Diners who have been here know reservations are practically a must; spontaneous types show up hoping the first-come, first-served bar hasn’t filled up. (Good luck finding a faux alligator-skin perch after 6 p.m.)
The word is out: David Guas, the veteran chef behind Bayou Bakery in Arlington, has rolled out a second place to eat, Neutral Ground Bar and Kitchen in McLean. His upbringing in New Orleans and the restaurant’s proximity to the nation’s pressure-cooker capital explain the name. “I didn’t know what a median was until I was 18 and in college,” says the chef, who grew up in a city where strips of land dividing the streets were referred to as neutral ground. At the same time, Guas, 49, wanted to offer an “adult” restaurant where anyone could “come in, belly up to the bar … and let the B.S. of the day melt away.”
The menu nods to the chef’s Southern roots but doesn’t dwell on them. Pimento cheese spread, barbecue shrimp and a Sazerac that whisks you to Crescent City are outnumbered by broadly American dishes, many of which take advantage of the oven Guas inherited from the previous restaurant, Assaggi Osteria and Pizzeria. Every course contains a whiff of smoke. One of the best beginnings is a salad of charred cabbage tossed with cool cucumbers in a vibrant green goddess dressing, and one of the finest finishes is a chocolate candy bar garnished with smoked mandarins.
If Guas had his way, the restaurant would have been called Lillian’s, after his paternal grandmother. His business partner, who happens to be his wife of almost 25 years, restaurant publicist Simone Rathlé, vetoed the notion. “Nothing against grandmothers or women,” says Rathlé, but she felt the couple’s new restaurant needed to make a definite point with its brand.
The chef dipped into his memories when writing the menu. Washington food lovers of a certain age will smile in recognition of the ahi tuna tartare, gems of fish tossed in a coconut milk sauce lit with serrano chiles, lime and cilantro. Scooped up with wonton chips tucked in a sleeve of paper, the appetizer was a featured player at the late DC Coast, where Guas worked as a pastry chef. His grandmother, whom he calls “the queen of appetizers,” doesn’t have her name on the restaurant, but she is remembered on the menu with “Lillian’s” tuna croquetas, fingers of mashed potato and tuna fried to a shade of gold and simply served with a lime wedge. The pool of first courses includes a very good spread of smoked fish, smooth with mascarpone and nipped with horseradish and cayenne; and roasted local oysters lounging in hot baths of butter, lemon and parmesan.
Main courses are named for the way in which diners tend to order. Haven’t we all heard someone at the table announce they’re in the mood for “the steak” or “the fish”?
“The Pasta” is a riff on the angel hair with anchovies the chef served Rathlé when they first dated. The version at Neutral Ground, based on changing pasta, is a fancier combination of crawfish meat bound with a cream sauce tweaked with black garlic, lemon zest and just enough crushed anchovies to give the dish depth without calling attention to the ingredient. Suffice it to say, everyone who tasted the dish at my table tried to keep it to themselves. “The Burger” is two beef patties, crusty from the grill and plied with shaved Vidalia onion, pickles and American cheese that melts in the warmth of the meat and makes for saucy eating. The pork chop proves a simple comfort: juicy, served in thick slices, and cheffed up with a cool slaw of shaved fennel and green apple that could use more of the fruit.
“The Bird” is my pick of the lot. Fried quail crackles thanks to a coat of potato starch, and its bright red sauce — glossy with honey, spicy with Korean chile paste, shocked with fresh ginger — is finger-licking good. The adjective attached to the entree, GBD, gives a server the chance to explain “golden, brown, delicious” (and diners the opportunity to verify the claim).
Specials tap into the season. There’s an ocean of octopus out there. Neutral Ground pairs its hot rope of seafood with a sparkling salad of white beans and chopped peaches for fruity contrast.
There’s no kids menu, a bone of contention for some neighbors even though the restaurant’s website spells out the absence of high chairs and booster seats in a detailed FAQ. Not that children aren’t welcome, says Guas, a father of two (now adult) sons; it’s just that the menu is the menu. This consumer appreciates the abundant online intel. Wine drinkers are informed the corkage fee is $30 for outside bottles, and if anyone’s debating wearing a ball cap inside, hats are restricted to the bar area. “Our southern upbringing dictates that rule!” explains the website.
Rathlé says she aspired to create “an oasis in McLean,” the couple’s longtime home, with the design, which incorporates lots of personal touches, including her parents’ 1950s-era living room mirror and photographs she’s snapped from beaches around the world. “Our happy place is the beach,” she says. Hence the tabletops chosen to suggest sand and the tropical wallpaper that has some of us mentally remodeling rooms at home. A semiprivate space dubbed the “cabana room” features a round table that seats eight, another fillip in a restaurant full of them. (Love the wooden caddies for silverware atop each table.)
Early arrivals not only get seats at the bar, they also get to converse without raising their voice. Despite evidence of soundproofing in the dining room (feel the foam under the table?), Neutral Ground becomes a blast around prime time. The last time I ate there, I left with ringing in my ears.
One expects good desserts from Guas, and he delivers. A fool for meringue, I always spring for the pavlova, a nicely chewy white dome flecked with black pepper and poised on a plate shared with plump stewed blueberries. With the chef’s background in mind, I swoon over the delicate crème caramel, a marvel coaxed from eggs, vanilla and burnt sugar and presented with a wand of cinnamon-laced pastry. (Want to re-create the confection at home? The recipe is in Guas’s cookbook “Dam Good Sweet.”) Then there’s the decadent, high-gloss chocolate candy bar — a little crisp, a little mousse-y — based on the popular chocolate pyramid that once ended meals at DC Coast. Lemon ice box pie is disappointing only because it’s not the frozen recipe you might expect. Otherwise, I like the tangy, room-temperature dessert, gussied up with smoky strawberries and basil syrup.
Down the road, Guas plans to expand the hours of service to include brunch first, then lunch. For the moment, he and Rathlé offer food and ambiance unlike anything in McLean.
“My new favorite place,” I overheard a man at a neighboring table tell his date. Like a lot of fans, he’s anything but neutral.
Neutral Ground Bar and Kitchen
6641 Old Dominion Dr., McLean. 703-992-9095 neutralgroundbarandkitchen.com. Open for indoor and outdoor dining 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, and 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Prices: Appetizers $7 to $22, main courses $20 to $48. Sound check: 88 decibels/Extremely loud. Accessibility: No barriers to entry; ADA-compliant restrooms.
