Peachy's Picks Washington DC: Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steakhouse Our Coverage Sponsored by Fresh Origins
Chris Farber, Star of the Show at Del Frisco's in Washington!
(wait until he tells you about the scotch menu...)
Chris goes down in Whom You Know history as the only person that we have worked with for the same restaurant in two cities!
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Peachy Deegan has always liked steak. As you avid readers know, she spent her childhood at the Hartford Civic Center happily studying hockey, and often before games her dad and her would go to the steakhouse in the Civic Center and she always ordered Steak Teriyaki and a Shirley Temple. Subconsciously she also has been studying steak for quite awhile.
Fast forward a few years...at Whom You Know we are known for researching a restaurant in great detail, wanting to know every little special aspect about it that is unique and sets it apart, and in 99.999% of the cases we work with the owner directly only (Del Frisco's is a publicly traded company, so that would be impossible here and the only exception we'd make), and the owner puts great care into his or her business and takes tremendous pride in his or her work. Believe it or not, the more we know and learn the harder this is to find!
Del Frisco's remains the only restaurant chain we have ever featured on a consistent basis.
Why?
Because their people set them apart.
That is the only way a national chain could possibly compete with the best of the best that we've found in independent restaurants.
Del Frisco's was first featured in April, 2011 when it earned a feature in Peachy's Picks:
http://www.whomyouknow.com/2011/04/peachy-picks-del-friscos.html#.VONwUfnF_9s
http://www.whomyouknow.com/2011/04/peachy-picks-del-friscos.html#.VONwUfnF_9s
Peachy Deegan, Manager Chris Farber of Del Frisco's, Mover and Shaker Charles Ferri, Founder and CEO of Star Vodka, and Frank Torres, Assistant Manager of Del Frisco's
We liked Del Frisco's in New York so much that we had our cocktail, The Peachy Deegan (made only with Star Vodka) there. We originally met Chris Farber at the first review in New York, he was there at our Star Vodka Memorial Day Peachy Deegan cocktail celebration, and because this is a smart national chain, they promote from within and take their good people to new locations so the new location will thrive. And, don't worry about New York, it is in excellent hands with Scott Gould who does Boston and Washington too (he can do it all!).
So, we were excited to see what Del Frisco's could do in Washington because it had such a strong history before our visit!
You also know that last spring, she studied hockey at Del Frisco's in New York...
When we arrived at Del Frisco's in Washington, Chris greeted us promptly and sat us at a beautiful second floor corner table that was quiet, secluded and had a delightful view. The freshly baked bread is served piping hot with quality butter.
We were greeted with fresh, crisp white wine to go with our appetizer and remembered how amazing the sommeliers are in New York at Del Frisco's-Jessica and Faith. We think of them every time we order wine at any restaurant because they've had the most intelligent and thoughtful restaurants of ANY restaurant we've ever reviewed, let alone steakhouses.
The service at Del Frisco's is professional and friendly, and though we like to see old faces that we know and love the most, we also like to make new friends all the time. Sous Chef Daniel Morton greeted us with a smile and appetizers, and you should know he comes from the Del Frisco's in Boston (on our list next time we review up there...not soon if you have heard of the snow they've got!). Again, this brand promotes the best from within we see because Daniel's work was excellent.
Del Frisco's suggested we try their phenomenal crabcake, and it was just as terrific as the other times we've had it. Consistency can be a hard thing to nail for restaurants in one city, never mind in multiple places. The cajun lobster sauce kicks it up a notch without overpowering the fresh, succulent crab.
The shrimp remoulade was classically elegant, fresh and overall wonderful and it was what Peachy chose for an appetizer. They were just as we expected! The starters on the whole are tremendously attractive, however, you don't want to overburden your stomach before the steak arrives. Our panelist selected the tuna tartare:
It had a lovely presentation and was a convincing choice.
The steak at Del Frisco's is of course superlative, and its thick juicy quality beef is pure delight! Please meet the Prime Porterhouse and the Bone-In Prime Ribeye. The flavor of each was further enhanced by proprietary seasoning and if you like steak and are in Washington, visiting Chris Farber's house is a must. They are grilled to perfection and you will be thrilled with every bite. We like to see our food always and were happy to sit in a spot with good light, however know that once we were at their Grille and they cut the steak open in front of us and also used a flashlight so we could see if it was exactly to our liking; it was.
Some restaurants excel at only what they are known for, but Del Frisco's cares about every last detail down to the diameter of the fresh asparagus. We have tried nearly ever side by now, and this time we ordered:
Fresh Sauteed Spinach
Sauteed Wild Mushrooms
Chateau Mashed Potatoes
The fresh and healthy nature of the spinach and mushrooms was nicely balanced out by one of our favorite sides ever-potatoes! A scoop of each compliments your steak nicely and you will be happy with whatever side selection you make.
With our steak, of course we had a red. Our panelist chose this knockout Robert Foley:
And because Peachy remembered Jessica's and Faith's advice, she chose the smashing Hess:
Save room for dessert because you'll want a bite of the Buttercake: Butter, Pecan Ice Cream, Fresh Whipped Cream and Caramel Sauce; and the Warm Banana Bread Pudding served with Caramel Sauce and Vanilla Ice Cream.
By this stage, as you can imagine we were about to burst. But then Chris told us about how much he had been working on his whiskey menu. He showed us the collection (see top picture) and once we saw the two-page menu: one page is American, Canadian and Irish Whiskey and the second is Scotch and Japanese Whiskey. Not too many places have this comprehensive a whiskey list, and in hindsight we might just have started with whiskey and kept it simple: whiskey and steak! Peachy Deegan was absolutely delighted to try the Highland Park 25 year which was really the home run of this whole experience. We did not know anything about Japanese Whiskey prior, and Peachy had been of the opinion that no other country could possibly compete with Ireland, Scotland and America in this discipline, however after trying the Hibiki 12-year, we stand corrected. The Japanese do quite a nice whiskey too! The hallmark of a really great review is you go away learning something you didn't know before...
Peachy Picks Del Frisco's in Washington, D.C.!
Del Frisco's in Washington, D.C. is Highly Recommended by Whom You Know.
