8407

Every so often sandwiches can change the course of history: for instance, had Mama Cass not died choking on one, today she would still be the "not-hot chick from the Mamas and the Papas" to a whole new generation of people grossed out by her. For a restaurant sprung from a single sandwich, check out Silver Spring's 8407.

A 200 seat duplex, 8407 boasts a first floor bar/lounge and a top-level dining room with rustic brickwork walls, suspended wall-side wine racks, and glossy redwood ceiling beams; the whole joint was set in motion when its financing partner ate the chef's Reuben (at his former gig), demanded to meet him, and immediately offered him the job without so much as a Reuben stutter. Grub's "organic modern", with locally-sourced freshness like an apple blue cheese salad and sauteed greens w/ apple cider gastrique, plus sea edibles like smoked salmon w/ hard-boiled egg/creme fraiche, buttermilk fried calamari, and Rappahannock River oysters: family-farmed by a Virginian clan who've been oystering for over 100 years, thus ensuring no shortage of children to continue the tradition. Meat-eats include a chimichurri-doused, pressed Cuban and a ginger aioli Banh Mi beef-wich, plus an impressive range of meats/charcuterie (from duck prosciutto, to salami, andouille & chorizo) cured in their own home-made rig, a feat of DIY engineering primed to be on the next episode of This Old House With DIY Meat Curers.

Drinks include the usual suds-pects (four taps; nine bottles), 18 wines by the glass, and a still-in-fiddling cocktail list including a Hendrick's/mint/muddled cucumber Pimm's Cup and a vodka ginger lime-aid -- while it sounds refreshing, you probably don't want history remembering you as the Mama who drank it.