Washington food critics are starting to pile on when it comes to their disdain for Bethesda restaurants.
Last week Washington Post food critic Tom Sietsema didn’t include any Bethesda eateries (or any in Montgomery County, for that matter) in his ranking of his favorite 37 Washington-area restaurants.
Now Washingtonian critic Todd Kliman has joined the fray, saying the Bethesda restaurant scene is “thoroughly mediocre.” In a blog post, Kliman wrote that Bethesda “counts more than 200 restaurants, none of them great, and at most three or four that you might actually consider for a good meal out with friends. “
Kliman didn’t spare other Montgomery County restaurants either. Offering his initial thoughts for an upcoming list of his favorite Washington-area restaurants, Kliman named two Silver Spring restaurants that will no longer make the cut.
“Two, three years ago I might have put Jackie’s or 8407 Kitchen + Bar on this hypothetical list, but the former has lost its spark while the latter has slid into mediocrity. (Talented pastry chef Rita Garruba has left, among others, and the restaurant is now outsourcing its desserts to a local bakery.) So—surprise—no places from Silver Spring. And—no surprise—nothing from Bethesda.”
Kliman even took a swipe at Bethesda Magazine for its Bethesda Beat story on Sietsema’s rankings.
“The moaning from Bethesda Magazine was as predictable as it was self-aggrandizing, with a blog post pointing out that the critic had yet again “snubbed Bethesda.” Sietsema, the deck informed readers, “has never had much nice to say about local eateries.”