Mandalay...hot stuff!

Mandalay Restaurant 930 Bonifant St., Silver Spring MD 20910

http://mandalayrestaurantcafe.com/

11.2.11

 Mandalay is a restaurant that started in College Park, MD many years ago. 

Those of you who went to UMD may remember it.  They are known for S.E. Asian cuisine.  The unfortunate thing about my trip to Mandalay was that I was by myself, so I didn't have anyone to order something different and share!  They have a wide selection of vegetarian and vegan dishes as well as non.

 Jesus Saves.  Buddha apparently is environmentally conscious.  I like the fact that they use a CF bulb in their offering.

 I started out with a Iced Myanmar Coffee.  It was the pre-sweetened variety with condensed milk.  I'll take that for $2.95 over a Starbucks any day.

This is the Mandalay Tofu.  It's served at room temperature, but the spice is enough to light you up.  I really enjoyed the flavor.  It's lightly fried, then chilled, and tossed with a lemon-soy dressing and sesame seeds.  This is a vegan dish with tons of flavor and good texture.  By the time I finished I was sweating and my nose was running.  Just the way I like it.

I look forward to going back and trying some varied dishes.  If you stop in, report back and let me know how you liked it!  I look forward to your comments.

Adega Wine Cellars in Silver Spring

So you walk in. It's cozy. There is a good selection of wine, good food, and free WiFi. What else could you want? It's like the Starbucks of Wine. The proprietor is Walter Rhee, A veteran of some Northern Virginia restaurant groups. I've known him for eight years.

Take a look around. You'll see there are specials on various chalk and marker boards around. They've got a great selection of t-shirts too! I got my wife one that says, "Pick me, squeeze me, stomp me, Make Me Wine!"

Pretty good selection of wine and beer. Walter knows his stuff.

But let's not neglect the food, shall we? Last time I was in I had some calamari that was done perfectly. This dish however, the Softshell Crab, was awesome. It was literally the biggest softshell I've ever seen, and I've seen a lot.

Just for perspective, the receipt in the basket is 3" wide. The seasoning was nice and the crab was done to perfection. It was served on a brioche bun with aioli. Plump, briny, and yummy.

If you get a chance, stop by and grab some lunch. If you don't have to go back to work, he's definitely got some by-the-glass specials every day.

There are also 1/2 price bottle nights and things like that.

Tell him you read about it on Pleasures of the Table!

Thanks for reading.