Ten Bethesda-area restaurants that opened during the pandemic signal hope for better days—and nights—to come
By David Hagedorn |
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Rosemary Bistro Cafe’s bouillabaisse is packed with mussels, squid, shrimp, scallops, red snapper, monkfish and vegetables, and served with baguette slices with garlic saffron aioli. Photo by Deb Lindsey
Rosemary Bistro Cafe
Upper Northwest D.C.
“Have you eaten with us before?” Fred Darricarrere asks when I call in an order to Rosemary Bistro Cafe, the restaurant he opened in Upper Northwest D.C. in July. “No,” I reply, not letting on that I’m a restaurant critic. “Ah! It’s a cold winter night, so I’ll add a warm baguette as a thank you. It will soak up all those good juices of your boeuf bourguignon and bouillabaisse.” In my follow-up reporting, he sends a video of the 2,000-square-foot interior, with its gold tin ceiling, skylights, vintage French travel posters, mustard-colored floor and stunning Medusa-like red and gold glass chandeliers and pendant lights. I picture myself there on a summer evening, sopping up escargot garlic butter and winy mussel broth with crusty bread.