On any given night time, greater than two dozen diners may discover themselves in upgraded circumstances. Management over one’s consolation in a public place is not any small luxurious. And this in a venue whose entrees common $35.
The title within the title refers to Jerry Hollinger, whose different Maryland eating places are the Every day Dish in Silver Spring and the Dish & the Dram in Kensington. His third enterprise is his most bold but and continues one thing of a theme at this location, previously home to two steakhouses, the Classics and Ray’s the Classics. Hollinger, a Mennonite whose mother and father operated a grocery retailer in Lancaster, Pa., and who went on to develop into a chef and caterer, concedes that the restaurant’s mile-long title is a mouthful. Past honoring his household’s title, “Waterman’s Chophouse” makes delicate nods to seafood and steak, phrases Hollinger considers outdated.
A bit dream crew takes care of diners. The kitchen, seen from the bar, finds John Manolatos in command. You may need tasted his expertise on the much-missed Cashion’s Eat Place in Washington. The chef’s brother, George Manolatos, who as soon as co-owned Cashion’s with him, serves as basic supervisor. The go well with advising you on wine, Timothy Clune, labored on the late Requin on the Wharf earlier than attempting his hand with beer on the close by Astro Lab Brewing.
Let’s eat! Soup and salads trace at good issues to return on the menu. Asparagus soup tastes as if the signature vegetable have been simply plucked from the earth, handed over some steam and pureed with basil and mint; the extreme colour comes from spinach added simply earlier than serving. Fish soup options native rockfish, particularly its stomach, handled like salt cod, and pimenton for wealthy, smoky taste. “George’s” backyard salad goes Greek with feta cheese, tomatoes and cucumber. What units it aside from different inexperienced salads is its dressing, a mix of purple wine and sherry sweetened with minced shallots and biting with garlic — scrumptious inducement to complete your greens.
“Gentle bites” — steamed mussels, vegetable tempura, housemade spaghetti — are designed for individuals who need one thing larger than an appetizer however smaller than a typical primary course. The star of the lot marries surf and turf: Crisp shrimp toast and caramelized pork stomach share their stage with taste pumps together with kimchi and sweet-mustardy tomato jam, as entertaining as something that may be taking part in throughout the road on the AFI Silver Theatre. You could possibly simply make a meal of the cooked-just-right pasta, a swirl of butter-glossed spaghetti scattered with candy Virginia clams, ignited with purple pepper flakes and higher for the crackle of garlicky breadcrumbs on prime.
I’m repeatedly reminded that John Manolatos cooked with James Beard award winner Ann Cashion, now a companion at Los Compañeros. Think about the crab cake, Cashion’s recipe bonding jumbo lump crab with cracker meal and simply sufficient mayonnaise and mustard to maintain the prize collectively (and tasting largely of crab). The dish is accompanied by double-fried french fries, confetti-cut coleslaw and a tartar sauce that promotes recent chervil, lemon and capers over fats.
The cheap costs occur as a result of Hollinger personally buys produce at public sale from Amish sources in Pennsylvania and vans the substances to his three companies. Manolatos additionally provides smaller parts of beef than you would possibly see at different steak sources. The restaurant opened in Might with an 18-ounce dry-aged Kansas Metropolis strip steak priced simply over $60; by trimming the minimize (a New York strip with the bone in) to 14 ounces, he can cost $48. I’m keen on the coulotte, a lean however tender minimize whose pronounced taste is complemented with brushstrokes of clarified butter on the grill.
The chef additionally provides composed dishes — considerate unions of protein, starch and vegetable — which means you don’t want a facet dish to spherical out an entree. J. Hollinger’s juicy brined pork chop may stand by itself, however how a lot nicer to see it offered atop lemony spaetzle with vibrant English peas, darkish kale and a curtain of morel cream sauce? Preparations can change from go to to go to; the fixed is the kitchen’s behavior of not getting in the best way of excellent substances.
Clune, the wine director and assistant basic supervisor, is the epitome of a very good neighbor for providing distinctive glasses for as little as $10 and suggesting bottles beneath the value of the alternatives you’re mulling. “I like bizarre grapes from bizarre locations — and worth,” says Clune. Professional tip: Uruguay makes some good wine, and Clune is glad to introduce you to the thrill of Artesana Tannat for $47. He’s additionally good at discovering simply the appropriate bottle to bridge seafood and steak, because the night time he poured an Elizabeth Spencer grenache, lush with fruit flavors (think about ripe raspberries and strawberries), properly acidic and ending with mineral notes.
There may be lags between programs. However the wait pays off when, say, a juicy hamburger patted from floor chuck and brisket lastly lands on the desk, inside a brioche bun baked on-site. It took time for my salmon from Faroe Islands to make its look, too. All’s forgiven when the prime fish surfaces with such enjoyable companions as a tater tot flavored with recent dill and meltingly comfortable cabbage, its butter sauce popping with orange salmon roe.
Different chop homes would possibly provide a slab of cheesecake and name it a day. This one helps you to stroll, fairly than waddle, out due to the sunshine lime Bavarian topping on this crisp-bottomed model of the steakhouse staple.
There’s numerous speak within the business about being approachable. J. Hollinger’s Waterman’s Chophouse not solely walks the speak, it lets some lucky clients alter their very own ambiance. Any longer, when individuals ask “The place’s the meat?” or “How about fish?” I’ll level them to Silver Spring and a restaurant that may train Washington some new tips.
J. Hollinger’s Waterman’s Chophouse
8606 Colesville Rd., Silver Spring, Md. 301-328-0035. jhollingers.com. Open: Indoor eating and takeout 5 to 9 p.m. each day and 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Costs: Dinner appetizers $9 to $45, primary programs $19 to $75. Sound test: 72 decibels/Should communicate with raised voice. Accessibility: No limitations at entrance; restrooms are ADA-compliant. Pandemic protocols: Masks for workers are non-compulsory; most, however not all, employees are vaccinated.
