The Capital Grille

There are restaurants you visit and restaurants you return to. The Capital Grille is, after one quiet Sunday in Boston, very much the second kind.

The room is exactly what you want it to be: polished mahogany and oil portraits. We were seated near the back, given menus we hardly needed, and brought a small bowl of olives without being asked.

We started with a single chuleta of cured pork to set the mood, which set the tone — generous, unfussy, and confident enough not to crowd what was coming. With it we ordered a glass of port to finish, and then another, and were glad of both.

Then the main event: dry-aged sirloin, the dish that puts The Capital Grille on every short list. Cut through it and you found that deep, beefy, almost iron-tasting interior that only comes from time and dry air. The signature touch — the Stoli Doli at the bar — is not a gimmick; it is the reason to come.

For sides we asked for fried okra and a dab of remoulade and pommes Anna. Both arrived hot, both arrived early, both were exactly large enough to overdo it. We overdid it.

Dessert was key lime pie, mostly because the waiter raised an eyebrow when we hesitated. He was right to.

If you are passing through Boston, do not pass The Capital Grille by.