A multigenerational recreational center is planned for the former site of the Beth Torah synagogue in Hyattsville.

The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission plans to use a wooded lot next to the synagogue building at 6710 Adelphi Rd. and other neighboring properties totaling 5.3 acres to build the rec center.

The rest of the synagogue property is slated for a 321-unit apartment building with shops on the ground floor.

Built in 1985, the current rec center at 6600 Adelphi Rd. is about 13,000 square feet. It will be torn down to make way for an 86,000-square-foot facility with a gym, fitness center, indoor track and multipurpose rooms.

The MNCPPC chose the site for a rec center because it’s close to the library, the Hyattsville Crossing Metro station and the University Town Center development.

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The results are in for the sixth annual Hyattsville Wire Best of Route 1 reader poll.

Some old favorites kept their claims. For the sixth year in a row, readers named Hyattsville hangout Franklins as the best restaurant, singling it out for best curbside pickup and outdoor seating as well, two pandemic-era additions.

Others that won for the sixth year in a row: Vigilante as the best place to get coffee, OpenBarre as the best fitness studio, ECO City Farms as the best community-supported agriculture, and Kathleen Hellington at Banana’s as the best hair stylist.

Readers also named Cocineros as the best place to get delivery, Pizzeria Paradiso as the best pizzeria, Northwest Chinese as the best Asian restaurant, Taqueria Habanero as the best Latin American restaurant, Busboys and Poets as the best brunch, Federalist Pig as the best food truck and Streetcar 82 Brewing Co. as the best brewery.

To read the entire list of 2022 Best of Route 1 winners, click here.

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The Route 1 corridor’s hotspot for Korean barbecue is an unlikely joint in Berwyn Heights.

Located at 6107 Greenbelt Rd., in a nondescript strip mall sandwiched between a dentist’s office and an auto parts store, Iron Pig Korean BBQ outshines its humble surroundings.

Its entrance, adorned with rainbow lights, makes it almost feel as if you were entering a 1970’s roller rink while the inside is decorated with bright colored neon signs in Korean.

But the real star of the show is the plates of meat, which range from thin-sliced brisket to Korean-style bulgogi , Galbi short ribs and beef tongue. You can even order Japanese Wagyu, a premium type of beef.

Like most Korean barbecue joints, customers cook the thinly sliced pieces of beef, chicken or pork themselves over built-in stoves at their table and eat them immediately, either dipping them in sauces or wrapped in lettuce.

You can order different cuts of meat a la carte, pick a combo platter for two or four people or get an all-you-can-eat option for $36.99 per person.

Though there are some sides and options like a seafood pancake, there’s little for a vegetarian to eat. If you’re coming to Iron Pig, you’re getting barbecue.

Iron Pig, which opened a little over a year ago, has received a nearly five-star rating on Google reviews from its customers and is the second Korean barbecue restaurant in the College Park area after Kang Nam BBQ, part of a broader trend of Asian restaurants.

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The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center will host a family-friendly take on the music from “Frozen” next month in College Park.

On Saturday, March 4, it will host a stage show featuring Outcalls, a duo of classically trained opera singers, in partnership with 89.7 WTMD’s Saturday Morning Tunes.

The 45-minute show includes songs such as “Let It Go” and “Into the Unknown” as well as subtle jokes poking fun at the two “Frozen” movies aimed at the parents in the audience.

Attendees are encouraged to dress in costume. Young kids will be able to meet and have their photo taken with the singers who are playing the princesses before or after the performance for an additional $20 per family.

Outcalls, who have been called “the reigning queens of the Baltimore City music scene,” also write and perform their own artsy pop music, available through BandCamp and other streaming sites.

Tickets are available online here. Kids under 2 are free and up to 17 are $13.50, and adults are $18.50. A family four-pack is also available for $59.

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You can now see a set of prints by the late artist David Driskell in Hyattsville.

Pyramid Atlantic Art Center is holding an exhibit of 40 prints made by Driskell and master printer Curlee Holton starting in 2003, titled “A Collaboration of Creativity.”

The prints are on display through March 19 and available to purchase at the arts center, located at 4318 Gallatin St. There is no entrance fee.

A Hyattsville artist and art historian who worked at the University of Maryland, Driskell died in 2020 of coronavirus, and the city’s largest park was later renamed after him.

The prints at the exhibit are varied, with both black-and-white prints and others that are a riot of color, with subjects like “Jacob Wrestling the Angel” and “Lady Day,” for jazz singer Billie Holliday.

You can also buy the prints, with prices ranging from $850 to $4,000, although more than half of them have already sold since the exhibit opened in mid-February.

This is the second show in the D.C. area in recent years. In 2021, an exhibit of his paintings went on display at the Phillips Collection in Dupont Circle.

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Two restaurants on the Route 1 corridor made Washingtonian‘s most recent list of the 100 best in D.C.

Riverdale Park’s 2Fifty Texas BBQ came in at No. 22, while College Park’s Northwest Chinese Food was in the unranked group after the top 25.

The capsule review praised 2Fifty’s “wood-smoked, Texas-style meats” made with high-­quality beef from Creekstone and Snake River Farms:

Dig into American Wagyu brisket, snappy housemade cheddar sausages, luscious pulled pork, and crave-­inducing sides like Tajín-spiced green beans. Go on Sunday, when brisket-stuffed pupusas might just be the best special in town.

The magazine also highlighted the “lineup of chili-laced noodle bowls,” “chili-oil-slicked dumplings” and “crispy pork belly doused with mapo chili oil”:

The wide-noodle “omelet” in a pool of fiery oil is a must-order. Nearly as good—and even more incendiary—are black-vinegar pork noodles showered with garlic. Juice drinks, such as a pineapple-cucumber fizz, cool things down.

Unlike the Washingtonian’s annual “Cheap Eats” list, the 100 Very Best Restaurants is not limited to inexpensive eateries, meaning that 2Fifty and Northwest Chinese are listed alongside some of the fanciest restaurants in D.C.

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A medical marijuana dispensary held its grand opening in Hyattsville Friday, as Maryland moves closer to recreational sales later this year.

Located at 2486 Chillum Rd. near the intersection with Queens Chapel Road, Story Cannabis Co. sells edibles, vape cartridges and leaves for smoking. The chain also has locations in Mechanicsville and Waldorf.

Under state law, Maryland residents can register to buy marijuana for medical purposes after supplying a current photo, government-issued ID, a Social Security number, proof of state residency and a recent passport-style ID and paying a small fee.

But applicants also must provide a written certification of need after an in-person visit with a health-care provider with whom they have a “bona fide” relationship.

About 160,000 Maryland residents already have these cards, and state dispensaries sold about $600 million worth of medical marijuana in 2021.

After two-thirds of voters approved a referendum in November, the state will begin selling marijuana to recreational users who are at least 21 years old starting on July 1, meaning that market could expand to more than 4 million residents.

The state legislature will need to pass enabling laws that will set rules on taxing recreational marijuana and licensing of dispensaries. Based on the experience in other states, it can take several years for the recreational market to be fully up-and-running.

Due to federal laws against marijuana possession, it will be illegal to transport any marijuana, whether for medical or recreational purposes, across state lines.

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