Because every restaurant is more than just what’s on the plate.
Steakhouse | $$$ | 609 Main Street, Rapid City
Settling In
Delmonico Grill sits right on Main Street downtown, and walking in, the room does what a good steakhouse room should do, upscale but not out of place for a town this size. Chef Pete Franklin opened the place in 2007, building a name on great steaks in a room that ran a steady stream of muzak covers in the background. Pete eventually moved on, and handed the place off to Chef Benjamin Klinkel, and from the moment you sit down, you can tell somebody still cares about how this room feels.
Most nights, that’s where this column would start and stop. The room sets the tone, and the food either lives up to it or it doesn’t. Not this time. We walked out of Delmonico Grill talking about the food first and the room second, and that doesn’t happen very often.
The Little Stuff
We went early on a weeknight, when the room was still quiet. It stayed that way the whole time we were there. That’s probably down to how the room’s built, and it would likely hold up fine even on a busy Friday night.
Service was exceptional from the moment we sat down. Our server walked us through the menu without turning it into a sales pitch, and when I asked her to pick a wine for the steaks, she went with The Walking Fool, a Zinfandel and Petite Sirah blend. I’m working on becoming more of a wine guy, not very successfully yet, but she nailed this one. Bold enough to stand up to the beef without stepping on it. Pacing matched the service the whole night. Nobody rushed us, and nobody forgot about us either.
Delmonico also partners with InKind, an app that gets you credit toward your bill for signing up. Not something we usually cover here, but a nice perk to know about.
The Reason You’re There
We started with the Glazed Brussels Sprouts, crispy bacon, candied pecans, and an apple cider glaze. Perfectly prepared, sweet and salty in the right amounts. We didn’t finish the plate, but only because we knew how much more food was still on the way.
From there we both went with the 6 ounce sirloin, cooked medium, and I mean it when I say these might be some of the best steaks I’ve had in Rapid City. People throw around melt in your mouth a lot, but these two legitimately did that. I topped mine On Green Dolphin St. style, a poblano green sauce with onions and mushrooms, one of the toppings that’s been on the menu since the Franklin days. The poblano was a nice surprise, a muted spiciness that paired so well with the onions and the mushrooms. Victoria went with the Oscar, lump crab and asparagus under a béarnaise.
On the side we split the grilled asparagus, the Portabella Fries, breaded and fried portabella mushrooms with a house steak sauce, the bourbon sweet potato mash, and two grilled shrimp. Every side was good, nothing felt like filler.
Before the steaks we both had soup. I got the potato soup, and it came out almost like a chowder, thick and good all the way through. Victoria had the French Onion, another holdover from the early days, and hers came out with the cheese melted down the side of the bowl. That’s one of my favorite things a French Onion Soup can do, and Delmonico’s got it right.
What Sticks With You
Most of the time, a nice room can carry a so-so meal for a while before the food catches up. Delmonico Grill flips that around. The room is calm and well kept, exactly what you’d want walking into a steakhouse downtown. But it’s the food coming out of that kitchen that makes you notice the room at all. Two steaks cooked exactly right, a soup with the cheese exactly where it should be, a wine pick that actually fit the meal. That’s what made the experience feel special.
Victoria’s Taste
“Easily one of the best dining out experiences I have had in Rapid City. They know what they do and they do it well.”
Final Bite
We walked in expecting a nice room and a good steak. What we didn’t expect was food good enough to make us stop talking about the room altogether. Delmonico Grill lived up to its reputation tonight, and we’ll be back for more.
Taste the Room pays for every meal we review. We don’t accept comped food, and restaurants aren’t notified of our visit in advance. It’s how we keep our reviews honest and independent.
