Culinary Historians of Washington, D.C. (CHoW/DC)founded in 1996, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, educational organization dedicated to the study of the history of foodstuffs, cuisines, and culi-nary customs, both historical and contemporary, from all parts of the world. Donations are tax deductible to the full extent of the law.

Save these futureCHoW Meeting Dates:

March 11, 2018April 8, 2018May 6, 2018

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Food Practices in Early Christianity

Speaker: Paul Anthony Brazinski Sunday, February 11, 2:00 to 4:00 p.m.

Bethesda-Chevy Chase Services Center 4805 Edgemoor Lane, Bethesda, MD 20814

Culinary Historians of Washington, D.C. February 2018 Volume XXI, Number 5

Paul Brazinski is a Ph.D. Candi-date in Church History at the Catho-lic University of America. He is in the History Faculty at Woodberry Forest School, a private boarding school for high-school boys about 34 miles north of Charlottesville. The school was founded in 1889 on a cen-tral Virginia farm originally owned President James Madison’s family. Paul specializes in ancient and medieval history with a particular focus on archaeology, Christianity, and food.

A Registered Professional Archaeologist, Paul has excavated in Greece, Italy, and England. His dissertation is on Gregory the Great’s approach to feed the poor in early medieval Europe. Paul has published with Rowan & Littlefield, Peeters, and De Gruyter. He lives in Wood-berry Forest, Virginia, with his wife, Catherine, and dog, Beau.

Food has played an important role in the development of Christianity. Several

different food practices and cults originated and evolved through the history of Chris-tianity. Some of these practices, such as the worship of the Eucharist, are well represent-ed in scholar-ship. However, the history of food cults in Christian-ity beyond the Eucharist is little researched. These habits helped shape the identity of early Christianity, especially those practices that contrast against the “other” vis-a-vis heretical groups. This talk will cover the history of food practices in the ancient and medieval periods, investigating how important food really was to Christian-ity and how it shaped its identity today.

Inclement Weather Advisory

If there’s a question about whether the weather will cause a cancellation of a CHoW meeting, first check your email.

A CHoW-DC Google group message will be emailed to members. If you are not part of the CHoW Google group or do not have email, call any Board member to learn of possible program cancellations due to weather (see page 8 for contact information).

Any decision to cancel would be made the night before, if possible, or no later than 10 a.m. on the day of the meeting.

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CHoW Programs 2017-2018September 10 John Kelly, “Small Plates: Historic Restaurant Tidbits from the Pages of The Washington Post”

October 8 Andrew Coe, A Square Meal: A Culinary History of the Great Depression

November 12 Susan Benjamin, “Survey of the History and Changes in Food as it Relates to Candy…with Tasting” December 10 John McQuaid, “The Evolution of Taste”

January 14, 2018 Tom Croghan, “Why the Mid-Atlantic will Rival Bordeaux and Burgundy as a Great Wine Growing Region” February 11, 2018 Paul Anthony Brazinski, “Food Practices in Early Christianity” March 11, 2018 Cecelia Glembocki, “The White House Egg Roll History”

April 8, 2018 Cooperative Supper, Alexandria House May 6, 2018 Sandra Gutierrez, “The Influence of Latino Immigration on Foods of the U.S. South”

What Happened at the January 14 CHoW Meeting?

How to Post to the CHoW Google Group

The CHoW-DC Google Group is for communicating culinary history matters ONLY. It is not intended to be an open forum.

You must be a member of CHoW, and your email ad-dress must be in the CHoW database.

It’s important to remember that if you change your email address, you need to inform the CHoW Membership Director so that it can be updated and you will continue to receive messages and newsletters.

The easiest way to post a message to the Group is simply through an email. Here’s how.• Open a new email• In the address line or “To” box, enter chow-dc@googlegroups.com• Enter a subject in the subject box• Enter the text of your messageo NOTE: If you are announcing an event, please make sure you include all relevant information, plus a website or phone number for additional information. • Please sign your message as a courtesy to everyone.• Add your email address for replies.• Send the message! DONE!

President Barbara Karth called the meeting to order at 2:10 p.m. in the Silver Spring Civic Center Building. Present were 25 CHoW members and four visitors.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:1. Barbara Karth announced that we will discuss the theme for April’s potluck dinner at the February CHoW meeting and select the theme during the March meeting. 2. CiCi Williamson announced that Les Dames d’Escoffier Washington, D.C., Chapter will hold their biennual sym-posium, “Celebrating Food,” on March 10, 2018, at The Universities at Shady Grove. CiCi, Dianne Hennessy King, and Sheila Kaufman will be speaking at the symposium.

PROGRAM:Judy Mazza introduced this month’s speaker, Tom Croghan (see talk summary below).

REFRESHMENTS:• Francine Berkowitz – David’s butter pecan meltaway cookies• Marghi Fauss and Shirley Cherkasky – Triple choco-late chip cookies, molasses cookies, and salted caramel • Claudia Kousoulas –Japanese Chex mix• Clara Raju– Cranberry salsa with cream cheese• Amy Riolo – Ciambelline al vino (Italian wine cookies)• Amy Snyder – Trader Joe’s organic mini cheese sand-wich cracker squares

DOOR PRIZES: Thank you to Randy Clarke and Claudia Kousoulas for donating the cookbooks for this month’s door prizes. The meeting was adjourned at 3:40 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Sharon Shepard, Recording Secretary

Why the Mid-Atlantic will Rival Bordeaux and Burgundy as a Great Wine Growing Region

From a family Francis Stockett patent in 1668, Tom Croghan (right) currently owns an environmentally diversified farm of400 acres of woodland; 120, pasture and hay; 10, farmstead; and 25, vineyard. He makes Dodon wines that “reflect our soils, climate, and farming approach, and wines that delight us (balance, harmony, depth, length, intrigue).” From his first 72 vines planted in 2007, he now has 28,000 vines and produced 2,200 cases of seven wines from six varieties of grapes in 2017. “You’re very lucky that you are in such a climatically challenging place. If you are clever, this can be one of the great winegrowing regions of the world.” said Claude Bourguignon, Consultant in Soil Science. “Clever” means being attentive to marginal ripening temperatures and excess water. “If controlled, these conditions can result in long, slow, balanced skin ripening that create balance, har-mony, depth, longevity, and complexity,“Tom explained. “The Mid-Atlantic has a warmer, longer fall than Bordeaux and Burgundy, and we have higher humidity and different pests to control. Tom brought a Chardonnay and a Merlot for tasting.

George Washington’s Other KitchenBy CiCi Williamson

February 18 is President’s Day (also known as Washington’s Birthday), so it’s a good time to write about our first president and the only country outside the present U.S. he visited or where he lived. That would be Barbados where the 19-year-old stayed for almost two months in 1751 with his ailing half-brother, Lawrence Washington, who was battling tuberculosis. Lawrence had rented the house for today’s cost of $3000 monthly. In December, I visited this his-toric, beautifully-restored plantation house and museum, which in 2011 was designated a UNESCO protected property within the World Heritage Site of Historic Bridgetown and its Garrison area. After the Washingtons departed—George back to Virginia and Lawrence to Bermuda further to fight TB—the house was acquired by the British government to establish a garrison (a military place to live). It became Bush Hill House, the com-manding officers’ quarters. After the withdrawal of the British forces in 1905, the home returned to private ownership. Barbados received its independence from Great Britain in 1966. The home was acquired by the Barbados National Trust to be restored as a heritage site in 1999. The major structural restoration of the main house and kitchen began in June 2004. The Bush Hill Tourism Trust Inc. worked with advisors from the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation of Virginia; the University of Florida’s Preservation Institute: Caribbean; the Society of the Cincinnati; and local ar-chitects, historians, and archaeologists. The kitchen outbuilding is located outside the east wall of what’s now called the George Washington House. Our guide, Peter (below), said, “The warm tropical climate, the need to keep the bake ovens constantly heated,

and the danger of fire required that Barbadian kitchens 250 years ago be in a separate building. Tropical winds from the Caribbean Sea reached the main house first, then the kitchen, and lastly, the privy.” Ice was not available so wine bottles were kept reasonably cool in rooms receiving a steady breeze. To filter impurities and and keep it cool, water was poured into a porous stone jar, gradu-ally dripped into another similar jar below it, and then into a third jar below the second one. So far, I have been unable to find out what Washington ate in Barbados in 1751. However, since 75% of people living there at the time were black, one can guess that he ate produce and meat from animals brought from Africa and raised in Barbados as well as native plants and those imported from the Americas and Europe. These include yams, plantains, corn, cassava, eddoes (re-lated to taro root), potatoes, coco yams, pumpkins, bananas, ackee, callaloo, okra, rice, wheat flour, chickens, goats, pork, and lots of fish, especially the flying fish native to tropical waters. Today, cou-cou served with flying fish is the national dish of Barbados. Somewhat similar to polenta or grits, cou-cou is made with corn meal and okra. In Barbados, Washington contracted smallpox, a frequently deadly disease that was rampant at that time. Fortunately he survived due to his healthy 19-year-old body and that he was tended by a great, third-generation Barbadian doctor. Smallpox and tuberculosis that the “Father of our Country” had earlier in life are posited as being the cause of his not a fathering any children of his own.

George Washington House. The kitchen is the outbuilding on the right.

Note the high, peaked roof of the kitchen to help cool it.

Above, Cou-cou and flying fish, the national dish of Barbados.

Above, the dining room and where Washington really slept here (under the mosquito netting). Photos other than fish by CiCi.

Food and travel writer CiCi Williamson is past president of CHoW and Les Dames d’Escoffier International.

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Upcoming EventsPresident Barbara Karth called the meeting to order at 2:10 p.m. There were no visitors, but 28 CHoW members were present.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:1. Bruce Reynolds announced that we were able to rent our regular meeting room for February, March and May. The room is not available in January, however, so we will need to find an al-ternative meeting location.The Silver Spring Civic Building is a possibility. More information will be sent to members once the location is confirmed.2. CiCi Williamson announced that she has printed business cards with CHoW contact infor-mation for members to distribute to interested parties.3. Francine Berkowitz presented CiCi William-son with a small token of appreciation for her work designing our CHoW Line newsletter for ten years.

WHATZITS:Willis Van Devanter brought an egg sepa-rator and an old-fash-ioned toaster wand (right).

PROGRAM:Judy Mazza intro-duced this month’s speaker, John Mc-Quaid, who presented “The Evolution of Taste.”

REFRESHMENTS:• Francine Berkowitz – David’s butter pecan meltaway cookies• Claire Cassidy – Holiday salad and New Year’s salad• Katherine Livingston – Blue cheese wafers• Judith Newton – Paw paw pound cake• Clara Raju– Chocolate mascarpone bundt cake with whipped cream• Amy Snyder – Trader Joe’s dark chocolate covered shortbread cookie stars, a holiday tradi-tion

DOOR PRIZES: Thank you to CiCi Williamson for donating three cookbooks for this month’s door prizes.The meeting was adjourned at 3:36 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,Sharon Shepard, Recording Secretary

What Happened at the December 10, 2017 CHoW Meeting

Compiled by Dianne Hennessy King

Mardi Gras, February 13, Valentine’s Day, February 14, and Lunar New Year, beginning February 16. Quite a week!

Union Market Mardi Gras Extravaganza February 13, 5-10 p.m. Union Market Doc 5, 1309 5th Street NE Washington, D.C. The event will bring together 20+ of the D.C. area’s best Southern-inspired restaurants, top mixologists, bar and breweries and rotating bands to benefit D.C. Central Kitchen and St. Bernard Project. Tickets are $65 per person [plus tax and handling fees] for whatever you like to drink and eat all night while listening to live bands.Attendees must be 21 years or older. Tickets and ad-ditional information: www.mardigrasextravaganza.com.

Lunar New Year, a fifteen-day Spring festival, begins with the new moon on Friday, February 16. On New Year’s Eve, there are family reunion dinners with an array of spe-cial, symbolic foods. This is the Year of the Dog and the Element is Earth. Celebratory meals continue through-out the festival period. In Washington there is a parade on February 18, 2 p.m. from 6th Street and Eye to 6th and H Street NW. http://dcparade.com/

Francophonie FestivalMarch 1-23Films, lectures, music, children’s workshops, and food events at various times and venues in the D.C. metro area. The International Organ-isation of La Francophonie was created in 1970. Its mission is to embody the active solidarity between its 84 member states and governments (58 members and 26 observers), which together represent over one-third of the United Nations’ member states and account for a population of over 900 million people, including 274 million French speakers.Since 2001 in D.C., more than 40 countries have collaborated each year to present an array of experiences all rooted in the Francophone cultures – from Africa to the Americas to Asia to the Middle East.www.francophonie-dc.org/

26th Annual Environmental Film FestivalMarch 15-25: various times, fees, and locations such as embassies, universities, museums, and theatres The longest-running green film festi-val in the U.S. features many free events and films that are focused on food, farm-ing practices, and public health policies. Film screening reservations are filled early. Go to www.dceff.org for a complete title list.

BOOK REVIEWFood on Foot, A History of Eating on Trails and in the Wild

by Demet Güzey, Rowman & Littlefield, 2017, Hardback, $38.00, 199 pages

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by Claudia Kousoulas

We often talk about “the table” as a place and as a cultural phe-

nomenon, its importance in socializa-tion, and a reflection of values. But anytime we eat and anyplace we eat is a reflection of values, technology, and capability.

In this book, culinary historian Demet Güzey examines the food we eat while traveling—particularly on foot—from a casual picnic to more life-challeng-ing desert treks and polar expeditions. The foods may be as simple as Girl Scout s’mores or as carefully formu-lated as C-rations.

Easy picnics lead to adventures fur-ther afield. Beyond sandwiches and trail mix (which was developed from 70s-era Gorp—good old raisins and peanuts) trekkers and soldiers take a more technical approach that address the universal concerns of traveler’s food—weight, shelf-life, packaging, and nutritional value—often influ-enced by military provisioning.

While in some dire conditions, trav-elers resorted to cannibalism, but that was never part of the plan. On any trip, the food is balanced be-tween what can be gleaned from the environment and what needs to be planned and packed. The Cree di-rected Europeans to tripe-de-roche, Rock Tripe,which they added to fish broth. Cree also taught them how to make pemmican, a way of preserv-ing fat and meat that was known as the“bread of the wilderness.”

Some environments offered little foraging and hunting potential, so explorers and adventurers packed in their food—sometimes choosing it as much for comfort as calories. A supply list for an 1851 climb on Mont Blanc included champagne, raspberry syrup, veal, and “85 small fowls” for a party of five. Part of the exploration is not only the physical challenge, but the discoveries of other cultures. In his travel across Asia, Marco Polo writes about Hormuz, “The food of the na-tives is different from ours, for were they to eat wheaten bread and flesh meat their health would be injured. They live chiefly upon dates and salted fish…”.

Religious pilgrims around the world similarly immerse themselves in local foodways. In 1821, pilgrims to Shi-koku, Japan’s 88 temples were fed by locals who offered ground barley, tea rice, pickled plums, and tofu soup. Today’s pilgrims carry their own lunches, but can stop at ryokans along the route that offer local specialties includomg udon and ramen noodles, crunchy sweet biscuits, and local sea-food and citrus. In fact, some pilgrims undertake the journey as a culinary pilgrimage.

Ranging through place and time, Güzey finishes with urban street food, quoting Balzac, who links the explo-ration of city streets with what you might find to eat, “Strolling is a sci-ence, it is the gastronomy of the eye.” As cities developed, they came to offer convenience and exotic foods. In Ottoman Istanbul strollers could find pilaf, fried liver, roasted chickpeas, and wheat bread rings called simit, that are produced in variations around the Arab world and in central Eu-rope. In Ukraine you could find meat and mushroom dumplings; in Egypt, mixed roasted seeds and nuts; in Budapest, chimney cake from a batter cooked on a rotating spit. These were all foods not cooked at home, and despite pervasive fast food chains, can still be found on some street corners.

And while we may not be climbing mountains or crossing deserts, even a stop at a food truck takes on new savor when viewed as part of a con-tinuum of traveler’s food.

Claudia Kousoulas is an editor, writer, and educator whose topics include architec-ture, urbanism, and culinary history. Her blog is appetiteforbooks.wordpress.com

The theme for the April Cooperative Supper will be discussed at the February meeting and voted on in March. Here are the past topics we don’t want to repeat. 1999 “The Legacy of Mary Randolph”2000 “Fabulous Fifties”2001 “Paris between the Wars”2002 “Foods of the Silk Road”2003 “Foods of the Chesapeake Region2004 “White Foods”2005 “Recipes from Julia Child2006 “Foods of the Caribbean: Caribbean Holiday”

2007 “Virginia’s 400th Anniversary”2008 “Recipes from Community Cookbooks”2009 “Good Food for Bad Times“2010 “Indigenous Pre-Contact New World Foods”2011 “A Book Report”2012 “North vs. South: Foods of the Civil War Era”2013 “Medieval Food History”2014 “Eating en Route”2015 “Foods from the Dutch East India Company.”2016 “Food Writers of the Twentieth Century”2017 “Symbolic Foods”

By Tom Weiland

Culinary Humor

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Dreaming of Mother Theresa MerchandiseMy wife and I were recently travelling in Kosovo and Al-bania, eating lots of delicious (and inexpensive) food along the way. My fancy was duly tickled at an Adriatic seaside restaurant in the Catholic North of Albania: Mother The-resa tablecloths and napkins! Made from the same coarse, sky-blue-striped broadcloth as Mother Theresa’s robes, the table décor was a subtle reference to the area’s complex

past.

Mother Theresa was ethnic Albanian, born of Kosovar parents in Macedonia, so the Balkan references made sense. Her life spanned between the end of the Ottoman Empire and the rise and fall of atheis-tic communism, with religion eventually making a comeback in theBalkans. The recent beatification of AnjezëGonxhe-Bojaxhiu, aka Mother Theresa, is having a profound effect on the religious direction of the region. Still, the tablecloth threw me for a loop.

The table was dripping with irony as a sumptuous dinner of grilled whole fish, cream of fish soup, spicymeze, color-ful mixed salads, sugar-soaked baklava, and delectable local white wine was placed atop the symbolic robes of a woman dedicated to feeding the starving. It was simulta-neously sad and funny.

That night, I had a weird dream. I was in the middle of an infomercial with both Billy Mays (now deceased, except in my dreams) and Phil Swift, the loud and obnoxious pitchmen for OxiClean and Flex Seal, respectively. But instead of promoting their normal products, they were pitch-ing Mother Theresa din-nerware! Not just tablecloths and napkins, but a full line of porcelain plates, cut-crystal stemware, and gold-accented flatware, all with the laser-etched image of Mother Theresa.

Phil and Billy were hawking the plates like trinkets at a county fair. Billy cried, “It’s like inviting a Saint over for dinner!” Phil continued, “Order now, and we’ll throw in a extra four place settings, FOR FREE!” Just to drive the point home, Billy yelled, “If you’re not completely satis-fied, just send them back, NO QUESTIONS ASKED!!” Phil concluded with, “Get yours today! Here’s how to order…”

That does it. No more stuffing myself with fish and Rakia before bedtime. Never again.

Cheers! TW

Tom Weiland reports, “There is currently an archeologi-cal dig in Kosovo (a few miles from where my wife, Teuta, grew up) on a church which they believe is the oldest Christian church in the world. It predates anything in Italy. “The Serbs are disputing the claim. They say it is newer and Orthodox, but that is to be expected since Serbia disputes anything that Kosovo does. It is in the same line as a very ancient Greek Orthodox church in a fortified compound, plus an ancient Byzantine fortress, Novo Brdo. Those are under dispute, too.” A Turkish archaeologist team headed by Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University Professor Haluk Çetinkaya has found traces of a Roman church from the fourth century A.D. in Ulpiana, close to the Kosovar capital, Pristina.

Oldest Christian Church in the World?

Photo credit: Atdheu for Wikipedia

Çetinkaya said they first found the baptistry (photo at right) and then reached other parts of the church at the an-cient site of Ulpiana, adding that the house of worship collapsed in an earthquake at the end of the fourth century before being restored one cen-tury later. The church is estimated to be nearly 62-feet long and is being completely unearthed. “The church’s material, coins and the skeletons that were found are important in dating the church,” he said. “People were buried right next to the baptistry.” The skeletons date to the fifth century and 101 coins are from the fourth century. Therefore, archeologists say the church belongs to the fourth century. The excavation works started in Ulpiana—one of the most important settlements in the region in the Roman Em-pire—in 2012 with a cooperation treaty with the Kosovar Culture Ministry. Note: Some information paraphrased from Wikipedia

Culinary Byways

Foods in the Museum of the Bible

By CiCi Williamson

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The new, 430,000-square-foot Museum of the Bible that opened in November in Washington is, of course, mostly about bibles—hundreds of versions. It’s nei-

ther Christian nor Jewish, but an historical journey about the era and area where the bible originated. Yet, there is a smattering of culinary history within the eight stories (six plus mezzanine and lower galleries). An area called “Family Gatherings” celebrates Passover, Easter, Christmas, and other holidays that spring from events recorded in the Bible. For many, these celebrations are the most important reunions of the year. A dining room table-top serves as the canvas for a changing video of the dishes served at many of these meals. Dioramas and costumed inter-preters—yes, real people—portray daily life in the third-floor exhibit, “The World of Jesus of Nazareth,” a first-century village from the time and place where Jesus lived. The “Typical House and Cooking Courtyard” details the private life

of Nazareth villagers, allowing guests to walk through a typical village home and see how they slept, prepared meals, and per-formed other daily chores. In an area named Meals and Celebrations, the sign says, “Meals in Nazareth were usually modest. Regular meals featured bread, peas, beans, wine, olive oil, and dried fruit. During religious festivals and special occasions, villagers would indulge in meat served to extended family, com-

munity leaders, and guests. These local celebrations fueled images of a global feast when ‘the Lord Almighty will pre-pare a feast of rich food for all peoples’ (Isaiah 25:6).” The sign in the diorama Gift for Many Uses explains, “Olive oil was a staple in the diet of a land known for ‘grain, new wine, and oil’ (Deuteron-omy 7:13). Villagers gathered olives and pressed them to be used for products such as tapenade, medi-cines, and skin treatments. They even used oil to anoint a guest, a hospitable gesture of blessing. Olives regularly represented God’s abundant favor.” “The Bible is saturated with

Netanya, Israel: Ethiopian Jewish

references to water as the source of life,” says another sign. “Unlike the arid lands farther away from the Mediterra-nean, Nazareth enjoyed Galilee’s natural springs. Families walked to the community well daily to draw water, and it became the social hub of the community, allowing people to visit with neighbors and travelers.” “Harvesting grapes followed months of hard labor: training vines, pulling weeds, pruning new growth, and maintaining stone walls. Finally, villagers met at the vineyard, gathered the grapes, and hauled them to the winepress. They sang and danced while stomp-ing grapes into juice. The biblical prophet Amos envisioned a com-ing day of restoration that would be like a great harvest when the ‘mountains would drip sweet wine’ (Amos 9:13-15).”

Luncheon Choices in the Museum Milk & Honey, a coffee shop, is located on the Mezzanine level of the Lobby. It offers beverages, grab-and-go sand-wiches, hummus, snacks, and desserts. Of interest to culinary historians is Manna, an “Israeli Street Food Cafe” on the sixth (top) floor. Researched by Todd and Ellen Kassoff Gray, the dishes are Middle East-inspired seasonal and kosher food. Ellen is Jewish and spent time in Israel; her husband Todd is an Episcopalian. Fabric draped from the ceiling evokes market tents. To order, you mark and turn in your paper menu and go down a cafeteria line to pick up your choices, which are

a bit pricy. “Amazing Grace” ($17)—pic-tured at left—is lamb meatballs, tahini grits, simmered chickpeas, roasted beets, shaved fennel, and cured lemon. Many other choices include

a falafel platter, a hearty black-bean chili with bulgur wheat that my husband enjoyed, butternut squash soup (cup $5, bowl $7), pistachio and red pepper hummus, flatbreads, housemade pita, fire-roasted egg-plant baba ganoush, and Greek tzatziki. They won’t serve free water; it’s $2.50 for a bottle. So much for Biblical water references!

Museum of the BibleOpen 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. dailyCost: Free, but must get dated, timed tickets online400 4th St. S.W., Washington, DC 20024(855) 554-5300www.museumofthebible.orgMetro: Federal Center SW (Blue, Orange, Silver)Parking: Pay garages nearbyOlive press

Photos by CiCi Williamson

DIRECTIONS TO THE MEETINGCHoW/DC usually meets on the second Sunday of each month, September through May, from 2:00-4:00 p.m. at the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Services Center, 4805 Edgemoor Lane, Bethesda, Maryland 20814.

DIRECTIONS: Bethesda-Chevy Chase Services Center is located at 4805 Edgemoor Lane in downtown Bethesda, Maryland, in the two-story County office building on the plaza level of the Metropolitan complex, above a County parking garage. The building is across the street from the Bethesda Metro station.

From the Metro Station, take the escalator from the bus bay to the plaza level, turn left, walk past the clock tower and across to the Metropolitan plaza using the pedestrian bridge. The Center’s street entrance at 4805 Edgemoor Lane (corner of Old Georgetown and Edgemoor) is marked with American and Montgomery County flags. Take the elevator to Level Two for meeting rooms.

If you are coming south on Old Georgetown Road (from the Beltway use exit 36) turn right on Woodmont Avenue - the entrance is the second driveway on the left.

If you are coming south on Wisconsin Avenue/Rockville Pike, turn right onto Woodmont Avenue, go south for approximately one mile, cross over Old Georgetown Road, and the parking garage entrance is the second driveway on your left.

Coming north on Wisconsin or west on Rt. 410, take Old Georgetown Road north, turn left at the second traffic light (Woodmont Ave.) and the garage entrance will be on your left. Take the elevators from the parking garage to the plaza level (P). The building is located at the center of the plaza. The American flag, Montgomery County flag, and the County seal mark the entrance to the building.

PARKING: Parking is free on weekends in the county parking garage. The entrance to the parking garage is marked with a large blue Bethesda Center parking sign.

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