There is nothing better than an evening out with your child once the child is a grown up and can pay for said evening. My son gave me a gift certificate to Del Frisco’s in Philadelphia. I love it. He’s employed, a home owner, and single (just saying). He’s also funny and kind. That’s sort of a bonus.
Anyway, I made reservations on a Monday night after looking at the website. The interior of the restaurant is a former bank. Sky high ceilings and a real bank vault are highlighted in the pictures as is the three story wine case. Seven O’clock seemed to be a very “city” time for dinner, so I went with that.
Del Frisco’s earned a solid 90% from me. Let me tell you the pluses. The building, while it looks amazing in the pictures, is jawdroppingly gorgeous in person. A must see for sure. The original ceiling with the designs and rosettes is pristine. The columns are original as well. Decorated in rich reds sets off the warm wood and cool marble of the room creating a very rich and subdued atmosphere. It was a little loud and chilly as you would expect of a large open, marble room. Bring a sweater. Once seated, our servers were pleasant, knowledgeable and fun to talk to about the food and architecture.
The signature drink, the VIP, is fantastic. Clementine vodka and pineapple cured together for a refreshing cocktail with a real orange twist! You are hard pressed to find a bartender who knows what a “twist” is anymore. For those of you who don’t know, it is a sliver of citrus peel (orange, lemon, lime) , just the colorful part, twisted to release the oils into your drink and nested on the edge of your glass.
For an appetizer, we shared the calamari. Neither of us wanted to be too full for dinner. It was done perfectly with a sweet Thai chili taste and peanuts. No rubberband-like squid here. But as I said, I have to be very moderate because I had been looking forward to my steak all day.
And I was not disappointed. My filet was perfect with a pepper crust and exactly medium doneness.
Mushrooms and onions made a perfect combination with the peppery steak. They had a wonderful garlic tone to them without being overcome by it.
Asparagus was our other choice of side dish (served family style for sharing). Healthy stalks with sliced almonds…not too bad but I do prefer that white ends taken off the vegetable before serving.
It was the sort of meal that you were sorry to see end. It was THAT delicious. To finish up, I had a crepe brûlée. It passed muster nicely with a light sugar crust on a smooth custard served with red raspberries and a lighter than air lemon cookie.
Excellent service and an excellent meal. So why the points off? Why not 100%? Well, being an older American there are some ambulatory issues that I face. The valet service was nice but pricy. It isn’t in front of the restaurant but on the 15th St side. So it was a hike around the corner of the building and over the homeless to the restaurant. But I accept this as part of being in the city. Once inside the lobby area, there is no place to sit and catch your breath while you wait for for hostess. I sat on the stairs in the coat room until our hostess was back and ready to seat us. There is an elevator but it appears to be only for wheelchairs, luckily the steps are low and wide. It was not a hard climb.
On exiting, the doorman was a homeless person with a quart sized deli container that he jingled for tips. The valet went for the car right away as we waited with others. There is no place to sit and no shelter. Luckily, it was not raining but the wait is substantial. I sort of felt bad for the blonde in the four inch heels and short dress. She even asked how far away they had to park. My feet hurt looking at her. If it had been a rainy night, her outfit would be decimated. Again, you can’t even wait in the lobby because there are no seats.
A couple of chairs, inside and out, and maybe a pop up tent (all of which could be taken down at the end of the night), would have been appreciated and boosted the score to 100 with no problem.
On the way home, my son and I enjoyed the sights and sounds of the city. Noticing many young ladies out for a girl’s night, my son decided he needs to spend more time in Center City after work hours. We went past tent city to see what the protest du jour was. It was the ICE issue. And we watched the skyline fade very slowly from sight as we inched along in the one open lane of 95 northbound through the construction that will never end.
One great evening…who imagined that the little boy would one day be such a good son.