11/15/08

Stuffy but Great Steak!!

by DouggerJay

We went to the Capital Grille recently for a special occasion. I felt the whole wait staff was effected with a kind of forced subservience. Does somebody really like this kind of interaction? where diners can pretend they're the masters of the plantation? Other than the twilight zone-ish service, the food was fabulous. We had the dry aged steak and it was amazing. The meat has an unusual texture that makes it stand out in my personal 'history of great steaks'. The dry aging process involves hanging the meat up in a cooler for 3 or 4 weeks while it tenderizes itself by producing enzymes that break down the connective tissue, i.e., it decomposes a little bit. The result is a big, tender, flavorful steak. This is one of their signature offerings but I'll let you in on an interesting fact (love that Google) up until 20 years ago when the meat industry went to vacuum packing most beef was dry aged. So if you had a really good steak back in 1985 and you've been feeling oddly deprived ever since, maybe this is what you've been missing. We also had really good mashed potatoes and a couple different deserts. The flour-less chocolate espresso cake was amazingly good. Like the richest chocolate cheese cake you've ever had. The creme brulee was great, too. Now if I could just go someplace in my jeans and hoodie where the cool and friendly wait person would sit down in the empty chair at our table to get the order just right - and they had the same food - I'd be in Old-Guy-Steak-Lover Heaven. Then there's the cost - this is a 'special occasion' dinner place for me. We had salad, steak, shared sides and desert and it was about $70 a person without drinks and not including the tip. The waiter actually included his business card with the bill (and what the hell do I need that for?) The actual service was super as far excellent food served well, I just had a personal reaction to the 'ambience' and ya know - sometimes that happens to us old coots.

02/20/08

Great Food

by changj3

Great steaks! Lobster Mac was the best side we ordered... along with truffle fries and mushrooms. Service was a little slow, maybe they need to fine-tune as they just opened. However, the food is more than enough to make me come back.

• Pros: Food, free valet

02/15/08

Where do you get the best steak in Seattle?

by cyam

Ask that question and your carnivore friends may all have a different answer. The new Capital Grille will surely add another name to that discussion. The Capital Grille is a part of a chain, whose parent company also owns the likes of The Olive Garden, Red Lobster and Longhorn Steakhouse. This isn't an Olive Garden. It's a well oiled machine with a highly trained wait staff and kitchen turning out some great meals. It offers all one would want in a steakhouse experience, at least on par with the other established national steak houses and I think better than the other downtown local favorite. It has the manditory bar just to the right of the entrance, a nice ambience that I'd expect to see at a steak place in NYC. It is somewhat localized with paintings of famous Seattle people throughout the restaurant. Again it is well staffed, our waiter was there when we needed him but not hovering when we wanted to socialize. While there was nothing extraordinary on the menu, the food was excellent. The lobster macroni and cheese is a killer side. Nice selection of wines with I guess reasonable prices, many under $50. Yes, The Capital Grille is spendy but no more so than its competitors. I suspect many of the patrons will be business people on expense accounts. I'll surely welcome an invitation to be taken there.

• Pros: great service, food.
• Cons: can be spendy