Del Frisco’s

From tapas to Italian to Low Country, then back to tapas, and, yes, even a steak house, these are the top new places to eat

Written by Jon Luther and Richard Thurmond
Photographs by Chris Edwards

 
Del Frisco's
4725 Piedmont Row Drive
704-552-5502

At Del Frisco’s, choose from the 1,650-selection wine list or head for the tasting cellar. (Chris Edwards)

Strolling into Del Frisco's is to be assaulted by sheer opulence. It's a striking space. Huge thirty-foot windows dominate one side, and a big staircase with a gorgeous forged balustrade with copper accents stars on the other side. Put it this way: If Tony Montana built a steak house, this would be it. It's an expensive and relatively small menu, with à la carte traditional steak house type of service, but the beef is superb. It's trucked in fresh—never frozen—and the cuts are hand carved off the loin to order. Especially ridiculous is the “double eagle” strip, a twenty-six-ounce bone-in strip cut  

Drink Up
The 1,650-selection, 20,000-plus-bottle wine list includes its own tasting cellar and four sommeliers.

Poker Face Challenge
When the check lands. Hope you made bonus this year, chief. (The porterhouse goes for $48.)

Where the Deals Go Down
An escalator leads down to the private wine room, which had to be blasted out of rock.

Who's There
Beautiful people at the bar, expense-account diners at the tables.