH/APRIL 2020

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summer camps

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

JOIN US IN 2020 FOR

Ages 4-14

A SUMMER

June 15 - August 14 Come visit us at an Open House! Sundays, 1 to 3 pm Mar. 8, Apr. 19, May 17 Bus stops in Bethesda & Chevy Chase

Camp

barrie.org/camp

13500 Layhill Rd. , Silver Spring, MD camp@barrie.org • 301.576.2818 Minutes from ICC & Glenmont Metro

New for Summer 2020! Flexible scheduling options now available!

PERFORMING ARTS AQUATICS HORSEBACK RIDING ARTS & CRAFTS SPORTS

Campers Nursery (4 by 9/1/2020): June 22 – July 31 or June 29 – August 7 Campers PK to 6th grades (New!): June 22 – July 10 and/or July 13 – 31 Club KOA Sports SciKidz Camp: August 10 - 14 & 17 – 21

VOTED “BEST OVERNIGHT CAMP”

Multiyear winner by a leading Family Magazine!

CAMP RIM ROCK.COM INFO@CAMPRIMROCK .COM · 347-RIM-ROCK

298

MARCH/APRIL 2020 | BETHESDAMAGAZINE.COM

The 7th week (August 3 - 7) can be added to any session or used by itself if you are looking for just one week of camp. www.greenacres.org

summer camps

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

Star in a full-scale musical!

Summer Musical Theatre Camp Rising Grades 1–6 Monday–Friday

2 Week Sessions Glen Echo Park

summermusicaltheatrecamp.org

& ATMTC ACADEMY

Registration Open Now! Ages 3 ½ to 14

Ask about Scholarships!

A MULTI-ARTS SUMMER DAY CAMP FOR YOUNG PEOPLE AGES 8–15

ARENASTAGE.ORG/CAMP One and Two Week Sessions: June 15-August 14, 2020 Junior Day Specialty Day Camp Classes Adventure Camps Sports Camps

summeratnorwood.org

MUSICAL THEATER TRAINING COMPANY One-on-one training from the nation’s best musical theater professionals ARENASTAGE.ORG/ACADEMY

SESSIONS BEGIN JUNE 22, 2020 CALL 202-600-4064

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Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District presents the

BERNARD/EBB SONGWRITING AWARDS

LIVE CONCERT

FRIDAY, MARCH 13 • 7:30PM Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club 7719 Wisconsin Avenue, Bethesda, MD

Songwriting Awards Finalists

Young Songwriter Finalists

DuPont Brass

Naomi Farkas

Hayley Fahey

Anya Gupta

Genna Matthew

Seger Ott-Rudolph

Eric Scott Maimouna Youssef

$10,000 Grand Prize & $2,500 Young Songwriter Prize to be announced at the close of the show. Produced by