Bethesda has never really had good dining. It is just designed to soak rich people for as much money as possible for extraordinarily mediccre food.

My favorite Japanese restaurant closed during the pandemic. My beloved Indian restaurant, A Passage to India, has gone downhill (change of proprietors, or at least manager?). Duck Duck Goose was good but it closed.

I live near downtown Bethesda and love it, but the food is disappointing, I agree.

Nova is also full of "upscale mew southern" or whatever they're calling expensive fried chicken these days!

My friend just moved to the area to Silver Spring and asked to go to a nice dinner somewhere in Bethesda or Silver Spring. What in GODS NAME happened to the restaurant scene there? All the top rated places are like burger sliders and fried chicken and other trash. Black's used to be good but there were better up and coming restaurants years ago (eg 8407 Kitchen Bar in silver spring as one example). Now it has all just rotted, it seems. I may have to ask my friend to come out to Nova or meet in DC. How on earth did you guys destroy your restaurants? Is Sushiko in Chevy Chase literally the only semi decent restaurant left in a county of a million people??