George's Chophouse

In a word: Ermm...whatever.

The specs: #0194
Address, hours & details via Isthmus; review at Madison Date Night; official web site;

JM ate the 6oz filet mignon and a Barq's root beer.
Nichole ate the chicken pot pie and a Barq's root beer.
The bill was $37, or $18.50/person, plus tip.
JM gave George's a B-; Nichole gave George's a C+ (see our grading rubric).

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The defining characteristic of George's, to us, was its bigness. A decor of big wine bottles, big light fixtures, and big floral arrangements added up to a manly, oversized feel. On the evening we went, one special was prime rib in three sizes, the largest of which might have been 20 ounces and "costs a house payment," according to the server at a neighboring table.

Our gracious server seated us in the "library," which Nichole was gratified to observe didn't have a better collection than, say, your smaller public libraries. (In a show of reciprocal "smallness" almost all of the books were Readers' Digest condensed volumes.)

The meal started off strongly. Our server was quick to bring a bread basket, served with three small scoops of infused butter, but the freshness of the bread left something to be desired. Equally quickly came two green salads, which were excellent and included bell peppers, tomatoes, carrots, and other crisp, yummy veggies.

Nichole's chicken pot pie was creatively served in a bread bowl with a square of puff pastry on top. While the chicken was tender and seasoned somewhere near the fennel/caraway side of the spectrum, the serving of meat, peas, onions, and potatoes was dwarfed by the bread bowl. The bowl mostly went uneaten, as one of the most awkward items one could try to eat in a refined and ladylike manner.

Two words are synonymous with chophouse to JM: Filet Mignon.  He'd much rather eat a small steak that was tasty than a gigantic one just for the sake of needing to buy two seats on an airplane.  This Mignon was only OK, but was served with his favorite (get ready to cringe)  A1.  He washed his meal down with a root beer, which despite being on tap, was only adequate.

As we drove off to a show at APT (Matchmaker, which was excellent, by the way), the warm feeling we had for George's started to fade as we realized how little we'd gotten for what we'd spent. Most of our fleeting good feeling about the place came from our more than capable waiter, but we doubt that's enough to bring us back.

Comments

[Kyle]

I got to go to El Gaucho in Seattle over the Labor Day weekend...tee hee. It was goo-ood. And I didn't have to pay for it (thank you, father of the groom!)!

mmm...$52 filet mignon...

[Alleen]

Big rooms...big decor...in the suburbs.
George's is out where homes have very large spaces to fill. Maybe this crowd would have a claustrophobic panic attack at the Costa Rica Cafe?

As a Holiday Inn hotel restaurant, you can't expect too much. The hotel has a mini-waterpark and I imagine a lot of families with kids eat here. Tourists and business travelers. Who else would pay $14 for a Friday Fish (Cod) Fry?