Much like the PGA, the PSH moves geographically. But, unlike the PGA, the PSH moves East to West. The first stop on the tour was the Capital Grille located on Corner of Broad & Chestnut.
A long time staple in Washington, hence the name, the Capital Grille Philadelphia is a favorite haunt to many a faux Philadelphia power player, pseudo celebrity, and actual philanderer (who are sometime a combination of all three).
1. The Decor.
The decor of the Capital Grille is typical steakhouse: big leather chairs, dark wood, and old looking paintings. Its what you would expect and the Philadelphia location does it well.
The rating: Three of Five Steers.
2. The Bar.
The bar at Capital Grille is also what you would expect in a steakhouse. Long, tall, and leathery. However, Capital Grille Philadelphia bar is anything but conspicuous. It sits right on Broad Street and is sided with large windows where the voyeurs of Broad Street are free to peer inside. That is the also probably reason that its so popular with the pseudo-celeb crowd.
The Rabbit thought the bartender was not happy to see we brought wine and did not feel like it was a place to linger, probably because you feel like you are on the sidewalk.
The rating: Three of Five Steers.
3. The Scene.
The night of the review, the scene was anything but typical steakhouse-y. Rather, it was quite eclectic owing to the fact that we visited at the height of Restaurant Week. In addition to the heavy afterwork business crowd, we saw what appeared to be church groups and a Sorority. The later led to the rare request, at a steakhouse at least, for proof of age.
The rating: Three of Five Steers.
4. The Service.
Next to the steak, what defines the steakhouse is the service. At popular metropolitan steakhouses, it is not unheard off for waiters to make six figures in tips and be on a first name basis with regular customers. In fact, a popular ad for Smith & Wollensky once featured a waiter prominently.
Unfortunately, the service at the Capital Grille was mediocre. The expected steakhouse server banter and camaraderie was absent. However, I do not fully blame the server who was most likely at his wits end after a full week of Restaurant Week. (The Rabbit claims that the industry dreads it.) Therefore, we graded the service during our review on a curve.
The rating (on the curve): Two and a half Steers out of Five.
5. The Steak.
And now what we have been waiting for. They say in D.C. if you want a friend get a dog. But, if the steaks at the original Capital Grille are like the steaks in Philly, then if you want a steak in D.C. go to the Capital Grille.
The Strip was cooked to a warm pink center with just the right amount of char. The fat to meat ratio was appropriate and it had the right salty iron taste you expect in a good steak. Plus, overall it just looked good.
The rating: Four out of Five Steers.
Next month, we cross Broad Street and head South to Ruth's Chris.
