George Carry Out

I’m not saying they serve rat, but I am pretty sure I know what Hunan Rat tastes like now.

First thing’s first, if you stumbled upon this page searching for George, the Georgetown bar of Georgetown bars (whatever that means), you’re in the right place. (Just kidding.)
Yep, we’ve got ourselves a corner Chinese food store here on U Street. And, like all things, U Street, you’ll manage to meet quite the cast of characters while waiting in George’s humble waiting area. (Granted, the space would be a tad bit roomier if the ATM jury-​rigged thru the wall, well, wasn’t.)
As you place your order, in person, for the impulse order of General Tso’s chicken that you decided was a good idea as your bike commuted snaked an irrational course through the city, you’ll have to share this space with another customer, a soul who’s places an order for a single chicken wing.
The two of you will step aside as a white collared yet messenger bag-​clad professional orders beef in broccoli, again, in person. And there you wait, in your ten-​foot-​by-​ten-​foot huddle. Each of you, so different, wait for dinner that is by no stretch of the imagination gourmet.
Instead, you’ll find a dish metered out in such a manner, such a tone of voice, that George becomes homestyle. That is, it is so refreshingly familar that you’ll reject anything else. The food here is the no nonsense fare that you’ll welcome after an unreasonably long day in the office. It’s what you’ll long for only when it’s right in front of you, perched on a corner on U Street.

One word — NASTY! Couldn’t even get a Canada Dry ginger ale with my food, Rockcreek is not the soda for me… The fish sub had half raw onions instead of grilled as I asked for, the fries were nasty too… This meal put a real bad taste in my mouth… No more George’s for me!

The food here is pretty much the standard Chinese take out fare. The place, though, is far and away much dirtier and seedier than most others in the city, especially for this part of town.
What really bothers me, though, is that the owners/​managers allow a group of men to congregate outside and loiter on the sidewalk. At times, we’re talking a dozen guys, all drinking and leaving beer cans and broken beer bottles all over the place. Doesn’t make me feel safe to actually walk past the place (which I have to do often), let alone go inside to order food.

In case of a federal disaster, or when both your refrigerator and oven are in the blink and gremlins have absconded with all your food, this would still be one of the last places where you’d want to go.
The place is a leftover from the days of DC as a world crime Capitol and this area in particular as ground zero in those dark days. A millieu of sordid characters loiter outside as the staff busily prepares greasy concoctions inside of a plexiglass Fort Knox.
The food selection is mainly a derivative of what some would call Chinese. I tried their chicken with broccoli and yes, it was tasty, considering the copious amounts of grease. The steamed pot stickers had grease. The steamed rice had grease. Two hours later I reached for the Tums…

Once again my curiosity got the better of me and I knowingly waded into questionable Chinese delivery territory. Their menu boasts «subs, pizza, ribs, seafood, chicken wings, chinese food» and has some clip art of a winking Italian chef on the cover.
Delving deeper I spied amongst the cornucopia of offerings a curious extra: «CIGARETTE WOULD BE DELIVERED TOO!»
I knew I had to try it, so I ordered sweet and sour pork (small), three barbecued pork spare ribs accompanied by a side of fried rice, and a jumbo bacon cheeseburger. I couldn’t bring myself to sample the pizza on this maiden voyage.
Well, needless to say I was certainly asking for it. I like to run the gamut when ordering from these combo shops – consequences be damned.
Pretty gross, ribs excepted. Once I extracted them from their nasty bed of fried rice like substance, they proved to be fairly tasty. They’re really just bigger versions of the little ones you can get most places as an appetizer. If that’s your thing you might like these, though I would strongly urge you to choose the fries side option or to be even safer just request plain white rice. I will note everything came in about 35 min. piping hot, so I’ll give ‘em that.
Much like Magellan, I voyaged into uncharted territory and ended up running into trouble. I leave behind for you this map which reads simply «go the other way, unless you seek large Chinese spare ribs.»