Addie’s New American

Addie’s is easy to overlook. I don’t mean that literally, although that’s true, too. As you’re trolling the corporate canyon that is Rockville Pike, you can zip right past that persimmon-colored house as readily as Next Day Blinds. But Addie’s is also easy to take for granted because it’s so neighborly. Its menu, in the name of pleasing its many regulars, doesn’t change much and its offerings are more comforting than cutting-edge. But sometimes comfort, a friendly face, and damn fine rib-eye are all that you want from a restaurant. Under Nate Waugaman, former executive sous at Black’s, Addie’s feels invigorated, as if the new chef has adopted the restaurant’s clientele as his own flesh and blood. Waugaman’s pushing them a little, too, by adding a line of house-made charcuterie, but it’s the chef’s attention to detail and his stubborn insistence on freshness that make me want to drop by regularly.

Next up: Banh Mi D.C. Sandwich (Vietnamese)