An Ode to My Gym, Deli and Co-op in Silver Spring
Oh, Rock Creek Shopping Center. How do I love thee? Let me count the ways!
I’ve been feeling quite the warm fuzzy for our neighborhood shopping center. Although I feel a few things could be taken out and a nice pizza place (NY style) and dive bar could be added instead, I love this convenient shopping center. To illustrate:
Rock Creek Sports Club: There’s no denying my love for the Rock Creek Sports Club, which made some appearances on this blog last year. The membership and past owners (current owners!) were able to save it, and I have nothing but pink purple heart love for this place. Not only is the gym well-appointed, but they’re constantly adding in new equipment for member use. The staff is friendly, the clientele is pretty cool and respectful of each other, and they’re even throwing in club events on occasion (which I admit we haven’t attended, but that’s usually because they’re almost always scheduled on days when we had prior plans). The height of cool, awesome lifting equipment aside, was seeing one of the owners at the Jones Bridge Road-Capital Crescent Trail intersection giving out water to outdoor exercisers (along with gym info) a couple of months ago. The boots on the ground approach of the gym is nifty, and I’m really glad that IP discovered it (and pays for his lovely wife’s gym membership!).
Parkway Deli: Where else can you eat breakfast and not have to have another meal for the entire day? Where else can you restock your necessary supplies of beer and Diet Coke? And where else can you get a variety and multitude of delicious, tasty, sweet treats that will satisfy any craving or occasion? Be it their always trusty supply of Diet Coke or their fabulous tres leches cake, IP and I can count on the Parkway Deli. It’s a great place to take family when they’re in the mood for a hearty meal. The menu is huge and I doubt I’ve even made a dent in it after living here for nearly five years. My family in particular is keen on brunch and breakfast, so this is always a place to take them no matter how many times they’ve visited. Just be sure to go to the gym first before you pay a visit to the deli. The staff is also super-sweet. And I hear they play a mean game of soccer (which IP and I missed, but we’ll be there next time).
Takoma Park Silver Spring Co-op: Last but definitely not least on my Rock Creek Shopping Center love list is the Co-op. For the longest time, IP and I avoided the Co-op even though the sign outside the store clearly said that non-members were welcome to shop there. I’m not sure what drove us through the door in the first place, but pretty soon we were members with specific favorites: Moctec flour tortillas (taste like homemade and made in Landover, MD), Applegate Farms Canadian bacon (better than plain old bacon—this I assure you of because I am a big bacon fan), Julie’s Organic ice cream sandwiches (I know I’m not the only fan of these tasty-yet-low-calorie ice cream treats—there have been many a times when I’ve been disappointed to see that they’re out of stock and I pout), evol burritos (which are cheaper here than they are at Giant), and a nice variety of Amy’s Organic foods (favorites: individual cheese pizza, cheese enchiladas and macaroni and cheese). We’re also likely to stock up on milk, seltzer, English muffins and hummus here. Some of the items are pricier than what we’d pay at Giant, but they’re also a hell of a lot tastier.
It’s nice to have the neighborhood spots that we can really count on. We do enjoy the Chinese place (it’s so quiet if you want to dine in; very comfortable atmosphere and the waitstaff is excellent), and the dry cleaners mostly keeps us happy (white skirt notwithstanding). We never use the bike place, the salon is being remodeled (and I must admit I never used the old one; it always seemed closed, anyway), the paint store actually came in handy once, and we haven’t visited the Daily Dish since it was the Red Dog. But I know that the gym, deli and Co-op will be places that I miss when we decide to pull up stakes and head out West.
So here’s to you, Rock Creek Sports Club, Parkway Deli and Takoma Park Silver Spring Food Co-op. You rock the casbah now, and I’m pretty sure you’ll always rock said casbah.
I concur. But I did actually attend one of the gym’s events, and it was terrific. More a cultural event than something you’d expect to have at a gym. They could become a true community center (I mean that in a good way) if they keep it up.
You’re right we haven’t made a dent in the deli’s menu. How many times have I pondered ordering the lox, and yet after five years I haven’t? Without that place, where would I go for my beer needs? Though perhaps the greatest testament to the deli is that I will go there and order matzah ball soup. (Did you notice the look my brother gave me when I did that?)
I think we avoided the co-op for a while because we figured it’d just be expensive. Now we’re spoiled with those tortillas and that bacon…and who knows what else we’ll find there?
Also wanted to second your shout-out to the Chinese place. I kid about it, but it’s really good and with the remodeling it’s so pleasant to eat there.
And having the cleaners there is incredibly convenient, whatever else we might say. :)