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Night 14: Addie's
So this is Addie's. How many times had I passed the
inviting little cottage on the hill, so out of place
just beyond earshot of the hue and honk that is Rockville
Pike? I park in back, walk up to the front, and, on
this first sweet evening in weeks, feel as if I'm going
to somebody's party. There are clusters of people on
the lawn, a couple of picnic tables for waiting with
a drink (Addie's does not take weekend reservations),
and people already eating on a patio. Inside, it's humming
— packed at 6:30. Tonight's company is my older
brother and his girlfriend. We order a pitcher of sangria
and are happy to study the menu.
The sangria is great. It's not my usual choice, but
Addie's version is light, crisp and delicious, brightened
with apple as well as orange. It goes down too fast
and we order more. Just as the second pitcher comes,
we're seated and have to commit: I want a steak, but
I need the fish, the pork sounds luscious, but fried
sweet potatoes sound downright dangerous at this point.
The appetizers alone are irresistible. I finally decide
on grilled calamari and shrimp with lentils, the rib
eye, which comes with whipped potatoes and steamed spinach
and that pile of onion I'm seeing everywhere. Later
I opt for warm chocolate cake with vanilla bean ice
cream. God bless her, this girl can eat.
While we wait for the check, Tammy, the hostess, stops
by to chat. The owners, Jeff and Barbara Black, are
also the owners of Black's in Bethesda. Addie is Jeff's
grandma in Texas who has never been here, 'cause she
doesn't fly. What a shame! I think she'd be downright
proud. Jeff and Barbara met, Tammy says confidentially,
at the CIA. I know my brother. From a bedroom full of
Landmark Books as a kid to a town house packed with
Tom Clancy and Len Deighton hardbacks, David is a masculine
romantic. He thinks this detail is amazing. Tired of
toil at the agency, Jeff and Barbara leave it all behind
to season pork and bake up bread. He loves it. Should
I tell him about the Culinary Institute of America?
Nahhhhhhh.
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