Bruce Barton once said, “When you are through changing, you
are through.” Downtown Rapid City is far
from through, as it has shown the ability to make great changes over the last
decade. And I mean great as in great for
the city itself. The evolution to a
cultural and upscale small city with an impressive downtown has been so much to
fun to watch. This has been led by
city-wide efforts such as Main Street Square, but it has also been due to the work
of individual proprietors, like Benjamin Klinkel, chef and owner of
two important Rapid restaurants: Tally’s
Silver Spoon and Delmonico Grill.
Chef Benjamin started with Tally’s Silver Spoon, remaking it
into an upscale, modern “diner” with great food, wine, and events.
(Read about Tally’s
here.)
Then Ben purchased Delmonico Grill from
another talented Black Hills chef—Pete Franklin (read about Pete’s latest
venture
here).
Initially, Ben left Delmonico
much like it was, both in its interior and its menu.
Though minor changes had been made with the
change in ownership, I still considered Delmonico the best steakhouse in
Rapid.
I loved its location and wine
list.
I ate there for both lunch and
supper, depending on the occasion.
It
was a favorite of mine and my family’s.
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| Delmonico Grill--helping Rapid City continue to evolve. |
Imagine my delight, then, when I heard Chef Benjamin was temporarily
closing down Delmonico to gut the building, rework the kitchen, open up the bar
area, and modernize the décor. Any
sadness I may have felt over the short-term closure of the establishment was
quickly diminished when I thought of the wonderful, new environment Ben and his
mother Barb (self-proclaimed interior decorator of the project) were
creating. I was not a bit disappointed!
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| New and improved interior of Delmonico. |
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| The ambiance was improved even more with live music. |
To say Delmonico Grill’s new interior was impressive was an
understatement. Sleek, modern, and dramatic
decorations were in place of the former art décor-inspired sconces and pictures
on the walls. The lighting was hip
industrial. The new art on the wall was
creative and unique—a cow’s head and bone art installation covered one wall
with a cow’s hide seating area below. Super. Super.
Cool.
 |
| Super, super cool artwork installation and seating area. |
At the end of the long room was a visible and sizable
bar. The center of the
space housed one-of-a-kind round tables perfect for larger groups. Serving stations were hidden in between these
distinctive tables, making service to the entire restaurant easy. The whole environment was edgy yet
comfortable, classy yet quaint. As we
sat down, we noticed many customers dressed up; not over dressed, just looking
nice for an excellent meal and night on the town. The instant we stepped inside, I loved the
ambiance Ben and Barb had created.
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| Center row of round tables with hidden service stations. |
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| Industrial lighting. |
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| Wine storage across from the bar area. |
 |
Newly updated kitchen.
|
As for the menu, some of my favorites still made their
appearances, like the Kona-encrusted ribeye…my mouth is watering just thinking
of it. The amazing French onion soup was
the same, as was the excellent wine list.
Added to these entrees were other rotating options. I had the squid ink risotto; however, it was
a hard choice from the many other tasty delights available, including seafood
and lamb. When time for dessert came, we
purposely didn’t finish the large ribeye so we could have the house classic--crème
brulee, and we were again not a bit disappointed.
 |
| Delicious Kona-encrusted ribeye with seasoned butter and grilled vegetables. |
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| Unique entrée of squid ink risotto and scallops. |
One aspect of Delmonico that did not change was the excellent
service. Ben’s mom Barb met us at the
door. No one realized I was there to
blog about the experience—I hadn’t contacted anyone before hand—so I can truly say
we received wonderful, friendly treatment just because that is what Delmonico’s
staff is all about. Barb had a friendly
conversation with us when I inquired about the decorating inspiration. (Ben worked with an architect on the floor
plan he had in mind, and Barb got to have her way with the rest of the interior—though
Ben may have a different story!) Our
server was amicable and capable. Our salads
and wine came according to perfect timing. The entrees were flawless, and the dessert
ended an excellent experience.
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| More of our perfectly timed and served courses: salad, wine, and dessert. |
Downtown Rapid City has changed—definitely for the better—over
the last decade. The city itself has
been the instigator of some of that change; however, individual business owners
like Chef Benjamin Klinkel have also led the charge to evolve Rapid into a
small city worth visiting. It is filled
with cultural activities, great food, and cool establishments. The updated Delmonico Grill is yet another example
of the new environment of Rapid; the upscale and modern setting prove that Rapid
is not through changing yet! I look
forward to witnessing the continued evolution.
