Kloby's had the best beef brisket that I've had in HoCo. But the closest almost-Texas quality brisket I've had in the region is 2Fifty Texas BBQ inside the DC beltway, just a bit south of College Park.

Welcome to Maryland 😂

I can't recall seeing it anywhere in HoCo lately, though it's something we, we being my wife 😅, make at home so generally we're not looking out for it. I think Jumbo Jumbo down in Rockville might have it though.

Times change. OPs story doesn't surprise me one bit. But I've only been here around 20 years and never worked as a journalist so what do I know.

You want real Chinese?

Pepper House for their noodle dishes and the dry pot.

Nan Xiang Express for their world class xiao long bao. Their other items are great too by HoCo standards. Unfortunately the xiao long bao can be inconsistent and suffers from the way it is served in takeout containers rather than directly from the steamer like in the full restaurant in Flushing (and really every other restaurant where you can eat there).

Jumbo Jumbo is Taiwanese and has an excellent beef noodle soup. Their fried chicken is also amazingly good and reliably consistent.

Tea Top also has a limited menu like Jumbo Jumbo. Personally I prefer Jumbo.

There's also a variety of hot pot restaurants, all of which are at least decent. Urban Hot Pot is actually in Columbia by the mall.

Zen Garden has a huge menu including real Chinese dishes that actually taste good and aren't full of garbage ingredients.