December was a bad month here at Jim’s Dining guides, as several of my favorite restaurants closed permanently. Here are the details.

Convivial

Convivial was by far my favorite French restaurant in DC. Located near the Washington Convention Center, I first visited it during Restaurant Week 2016. I ate there several times, last writing it after Winter Restaurant Week 2023. It was an expensive restaurant, so I only went there on special occasions. But it was the best. It closed on December 22.

El Sapo Cuban – Social Club

El Sapo Cuban Social Club brought the sparkle of the Caribbean to downtown Silver Spring. It’s vibe was unique. With Latin music playing, the atmosphere was like a night club atmosphere. The menu contained a wide variety of Cuban food; there were lots of dishes that I had never seen before. I went there often during the pandemic, as there was plenty of open air seating. I will miss it. It’s last day was December 15.

Crisfield Seafood

Crisfield Seafood is different from the other restaurants in that I had not eaten there until I heard it was closing. But I had passed it often as it was right next to a favorite ice cream spot, Morenko’s. Crisfield had been in business almost 80 years and had become a Silver Spring institution. I decided I had to go before it closed on December 22. I went a couple of days before that and ended up waiting in line almost 2 hours. I’m glad I was able to experience this legendary restaurant.

One of the striking things about Crisfield was all the memorabilia it had. I guess there was no place for it to go, as the family auctioned it all off. An era has ended.