Anchored by Washington, D.C., Annapolis and Baltimore, Maryland’s Montgomery County is home to meetings destination heavyweights such as Takoma Park, Bethesda, Gaithersburg, Silver Spring and Rockville, as well as up-and-comers like Wheaton and the new Pike & Rose development in North Bethesda.
Served by three major airports and a full-service public transit system, this infinitely walkable destination offers groups a vibrant culinary palate sure to satisfy every sensibility.
Diverse Flavors
“What’s interesting about Montgomery County is that the food culture is very focused on ethnic dining,” said Cory Van Horn, director of marketing for Visit Montgomery.
Van Horn, speaking from a background of culinary tourism, is enthused about the destination’s more than 900 ethnic dining establishments.
“We don’t exactly have, say, an iconic restaurant,” Van Horn said. “Really, what we offer is that mom-and-pop experience. It’s a community of hidden gems.
It gives meetings and leisure travelers the opportunity to immerse themselves in various local flavors and cultures, he added.
Groups looking to expand their flavor horizons won’t want to miss Mykonos Grill in Rockville. The menu showcases a full range of fine Mediterranean cuisine, from avgolemono soup to spanakopita, all at accessible prices.
Mykonos can host groups of up to 50 for sit-down meals or 65 for cocktails and light fare in the banquet room. The main dining room can serve groups of up to 100. Dining spaces and the menu can be customized according to the needs of the group, and the venue offers reduced pricing for recurring events.
Located in Germantown, Da Marco, The Italian Place serves artisanal pasta, wood-fired stone-oven pizza and other Italian delights. The restaurant provides multiple event spaces and can host private events of up to 220 attendees.
Spirited Adventures
“On trend with what’s happening across the country, we’re seeing an increase in local wineries, breweries and distilleries,” Van Horn said. “What I’m seeing in Montgomery County is that nearly all of them have some sort of tasting room. It’s not just being able to drink the beer or the spirit, but the tasting room itself has become part of the experience.”
Twin Valley Distillers in Rockville, the first distillery to operate in the county since the end of Prohibition, offers tours and private tastings for smaller groups.
For groups between 20 and 400, dog-friendly Denizens Brewing Company in Silver Spring serves handcrafted offerings in an offbeat and friendly atmosphere. Meanwhile, Sugarloaf Mountain Vineyard in Dickerson can host events of up to 25 people for a seated meal and 40 for a standing tasting event.
Brookeville Beer Farm synergizes sustainable farming and brewing practices and hosts a Farmers Market with local artisans and food vendors every Saturday. The venue closes to the public on Mondays and Tuesdays in order to host private events of up to 100 attendees. Private events of 35 attendees or less can be booked on Wednesdays and Thursdays.
Some venues in this category don’t serve food, but this isn’t necessarily a drawback.
“What’s cool about the venues that don’t offer food themselves is that they allow food to come in,” Van Horn explained. “That helps a lot with groups who have both budgetary and special dietary needs.”
PageBreakExperiential Dining
“The biggest trend that I’m seeing is food that is tied to an experience,” Van Horn said. “I’ve been at a number of meetings where, oh, yay, it’s another big long table in the middle of a restaurant.”
Increasingly, attendees want to engage with their destinations more than they can in big long-table meals.
“After a long day of meetings, attendees are looking for dining options that go beyond just the usual group dinners,” Van Horn said.
In many ways, the still-unfolding Pike & Rose development in North Bethesda was designed in the spirit of this trend. Of special note is the newly opened Pinstripes.
“What they offer is all the amenities of a conference center,” according to Van Horn, including state-of-the-art audiovisual capabilities, a 240-seat ballroom and locally sourced Italian-American cuisine, “but in a fun setting with bocce ball and bowling and a really cool rooftop terrace.”
Also at Pike & Rose is the soon-to-open Canopy Hotel by Hilton, which will feature a 3,000-square-foot rooftop terrace looking out over the new neighborhood.
For groups of 10 people or less, Urban Winery in Silver Spring offers wine-tasting classes in its barrel room. For reception-style gatherings, Urban Winery can accommodate up to 60 guests in its warehouse-chic setting with polished concrete floors and an open wood ceiling.
Though not a food venue per se, Glen Echo Park in Glen Echo is an arts and cultural center, the site of which was originally developed as a National Chautauqua Assembly and then served as an amusement park. The National Park Service currently manages the grounds, celebrated for such features as the historic Art Deco Spanish ballroom and the still-operational 1921 Dentzel menagerie carousel.
A long-time favorite for destination weddings, Glen Echo Park has recently been expanding its meeting and event offerings. Planners who wish to stage an event with a meal may choose from a list of nine dedicated caterers.
For more than 30 years, the Mansion at Strathmore has hosted an afternoon tea every Tuesday and Wednesday in the Shapiro Music Room. Tea is served with live music and tea savories.
“For me, it was the daintiest tea experience I’ve ever had in my life,” Van Horn recalled. “I had a blast.”
Flavorful Options
This summer, the Hilton Washington DC/Rockville Hotel and Executive Meeting Center opened a full-service kosher kitchen and catering service.
In Wheaton, Green Plate Catering strives to provide a rotating menu of organic and locally sourced ingredients. Green Plate’s menu focuses on vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free options.
Sister to the successful original location in the District of Columbia, Founding Farmers MoCo in Potomac, a 3 Star Certified Green Restaurant, provides prix-fixe menus easily customized to the needs of each event.
Black Restaurant Group’s newest addition, Republic in Takoma Park, serves a rotating menu in a quirky atmosphere.
“It’s kind of Victorian meets dark vintage flare,” Van Horn said.
Chicago’s Let Us Entertain You Group recently opened its second Summer House Santa Monica at Pike & Rose in North Bethesda. Featuring an open kitchen with a wood-fire grill, the restaurant has private event space for up to 85. The entire restaurant can be booked for larger groups.
Summer House and sister pizzeria Stella Barra also offer off-site catering.
Adjacent to a 21-acre nature preserve and as much a restaurant as an experience unto itself is Clyde’s at Tower Oaks Lodge in Rockville.
“It looks like a lodge,” Van Horn said. “You walk in and there’s this dark wood interior. You’re in this business park, but all of a sudden there’s Clyde’s. You really feel like you’re in another world.”
Planners can book Clyde’s Saranac bar for semi-private cocktail receptions.
