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| - Sundays in uptown Charlotte during non-football season are just slightly more lively than a ghost town. As such, most of the better restaurants are closed, which is not exactly the most auspicious start to an evening out (in this particular case, Alton Brown's "Eat Your Science" tour stop at the Blumenthal). We settled on Capital Grille after finding our first few choices were not open, as I figured that they wouldn't be very busy and the meal should be pretty good.
Well, I was half right. They weren't very busy.
The specials tonight were a South African lobster tail ($45) and a bone-in filet mignon ($64). We ordered one of each, plus a mozzarella and tomato salad and a cup of lobster bisque for appetizers and sides of their lobster mac and cheese and asparagus. Also ordered a pineapple-infused vodka martini for the lady and a bottle of the La Giaretta ripasso-style valpolicella (a decent value at $55).
The martini was decent, the wine was very good. Then the food started arriving. The tomatoes in the mozzarella salad tasted like nothing, certainly not like the vine-ripened tomatoes described on the menu. A little sprinkle of salt, and they tasted like...well, salt. The fresh mozzarella was rubbery and crumbling, which is a time/temperature control issue. The lobster bisque was very tasty, but marred by at least two pieces of shell, one of which I felt in my throat when I swallowed it.
Main courses weren't an improvement. The lobster tail was okay, but nothing like the delicate flavor of cold water lobster. To their credit, the lobster was cooked properly, but definitely not worthy of the price tag. The filet...wow, what a disappointment. Ordered medium rare, and part of the steak WAS medium rare, but not most of it. The steak was fairly charred, and the first couple of centimeters on the side away from the bone were very well done. The next part was a beautiful medium-rare, which became progressively more rare as the meat approached the bone. I like rare beef so this wasn't a huge issue for me other than the fact that it wasn't how it was ordered. The bigger issue was the lack of flavor. "Brushed with steak butter" was how the dish was described, but there wasn't even a hint of butter flavor. The price of a filet is due to its incredible texture but the cut isn't the most flavorful, which is why filets are usually paired with a sauce. This steak really needed something more.
Sides: The lobster mac was very good, but a pretty meager portion for its $18 price tag. The asparagus ($11) was overcooked to the point that it was mushy. Because we were short on time due to our event at the Blumenthal, this was the only item I sent back. The replacement sent out by the kitchen was much better.
Once our waiter was told (he never inquired) that the meal was part of a birthday celebration (mine), he picked up our dessert menus and brought out a complimentary creme brulee along with two glasses of champagne. I'll admit, the creme brulee was as good as I've had in quite a while (excluding those made by yours truly). Excellent crust with the custard underneath still cool and creamy...no sweet scrambled eggs like seems to be the norm at John Dressler's restaurants.
The service was okay. Our waiter's wine presentation was a little off, and he managed to spill a bit while pouring. The worst part was his incredible overuse of the word "perfect" at every table interaction, especially when so much of the meal was anything but.
The name may be Capital Grille, but my experience was decidedly lowercase. Two stars for an incredibly forgettable yet pricey dining experience. I debated giving a single star, but I'll reserve that for my review of Alton Brown's performance.
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