The Capital Grille is located in Washington D.C. several blocks away from the Whitehouse. This was my destination tonight. Parking Karma was present if you count a valet service. Come with me and visit a swanky steak house in the Capital city.
I was visiting Virginia to attend a knife show and had 24 hours to kill before my flight home in Washington D.C. I played the tourist roll with gusto. I researched steakhouses and this one fit my criteria of swank and old school elegance. I was not dissapointed. (almost). The interior is dimly lit but you can see all the wood paneling. This restaurant screams elegance, warmth and the place to make politcal deals. They had a room dedicated to dry aging steaks. I was in the right place. I dined early and the place was not very crowded. The waiter took my order and I ordered a dry aged bone-in New York strip steak and several accompaniments.
The meal started off with a bread basket of rye, sourdough, pita and the most decadent carmalized onion topped bread. My Caesar salad was a great starter course. The main course arrived and it looked fantastic. More on the steak a little later. The asparagus (probably from California) and mushrooms were great. I was not done and ordered the brulee topped cheesecake.
I do love a good dry aged steak. This restaurant had so much potential for greatness with just a few small tweeks. My steak was ordered medium rare. It was cooked a tad too long. It also had not been properly seasoned. An addition of more salt would have thrown this steak into the Presidency. Lastly, the steak had not been properly rested. This was evident by the juices flowing out of my steak when I cut into it. Do I sound over critical? I do not think so when I am paying very high San Francisco prices. Maybe when I am in San Francisco I am paying Washington D.C. prices? Who knows?
