David Hagedorn

3 days ago | bethesdamagazine.com | David Hagedorn

Photo credit: Brendan McCabeI’ve been following Jarrad Silver’s career since he was laid off from his chef’s job at D.C.’s Birch and Barley restaurant in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic and struck out on his own, starting a takeout barbecue business in 2021 called Silver and Sons Barbecue from his Kensington home. He parlayed that into a food truck business, retrofitting a retired mail truck.

1 week ago | arlingtonmagazine.com | David Hagedorn

Food costs are rising and economic conditions are tenuous, leaving many of us in a budget-conscious state of mind. But there’s more to life than eating in. Our restaurant critic hit up 10 casual eateries for terrific meals that come in around $25 or less. The prices that follow exclude beverage, tax and tip. For a heady mix of complex flavors, the “Create Your Own Tiffin” special ($21.95) at Delhi Dhaba, a longstanding destination for Indian food in Courthouse, is hard to resist.

3 weeks ago | arlingtonmagazine.com | David Hagedorn

It’s an early spring morning and Jonathan Aponte is heading from his home in Woodbridge to the Hilton Arlington National Landing, where he works as a hotel kitchen supervisor. His duties include checking in orders, reviewing invoices, taking inventory, helping the chef and sous-chef with recipes, and making sure multiple walk-in refrigerators, freezers and storage rooms are orderly and well-maintained.

1 month ago | arlingtonmagazine.com | David Hagedorn

Move over H Mart, Great Wall and 99 Ranch. Tysons has a new Asian market and it’s a stunner. Opened in January, the 18,000-square foot Marufuji Japanese Market is a Japanophile’s dream, chockablock with (mostly Japanese) food products, plus some home goods thrown in.

1 month ago | bethesdamagazine.com | David Hagedorn

While the menu is part Italian and part Persian at Italiamo Kitchen, a counter-service restaurant that opened in Derwood in December, its bestseller is the solo item that’s a fusion of Mexican and Persian fare: a tahdig taco. “Once you taste it, you’re going to love it,” I overhear co-owner Matt Mahjoub telling a diner, referring to the dish that lured me there in the first place, thanks to Instagram.