The Capital Grille falls into the latter category.
No cartoonish kangaroo- or armadillo-themed decor here.
The walls are hung with real taxidermy and ornately framed artworks.
Photo: The Capital Grille/Facebook. Design: Eat This, Not That!
Meanwhile, stylish chandeliers cast a warm glow over the restaurant’s elegant mahogany paneling and brassy fixtures.
The menu, too, exudes refinement.
Capital Grille pledges to use “only the finest, freshest ingredients,” according to its website.
Photo: Chris Shott/Eat This, Not That!
Side dishes cost extra.
With such steep prices, choosing your entree wisely is imperative.
Ordering one of the classic cuts is sort of like flying in economy class.
Photo: Chris Shott/Eat This, Not That!
You’ll pay less money for the no-frills treatment, but you’ll probably enjoy it less, too.
I took my thrifty self for lunch.
The look:Plump and dewy.
Photo: Chris Shott/Eat This, Not That!
The strip stretched about six and a half inches long and a girthy inch and a half thick.
A visibly charred bone ran along the backside and I spotted few faint grill marks up top.
The taste:Juicy but very mild.
Photo: Chris Shott/Eat This, Not That!
There seemed to be little, if any, seasoning.
My server did offer to add some fresh cracked pepper, which was thoughtful.
What it really needed, though, was salt to help bring out the natural beefy taste.
Photo: Chris Shott/Eat This, Not That!
Even at the discounted lunch rate, you’d think the chef could afford to add a little sodium.
Some casual steakhouse chains are notoriously heavy-handed with seasoning.
So, of course, I returned one more time for the midday meal.
The meat seemed nicely charred on the outside and ruby red in the center.
The taste: Tender, sapid, and lightly sweet.
This preparation was just as meltingly soft as my previous filet, but far more flavorful.
A vast improvement from the basic dry version, though I liked a few other steaks even better.
Available only at dinner, this steak cost me $72.
The look:A pepperpalooza!
The sliced steak came buried under a thick pile of black and white peppercorns.
The meat itself, meanwhile, didn’t look like the usual plank-shaped strip.
It seemed more rounded like a tenderloin.
The taste: Pungent.
Though this steak was still far from my favorite, at least it wasn’t boring.
No matter where I goOutback,LongHorn,Texas Roadhousethis primal-looking, prodigiously marbled cut always reigns supreme.
And that’s exactly what I expected from Capital Grille, too.
The upscale chain describes it as “our signature steak.”
you might order a 22-ounce cut in the bare-bones classic style for $83.
What can I say?
The look:Virtually blackened.
Within its sooty exterior, the meat struck an enticing raspberry-like color.
The taste:Surprisingly polarizing.
My dining companion and I had drastically different reactions to this specific preparation.
“It was flavorless,” my friend asserted.
“I could barely taste the balsamic.
I didn’t even notice the crust.”
I also liked the gently sweet and sour kiss of balsamic, which added some complexity without being overpowering.
But it’s surely no hands-down winner.
This steak couldn’t quite live up to either the hype or its inflated price tag.
The look:Hulking.
The bone-in strip was close to two inches thick, making it the bulkiest cut of the whole bunch.
The taste:Unforgettable.
It’s the rich oniony flavor of the shallot butter that truly makes this dish.
Even my discerning dining pal could not dispute its downright deliciousness.
Every last forkful got dragged through that ambrosial compound butter, followed by whatever remained from the bread basket.
