dine | REVIEW
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The 36-ounce tomahawk rib-eye steak
his half-brother Dhiraj “George” Waidande, who died suddenly of a heart attack at age 39 in 2015. Pass through this restaurant’s handsome façade of horizontal pinewood planks and gray brick and you’ll see Waidande’s beloved Harley-Davidson motorcycle on display behind a red velvet rope in the entrance hall. The dining room has the feel of a chic steak house, with low lighting, dark wide-plank laminate floors, exposed brick, gold-framed mirrors, contemporary chrome chandeliers with crystal teardrops, and a gleaming stainless-steel kitchen displayed behind a glass wall. In my September 2016 Bethesda Magazine review of Duck Duck Goose, Alfred’s Norfolk Avenue French bistro a block away from George’s, I noted that Alfred graduated from Manhattan’s French Culinary Institute in 2010 and worked in New York City for three years under culinary giants Daniel Boulud and Mario Batali. My nutshell assessment of Duck Duck Goose in that review—“details abound, but complete attention to them 246
Edmond Ngati, a server at George’s Chophouse
doesn’t”—also holds true of George’s. Laguiole steak knives, fluted martini glasses, marrow spoons—these are lovely details, but a more important one would be to have an extensive, well-rounded and carefully curated wine list with more than a couple dozen offerings. And perhaps this is a small point, but if you call a place a chophouse instead of a steak house, the latter being what George’s more aptly is, shouldn’t you have pork, lamb or veal chops on the menu? When Alfred shines, dishes sparkle. I would return to George’s solely for the lightly cured slices of salmon, which are magenta from beet juice and hinting of ginger and lime juice. The salmon’s adornments—pillows of beet foam, a
MARCH/APRIL 2018 | BETHESDAMAGAZINE.COM
dollop of creme fraiche and thin slices of vibrant watermelon radish—enhance an already captivating dish. Blooming mushroom is Alfred’s clever riff on Outback Steakhouse’s deep-fried onion; his is a clump of batter-fried spiky maitake mushrooms served with a zesty horseradish dipping sauce. Iceberg salad with cherry tomatoes, grated hard-boiled egg, red onions, chives and creamy blue cheese dressing is a paean to a steak house classic. A roasted, vertically sliced beef bone harboring its glistening marrow rests atop a hearty, deeply flavorful oxtail stew—it’s an indulgent but irresistible way to start a meal. Much less successful are ho-hum steamed mussels, so lackluster they need salt.