A Center City steakhouse is the unlikely home of a viral ‘Girl Dinner’ offering

Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse in Center City, with its large round tables, soaring ceilings, and big screens flashing sports games above the bar, regularly attracts many large groups of men.

And yet, the establishment has recently gone viral, mainly among women, thanks to a bar menu item entitled “Shucked, Fried, Tossed, and Stirred.” A video of 24-year-old Philly native and influencer Hannah Sparkevicius dubbing the $39 combination — which encompasses a cocktail, half a dozen oysters, truffle fries, and a small Caesar salad — “girl dinner” currently has over 100,000 views.

Sparkevicius posts regularly about beauty trends, going out to eat in Philly, and great deals. The Shucked, Fried, Tossed, and Stirred menu item fits the bill, standing out on a menu that otherwise features $20 cocktails and half a dozen oysters for $25. (The sampler debuted on the bar and lounge menus at all 15 Del Frisco’s Double Eagle locations last October.)

“Girl dinner” is a social media trend that took feeds by storm two years ago and it hasn’t waned since. Why? Because girl dinners have always existed. The trend simply put a name to casual, pulled-together meals that might not make sense on a restaurant menu. (You don’t have to be a girl to partake in girl dinner.)

Sparkevicius’ video has inspired legions of social media users tagging one another in her comments section, suggesting future Del Frisco’s outings. It also spurred similar posts on others, like one from the Instagram account Who What When Where Philly — which actually prompted me to gather my own girl group and head to Del Frisco’s.

My three girl friends and I made our way to Del Frisco’s 15th and Chestnut location, an ornate, cavernous 1922 lair that was formerly a First Pennsylvania Bank. We elbowed our way past several groups of bachelor parties, snagged seats at the bar, and ordered our bar specials.

“For me, fries and salad means girl dinner,” said one of my companions. “It’s yin and yang. You have your vegetable, which is healthy and refreshing, and your fries, which are warm, salty, and comforting... If all I eat is a salad, then there’s inadequate satiation. Fries balance out that craving.”

Our server, Bradley, put exceptional care into taking our orders for martinis and didn’t bat an eye when we requested multiple orders of Shucked, Fried, Tossed, and Stirred: “So that will be four girl dinners for the table?”

When he returned, he carefully arranged the oyster towers (cradling East Coast Blue Points) balanced on top of a plate holding fries, romaine Caesars, and ramekins of ketchup and extra Caesar dressing. Bradley walked around the table cracking fresh black pepper over each mini salad.

Sitting by the kitchen, I watched one girl dinner after another emerge through its double swinging doors. Bradley reported that a dozen other guests had also ordered the same special and called it “girl dinner.”

“Since the video went live, we’ve seen a noticeable increase in guests visiting specifically to request the bar special,” said Sawan Thakkar, vice president of operations for Del Frisco’s in Philly. They’ve also seen a “significant rise in new guests ordering it.”

And how does Del Frisco’s feel about their bar special being renamed?

“We love it,” said Thakkar. “We’re happy to embrace the name.”