Timpano Chophouse
12021 Rockville Pike
Rockville, MD 20852
301-881-6939
We had been to Timpano twice before for dinner while going to the incredible Strathmore Concert Hall in Montgomery County. Both dinners were quite successful with the skillet roasted mussels appetizer really remaining in my memory as a hit. This large, dual level dining room right off Rockville Pike is very popular and from the looks of it one night we were there the drinks at the bar must be either very cheap or awfully good as people were three deep.
We were in the neighborhood this Saturday to check out the extraordinary tile and fixtures at Porcelanosa USA’s store / gallery a few miles away for a planned bathroom remodeling. Being close to lunch when we finished up at Porcelanosa we thought we’d revisit Timpano but when we arrived there was hardly a car on the parking lot. However the lights were on inside so the four of us piled into an almost empty restaurant. My first thought was oh oh, somebody died eating a bad clam the prior week and the resultant bad press had killed them. The waiter assured us it wasn’t so – just that it was a typical weekend lunchtime when people vacate town for the beach. The huge, open grill kitchen was abuzz preparing dishes and baked goods for the evening menu so we must have walked into a strange time warp indeed. Warm rolls and an olive oil dipping sauce come out quickly. The rolls could really do without being pre-buttered, particularly since the olive oil dip is so good - it has a green olive tapenade, garlic and red peppers in it from what I could tell.
The lunch menu is quite extensive. Those mussels were on there calling me but I was determined to resist ordering them again in the name of trying something different and brother am I glad I did. Two among us ordered the flatbread style pizzas, one with Italian sausage, caramelized onions and a tomato – garlic sauce; the other a Four cheese special with pesto – both were big hits and required boxing up for the leftovers.
One of us settled on the Shrimp Diablo, a selection that got a real nod of approval from our attentive waiter. The shrimp were mixed in a large portion of fettuccini with asparagus, pine nuts and spinach with a rosa sauce. I was envious…until my order of lemon caper pasta arrived. It was just what I hoped for and more with angel hair pasta tossed with lemon zest, parsley, olive oil and many, many capers. Some might say too many capers but I love them and no one forced me to eat all of them. Since I wasn’t driving I broke my standby rule and had a glass of their house Pinot Grigio which was extremely fruity and served very, very cold as I believe it should be.
There is a nice selection of salads, chicken, fish and sandwiches on this lunch menu with prices running from $9.00 to $15.00 per entrée. That large order of mussels with olive oil and kosher salt is $12. Mind you this is the Washington DC market so prices are going to be a bit high compared to Carroll County. Check out their dinner menu on the very thorough web site and reservations are a must for dinner. Throw in a show at the Strathmore to make a full evening of it - that beautiful concert hall is acoustically and aesthetically perfect.
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