Does anyone eat around here?

When we moved in 2004 from upper-crusty Beacon Hill in Boston to Cheverly, we found almost everything we wanted-- a garden, a community with character, a house bigger than a shoebox located on the metro and close to our work. At least we thought so until our first night here when we got hungry...

In retrospect, our decision was entirely silly, but we went to the nearest "grocery store" at Landover food (which offered a wider selection of malt liquor than all other food combined) and the reality started to settle in. We lived in a place where people only ate things they could buy at the 7-Eleven, the KFC, or if they were supremely motivated, at one of the crap grocery stores in the area. We started to miss the chic little Thai place and bakery down the hill from us in Boston, the co-op, the markets. And so we ate some mac and cheese from a box with some frozen veggies and pretended we had just taken the wrong road to look for food.

And in some ways, we had. In the past years I have followed about every potentially sensible piece of advice about finding food and fun in the DC metro area, and have discovered gems all over DC, NoVA, and the Bethesda area. All are less than an hour, and as a country girl from NH, I was used to the idea that you had to drive to seek out good food. What I couldn't get used to was the idea that here I was, a typical resident of my cute little village littered with recycle bins full of packages from Trader Joe's or Whole Foods, and yet there wasn't anything apparently interesting to eat in the area. That means all of these people leave to eat. Has anyone ever looked at how much money people from PG spend in DC, Montgomery Co, or Anne Arundel Co on food alone?

With a bit more devotion I have found more and more places around my home where I can not only get something to suffer through, but something to be proud of. We have a long way to go around here, but this blog will attempt to inspire and awaken the local taste buds to some of the "local" food. And since life isn't just about food, there will also be some thoughts on fun living around here.

Now, there are caveats. I don't eat things that are so far removed from where they came from they are completely unidentifiable (like most traditional fast food). I also eat almost entirely vegetarian (although I will eat hormone and antibiotic free chicken), and although I love shellfish I am allergic to some of it. Yes, I am one of THOSE people. But I have an experimental palate, and keep in mind that since much of the world can't afford meat on a regular basis many traditional cuisine focus on simple, filling, vegetarian dishes. Many of the bits about food and fun aren't in Cheverly, or even anywhere near Cheverly, but I will try to share the rationale and the travel times when I can.

Time to eat...

Bevin