Capital Grill

[Kim WB]

I have not posted in a while, and haven't been to a restaurant that motivated me.

I've been more and more impressed each time I visit the CG in DC and Providence RI. So, after the wine tasting last night, I decided to skip Prie Rib and make the resos, 6 ppl at 7pm, for Capital Grille. Start to finish, absolutely great. From the smile of the hostess, to the attention of the waiter,to the wine list, to every dish placed before us ( except the amuse bouche) it was spot on.

I'm resigning my membership to the "chains suck" club.

[Marlene]

We love the one in Ft. Lauderdale.

[rockhopper]

They are in the process of finishing the building of a Capital Grille in front of (or on the side of depending on where you're looking ) the Cherry Hill Maul. Near the new Nordstroms. I was wondering what it was about.

Mind giving us details on your meal that you liked so much?

[brescd01]

I went to Capital Grill last night with my wife (who else?), and we enjoyed it, primarily because of the service. For example, when we walked in, as usual, they had no seating, but after a moment they rushed after us to tell us they could seat us due to a cancellation. Then I ordered a "Dark and Stormy" cocktail (not on their menu) and the waitress said they did not have ginger beer, I ordered something else, then a moment later she appeared with the Dark And Stormy, saying someone had "run across the street and bought ginger beer." Then when I ordered my sword fish, she made an extra trip to make sure of how I wanted my sword fish cooked (it came out just the way I wanted it). I even ordered a special preparation (blackened) which was how they served it, though I am not sure the actual execution was anything special. Our desert was just okay (the ice cream sandwich) because the cookies were nothing special. And the Caesar salad I ordered as an appetizer was really mediocre, and when I complained, off the bill it went. The person who led us to our tables even picked our napkins based on the color of our outfits so that we would not be troubled by lint.

My general feeling was if anyone displeased us, their children would be killed as an example to the others. The vibe I got was one of ferocious competitiveness, "we are on top and we will stay that way." Capital Grill has consistently received excellent reviews in Philly but it faces competition from dowagers Ruth Chris, Morton's, and Smith and Wollensky, hopefuls like Prime rib, the Palm and Del Frisco's, and razor shop establishments like Butcher and Singer and Barclay Grill.

I even thought the decor was nicer than I remembered it (I think I was last there for lunch in 2001). I once had dinner in the Minneapolis Capital Grill and though it was one dinner, I don't remember this razor sharp attention to detail, and in fact, I did not enjoy it.

This is just personal taste, but I would LUV to come to the bar (as opposed to the restaurant) more often, but it is too damn crowded, there is never any seating there, and I mean never.

So yeah, I guess chains do not always suck. $95/person with everything including valet, coat check, etc.

Edited October 16, 2009 by brescd01 (log)