Charley Prime Foods restaurant review: A touch of D.C. in the suburbs
During the pandemic, longtime Washington restaurateurs Jackie Greenbaum and Gordon Banks poked around the suburbs, looking for a spot to open a second El Chucho. “There’s always a Mexican restaurant in every complex,” says Greenbaum, whose dining empire also includes Bar Charley in Dupont Circle, the underground Quarry House Tavern in Silver Spring and the Italian-themed Little Coco’s on 14th Street NW.
The business partners had to shift gears when they settled on Rio Lakefront in Gaithersburg, which already had a Mexican establishment. Instead of competing with a neighboring restaurant in the popular shopping center in the heart of Montgomery County, Greenbaum and Banks knew they had to come up with something fresh. “What did we think they would allow and what did we think would be appropriate?” Greenbaum remembers thinking. With input from corporate chef Adam Harvey, the location’s biggest cheerleader (go figure, he and his family live in nearby Olney), the principals hatched a plan to join bits and pieces of all their venues under one roof.
Enter Charley Prime Foods, which took the place of Tara Thai in May.
The newcomer, set off with shiny black and white tile floors, forest-green booths and a raised bar, looks like no other dining room in the sprawl. The wallpaper fairly blooms with flowers, and a giant dog cutout remembers Lucy, Greenbaum’s late schnauzer. Paintings of friends and others by the owner fill in remaining gaps and show her to be a woman of many hats. Don’t be surprised if Greenbaum greets you at the door, stops by to chat or wipes down tables to make way for more revelers. (The interior is currently a boombox, but Greenbaum says sound-dampening panels should be in place early next month.)
More than half the seats are outside, on a patio facing the water and shielded from the elements by a retractable roof. A word of advice: Book a table. Without a reservation, you might end up outside the entrance, amid moviegoers and others. But you also want to book ahead because the word is out: Gaithersburg has a new place to eat and drink, and it fills whatever role you want it to: date night, family reunion, you name it.
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No need to go to veteran Bar Charley for tuna tartare, steak frites or a drink that suggests you’re in the big city. The hangout’s new sibling offers all three. Quarry House Tavern gets name-checked at happy hour, when Charley Prime Foods serves the dive’s hamburger, and Little Coco’s, whose former chef de cuisine, Russell Pike, plays that role here, is acknowledged with fontina-and-chive fritters along with a handful of housemade pastas. Harvey says the new restaurant features “the greatest hits of all the different restaurants,” including the late, whimsical Jackie’s in Silver Spring, which I still miss and hope Greenbaum and company consider reviving.
The portions at Charley Prime Foods are positively suburban. The arugula salad, arranged with shaved fennel and citrus, is more mountain than mound, a family-size appetizer with a truly sparkling vinaigrette, thanks to prosecco in the mix. And the five-spiced pulled pork placed on five (count ’em!) stumps of crispy sticky rice is more entree than opener. A new creation, the roasted pork is braised with lemongrass and jalapeño and finished with a Korean barbecue sauce. The taste buds know only to register pleasure. Seemingly a loaf of toasted bread flanks the “faux” gras, a scoop of whipped mushrooms, mirin, egg and butter designed to mimic foie gras mousse. An exploratory bite stops further excavation, though. Whipped cream would make a better companion than toast for the achingly sweet brown fluff.
“Ode to Spago” is a nod to California celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck and the Asian accents the Austrian native added to some of his best-known dishes at the dawn of the American food revolution. The generous salad — a happy marriage of shredded cabbage, wonton crisps, chicken poached in coconut milk, juicy mango and toasted cashews tossed in a gingery vinaigrette — is also a shout-out to Harvey’s mom, “not the best cook,” according to the chef, but a food-curious traveler responsible for introducing her son to the pleasures of fancy restaurants. (Not to rain on Harvey’s parade, but the colorful chopped salad originated at Puck’s equally acclaimed Chinois on Main in Santa Monica, not the star-studded Spago in Beverly Hills. Credit where credit is due.)
No matter the hour, the bar is packed. Cocktails made as they are in some of Washington’s top-shelf draws — but priced to attract a broad audience — explain any wait for a stool. The menu beckons with more than 30 temptations. Listed under “Easy Drinking,” a gimlet brightened with fresh basil goes for an agreeable $10. “Beyond Definition” includes a sunny yellow elixir of black raisin rye, caraway seed and lemon for several bucks more. “Tweed Jacket” suits me. In short, this is a bar that raises the bar for drinking in Montgomery County.
Perhaps you’ve come for steak. A section called “Here’s the Beef” gathers cuts for every budget. Bavette — 8 ounces of flavorful flank steak for $27 — shines with a rosemary and mustard marinade and includes a salad or fries. The potatoes are soaked overnight, double-cooked and served as a golden heap that soak up more pleasure when pressed into the juices on the plate. The kitchen allows meat lovers to upgrade, too. Harvey offers Wagyu beef and Linz Heritage prime Angus, meat revered for its pleasant chew, tenderness and marbling, qualities I experienced in the 12-ounce New York strip steak, priced at $65 but sufficient for two to split. My only regret is ordering cacio e pepe macaroni as a companion to the deluxe steak. The generous side dish tasted vaguely of black pepper and was wet rather than creamy. We abandoned the pasta after a few bites.
The menu casts a wide net without going all Cheesecake Factory on diners. The fish crowd is welcomed with roasted Arctic salmon, served skin-on on a drift of yogurt with juicy halved cherry tomatoes, fava beans and asparagus. Chicken breast is pounded, breaded and fried on its way to becoming a satisfying Milanese dressed with peppery arugula and lemon-caper butter. The French dip is a mess to eat, but I’m still a fan of the sandwich, which swaps in roasted shaved lamb for the traditional beef, and gets a creamy jolt from harissa aioli. The only thing to make it better would be wet naps.
Pastas are more of a mixed bag. Squid ink fettuccine topped with marinated prawns and nuggets of crab tastes like an import from New Orleans, completed with shrimp butter and andouille-spiked breadcrumbs, a nice textural element. Ravioli stuffed with tangy goat cheese arrives with a hailstorm of crushed hazelnuts — good so far — in a scene that gets crowded with an underliner of carrot puree and unnecessary chopped mushrooms. Editing would make for better eating.
“Salads and entrees together?” a server wanted to know on my maiden visit. At least she asked. I know I’m not the only diner who’s grown tired of having appetizers and main courses show up at the same time, a problem I attribute to all the fresh faces in the industry. Otherwise, the team seems to have been trained well, and each meal is testament to progress on the service front. The hosts in particular make good ambassadors.
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Chefs with kids know to put some thought into menus for young patrons. Kudos to Harvey for offering two lists — one for children 10 and under, another for those 15 and younger — and for including among the choices 4-ounce steak and salmon entrees, plus tempura haddock “fingers” and housemade applesauce. “We treat kids with the same care” as adult diners, says the father of two little ones.
I’m always tempted to order the “Magical” sundae, ringed with what looks like a Halloween haul of candy toppings. Watching the shareable confection parade through the dining room makes me wish I hadn’t eaten all my french fries, or the whole French dip. Next time! Charley Prime Foods isn’t without flaws, but it’s definitely fun.
Charley Prime Foods
9811 Washingtonian Blvd., Gaithersburg, Md. 240-477-7925. charleyprimefoods.com. Open for indoor and outdoor dining and takeout from 4 to 11 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 4 p.m. to midnight Friday, 10 a.m. to midnight Saturday, 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday. (Lunch hours are planned for later this month.) Prices: dinner appetizers $10 to $17, main courses $18 to $65. Sound check: 78 decibels/Must speak with raised voice. Accessibility: No barriers to entry/ADA-compliant restroom on the ground floor.
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