Owen's Ordinary patio reopening today at Pike & Rose

The patio will officially reopen today at Owen's Ordinary at Pike & Rose. It won't be quite as crowded as you see in my photo above from previous years; seating will be more spread out to comply with social distancing regulations. Masks must be worn to enter (disposable extras are available, and they have cloth masks for sale), but can be removed while you are seated.

All orders will be taken online. You'll receive a text when your patio or carry-out order is ready.  Groups that arrive together may be seated together. Individuals who arrive separately may not join a group for seating. Guests are asked to observe social distancing while on the premises.

Brunch starts this weekend at Owen's Ordinary

Owen's Ordinary, the new restaurant and beer garden that recently opened at Pike & Rose, will begin brunch service this weekend. On the menu will be dishes like Red Apron bacon and eggs, Fried Chicken and Bacon Cheddar Waffle, and a Fall Harvest Salad featuring kale, pomegranate, goat cheese, and a molasses-dijon vinaigrette. You can see the full menu here.

They will also offer a Brunch Buzz special - 2 brunch drinks + any main dish, and you will get a free serving of their signature chocolate donuts.

Brunch begins at 10:00 AM both Saturdays and Sundays.

11820 Trade Street

301-245-1226

Owen's Ordinary Review (Video+photos)

Owen's Ordinary opened yesterday at Pike & Rose in North Bethesda's Pike District, and I stopped by about half-an-hour after it opened at 4:00 PM. I chose to sit on the patio, which features mostly bench seating, as you often find in a beer garden. Beer is indeed the star of the show here, with over 250 kinds on tap or in bottles. The menu is best described as upscale American comfort food.

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The opening of Owen's Ordinary marks the first time that Bluejacket beer, brewed in DC, is being served in a Montgomery County restaurant or bar. So I decided to try one, and chose Bluejacket's Forbidden Planet, a kolsch beer with 4.2% ABV.

Forbidden Planet has a cloudy, grapefruit juice appearance to it. It came from the tap with a thick head that didn't take long to dissolve, and a pungent aroma of hops. Upon drinking, fruity flavors like lemon and apricot became apparent, and there was a dry finish with little bitterness. Despite its complex flavor and aroma, it was fairly refreshing on an 80 degree day, and went well with the food I ordered. Four stars.

Speaking of which, I started off with a bowl of Tomato Bread Soup. Surprisingly, despite the name, the soup doesn't have a tomato-based broth. Instead, not-too-salty soup draws its flavors directly from the tomatoes, fennel, onions, basil and melted-shredded parmesan cheese. There's a nice flavor contrast between the fresh sharpness of the basil and the darker, stewed tomato flavor. I suspect this will be more popular in fall and winter, but even on a warm day, I will also give this dish four stars.

Now on to the main event: The Local Angus Double Stack Burger, which is rumored to have been inspired by In-N-Out Burger's famous Double Double Animal-Style burger. Say no more! A slightly-sweet, potato roll-style bun emerged, piled high with two 8 oz. burgers with a nice char, pickles, shredded lettuce, red onion, melted American cheese, a tomato slice, and special sauce.

This is a juice-running-down-your-shirtsleeve type of burger. When the plate was first set down, juice was oozing down the side of the lower bun onto the plate of its own accord. Surprisingly, the bun held up, and the spear through the center helped hold things together. The vegetables on top all had a fresh flavor. I pulled out the tomato slice to take a bite of it isolated from the rest of the sandwich, and it had a farm-fresh flavor.

While their double burger may lack the caramelized onion and mustard finish of the In-N-Out icon, you won't find a tomato slice of this quality at a fast food restaurant. The pickles are very important in a Big Mac/Double Double-style burger, and these had the ideal dill flavor. "Special sauce" isn't rocket science, but you have to get the ratios of the ingredients right, and they have here.

Look at that juice
running down the side
of the lower bun onto
the plate

Lots of juice, thick layers of warm melted cheese, high-quality toppings and two delicious dry-aged burger blend patties add up to five stars of burger excellence.

French fries

The fries on the side are of the thick-cut, skin-on variety. They get the job done. There's nothing particularly distinctive about them, scoring a satisfactory three stars.

Rounding out the meal was a plate of three cornmeal-crusted Rappahannock oysters atop celery root that resembles pasta, and topped with chili aioli. If you are used to oysters from other areas, you will find the Rappahannock variety less salty, with a smooth, buttery flavor. The thin layer of cornmeal let the plump oysters take center stage. Five stars.

Owen's Ordinary offers arguably the best craft beer list in Montgomery County, and rich, earthy dishes that pair well with complex-flavored brews. It is a unique and much-needed addition to the Bethesda dining scene. The patio gives Pike & Rose another neighborhood hangout, where a beer adventure that once required a trip into the District can be found at a walk-up window in Muse Alley - with two hours of free parking. Four stars.

11820 Trade Street

(Pike & Rose)

301-245-1226

Bethesda construction update: Owen's Ordinary at Pike & Rose (Photos)

The construction walls have been removed at the future Owen's Ordinary restaurant and beer garden at Pike & Rose in North Bethesda. While the interior build-out is still under wraps, you can now see the custom exterior of the Neighborhood Restaurant Group's newest venture.

Take note of the white panel areas of the facade. You'll notice a shallow shelf sitting out from those segments of the exterior. That is the two-sided soapstone bar that is built into the facade of the restaurant. Owen's Ordinary will be located at 11820 Trade Street, next to Carluccio's.

Probably the best view of the
bar jutting out from the exterior;
notice the light reflecting off of
it in Muse Alley at right

NRG's Owen's Ordinary beer garden aims for late summer/early fall opening at Pike & Rose

I have some more details on the long-awaited beer garden and restaurant from Neighborhood Restaurant Group at Pike & Rose called Owen's Ordinary. This is NRG Beer Director Greg Engert's first project in Maryland, and he is promising a well-curated selection of 50 beers on tap.

Yellow construction wall
is the future location of
Owen's Ordinary in
Muse Alley

The way the beer garden and restaurant elements intersect will be via a two-sided soapstone bar built into the restaurant's facade. It will serve both the 60-seat beer garden outside in Muse Alley, and the 175-seat interior restaurant.

Interior details will include subway tile, zinc cladding, wood floors and "industrial steampunk elements," as well as an open kitchen.

Owen's Ordinary refers to the historic tavern that was located in the vicinity of Courthouse Square in the center of Rockville in 1755, according to Rockville historian Eileen McGuckian.

The new Owen's Ordinary should give Muse Alley a one-two punch of dining destinations along with next door neighbor Carluccio's. Its street address will be 11820 Trade Street, and is right next to the new Pike & Rose garage. Owen's Ordinary will also be adjacent to Muse Alley's most notable feature, an outdoor fireplace. An NRG spokesperson says it is expected to open in late summer, or early fall.