Restaurants in Rockville

A palate-friendly palace in gold and green, Heritage India is the latest outpost of owner Sanjeev Tuli’s globe-spanning career in the hospitality business. Past ornate artwork and an elegant dining room, head chef Dawa Tamang draws on the culinary styles of his birthplace. The influence shows in menus of flavorful fusion cuisine, including calamari sautéed with curry leaves and coconut milk, and hyderabadi murgh haleem, a dish of chicken, barley, lentils, and spices. Smaller plates also abound, and Heritage India’s rendition of golgappas—a popular street food made of puffed wheat, potato, and chickpeas—inspired Tom Sietsema of The Washington Post to dream of a life overseas.

In lieu of buns, Duffy's Irish Restaurant & Pub's Monster Burger earns its name by piling bacon, grilled onions, and a half-pound burger between two grilled cheese sandwiches. The Washington Post profiled the beastly eat and its “calories-be-damned goodness” in its This Thing You Should Try series. Those with tamer appetites assemble less daunting burgers with a beef or homemade black bean patty served on a white or whole grain Kaiser roll. Along with burgers, Duffy's culinary team crafts casual dishes such as mushrooms fried in peanut oil, vegan pasta tossed with homemade tomato sauce, and seven wing varieties voted the city's best in 2012 by readers of Washington City Paper.

Along with the menu of daily grub, Duffy's staff supplies discounted drinks and quesadillas at weekday happy hours and hosts brain-teasing pub trivia challenges every Wednesday night. 12 flat-screen TVs throughout the bar stay tuned to the latest Florida Gators and Green Bay Packers games, a more thrilling alternative to watching looped footage of an actual gator attacking a defenseless cheese wheel. In addition to front of the house entertainment, Duffy's accommodates private soirees with a back room equipped with more flat-screens, skeeball, darts, and an internet jukebox.

Take Georgetown Waterfront dining back from tourist-trap restaurants with sangria in hand and a delectable swordfish steak on the table. Plant yourself beneath a khaki umbrella on the brick-lined patio at Agraria Farmers & Fishers. After a recent makeover and relaunch, Agraria Farmers & Fishers is back with a new menu that provides more than just a beautiful view of the Potomac. With today's Groupon, you get $50 worth of fresh, farm-sourced, sustainable, local, seasonal, unprocessed, Mother-Nature-friendly dishes for just $25.

Today's Groupon gets you $35 worth of French café fare and Belgian beer for $15 at L'Enfant Café & Bar. This Parisian-themed eatery is best known for their perfect crepes: "cooked enough to lose the doughy flavor and just thick enough to keep from tearing," according to The Washington Post. Get them with fresh strawberries, Nutella, amaretto liquor, lemon and sugar, stuffed with mushrooms and gruyère in béchamel sauce, or with roasted red pepper and goat cheese. With seven savory dinner crepes and more than 12 sweet options, L'Enfant can cook a staggering stack of crepe combinations (click here to see the sweet crepe menu).

Today's Groupon gets you $40 worth of perfectly prepared sushi rolls and drinks for half the price at Current, the Dupont Circle authority on sushi, sake, and electronic music. Current is known as a hip lounge where beautiful people sip sake cocktails and snack on spicy tuna until the wee hours of the morning. The Washington Post says Current is revitalizing nightlife around 18th Street and Connecticut Avenue NW.

Using fresh, local ingredients, executive chef Susan Delbert whips up small but powerful lunch and dinner menu items, with starters such as roasted pepper soup ($6.75) and an arugula, goat cheese, and candied walnut appetizer with lemon and cilantro marinated mushrooms splashed with an herb vinaigrette ($8). As for main munchies, the NPC jumbo lump crab cakes are paired with artichokes, crispy eggplant, and Kalamata olives ($25), while the filet of beef is crowned with a bing cherry demi glace and sidekicked with chive mashed potatoes and sautéed summer squash ($19). The Fourth Estate offers a staggering array of wines, or you can exercise your constitutional right to consume raisin-bread french toast ($10.50) and steak and eggs ($17.75) with spicy Bloody Marys ($5.27) during brunch.