I tried 3 of this year’s most highly anticipated Maryland restaurants. Here’s what to expect.

A number of highly anticipated restaurants are coming to D.C.’s Maryland suburbs this summer.

Over the weekend, I got sneak peaks at the New Kitchens on the Block food festival in D.C.’s Edgewood neighborhood.

Creamy vodka pasta. Juicy meat skewers. A clever bar snack twist on a classic cocktail.

Everything was tasty or beyond tasty enough for me to confidently recommend trying Maurizio’s, Phia and Vesper when they open in a few months. Here is what you can expect at each.

Maurizio’s

Anticipated opening: August in Potomac

A new spot for coastal Italian cuisine is heading to Montgomery County this summer.

The team behind Cava Mezze, Melina, Julii, and Bouboulina are building Maurizio’s, a full-service restaurant focusing on fresh, seasonal ingredients.

“Everything is going to be from scratch,” said Chef Aris Tsekouras, also executive chef of North Bethesda’s Melina and Bouboulina. “We put a lot of effort and love and passion into what we do and we hope the neighborhood will love us.”

During the NKOTB event, the Maurizio’s team served a rich chiocciole alla vodka topped with a light, refreshing stracciatella, plus a pompelmo margarita featuring aperol and a house-made grapefruit cordial. Both will be featured on the restaurant’s menu, Tsekouras said.

Other small plate menu items will include rosemary foccacia, spaghetti alla chitarra carbonara, grilled branzino and chicken parmesan. All dishes will be made from scratch, Tsekouras added.

The bar will feature classic cocktails including spritzes and a whole menu dedicated to different spins on a Negroni. The dessert menu features seasonal soft-serve ice cream.

The restaurant is named after Maurizio Luise, the longtime director of operations for the Cava Mezze group, who died suddenly last November at age 46. Luise was going to be part of building the new Italian concept, Tsekouras said — using his namesake was a way to honor the team’s longtime friend and coworker.

Phia

Anticipated opening: August or September in Takoma Park

Brad Feickert, the chef and owner behind Takoma Park’s Soko Butcher and Koma, plans to serve up classic Appalachian dishes with an emphasis on seasonal ingredients at his upcoming Takoma eatery.

Phia, named after Feickert’s grandmother, Sophia, will serve up shareable Appalachian plates inspired by the West Virginia-style home cooking that she served up when he was a kid.

“I thought this would be a great opportunity to show people the old techniques and old style of cooking that we can still do today,” Feickert said. “I think it’s kind of a lost art.”

On Saturday, Feickert prepared a sophisticated spin on an Appalachian skewer, featuring a blend of venison, country ham, pork belly, sausage, sorghum and apple. He foresees it landing on the Phia menu either as an appetizer or an entree in larger form.

The Sophia cocktail, a bright orange concoction of carrot, ginger, honey, citrus, turmeric and mezcal, will likely wind up on the brunch menu.

The restaurant is a three-minute walk from the Maryland-D.C. border in Takoma, D.C., taking over a space previously occupied by three different shops.

Phia will feature a bar, main dining room, lounge area for late-night hangs and a rooftop bar overlooking Takoma Park.

Vesper

Anticipated opening: June in Ellicott City

Longtime D.C.-based chef Rachel Bindel is heading home to her Howard County roots in her latest endeavor: Vesper, an Ellicott City cocktail bar and restaurant.

Straight from the bar menu, Bindel served Vesper’s dirty martini chips and dip on Saturday — even blue-cheese haters will find themselves double-dipping.

Other current menu plans include a crispy pork belly, Maryland blue crab, summer squash tagliatelle and Wagyu skirt steak.

Bindel said the team hopes to make the spot both a fun destination for D.C.-area diners and a great neighborhood spot for regulars in Baltimore.

The team plans to open around mid-June at Pike and Main, open for dinner Wednesday through Sunday as well as brunch offerings on Sunday.