Capital Grille - Solid Steak in Nice Surroundings (Chicago Area Restaurant Review No. 94).

On a recent Sunday evening, Steve picked Lisa up from O'Hare after she had been away on a weekend family visit. It was somewhat late, so we decided to go to a nearby restaurant. We had already tried the McCormick & Schmick location at the new Inter-Continental hotel in Rosemont, and it had been pretty good, so we decided this time to try its sister steak restaurant, the most recent Capital Grille location. Capital Grille is known for its dry aged steaks, which is a type of aging that makes the meet juicier. Lisa had really liked her previous experience with dry aged beef, so we were looking forward to giving this restaurant a try.

The location is brand new, so it is all very spotless and fresh. Additionally, everyone was quite friendly, from the hostess to the knowledgeable server and even the manager.

We started with wine by the glass. Lisa had a glass of the Malbec, which she found a bit tart. Steve had the Bourdeaux, which sounded good, but which tasted very dense. For an appetizer, we shared the smoked salmon. We really liked this dish, as well as the rather unusual creme fraiche-type sauce which accompanied
it. The salmon was particularly fresh tasting.

Next, Steve had the wedge salad and Lisa had the lobster bisque. Lisa really loved the bisque, although the lobster was a bit fishy. Steve's wedge was just ok, particularly since the tomatoes were not very fresh.

Our rating for Capital Grille would have been higher, but the steak was not quite up to top levels. Since only the porterhouse and ribeye (not the filet) were dry-aged, both of us had the porterhouse. It was cooked a perfect medium rare, and Lisa thought it had just the right amount of charcoal flavoring (Steve thought not quite enough but he likes heavy charcoal), but both of us thought the filet side was excelleent while the sirloin side was not so good. it was quite tough and only tasted good right by the bone. We can't understand why they just don't offer a dry aged bone-in filet, which would no doubt be great.

It was late, and the desserts actually looked somewhat pedestrian, so believe it or not we passed.

The bathrooms were extremely clean and pleasant. The only problem was that the sink water was on the cool side.

All in all, we liked the dining experience, but given the mixed result on the actual steak, which is of course why people would go to a place like this, we can't put this in our top tier of steak restaurants.

Dinner for two, with wine by the glass and no dessert was $210, which is a bit high given the problem with the sirloin side of the porterhouse.

Our ratings for Capital Grille 5340 N. River Road, Rosemont

7 of 10 Steak Knives 2.5 of 3 Bathroom Brushes