Capital Grille for the Generous Pour, A Capital Idea

The Capital Grille

3333 Bristol St.

Costa Mesa, CA 92626

It's that time of year again for The Generous Pour at Capital Grille. For those of you that know me, I'm not really a big wine guy, but I do seem to attract a good number of wine lovers, and most of them look forward to this event every year. Me? I just look forward to any opportunity to visit Capital Grille.

The Capital Grille is an upscale chain of steak restaurants, and we are lucky enough to have one in OC at South Coast Plaza. There are 55 other locations, but unfortunately, no others populate California. We'll have to work on that.

It has been quite a while since we had been here. In fact, I looked it up; it was Katie's birthday three years ago, the last time we visited. You can read that review here. If you don't want to read it now, I'll tell you that the highlights for us on that night were the Kona Crusted Sirloin, Creme Brulee, and the Lobster Mac and Cheese, which I still dream about three years later. Needless to say, that birthday dinner was a total hit.

When the summer months roll in, Capital Grille becomes a mecca for wine lovers, as their extraordinary Generous Pour Event takes place eight weeks during these warm months. Every year, Master Sommelier George Miliotes picks the wines for this event. He always comes up with a theme, and this year's theme is Rebels, Rule Breakers, and Game Changers. The seven wines he has picked this year are made by winemakers that have taken risks, whether it be growing a specific type of grape in a particular region that had not been done before or being the first to think outside the box while making their wine, these are true pioneers, and are showcased during this great event at Capital Grille.

So what exactly is the Generous Pour, you ask? Well, when you get any dinner entree, you can get seven tastes of wine for $28, and like the name suggests, these are not just tastes. They are generous tastes. Not partial to white wines, they will even allow you to just have seven tastes of the reds. So when you consider that a glass of wine here costs close to $20 in most cases, why wouldn't you pretty much take advantage of unlimited wine?

I will not dissect each of the wines I tried on this evening because my wine palette is not very refined. Still, from listening to my friends at this event, they went crazy for the  Stags' Leap Cabernet Sauvignon and the Beaulieu Vineyard's Tapestry Cabernet Blend. The Stags' Leap is usually only available at their tasting room but offered at Capital Grille during these eight weeks. The decision to use French oak barrels in their winemaking lead to Beaulieu Vineyard creating the first Bordeaux blend in Napa Valley. Both are definitely worth a try.

I know a little more about food, and we were treated to a good amount of tray-passed appetizers during this Generous Pour Kickoff Event. We were provided with tastes of their Tuna Tartare and Lobster and Crab Cakes, both deliciously fresh, and proved that Capital Grille knows how to do seafood and beef. The Mini Tenderloin Sliders were my second favorite thing that we ate this evening. After my fourth one, I felt I had to slow down to avoid drawing attention. The beef was tender, and the mushroom duxelles that came with these were excellent. We also had bacon-wrapped scallops, which were a crowd favorite.

The Chef at this Costa Mesa location of Capital Grille is the very talented Chris Hutten, who we've had the great pleasure of meeting before when he worked at Fleming's at Fashion Island. Fleming's loss is definitely Capital Grille's gain. Chef Chris is not only a great guy but a heck of a chef, and these Lollipop Lamb Chops confirmed it yet again. Cooked to a perfect medium rare, these had everyone singing their praises, and it will be hard for me to resist the next time I eat at the bar here.

I left Capital Grille already thinking about my next visit, which will definitely be during the Generous Pour event, which goes through September 4th. A great way to get through these dog days of summer is by having a great meal and some wonderful wines.

For more information about the Generous Pour or anything related to Capital Grille, head to their website here: http://www.thecapitalgrille.com/home