I decided to semi-splurge on my last real evening in Orlando. I'm not leaving until VERY early Wednesday morning but that would mean Tuesday dinner needs to be well before the sun sets. Hence Monday as the last full evening. I chose Capital Grille mainly because the first item listed on their web menu is "Wagyu Carpaccio". Carpaccio I'm there, Wagyu, I'm doubly there and cost is no issue. Well cost might be an issue since Capital Grille is listed as $$$$ on opentable.com. I enter an ask for a table for one - most restaurants don't seat just one and direct you to the bar instead - Capital Grille actually was fully booked until 9pm (almost my bedtime) so I took a bar seat.
I started with a glass of Emilio Moro Ribera del Duero with nice fleshy red fruit and graphite with a touch of pebble and a full palate and long finish. Istarted with The Grille Chop Salad which included haricot vert, fresh corn, toast point croutons and cherry tomatoes on chopped baby Romaine and a light vinaigrette.
The bread basket included sourdough, pumpernickel, sesame buns and lavosh.
For dinner, I selected the Wagyu Carpaccio and a side of Truffled Parmesan French Fries. Though the carpaccio probably wasn't real Wagyu (real Wagyu has major marbling even in the usual lean cuts like tenderloin and eye of round), it still was very good with a lot of baby Arugula and lemon juice and olive oil. The Truffled Fries... words can't describe the perfect marriage of perfectly fried thin cut potatoes, fresh grated Parmesan and truffle oil. I had a 2007 Hartford Court Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir which had a perfect blend of cola, fleshy dried red fruit and loads of spice with a full palate and seamless flow and a very long finish.
Of course, I usually pass on "real" dessert so I had one of the house special Martini's - a Sweet Basil Gin Rickey. Very cool since it included Bombay Sapphire Gin (one of my faves), fresh basil, simple syrup and fresh lime juice. It was almost like a gin based Mojito without mint and since it was a Rickey (a metaphorical tribute to Hall of Famer #24 for the A's), I thoroughly enjoyed it...
Oh Orlando, until we meet again...
Comments