I have to admit, I never quite understood why chef Pedro Matamoros suddenly left his first restaurant, Nicaro on Georgia Avenue in Silver Spring, and decided to open another one just blocks away. In some ways, his previous address seemed like the better real estate, just a block or so from the revitalized downtown [...]

Carrie and I were planning to eat at Nicaro, mostly to see if the salt bomb of a muffaletta on chef Luis Martinez's menu was an aberration or a sign of lesser things to come. The jazz combo swinging away in the lounge, I'm ashamed to admit, forced us to change our minds. It was [...]

For reasons that I can't fully explain, I ordered the muffaletta at Nicaro, which recently reopened under chef Luis Martinez, who has tons of experience opening and running restaurants of all sizes, from Cubano's in Silver Spring to Cheesecake Factories here and in California. I think I was feeling nostalgic for New Orleans after reading Martinez's [...]