Maybe when the first Morton's opened in 1978, a customer looked at the prices and shouted, "Show me the beef!" and a waiter complied by wheeling out a cart full of slabs of uncooked meat for inspection, thus starting a tradition. Our meal began with this kitschy display of raw meat and vegetable props, and so will yours, too, at this and any other Morton's. It will not be cheap, though -- our entrees were each $33, though portions were so large that my children had my leftovers for dinner the next day. Entrees don't come with side dishes, either, so you must pay separately for those.

Although the city is full of steakhouses, this is the only one in Georgetown. Its ambience is less relentlessly masculine than the others, probably because of its varied clientele (couples, businessmen, parents treating their college kid to dinner), and because of a glow emanating from the open kitchen. On a weeknight in winter, the restaurant was not totally full, and we were able to sit in our leather-cushioned booth and talk quietly, pausing only to swallow bites of tender filet mignon, porterhouse steak (both cooked perfectly), oysters on the half-shell, sautéed mushrooms, and asparagus (a tad tough) with hollandaise sauce. End with Godiva chocolate cake, a round derby of chocolate casing, which, when cut, releases a thick stream of melty hot chocolate -- heavenly! The other D.C. location of Morton's is downtown, at 1050 Connecticut Ave. NW, at L Street NW (tel. 202/955-5997).