Woodmont Grill, Bethesda, Maryland

Nancy and I were looking for a place for lunch on a hot and sunny Friday, and I wanted a place that had been around for a while that we hadn’t tried, at least recently. I was browsing the internet and came across the Woodmont Grill in Bethesda. I’d heard the name often, and then it’s on Woodmont Avenue at the Woodmont Triangle, so Woodmont does stick in the mind.

Nancy and I started on our way, but we almost didn’t go. Woodmont Grill requires reservations. We called and the entire place was booked until 1:30, too late for us, but, as we learned, walk-ins are welcome at the bar. The Woodmont Grill is a very, very nice place. Pleasant music plays from a remarkably good sound system. The walls are covered with artworks on glossy dark wood panelling accented by soft lighting and the glow from the open kitchen.

It has an old school elegance and, as I’ve learned since, they maintain the atmosphere by banning hats, tank tops, flip flops, and team athletic attire. It was good I left my cap in the car, the one I wear to spare others the blinding glow reflected from my head on sunny days now that my pate is just about tonsured.

We sat at the bar and were greeted by Teaira, which customers rhyme variously with Sierra or tiara. However you pronounce her name, Teaira is the personification of professionalism and graciousness. The menus were on the bar, ready for us, and we each ordered a glass of their house wines, a Round Pond Cabernet Sauvignon for Nancy and a Cakebread Sauvignon Blanc for me. I told you it was a nice place. And I ordered some rosemary focaccia, which came with olives and almonds, plus a real tomato and a spray of fennel bulb.

Nancy ordered salmon with a lentil vinaigrette accompanied bay broccolini topped with reggiano.

and I ordered an omelet with goat cheese and fresh herbs.

Let’s start with the rosemary focaccia. It’s made in-house and grilled on one side just before serving. The bread smells and tastes of rosemary, but not so much as to obscure the bread flavor. It is warm and welcomes the accompanying butter.

Nancy’s salmon — enough for lunch and dinner — was cooked through just to doneness, as she’d requested. The salmon was well seasoned and Nancy enjoyed the sauce, although she pretends an aversion to lentils. The broccolini was not overcooked and, as always, the reggiano made things better. This was a generous and well executed plate of food.

When have I had a better omelet? Paris? Nope. Brennan’s? Mmmmaybe. Look at the photo again. It was, of course, rolled rather than folded, and the egg was incredibly creamy. The goat cheese added more creaminess to the central three quarters, and the herbs added a bright freshness, but the eggs were the star. The accompanying blistered tomatoes — real tomatoes, again — were more than a garnish. I cut them up and had some with the omelet. Tomatoes and eggs go beautifully together, but you can’t really put them in an omelet without making it too liquid. A bite with some of each, however, is just right, especially with a touch of the parsley. And again, the bread was made in house and grilled on one side. The juice from the summer tomatoes fairly leapt to the bread for a treat even better than butter, again especially with a little parsley. All of the flavors on the plate blended marvelously.

Another word about the service. Our two plates were served at the same time, which is unremarkable. A couple next to us, however, each had ordered sides as well as mains, and two servers came out together with their plates, and places each main and each side on the bar simultaneously, all wordlessly and gracefully.

The service, the wine, the food, the setting, all combined to make our lunch a great experience. The Woodmont Grill certainly isn’t an everyday place for us any more than Cakebread and Round Pond are our everyday wines. Would that they were. But the Woodmont Grill is a great place for a treat, a special meal, a celebration of an event, or for the blessings of life. You deserve a treat, don’t you? Have a meal at the Woodmont Grill.

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