College Park is so cool now

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Was looking for restaurants and this old thread came up.

Thanks for the restaurant list! We have gone to see many performances at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center.

Several really great (mostly new) places not mentioned in that list are Northwest Chinese (consistently top 100 in the DMV), Hall CP, Tacos a la Madre, GrillMarX (somewhat overpriced, but great fish and oysters). And within a short walk, 2fifty BBQ in Riverdale Park.

Isn't Northwest Chinese in a block of shops that are slated to be taken out for another development?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Downtown Bethesda has lots of really cool restaurants and shops and is very walkable. If you expand the definition to include North Bethesda then you get to include the Strathmore

I don't find that to be the case. Most of the shops and restaurants are boring.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Downtown Bethesda has lots of really cool restaurants and shops and is very walkable. If you expand the definition to include North Bethesda then you get to include the Strathmore

I don't find that to be the case. Most of the shops and restaurants are boring.

I enjoy the shops and restaurant and the convenience of living in downtown Bethesda, and yet still 20 minutes to downtown DC.

[Anonymous]

Purple line is going to boost development further.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Was looking for restaurants and this old thread came up.

Thanks for the restaurant list! We have gone to see many performances at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center.

Several really great (mostly new) places not mentioned in that list are Northwest Chinese (consistently top 100 in the DMV), Hall CP, Tacos a la Madre, GrillMarX (somewhat overpriced, but great fish and oysters). And within a short walk, 2fifty BBQ in Riverdale Park.

Isn't Northwest Chinese in a block of shops that are slated to be taken out for another development?

I heard something about that but I had lunch there this week so idk. Hopefully if they do have to move they don’t go far.

[Anonymous]

Heh, funny that this old thread got bumped, just today they ran a story on new businesses opening in College Park

New restaurants, such as Dog Haus Biergarten, Iron Rooster and GrillMarx Steakhouse & Raw Bar, have filled once-vacant storefronts in the last year. The College Park Shopping Center will also add a Greene Turtle and Honeypig Korean BBQ.

“We’re smoking hot,” College Park economic development manager Michael Williams said. “Folks want to come to College Park to do business because we have vitality right now.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Was looking for restaurants and this old thread came up.

Thanks for the restaurant list! We have gone to see many performances at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center.

Several really great (mostly new) places not mentioned in that list are Northwest Chinese (consistently top 100 in the DMV), Hall CP, Tacos a la Madre, GrillMarX (somewhat overpriced, but great fish and oysters). And within a short walk, 2fifty BBQ in Riverdale Park.

Isn't Northwest Chinese in a block of shops that are slated to be taken out for another development?

It is, but the development is not scheduled to start until 2025, and they still haven't been able to secure the financing. In any case, College Park will probably make an effort to find another home in the city, so I think it is unlikely that it will leave (just like Marathon Deli, Taqueria Habanero, or Hanami).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I agree. CP is really the only cool suburb.

Silver Spring is a weird mix between a dump and an outdoor outlet mall. Takoma Park is old and moldy, Bethesda is too commercial and just yuck, Clarendon used to be very cool but now is like millenial warehouse, Alexandria is too historic, Crystal City is underground, Rockville is a strip of big box stores with filled with soccer parents, Tysons is a mall on steroids...

Not anymore: https://www.arlnow.com/2024/04/30/breaking-all-remaining-crystal-city-underground-shops-to-close/

[Anonymous]

The main problem for College Park remains the way it’s stretched out along a major road. I know they’re trying with requiring some little “streets” in the new buildings but ultimately, it’s just really unpleasant to walk along or across Rte 1.

I also don’t get the mid rise office building district by the metro.

I wish they would take the ugly Greek quad and try to develop it into a commercial zone, but it seems like because of laws or idk what they only do these giant apartment buildings.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The main problem for College Park remains the way it’s stretched out along a major road. I know they’re trying with requiring some little “streets” in the new buildings but ultimately, it’s just really unpleasant to walk along or across Rte 1.

I also don’t get the mid rise office building district by the metro.

I wish they would take the ugly Greek quad and try to develop it into a commercial zone, but it seems like because of laws or idk what they only do these giant apartment buildings.

You are completely right, it is difficult to make College Park charming with Rt 1 going through. Better than getting rid of Greek Row I think the best would be to develop one of the streets going to the metro, but that's never going to happen.

The district by the metro is puzzling to me too. The university seems to really want to make it happen, but it is so awkward out there. It is slowly improving, and the Purple line could transform it, so I guess we'll see what comes out of it.