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

The Generous Pour Tasting Event

The Capital Grille

3333 Bristol St.

Costa Mesa, CA 92626

Recently Katie and I were graciously invited to a media/blogger event at Capital Grille in Costa Mesa. They were promoting their summer wine event and sampling some of their food to be paired with the wines. As an added bonus we were also treated to a speech by Master Sommelier George Miliotes.

The Generous Pour at Capital Grille is just that, generous. For $25 with dinner, you are invited to try as many of the nine wines featured in George Miliote's summertime collection as you would like. The list includes three white wines, three California Reds, two international reds, and one port. I am not too much of a wine guy, but even I know that this is a great deal.

Above are the three wines that stood out for us. Katie really enjoyed the Conte Brandolini, Vistorta Merlot, 2006. She felt that this Italian wine was rich with flavor, while still maintaining a refreshing tone. The second wine of note for us was the Byron Pinot Noir, 2009. This smooth wine from Santa Barbra had an underscore of fruit hidden within it, that made it less bitter to my novice wine tasting mouth. My favorite wine of the night was not a surprise to me, it was the port selection, RL Buller's, The Portly Gentleman. This port from down under was a perfect compliment to the chocolate truffles that you will see in a bit.

The wines were great, and the food was really good also. Here is a quick shot of the Miniature Lamb Lollipops. The flavor on these was very good, and there was no hint of gaminess. I could have eaten about ten of these real quick, but I was trying to be considerate of others. Maybe I am growing up a little? My Mom would be so proud!

Another station featured Sliced Kona Crusted Sirloin. This meat, cooked to medium rare perfection, almost melted in my mouth. I could not resist the urge to have three helpings of this. Red meat is the specialty of Capital Grille, and after trying this I can see why.

Katie's favorite portion of the food was the cheese plate and cold appetizers. The selection of cheeses were all really good, but the best cold appetizer was the Smoked Norwegian Salmon on Onion Pita Chips. This salmon was light and delicate, and disappeared quickly.

Here are the Truffles that went so perfectly with the port. These round balls of decadence were the perfect end to a very satisfying night at the Capital Grille.

As good as the food and wine were, the real treat of the evening for me was to be in the company of some the best bloggers and writers that this county has to offer. Starting off with our hostess's for the evening Anita Lau and Holly Wong. Thanks for the invite ladies, we look forward to many more food adventures with you. It was also a pleasure meeting and talking food with Dave Lieberman. He gave us some great tips that we will definitely go to in the future. I will also find a great place in Aliso Viejo for you Dave! It was also great meeting up with Michelle, who has so much knowledge about food trucks.

Lastly, a special thanks to the Capital Grille and Shannon Jones. The food and wine were wonderful. We have had the pleasure of meeting Master Sommelier George Miliotes once before at another event, and both meetings were a real treat. This man knows his wines, and his enthusiasm for them can even make a new wine drinker like myself, enthusiastic for the grape.

The Generous Pour is for a limited time only, so do not delay. For more information on the Generous Pour, click here: http://www.thecapitalgrille.com/videos/TheGenerousPour/main.asp