Del Frisco’s Grille- Rock Solid in Rock Center

Midtowners, listen up: Del Frisco’s Grille is here to provide a solution to any dining conundrum, delivering high quality food in a lively atmosphere, at a pace that will not drain your soul even more than working in midtown. I am filing this place as a midtown no-brainer: Need to meet clients for lunch?  Need to have a drink with co-workers after work? Want to have a drink because of co-workers after work? Check, check, check…

Del Frisco’s Grille reminds me of the really popular places that I used to be taken to when I traveled for business outside of New York.  The menu appeals to eaters both sophisticated and not, and the space is attractive and classy, in a nondescript way.  Big bright windows put the hustle and bustle of Rock Center on full display, which gives energy to a space that is always quite busy.  I was most impressed by the service at DFG (come on, I spelled it out many times), not only the servers but especially the suited managers, who were very professional, friendly, and proficient.  It is refreshing to see people take pride in their job. Also, it is an unofficial goal of the staff to have you in and out in under an hour if you are in a rush for lunch.

So, in full transparency, we dined at DFG for a different type of “work” lunch, one where we were supposed to try as many items as possible.  Below, a run down of what we ate…

Cheesesteak egg rolls- Alright, this is a franken-food that we would normally not indulge in, but we couldn’t resist. The steak was flavorful, cheese sauce never hurt anyone, and the fried wonton wrapper makes it easy to eat. This is a good dish to order during cocktail time, to soak up some booze.  My one complaint is the sweet chili sauce, which may make sense for the Asian wonton wrapper, but doesn’t do much for the rest of the dish…

Crab cake- Meaty and devoid of unnecessary bread fillers, this is a fantastic appetizer, or possibly even a lunch entree, if supplemented by the spinach supreme, which I will get into later.

Deviled Eggs- These devils were quite large, and covered in a sauce that I thought tasted like mustard but was billed as truffle. These are a little more fussed with than the average deviled egg, but a crowd pleaser none the less.

Steakhouse salad- This is a man’s salad if I ever thought of one.  Gorgeous, pepper crusted grilled steak served over greens with blue cheese, tomatoes, eggs and bacon, it is a Cobb salad on steroids.

Sliced steak sandwich- exactly what you expect- rare roast beef thinly sliced, served on fresh bread with au jus and a horseradish sauce, simple, and satisfying.

I must now direct your attention to the Spinach Supreme, which is a wonder in itself. The thickest, most decadent creamed spinach I have come across, this bacon infused “vegetable” dish almost has the consistency of a spinach dip, and would be fantastic on a chip.  Or a spoon…

If you need more reason to check this place out the next time midtown calls, Del Frisco’s Grille recently added a hard root beer float, which which will satisfy your sweet tooth and your wooden leg all at once.  I guess that depends on whether you need to return to the office or not…