The stretch around Joint Base Andrews and Camp Springs leans hard toward fast food and chains, which is fine on a rushed weeknight and gets old fast if it is your default every time. This is a guide to a real alternative a short drive north in the Marlow Heights area, written for anyone stationed at or working near the base who wants a hot meal that took more than ninety seconds to prepare, without turning dinner into an expedition.
What is actually close
We are at 4620 St Barnabas Rd, Suite #B, a short run north of the base off Branch Avenue. Coming up MD-5 to the St Barnabas Road exit, it is a straightforward drive rather than a detour deep into the city, which is the main reason this works as a regular option rather than an occasional one. We run late too, until 10PM Sunday through Wednesday and all the way to midnight Thursday through Saturday, which covers the back half of most shifts.
What to order on a short window
Fifteen minutes or less. Order ahead online and collect. Chicken Hibachi at $9.85 or a combo gets you a full plate, hot, with almost no wait once you arrive, because everything is cooked when the ticket comes in rather than held.
Eating at a desk or in quarters. A bento box at $12.85 to $15.85 is the better choice over an open plate. It is sealed, holds heat, and includes sushi that does not need reheating at all.
Feeding a group or a barracks room. Wings in twenty, thirty or fifty piece counts, split across flavors, or Build Your Own Platter for a mixed group. Call ahead for anything over thirty pieces rather than ordering online, so timing can be confirmed.
A night off, sitting down properly. This is also a real dine-in option, not just a pickup counter. The grill is visible and the food is cooked to order either way.
What travels back to base well
If you are picking up on the way rather than eating on site, bone-in wings and bento boxes hold their heat and texture far better than boneless wings or open plates. Sushi is the most forgiving thing on the menu for any kind of delay, since it is meant to be eaten cool.
Loaded fries are the one item to eat immediately rather than transport. They have roughly a ten-minute window before the texture goes.
Covering a mixed group without extra planning
The entire menu is halal, with no pork served, stored or cooked anywhere in the building, and our sauces are made in house rather than bought in. For anyone ordering for a group with mixed dietary needs, that removes the usual back and forth about what everyone can eat. Vegetarian options run through Tofu Hibachi at $9.85, Tofu Bento at $12.85 and the avocado rolls at $7.85.
Finding us from the base
We are at 4620 St Barnabas Rd, Suite #B, Marlow Heights, MD 20748, by the Iverson Mall area just off Branch Avenue. Branch Ave Metro is a few minutes down the road, Suitland and Camp Springs are a short run east, and Southeast DC sits straight up Branch Avenue on the other side of the Beltway.
Visit us
Flame Japanese Hibachi Marlow Heights, 4620 St Barnabas Rd, Suite #B, Marlow Heights, MD 20748. 240-619-4586. Sun to Wed 11AM to 10PM, Thu to Sat 11AM to 12AM.
