Silver Spring Haunts Voted Best Cookie Counter, Place to Buy Beer

Any reason to get Washingtonians to cross the border into Silver Spring is a triumph, right? This month Washington City Paper, an alternative weekly newspaper, released the results of its annual "Best of DC" polls and Silver Spring had a great showing. 

Here are some of the winners:

Best Cookie Counter: Woodmoor Pastry Shop, 10127 Colesville Road

What WCP said: For a visual treat, head to Woodmoor for its delightful displays. Ice-drop cookies with dabs of pastel pink frosting make good neighbors for a pile of sunlight-white Mexican wedding cakes. On the exhibit’s middle tier are shortbread cookies in the shape of gingerbread men with a chocolate frosted middle, cousin to E.L. Fudge. Sugar cookies with a satisfying blue crystal cover and a chocolate underside catch the eye. Seasonal confections include items imitating painted eggs and bright orange carrots. Around winter holidays, try the peppermint-chocolate disk. It all tastes as good as it looks.

Best Place to Blow a Paycheck: Fenton Street Market, Fenton Street and Ellsworth Drive

What readers said: "always something unique and interesting to buy" and "the vendors are so inventive"

Best Reason for Car Haters to Drive Somewhere: National Capital Trolley Museum, 1313 Bonifant Road

What WCP said: Attention urbanists who are overly excited about the prospect of riding streetcars in DC: Why wait a year or more to get your fix? Head up to the National Trolley Car Museum in Silver Spring, where you can ride a real-life streetcar through the woods of Montgomery County. You can also bone up on DC’s trolley past by reading the museum’s numerous displays, and get your Christmas shopping done at the gift shop for the many streetcar enthusiasts in your life. One caveat: If you aren’t the parent of a young child who is obsessed with trains, you’ll probably stick out as some sort of weirdo.

Best Place to Buy Beer: Fenwick Beer and Wine, 1327 Fenwick Lane

What readers said: "soooo cosy" "always something new to find" "great selection"