Homage Restaurant Offers Rare Meat Loaf Treat

For a long time the trend in Las Vegas was to take the best the world had to offer and recreate it in Sin City. You see that Eiffel Tower over there? It's not the real one. The Sphinx in front of the Luxor? Not so much with the reality. And, no, that's not really New York City at the corner of Tropicana and Las Vegas Boulevard. You can tell because the real one doesn't have a roller coaster winding through it.

They were all considered homages to the originals -- "inspired by" but not trying to actually be the things they were emulating.

Until now, the concept was limited to hotels, impersonator shows and the occasional 54-esque nightclub. That has changed with the Triple George Grill, what could be the city's first ever homage to a restaurant.

The Tadich Grill is a San Francisco legend, in business in one form or another for a staggering 150-plus years. At one point, the owners basically dissembled the entire place and moved it to its new home to maintain the original look and feel.

That look and feel has been recreated at Triple George in downtown Las Vegas, complete with a virtual replica of the main dining room and a menu inspired by offerings at the San Francisco original. Although the two are in no way connected on a business level, they are spiritual kissing cousins. While it may seem odd at first, trying to find the line between inspiration and blatant copying, as soon as you sample the food you will stop caring. I've never eaten at Tadich, but if Triple George is any indication, it must be superb.

The main portion of the restaurant is dominated by a combination bar and lunch counter, surrounded by intimate tables separated by tall wood panels, lending a clubby yet casual feel. A separate lounge area features a pianist (and daily happy hours with free food), and an adjacent bar offers a wide variety of upscale libations.

A pile of warm, San Francisco-style sourdough is a perfect accompaniment for lounging over the eclectic menu, which includes salads of all stripes; a wide assortment of seafood, pastas, steaks and chops; and a section called "George's Favorites" featuring everything from corned beef hash to bacon and eggs to fish and chips to ravioli. Finding something to suit your mood won't be a problem.

I was in a comfort food mood, so I started with the chicken noodle soup, a hearty concoction of thick chunks of white meat, thicker chunks of vegetables and not as thick (but still thicker than Campbell's) noodles, all seasoned in a savory broth with a hint of salty goodness. That and the bread could have made a meal all on its own.

Because of the selection, it took me a while to choose my main course, but I wound up with the first thing I saw: bacon-wrapped meatloaf. The word "genius!" escaped me, and I think the wait staff was already cooking it before I actually ordered it. Anything wrapped in bacon is automatically better, but the concept of wrapping it around meatloaf was so divinely inspired that I can't believe I hadn't ever thought of it.

Cut thick with a heaping of Yukon Gold mashed potatoes and seasonal vegetables on the side, the meatloaf was much spicier than I was expecting, verging on chipotle territory, but I didn't mind at all. It was rich and substantial, with the bacon around the edges providing a perfect flavor combination. Meat lovers should forget about everything else and just succumb.

All desserts are made on site and again skew toward the comfort food side of things -- carrot cake, chocolate cream pie and even "oven fresh" cookies. I went with the fresh strawberry pie, with a thick buttery crust and big chunks of fruit tossed in a creamy mixture that brought to mind a Dairy Queen strawberry shake. Delicious.

Prices are better than reasonable. Appetizers (bruschetta, calamari, clams casino, oysters on the half-shell, etc.) run from $7 to 14; salads (chopped, Caesar, shrimp Louie, and various dinner-style salads) in the $5 to $10 range for the small ones and $8-17 range for the big ones; seafood (Alaskan halibut, Atlantic salmon, swordfish, blackened catfish, and more) was a bit on the pricey side, ending up above $20 but starting as low as $11; pastas and specialties (seafood linguine, creole chicken penne, veal picatta, lemon herb chicken, to name a few) ranging from $14 to $24; steaks and chops in the $13-$29 neighborhood; and the desserts all under $6. It's the "George's Favorites" section that will get you the best deals and some of the most satisfying menu items. Pot roast, beef stroganoff, baked cod, swordfish brochettes and the beloved bacon-wrapped meatloaf reside here, and the most expensive thing is $14, with most under $10.

All of the entree prices include side dishes that may include potatoes of different varieties, rice pilaf or seasonal vegetables.

The service was fantastic throughout the evening -- attentive without being obtrusive and at times almost frighteningly prescient. I took the last sip of a glass of water and there was someone running up to refill it before it hit the table.

Downtown Las Vegas has been in desperately need of a restaurant like this. Now you have an even better reason for visiting the area. Here's hoping that in 150 years or so, someone will be creating an homage to the Triple George Grill.

Triple George Grill
201 N. 3rd Street
Las Vegas, NV 89101
(702) 384-2761
Open: Sun. to Thurs., 11 am. to 10pm; Fri. and Sat., 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.

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