Captivating Night at the Capital Grille

The Capital Grille

3333 Bristol St.

Costa Mesa, CA 92626

Well, we are getting into that time of the year again. It starts in April with my Brother-in-Law's birthday and goes through mid-June, with my parent's anniversary and Father's Day. Every week during this time of the year, we have either someone's birthday to celebrate or a national holiday, like Mother's Day, Father's Day, Memorial Day, etc. This week it is Katie's turn to be pampered. I picked her up from work and headed out for a nice dinner. She wanted me to surprise her, so I knew exactly where I would take her. We headed straight for the Capital Grille.

Capital Grille has been at South Coast Plaza for nearly three years. They took over the upper half of the old Clubhouse restaurant. Their sister restaurant, Seasons 52, now occupies the bottom level of the space. We have only been to Capital Grille for a media event, but that event impressed me enough to put this restaurant on my list of places to try. Capital Grille is big back east and is trying to win customers' steakhouse dollars here. They operate in 24 states; the only other California location is in Los Angeles, at the Beverly Center. This OC location of Capital Grille helps complete what I like to call the Steak Pyramid. I came up with this because within a two-block radius, there are two other big power hitters in the world of steakhouses, Maestro's and Morton's. I have not blogged about dinner at either of these, but we will visit soon to see who reigns supreme on top of our steak pyramid.

I had made reservations for 6pm on a recent Wednesday night. The dining room at Capital Grille was filled with older customers, all in business attire. More of the same demographic was also located in the small bar area. There are wine lockers throughout the restaurant. This is a steakhouse, so dark colors and muted lighting are expected. They also feature large paintings of what our waiter called local OC people. I did not recognize the name of the old-time tennis star depicted in the painting near our table, though. I also forgot to write the name down, as I was going to do. We had food to consume, so let's see how everything turned out for us.

Starting things off was the bread basket that came to the table shortly after we sat. I can not remember getting a more diverse bread basket anywhere. This had four kinds of bread, including the naan-like creation. I liked the simple poppy seed/sesame roll the best. It was very fresh, and the soft butter that came with this spread over the warmed bread easily. It had a good crunch to the crust, and we could not help but ask for more of these.

Katie went her usual route when she started with the Fresh Mozzarella, Tomato, and Basil with 15-Year Aged Balsamic ($13). Capital Grille's version of a Caprese salad was really something special to Katie. They start with at least six different types of tomatoes here as the base. Then the big slices of tomato are added on top of that, with large basil leaves. This gives each bite a hit of the basil. The mozzarella is made every two hours in the kitchen at Capital Grille, so you know you are getting the freshest cheese around. Katie could really tell the difference between this mozzarella. Then the plate is drizzled with the fifteen-year-old balsamic and olive oil. Katie thought this was a very generous-sized salad, which could have easily fed two people. She liked the variety of tomatoes on this salad and would definitely get this salad again.

Since Katie was going with her usual salad choice, I decided that was a green light for me to do the same, so I ordered the Caesar Salad ($10). I had mixed feelings about this salad. On the positive side, the Parmesan cheese was plentiful and sound, while the croutons here were not overly crunchy and still had a good chew. This salad could have used a few more croutons, though. The lettuce could have been cut into smaller pieces, and the dressing could have been added more liberally. This salad was not awful, but nothing special either. I'd probably go with the spinach salad or the wedge on my next visit here.

Of course, we are in a steak restaurant, and the birthday girl orders fish. It's just as well, though, because she likes her steak well done, and in these kinds of restaurants, I always cringe when she orders it that way. This Parmesan Crusted Sole with Avocado and Crab Salad ($39) made the birthday girl as happy as any piece of over-cooked steak. She felt the fish was light and flaky, without the greasiness she had expected. The breading did make this dish a little richer than she had thought it would be. Almost overshadowing the fish was the avocado and crab salad. She loved how this simple salad was dressed, the fresh avocado hunks, and the succulent crab's sweetness. She loved this salad so much that she suggested they offer it on their regular menu. Glad this meal made Katie so happy.

I whittled my steak choices down to two, then asked the waiter for his opinion. He told me to go with the Bone-In Kona Crusted Dry Aged Sirloin with Shallot Butter ($46). I was thrilled with this steak. This is really a man's steak. I was a little worried that the coffee flavor would overpower me, but it was a nice compliment to the natural flavor of the beef. This steak was cooked to a perfect medium rare, as seen in the picture above. Even with the bone, this steak had enough meat to satisfy my big appetite. The shallot butter was a nice, not over-the-top complimentary sauce here.

As with almost all finer steakhouses, side items are not included with the entrees. Both Katie and I chose one side item to share. Her choice was the Lobster Mac and Cheese ($16). This is one of my favorite versions of this dish ever. This dish was predictably rich, but the richness did not overpower it. The noodles were cooked quite well, the crumb topping added some texture, and this had more enormous hunks of lobster than most of the other lobster macs I have had. This is a must-get side item when you are at Capital Grille. I really enjoy Creamed Spinach ($10), and this one here really impressed me. It's hard to get the consistency right with this side dish, but Capital Grille did it. The spinach was cooked well, and the extra creaminess could be attributed to adding a bechamel sauce. We were two for two with our choices for sides here.

I had casually mentioned that it was Katie's birthday to our waiter, and at the end of our meal, he brought out a Creme Brulee for us to share. This creme brulee had a very smooth texture with a very mild flavor. It was not overly sweet, like some brulee's can be. The berries resting on top of this dessert were very fresh, and I gave my share of these to the birthday girl. See, I can sometimes be giving.

We really enjoyed our visit to Capital Grille. The entrees and sides really shined here. It has been a long while since I have been to an actual steakhouse, and it was good to eat in one again. Due to the prices, I would classify this restaurant as a special occasion spot. One in which you come for birthdays, anniversaries, and when you get a raise at your job. Worth special mention is the service that we got on this night. Our waiter, Shaun, took great care of us and anticipated our every need. The management team was very hands-on, ensuring every table was taken care of. Bill came by to check on us twice, and on the third time to our table, he wished Katie a happy birthday. It is safe to say that the Capital Grille will now become part of our rotation for family celebrations.

Out of five doughnuts (because Capital Grille was founded in Providence, Rhode Island, and that city has the most doughnut shops per capita as any other city in the US), five being best to zero being worst, The Capital Grille gets 4 doughnuts.

For more information about The Capital Grille, click here: https://www.thecapitalgrille.com/