The Capital Grille - Washington, D.C.

The Capital Grille

The entrance has this cool lion statue

 Centrally located near the Smithsonian museums, The Capital Grille is a great place to eat in Washington, D.C. In fact, its Pennsylvania Avenue address gives customers a birds eye view of U.S. Capitol and the Newseum (which I highly recommend). 

The restaurant is renown for being a fantastic steakhouse.  This was apparent when the first thing we saw walking into the restaurant was a refrigerated glass room that stores the aged beef.  

There were deer and buffalo heads sticking out of some
 of the walls. HOW COOL IS THAT!?

Aged beef storage room 

The first thing served to us was a complimentary basket of assorted breads with butter creatively placed on a small dish.

 My brother ordered the Grille's Cheeseburger -  a blend of chopped sirloin, smoked bacon and sweet onion with garlic fries. Normally burgers aren't presented in such a fashionable way- with condiments each in its own dish, and the garlic fries arranged in a raised basket wrapped in wax paper. The presentation really had a "wow" factor when they served it.  The large portion burger was made of tender, juicy flavorful meat topped with melted provolone cheese that gave the burger a little kick. My brother was in burger heaven.

My parents and I ordered the Dry Aged Sirloin with Roasted Peppers, Fresh Mozzarella and Arugula Salad. In all honesty, it was the best salad I had ever ate. My parents loved it too.  The sirloin steak was cooked just right and neatly chopped up into four pieces paired with a sliced hard boiled egg and avocado and drizzled with a slightly sweet champagne vinegar dressing.  All of these different textures and tastes made one scrumptious and mouth-watering salad.

In general, steakhouses are usually known for being fancy and expensive, not necessarily where you would take a family for a casual lunch. Although the Capital Grille was more on the fancy side than say Hard Rock Cafe around the corner, it wasn't so fancy that my brother and I felt uncomfortable. In fact, it was a very nice relaxing atmosphere after sightseeing in D.C. Plus you'll probably be surprised to learn that the cost of a burger at Hard Rock and Capital Grille is similar.

-Charles