Charlie Palmer Steak, Washington DC

Located in the United Brotherhood of Carpenters headquarters off the wide, open expanse of the National Mall, Charlie Palmer Steak DC is dedicated to another fine master craft: big, bold American food. Under the direction of Executive Chef Matt Hill, the menu stars the best American artisan beef cuts like an aged Angus Rib-eye “Cowboy” steak as well as updated seafood classics such as the Iced Shellfish Platter of lobster, shrimp, king crab, and oysters. Underscoring the patriotic menu, Palmer’s innovative wine cube—which appears to be floating on water— features 3500 bottles of exclusively American wine, only a sampling of the 10,000 bottles on premise.

Hospitality Entrepreneur and Chef Charlie Palmer has received critical acclaim for his signature “Progressive American” cooking, a style built on rambunctious, intense flavors and unexpected combinations with an infusion of classical French cuisine. In 1988, he made a landmark commitment to creating dishes featuring regional American ingredients at his sublime Aureole, located in a brownstone off Manhattan’s Madison Avenue, and over the years has established an impressive roster of restaurants across the country, from New York and Washington, D.C. to Las Vegas, Reno and Sonoma. A frequent guest on NBC’s Today Show, Palmer is also the author of four cookbooks, Great American Food (Random House/1996), Charlie Palmer’s Casual Cooking (Harper Collins/2001), The Art of Aureole, (Ten Speed Press/2002), and Charlie Palmer’s Practical Guide to the New American Kitchen (Melcher Media/2006).

North Carolina native and CIA graduate, Chef Matt Hill has spent a good part of the last decade working with famed chef Charlie Palmer. Most recently he opened, as Executive Chef, Charlie Palmer’s third eponymous steakhouse and his seafood restaurant, Fin Fish in Reno, Nevada. After spending the past year leading the successful opening of the Reno properties, Hill has been tapped to head the kitchen at Palmer’s power dining Washington DC Steakhouse. The position is a homecoming for Hill, as he was a member of the opening kitchen team.

“We’re right there on Capitol Hill and there’s serious business going on,” says the chef. “The kitchen has a personal responsibility to the make it all work smoothly.” That’s only one reason Hill, who also worked at Aureole in New York, feels a rapport with Palmer. “He is down-to-earth, personable and really understands hospitality.” 

Sommelier Nadine Brown, named a “Rising Star” by Star Chefs and Executive Chef Matt Hill

Bringing that philosophy to the menu, Hill strives to balance classic with innovative steak house fare. Shrimp cocktail becomes Hawaiian fresh water prawns and chorizo, the cheese plate is strictly American farmstead selections, and burgers are sandwiched into Parker House rolls, partnered by Hill’s own pickles. The ingredient conscious chef seeks out small production beef from Painted Hills, serves local rabbit with morels and peas and Shenandoah lamb with preserved cherries. “I’m even imagining different styles of surf and turf,” says Hill. “Like scallops, short ribs and grilled bone marrow.”

“Matt is the prefect chef for this job because he has an imaginative style of re-interpreting dishes,” says Palmer. “But he still understands the importance of steakhouse tradition, and he’ll get the job done right.”