MD Eatery Among Best New Restaurants In U.S.: Bon Appetit

MARYLAND — Bon Appetit released its list of the "50 Best New Restaurants Of 2022" this week, and among those that made the cut is one from Maryland.

The food site put together the list, divided by region, with recommendations on what to order. As Marylanders return to dining after pandemic restrictions lifted, the writers suggest these restaurants as worth the trip.

"As we crisscrossed the country in search of the 50 best new restaurants of 2022, we were overwhelmed by how thrilling restaurant culture is at this moment," the writers said. "The industry has been through a lot in the last few years, but these new restaurants point to a hopeful next chapter. ... After the pandemic made plain exactly how thankless restaurant work can be, some of the places on this list are challenging industry norms and putting their staff first in ways that feel new and refreshing."

The food and dining website ranked Z&Z Manoushe Bakery in Rockville among the best in the country. A D.C. venue also made the cut.

What to order, according to Bon Appetit: Classic ($8); Toum Raider ($11); Hot Halaby Honey ($15); Lahm Bi Ajeen ($15).

The Dubbaneh family started selling manoushe, a type of Palestinian flatbread, from a stall at Washington, DC’s Foggy Bottom farmers market back in 2016 and quickly gained a loyal following. Six years later, their products are available in 14 mid-Atlantic Whole Foods locations, and they finally have a permanent home base bakery located, fittingly, in the same Rockville strip mall restaurant space where their grandfather once ran a fried chicken shop.

"Here the manoushe emerge puffed and blistered from the saaj, a traditional convex metal griddle, and come with toppings that range from the expected to the inventive," Bon Appetit said. "If you have a hard time deciding, go ahead and over order; you’ll be thankful for leftovers later.

If You Go

Address: 1111 Nelson St., Rockville

Phone: (301) 296-4178

Hours: Monday through Wednesday, closed; Thursday and Friday, open 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Saturday, open 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Sunday, open 10 a.m. to. 7 p.m.

What's your favorite new Maryland restaurant? Tell us in comments.

Bon Appetit also included Daru at 1451 Maryland Ave. NE in Washington, D.C., on its best new restaurants list.

The writers praised chef Suresh Sundas and co-owner/bar manager Dante Datta for their equal emphasis on food and drink. "Datta’s cocktails are creative without feeling overly serious; the Chai-teani, featuring masala chai and cacao cream, serves as a refreshing rejoinder to the espresso martini trend. Sundas’s menu is similarly thoughtful and cheeky, highlighting Indian flavors while eagerly pulling from a range of cuisines and local ingredients—his richly spiced black daal, topped off with an oozing orb of fresh burrata, is without a doubt the best use of the cheese we came across this year," the food site said.

What to order: Blue Cheese Reshmi Kebab ($12); Bharwan Mirchi Ka Salan ($18); Black Daal Burrata ($8); Bread Basket ($10).

Hours: Tuesday through Sunday, 5 to 10 p.m.

Phone: 202-388-1848