Restaurant Review

Friday, September 22, 2000

George's owners are pleased to Greek you

Although the eatery's name has seafood and steaks, Mediterranean fare is plentiful

 

George's Seafood and Steaks owners George and Helen Bottis want patrons to leave their restaurant feeling as if they've just eaten a home-cooked meal. The owners of this 25-year-old establishment hit the mark - but only if your home has an endless choice of dishes ranging from pizza and spaghetti to New York strip steak and fried shrimp.
   Despite the variety of dishes, a painting from a Greek wine bottle on the outside wall and the word jalepeño spelled incorrectly on the menu both indicate that Greek specialties are what make this restaurant's heart beat.
   Customers will meet or see one of the owners the minute they walk through the door. As Helen Bottis seats patrons, her husband/chef holds court at a table that's dead center between the smoking and no-smoking sections.
   For appetizers, there's the usual fried fare - cheese, onion rings and mushrooms. We arrived on a Friday, which, along with Saturdays, is Greek Night.
   We began the meal asking for recommendations from our waiter. Before rendering his culinary ruling, he asked a simple question: Do you like Greek food? My companion did not, and ordered the fried mushrooms. Although the mushrooms tasted fresh, the breading was a bit soggy and dull.
   On the advice of our waiter, I ordered the pita bread with tzatziki sauce. The sauce melted across the warm pitas like ice cream on heated pie and had a nice bite of garlic that almost, but not quite, masked the subtlety of the cucumber.
   We both ordered salads, one tossed and one Greek, and opted for the house dressing. We should have known how much food we were about to encounter by the size of the salads. The owners must not believe that a plate should be visible until a patron takes a bite. The Greek salad included tomatoes, marinated Greek olives with the tang of vinegar, and feta cheese. We both opted for the Greek salad dressing, which arrived at our table in an unmarked, white-capped, plastic bottle. Rich with vinegar, paprika and oregano, it left a wonderful lingering taste that canceled out all thoughts of the garlicky tzatziki sauce.
   Our meals arrived quickly after the salad. Too quickly.
   I opted for the Greek Night dinner, a sampling of classic dishes that included dolmades (grape leaves stuffed with ground meat and rice), mousaka (a meat casserole with eggplant), pastitio (a ziti-type pasta layered with ground meat), tiropita and spanakopita (cheese and spinach stuffed into phyllo), potatoes and orzo (a rice-shaped pasta). Included in the dinner is a choice of meat: pork, lamb, chicken or beef. I chose the kokinisto, a Greek pot roast. Although the entrees were served before we finished our salads, the main selections arrived at our table barely lukewarm.
   The dolmades' grape leaves were rightfully tangy; the stuffing packed in tight. The ground beef and rice was a relief from the salad dressing's paprika. The other two meat dishes were tasty enough, but after the other stronger flavors of the feta and spices, the dishes seemed to get lost with the others.
   My companion had ordered George's Special Shrimp, which was served with the same sauce as the kokinisto - too much for the delicately hand-breaded and fried shrimp.
   We were barely finished with our meal when asked if we would like dessert. Here was our break. We shared a piece of chocolate swirl cheesecake. After the spiciness of the rest of the meal, the subtle taste of the chocolate through the whipped, not baked, cheesecake, was a refreshing and cool change.
   We felt compelled to eat fast at the restaurant, as dish after dish arrived quickly without us getting the chance to savor our food. Next time we'll ask the waiter to slow down and let us come up for air between bites, but keep the recommendations coming.
  
   George's Seafood & Steaks
   10210 S. Padre Island Drive
   937-4690
   Hours: 11 a.m. - 11 p.m. Sunday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-midnight Friday and Saturday
   Entrees: $4.50-$13.50
   Checks: Yes
   Credit cards: Yes
   Wheelchair accessible
   Food: **
   Service: **
   Atmosphere: **
  

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