Tasting Journal

Praline Bakery and Restaurant
4611 Sangamore Rd.
Bethesda, MD 20816
Tel: 301.229.8180

Open for lunch Monday through Friday,
11:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.;
Dinner, Monday through Thursday,
5:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.; and
Saturday, 5:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.

There’s a delicious new kid on the Bethesda block. Praline Bakery and Restaurant opened its doors not too long ago in a cozy little spot in the Shoppes at Sumner Place on Sangamore Road. To celebrate Nick’s birthday, he and I enjoyed a lovely dinner at the two-story French restaurant with his family during his short stay in town.

“The bread is very good, and they have a nice selection of pastries,” said Nick’s mother. “If you don’t get there early enough though, there won’t be anymore left!” The scoop on the downstairs bakery is that everything is made in-house except for the bread, which comes from Baguette Republic in Falls Church, Virginia. Praline bakery offers an assortment of croissants, Danishes, cookies, cakes, and brownies.

Owners, Patrick Musel and Susan Limb, first met at the White House while doing contract work under former executive pastry chef, Roland Mesnier. They were also long-time co-workers at Filomena Restaurant in Georgetown. Musel heads the bakery at Praline, while his good friend, Jean-Pierre Petit, runs the show in the upper-level kitchen.

The menu offers some classic French-style dishes, such as duck confit, steak au poivre, and seafood fricasee. In addition to its Parisian fare, Praline also presents less pretentious, but by no means at all any less appetizing entrées, including the bacon cheeseburger with fries (which is what I ordered); the spinach salad, with sliced pairs, crumbled blue cheese, toasted pecans, and dried cranberries; and the braised short ribs, served with red wine sauce and vegetables.

No French restaurant is complete without mouth-watering desserts to choose from. The selections includes the opera cake, pastries, brioche pudding, and crème brulee, all garnished deliciously with macaroons of various flavors.

Praline’s full bar and bakery is open seven days a week, and offers brunch on Sundays.

restaurants, Bethesda, MD, bakery, French food, bread, Tasting Journal