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Parking in Bethesda


jrichstar

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There are a lot of factors that are somewhat unique to the area that I think affect Bethesda as a dining destination. First, there's such a huge number of restaurants in such a small space that it's inevitable that most of them WON'T be great, hence the reputation for mediocrity. Given sky-high rents, it's hard to find "bargains" there - even neighborhood Chinese places have to charge a few bucks more for every dish than they would in Rockville. And, though there is a LOT of money in Potomac/Bethesda, which should support some great restaurants, there is also a lot of silver hair, so early birds and "safe" dishes drive many places. The insane Mont Co wine/beer/liquor sales laws do not help. But, with a few exceptions, Bethesda has very few chains, so at least you're supporting a local business most of the time.

One thing that's not deserved is the parking reputation. Except for the south tip of Bethesda at prime time on Fri/Sat, the garages never fill up, which means you're never more than 1-2 blocks from parking. A number of the high-end places have valet parking. And a secret is that the NORTH end of Bethesda garages never fill up, and they have a free shuttle that runs from there to the south end!

The only thing that's clearly missing is a "top 10 in the DC area" destination restaurant. We don't have a Komi, Eve, CityZen, Citronelle, etc. Lots of cheap eats a few minutes away in Rockville, and there are many very good moderate-to-expensive places, but nothing top-tier. Maybe that also drives the mediocrity reputation.

All in all, I think Bethesda is a far better dining destination than it was 5 years ago, and between Bethesda, Rockville (and RTC), I rarely have to leave Mont Co to find whatever I want to eat, from cheap eats to special occasion.

Agree with everything here except the parking. I live in Bethesda and basically refuse to go to the South side on Fri/Sat due to the lack of parking after 6pm in the immediate area. This includes the stacked lot and even the outside pay lot. There's been too many times I've gone into the stacked lot, gone all the way to the top with no spaces found and had to come back down. That whole process can take 30 minutes in itself. If you feel like walking (about 10 minutes), there are stacked lots on the other side of Wisconsin Avenue, near the road that becomes East-West Highway, that have availability even on Fri/Sat.

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Agree with everything here except the parking. I live in Bethesda and basically refuse to go to the South side on Fri/Sat due to the lack of parking after 6pm in the immediate area. This includes the stacked lot and even the outside pay lot. There's been too many times I've gone into the stacked lot, gone all the way to the top with no spaces found and had to come back down. That whole process can take 30 minutes in itself. If you feel like walking (about 10 minutes), there are stacked lots on the other side of Wisconsin Avenue, near the road that becomes East-West Highway, that have availability even on Fri/Sat.

Actually, you just agreed with what I said. Reference map here. Those two lots off Woodmont (31 & 57) fill up by 7p on Fri/Sat, and you can spend quite a while driving up and down looking for a spot. However, garages 47 (Waverly and Mongomery) and 49 (Woodmont near the Metro) never fill up, and are less than a 10 minute walk. And garages 35 (Woodmont & Rugby) & 11 (Woodmont & O.Georgetown) are on the free Bethesda Circulator route that runs until 2am on weekends.

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Actually, you just agreed with what I said. Reference map here. Those two lots off Woodmont (31 & 57) fill up by 7p on Fri/Sat, and you can spend quite a while driving up and down looking for a spot. However, garages 47 (Waverly and Mongomery) and 49 (Woodmont near the Metro) never fill up, and are less than a 10 minute walk. And garages 35 (Woodmont & Rugby) & 11 (Woodmont & O.Georgetown) are on the free Bethesda Circulator route that runs until 2am on weekends.

Thanks for providing. This is a good education for folks. Garage 57 and lot 31 are the "go-to's" for most going to the south side and they are absolute nightmares on the weekends.

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I'm sorry to rant, but I've concluded that the West Bethesda parking garage (the one by Bethesda Row) is a legitimate candidate for the next remake of George Romero's "Night of the Living Dead."

First of all, the zombies in their cars. There are many levels in this garage, and yet once you've ascended to Level Two, for example, the creeping, crawling vehicles in front of you slow to a halt whenever they think someone might be getting into their car. They just sit there, hogging the middle of the ramp, often not putting their blinkers on until you've waited thirty seconds, so you can't drive past them, and you wait, and wait for them to maybe park, or maybe not park, in which case you have to suffer through it all again.

This happens all the way up to Level Five, where spaces begin to open up. And yet, during your interminable ascent, your voyage is blocked not only by piggish zombie drivers, but also the zombies themselves once they get out of their vehicles. These barely animate undead creatures immediately stagger to the center of the throughway, where you've finally gotten around a zombie-driven car, and block your passage as they mindlessly shamble, chat, and are completely oblivious to the fact that you're a hair-trigger away from gunning the pedal and taking out the entire lot of them.

In this particular parking garage, it seems to be the norm, not the exception. At the minimum, I'm thinking of buying an air-horn just to scare the living shit out of them next time. GET OUT OF THE CENTER OF THE ROAD!

Cheers,

Rocks.

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I never use that garage, Rocks. Better to park a block or two away and walk, or even park at the north end of the district and take the shuttle.

Agree. I hate that garage and fully sympathize with Rock's rant. There's a public garage about 3 blocks up Woodmont, at the back-side bus entrance to the Bethesda Metro station. It's much easier to park there and walk.

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