Bacon cheddar biscuits like the one shown here take biscuits to a new level. You can get them, along with equally fine scones, soups, sandwiches, and hot specials, at Rock Creek Catering's takeout.

The catering company has been around for ten years. Owners Laura Schwartz and her husband, Luis Carretero, opened the takeout operation to help offset costs when redevelopment in Wheaton started pushing rents up. The takeout is well situated across from Wheaton Plaza and the new Macy's.

And the secret of the biscuits? Applewood bacon, Plugra butter, Tillamook sharp cheddar, and "eating them warm," according to Schwartz, who is executive chef. Her lavender scones, crusted with a sprinkle of sugar, and rosemary currant scones, served with clotted cream, are marvelous. A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, she studied pastry in Belgium and worked with pastry chef Roland Mesnier at the White House.

In Schwartz's kitchen, ingredients are everything. Brownies are made with Valrhona chocolate, rice pudding with arborio rice and toasted hazelnuts, and rustic tarts with fresh seasonal fruit. Savory items get the same attention. Lentil soup is livened up with whiskey-fennel sausage and maybe a hot-plate special of sausages and sauerkraut to go with it. Tomato bisque gets a lift from rosemary and orange and is mated with a grilled cheddar-cheese sandwich. Prices range from $1.50 to $6.50. There's nowhere to sit in the shop, but there are benches and tables in Wheaton Plaza.

Rock Creek Catering (takeout): 11210 Triangle Ln., Wheaton; 301-949-8838.