Olney Not Just for Bagels and Mussels Anymore

Opening a restaurant isn't cheap, particularly in the District where rents and expectations are ridiculously high. Peruvian chef Javier Angeles-Beron, the former executive toque at Latin Concepts, has found one way around the problem: He's opening his new restaurant, Aroma, in Olney. You read right: Olney, as in way the hell out there on Georgia Avenue.

Now Olney is not exactly a culinary wasteland. The village formerly known as Mechanicsville (good call on the name change there, folks) already hosts one of my favorite bagelries and an under-appreciated Belgian joint, Mannequin Pis (with the comically incontinent cherub). Angeles-Beron's Latin-American place, scheduled to open Nov. 25, is located just up Georgia Avenue in the former Bella Notte space.

Angeles-Beron forwarded me an early menu, and it's stuffed with a number of promising options, including ceviches, tapas, and even the occasional chifa dish, such as the Peruvian wontons stuffed with fresh cheese and served with avocado cream. It looks like we have one more reason to jump into the Global Warming Machine and head to Olney.

Tags: chifa, Javier Angeles-Beron, Olney, restaurants, the suburbs