Tobias Dorzon once played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Tennessee Titans in the NFL, but now he’s a seasoned chef with two restaurants located in Hyattsville.
Huncho House, located at 6451 America Boulevard, Suite 101, is an Italian and Asian fusion restaurant that opened in 2022. Dorzon, who is also the head chef, created the restaurant to bring fine dining to the community, he told the Life & Times during an interview at the restaurant.
“We provide an environment where people in the community don’t have to go far to get a dining experience,” Dorzon said. “I want people to feel comfortable, but also in the same sense, I want them to feel like they’re not in Hyattsville when they step inside these doors.”
The restaurateur, who was awarded chef of the year by the Restaurant Association of Maryland in 2024 (the first Prince George’s County native to receive the honor), also owns 1123 by Chef Tobias, located at 6450 America Blvd Suite 105. This new project from Dorzon brands itself as an upscale restaurant lounge serving Asian and West African fusion cuisine, including a menu of Liberian specials.
The change from football to food was easy, Dorzon — a Riverdale resident — said. Football had become a job, and cooking was something he was brought up doing due to his father, who he also credits for his culinary creativity.
Dorzon said he was influenced by both his training at the Italian Culinary Institute in Sicily, which informed the Italian-Asian fusion style of Huncho House, and his studies at the Art Institute of Washington, which closed in 2018. Dorzon has also taken the opportunity to learn from other chefs during his time competing on TV shows like “Chopped” and “Guy’s Grocery Games,” he said.
Some of the most popular menu items at Huncho House include the Jerk Short Ribs for $40, the Grilled Branzino for $46, the Huncho Deviled Eggs for $22 and the “crowd pleaser” Red Snapper at market rate, according to Dorzon, who said the menu took seven months of work.
“The menu was something that I took my time creating, and it was fun creating,” Dorzon said. “I just love everything [on it].”
The inside of Huncho House resembles a tropical garden, with a plant barrier separating part of the seating area from the front door and flowers covering the ceiling. Tones of black and wood, and the emblem of gorillas, fill the space, which consists of a dining room that seats 42 and a lounge that seats 12. The kitchen is visible to some customers, allowing them to watch their food being made.
Crystal Dickerson, from Brandywine, goes to a new restaurant every month, she said. Spotting Huncho House on Instagram, she decided to dine there with her friend, Shelby McKenzie, from Riverdale.
Dickerson, who ordered the Huncho Deviled Eggs, said the bacon jam in the dish pairs well with the deviled eggs. For her main dish she ordered the daily special — rosemary chicken — and the Flaming Banana Foster Cheesecake for dessert, both of which Dickerson said she was looking forward to.
The service was excellent, Dickerson said, and the overall ambience of the restaurant is also enjoyable.
“I like it,” Dickerson said. “It’s different, it’s eclectic, it’s artistic, and I like the open kitchen to see what’s going on.”
McKenzie, who ordered the Crispy Asian Shrimp for her appetizer, also ordered the Creamy Crab & Jalapeno Fettuccine and, like her friend, the Flaming Banana Foster Cheesecake. She enjoyed the sweet notes in her shrimp and the added texture of the vegetables, but wished it was slightly spicier, she said.
Like her friend, McKenzie said she enjoyed the restaurant’s atmosphere.
“I like a mature atmosphere; I do like when you come in, they offer you champagne,” McKenzie said. “The ambiance is nice, the people are nice, everything.”
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Huncho House, located in University Town Center next to the Mall at Prince George’s, is open Tuesday through Saturday from 5:30 p.m. to 9:45 p.m. 1123 by Chef Tobias, located across the street from Huncho House, is open Thursday and Friday, 5 p.m. to 12 a.m.; Saturday, 11 a.m. to 12 a.m.; and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Lillian Glaros is an undergraduate journalism student at the University of Maryland.