This hole-in-the-wall noodle lover has had an interesting and unusual opportunity to eat at three steakhouses this summer. For those yet to partake in steak at an upscale establishment, you’re usually paying for higher quality meats, fine quality service, and typically big portions. I like to call it fine dining Flintstones-style.
While two of my experiences were local, one was completely across the country, at a semi-private dining experience for my dad’s 90th birthday. If judging strictly based on the wow factor of the beef, my Bone-In Aged Prime Rib-Eye Steak at Abe & Louie’s in Boca Raton (there’s another in Boston) was the winner. This 24-ounce cut was full of flavor, fat melting into muscle meat into my mouth.
This is not to say that my local steaks were bad. At Daniel’s Broiler, a local mini-chain, I enjoyed Beef Wellington, coated with pâté and cooked in puff pastry. Slicing it revealed a perfectly cooked, pink-in-the-middle tenderloin. The Beef Wellington is on Daniel’s private dining.
For Seattleites, the most accessible of the three steaks, therefore, is at The Capital Grille. This national chain dry-ages its beef locally, in a little “locker-room” below the restaurant. My partner and I had a recent opportunity to dine there, and in a bit of a role reversal, she ordered the Bone-In Kona Crusted Dry Aged Sirloin, leaving me to try the Filet Mignon. The Filet was tender, but bone-in is the way to go, the coffee contributing its depth of earthy flavor and some shallot butter sauce adding to the richness.
If these photos have raised the steaks for your desire to cave into carnivorous ways, you might want to take advantage of Capital Grille’s “Generous Pour” event, running through September 2. For $25, you can sample nine wines specially chosen by Capital Grille’s master sommelier, taking you from an aperitif to a dessert pairing. While sadly there aren’t any Washington state (or even Oregon) wines represented, this is an excellent opportunity to learn about a variety of intriguing wines and how they pair with your steaks—and starters, salads, and sweets.
