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The Needle: December 2010
Reviewed By Kate Nerenberg
Comments () | Published December 20, 2010
100 Best Restaurants 2013 100 Best Restaurants (2010)

Charlie Palmer Steak
Address: 101 Constitution Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20001
Phone: 202-547-8100
Neighborhood: Capitol Hill
Cuisines: Steaks, Modern, American
Opening Hours: Open Monday through Friday 11:30 AM to 2:30 PM and 5:30 to 10 PM, and Saturday 5 to 10:30 PM. Closed Sunday.
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Nearby Metro Stops: Union Station, Archives-Navy Memorial
Price Range: Very expensive
Noise Level: Intimate
Reservations: Recommended
Best Dishes Foie gras; Kona kampachi; head-on prawns; rack of lamb; porterhouse for two; Alaskan halibut with crab-and-asparagus risotto; side dishes of Parmesan gnocchi and potato purée; a tasting of six sorbets and frozen custards; a trio of crèmes brûlées.
Price Details: Lunch appetizers, $11 to $21; entrees, $13 to $41. Dinner appetizers, $8 to $58; entrees, $23 to $68.
Special Features:
Wheelchair Accessible, Valet Parking Available
Dining at a celebrity-chef steakhouse usually means taking in lots of calories—and shelling out lots of cash. A recent dinner at this Capitol Hill dining room didn’t offer enough bang for the buck. Robotic service delivered a seared piece of stringy foie gras, ricotta tortelloni drowning in butter, and creamed spinach devoid of flavor. The best dish was a side of thin, crispy fries with a chipotle aïoli for dunking. Dessert—a trio of crèmes brûlées, a chocolate/peanut-butter terrine—was surprisingly good, but it wasn’t sweet enough to make it a memorable dinner.
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Posted at 12:00 AM/ET, 12/20/2010 RSS | Print | Permalink | Washingtonian.com Restaurant Reviews