New Places to Eat: Smashburger, Urban Butcher, Panera

Get caught up with the food scene in Montgomery County and adjacent Washington, DC, neighborhoods with Patch’s foodie news column, 1 Meat, 3 Sides. This week, smashed burgers take center plate.

One meat:

Self-described "better burger" restaurant Smashburger opens in Bethesda next Wednesday, Dec. 11. The fast-casual eatery servs burgers that are a cut above the usual fast-food variety. Its signature burger patty is made of fresh Angus beef smashed on a 400-degree flat grill "to sear in the juicy flavor." Read more on Bethesda-Chevy Chase Patch.

Three sides:

Urban Butcher, the new "nose-to-tail" restaurant in Silver Spring, opens at 5 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 12, at 8226 Georgia Ave., Silver Spring Patch reported. At first, the restaurant will serve just dinner, but lunch, brunch and coffee and butcher shops are planned for early 2014.

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Downtown Bethesda's first Panera Bread opened on Wednesday on Wisconsin Avenue, Bethesda Now reported.

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Have you noticed how the fast-casual trend has really taken off in the past few years? It's not your imagination—DC is a hotspot for fast-casual restaurant openings, The Washington Post reported this week. But, the trend in new openings might not last too much longer. The Post explains how the market could become over-saturated.

Dessert:

This month, Silver Spring's popular Tropical Ice Cream Café is supplying four holiday ice cream flavors—eggnog, peppermint stick, rum raisin and cinnamon—for TropQ Creamery's fundraiser for victims of Typhoon Haiyan, Silver Spring Patch reported. Silver Spring Patch explains how to order the ice creams.