There’s a new chef coming to the Woodmont Triangle restaurant Barrel and Crow. Pedro Matamoros, who has hung his toque in many local kitchens, will be assuming command at the restaurant on April 10, replacing Nick Palermo who stepped down.
Co-owner Patrick Forest told Bethesda Beat that Matamoros will “simplify” the restaurant’s dishes. “Nick is more haute cuisine,” Forest said. “We want to return to our roots—dishes that are humbly prepared and locally sourced. That was the original concept, but we’ve strayed a bit.”
Forest added, “Nobody wants to see Nick go, but we didn’t want him to be unhappy.”
Palermo told Becky Krystal at The Washington Post that he is leaving for another job, although he declined to say where.
Forest said that Matamoros was the first chef that he thought of after Palermo announced he was leaving. Forest worked with Matamoros when the latter owned 8407 Kitchen Bar in Silver Spring several years ago. “8407 was similar to what we do here,” he said.
In addition to 8407, Matamoros has worked at Tabbard Inn in D.C., the now defunct Golden Flame in Silver Spring, and, most recently, at Mix Bar and Grille in Potomac and Silver Spring.
Forest said changes in the menu will be gradual and many of Palermo’s most popular dishes will remain, including chicken and waffles and mackerel.
Barrel and Crow was the only Bethesda restaurant to make Sietsema’s 2015 Fall Dining Guide.
