May 11, 2008. Chevy Chase, Md. Japanese Food.

Would Hagerstown, Md. have the best Japanese restaurant in Maryland? Most people in the know will say no. Definitely not. Hagerstown is not the culinary hot spot for any food, let alone the increasingly trendy Japanese food. Ken and I know better. The House of Kobe is the best Japanese restaurant in Maryland. We stumbled on this place ten years ago, when we were looking for a dinner spot on the way to the farm. The sign was new, and we suggested that we better eat there now before they closed. Well, we were wrong. The places has prospered and is always full. The same sushi chefs who were there years ago are still there, so when we arrive they greet us royally. The family relocated from the Washington area years ago, imported these three chefs, and they are still going strong. Now we stop for lunch, but the food is just as good only cheaper. So when you go to Hagerstown, and you like Japanese food, go to The House of Kobe, at 757 Dual Highway. You will be pleasantly surprised by the quality and the prices. And that is good.

Hagerstown is another small city that we have been watching. Before the ease of transportation it was a factory town, but since we first drove through on the way to and fro the farm in 1973 it has been a city in decline. But maybe it is looking up. I met a couple who moved to Hagerstown to retire. He was musician, who played in the National Symphony, and they wanted to be near enough to the Capitol to attend concerts but not so close that the cost of living broke the bank. So they moved to Hagerstown. Turned out that they love it. He teaches basoon lessons and she works as a Real Estate agent. So perhaps Hagerstown is becoming a retirement community. I hope it florishes. I do not this House of Kobe to disappear.