Discovering new restaurants and meeting new people who appreciate food as much as a do as two of the main reasons I keep blogging. Last week, I headed to Olney, Maryland for a private tasting at Taste Gastropub, an unassuming restaurant in a strip mall some 18 miles outside of my comfort zone, I mean, outside of downtown DC 😉 I’m definitely glad I ventured out. Lunch with my bestie Cecile, fellow DC Spotter Aparna, Lisa of #PushPlayEat, Jessica of The Dining Traveler, Carlis of Spicy Candy DC (who helped coordinate the event) and Lori of Been There Eaten That was delightful.  The wine selection, expertly chosen by chef and sommelier Danny Lledo didn’t hurt either!
Photo credit: Cameron Habashian
Let’s chat about the restaurant first. Owner Vic Seested is almost your typical DC-story: financial advisor (it can’t always be a lawyer I guess….) turned restaurateur… except there’s more to it. Seested grew up in Olney and he purchased Taste Gastropub as a hub for local charity work. The restaurant hosts a number of fundraisers throughout the year and makes numerous donations to local charity. I think we can all agree that’s really awesome, but wjhat’s even better is that he hired a very talented chef and sommelier, Danny Lledo. As a son of a chef, Lledo was literally born into food. And it shows. Check out some of the gorgeous food we were treated to during our private lunch, all enhanced by a perfect wine pairing.
I wouldn’t have been able to make it to Taste Gastropub if transportation hadn’t been provided by Reston Limousine… but if you happen to be in the Olney area and are looking for a good meal, you should definitely check out chef Lledo’s creative cuisine. As for me, I’m probably not going to make it back there any time soon unfortunately, but the trip reminded me of how much I love Slate Wine Bar, which is managed by Danny (and owned by his wife Elizabeth.)
Taste Gastropub is located at 3418 Olney Latonsville Road in Olney, MD 20832Â
It was great dining with you!