The Capital Grille - Fancy Shmancy
Although delayed, as a food blog we would be remiss if we didn't mention Boston's twice yearly Restaurant Week. For penny pinching, simply-pleased twenty-somethings with relatively unsophisticated palettes, Restaurant Week is one of Phait's favorite times of year. This year, I managed to hit up two Back Bay locales as part of the city's week-long celebration of high-end food at low-brow prices.With my wonderful colleagues, I went to freshly-opened The Capital Grille on Boylston Street in Boston during Restaurant Week. While the food was great (more to come), the venue was what I really enjoyed.Firstly, The Capital Grille is in a great location. On the corner of Dalton St. and Boylston St., it's in the heart of Back Bay. It's next door to the Prudential Tower, within walking distance of several T stops, and with outdoor seating that provides patrons with excellent people-watching opportunities. This prime real estate makes me inclined to give it a A+. But alas, there are other things to consider. Like the food.
As I said, I went for Restaurant Week, with my coworkers during lunch. My first thought when I walked in was, "Wow, this restaurant is super important and fancy." I have to say, I kind of dig the vibe at The Capital Grille. It eschews the aesthetics of most newly-opened restaurants in Boston (which typically go for either modern minimalist or quirky, bright, and fun). Instead, it seems as though they want patrons to walk away thinking one thing: "Wow. That restaurant is for rich people." It's kind of like a museum meets dining meets your rich step-uncle's office that you have to walk by on your way to tour his wine cellar. Like I said though, I didn't hate it.The menu was understandably limited, given that it was lunchtime and we were seeking Restaurant Week prices. I went with the burger, and it was actually pretty good. It came with a chic basket of fries, similar in a lot of ways to the lot more accessible and down-to-earth Fat Cats - lots of garlic and parmesan, plenty of truffle oil, and overall pretty good.
The burger itself was fine. I enjoyed it. I ate it. My stomach did not rebel after I ate it. I would say it was most definitely above average on the "shitty to stellar" scale. I will say that it was a beautiful-looking burger, but yet again, I felt like it was a burger built primarily on restaurant-industry buzz words: artisan bun, heirloom tomatoes, aged cheddar...they didn't actually use those words on the menu, but that was what I felt like the burger was telling me anyway.
Best part about the meal? The plate! The plate for this burger had three holes along the rim, and a different delicious sauces was held in each of them. So cool! This could definitely be something that has existed for eons and I somehow just missed the boat, or it could be revolutionary in the world of dinnerware - no clue. All I know is that I googled every combination of words I could think of and I couldn't find one of these plates. So if you know where it is, let me know so I can buy 1,000 of them.
So what should you take away from this? The Capital Grille truly is a beautiful restaurant, and they did a great job with their Restaurant Week menu. If you're trying to impress someone and make them think that you're a classy, rich, aristocratic New Englander, it's the perfect place to go.The Capital Grille(617) 262-8900900 Boylston StreetBoston, MA 02115