One by one, we’re running through the 50 restaurants that made the cut on this year’s Young & Hungry Dining Guide. If you have visited the day’s featured restaurant, let us know what you think. If you’re planning to visit for the first time, tell us about your meal when you return.

Gillian Clark and partner Robin Smith had to wage battles on several fronts to finally launch their folksy eatery, the General Store, in the former Forest Glen post office in Silver Spring. Montgomery County, historic preservationists, even the landlord—everyone, it seems, wanted to tell Clark and Smith how to build out the 19th-century structure, down to the exact number of parking spaces they needed. It was enough to make Clark and Smith want to walk away from their project, which they seriously considered doing. I’m glad they stuck with it. The joint exudes a sort of sterile country vibe, part old-timey kitsch and part burn-unit clean, but Clark’s food remains as down-home and comfy as ever. Well, when she still has some to sell. The General Store has already developed a reputation for running out of its famed fried chicken before closing time; fortunately, there are tasty backup options. I’m thinking specifically about Clark’s chunky tarragon chicken-salad sandwich, which employs the namesake herb without allowing its anise flavors to dominate, as they so often do. The fish tacos are an excellent handheld bite, too, stuffed to capacity with fried whitefish, avocado, and melted cheese. At this point, the only unresolved issue for Clark and Smith is the opening of the downstairs Post Office Tavern. But even that hurdle will be cleared by next week, when the pub officially opens to the public, serving up pizzas, brats, and other beery foods.

The General Store, 6 Post Office Road, Silver Spring (301) 562-8787

Photo by Darrow Montgomery

Baum + Whiteman, the self-described “world’s pre-eminent food + restaurant consulting company,” has predicted the top 13 trends we can expect to see next year in the increasingly fragile hospitality industry. B+W warms up to its list with this caveat: “The global economic meltdown is forcing profound changes in the hotel and restaurant world. Costly frills are out. Wanton indulgence is now bad manners.”

So guess what’s in? Comfort foods, bistros, and, in an apparent nod to Ren-Fen geeks everywhere, turkey legs. Below are the highlights of Baum + Whiteman’s list.

• Bistros: “So all those new restaurants that recently were hell-bent for opulence and dripping with luxury will now be part of the cyclical ‘bistro-ization of America.’ And if not bistros, look for “osterias”, which are the Italian equivalent.”
• Fewer Celebrity Chefs at Hotels: “We look for fewer hotels turning their restaurants over to star chefs. The cost of building these things often outstrips potential profits, and when times get tight, hotels can do without. Besides, we’re running out of star chefs.”
• Comfort Food: “Exotic seafood topped with micro-greens and frou-frou is out of bounds in the face of 401(k) deprivation, so the old standbys are coming back,” including mac ‘n’ cheese and spaghetti and meatballs.
• Turkey Legs and Other Meats: “We’d be surprised if TURKEY LEGS don’t pop up on menus around the country, as well as lots of BRAISED AND FRIED CHICKEN—this time in various ethnic flavorings, particularly from twice-fried Korean chicken chains that are growing in popularity wherever you find concentrations of Korean expats.”
• Even More Offal: “Last year we predicted a great upswing in innards and odd parts, and this year we’ll see even more. Guanciale (pigs’ cheeks), pigs’ feet, tripe, lardo (cured pork fat), artisan salami, beef cheeks, tongue, neck meat, oxtails … and chicken livers taking the place of costly foie gras.”
• Fewer High-End Tasting Menus: “LUXURY RESTAURANTS that got away with $75-and-up price-fixed dinners will be unbundling their menus, allowing cash-strapped patrons to control their checks by ordering a la carte.”
• More Underground Restaurants: “There’ll be big growth in ‘black market’ restaurants this year … one-night-only unlicensed dinner ventures staged by skilled home cooks (and occasional professionals) in warehouses, garages, cellars, vacant nightclubs and personal dining rooms. With ambitious menus, these dinners are by invitation only … word spreads via blogs, text messages, notices on Craigslist.”

I’m sorry, but I’m not buying the turkey leg trend. As Jack Nicholson’s character says in As Good As It Gets: “Sell crazy someplace else, we’re all stocked up here.”

Image by Flickr user corsi photo.