The Carlton

Home to the 2009 Stanley Cup Champions Penguins and 2009 Super Bowl Champion Steelers, Pittsburgh is a city rich in history that dates back to the American revolution. Becoming valuable after the War of 1812, Pittsburgh's contribution in the Industrial Revolution is well documented.

But this time also produced a unique culinary culture that evolved from a blue collar work ethic that you can still feel to this day.

And yet in recent years, the city is making a noticeable effort to enhance its culinary culture with more progressive, upscale and trendy restaurants. Currently there are spectacular choices in nearly every cuisine; from French to Pan-American.

The Carlton is located inside the Melon Building, within one block of the Melon Arena and Doubletree Hotel, in the center of Downtown.

The restaurant will tell you that attire is casual, but you'd feel out of place in a t-shirt and jeans. Business casual would be your best bet. And if you prefer the middle-class demographic crowd, you will feel comfortable.

We were seated in a cozy two-top in what you would expect to be candle-lit. Despite the absence of the aforementioned illumination, the restaurant compensates with an appropriate amount of lighting. That is offset by the maroon/reddish color schemes that make the interior decor.

Almost immediately, a member of the experienced waitstaff (we found out later our server had an 18 year tenure of service), explained the specials and we ordered a bottle of white wine.

Fresh bread soon arrived with roasted red pepper/ horseradish whipped butter. We were both able to identify the signature flavors of this herbed spread. Regardless, we felt the combination of flavors was a poor attempt to be unique. It almost seemed that we were the subjects of some chef's experimental butter concoction where he just wanted a vehicle for his bread. I didn't mind it but it wasn't enjoyable. My wife doesn't enjoy peppers so much and I can do without a pungent horseradish taste. On the upside, the bread was freshly baked and slightly sourdough-ish. The more I think about the butter, however, the less I like it.

For appetizers, we ordered the house salad ( spring mix, egg, classic "Louie" dressing, bacon bits, and mushrooms) and Cajun grilled shrimp. The salad was fresh with clean flavors. I can't say there was true balance with the ingredients, but the flavors worked. The "Louie" dressing, an import from the West Coast of America, is commonly found in Crab Louis. I am not crazy of mayonnaise based salad dressings, so I was unimpressed with this culinary sibling to Thousand Island. Nevertheless, it satisfied as an introductory course. An no, I can not explain why there are two spellings of Louie.

The Cajun shrimp was tremendous in flavor. The four jumbo shrimp were perfectly cooked -just beyond pink- juicy and succulent. The Cajun spices added a nice kick to the dish without overpowering the natural taste of the shellfish. Since shrimp is so easy to overcook, I appreciated their attentiveness to its plating. The serving size was good to share and allow for plenty of room.

My wife ordered the 9oz filet mignon to a perfect medium rare. It came with an herb butter, which thankfully, was not the same gastronomic atrocity that came with the bread. Fortunately it was not overpowering, and the butter is nutty and amplified the beef taste. I could see the perfect sear on the filet when it arrived. My wife cut in and I could see that the kitchen had given it an appropriate time to rest. We each took a bite and the contrast of crisp sear and cool center was exactly what we wanted. Dipping the next bite into the herb butter added a delicate touch to the beef.

However, while I immediately drew comparisons to a Ruth's Chris grain fed filet, I soon rescinded such an ambitious analogy. When I first ate at Ruth's Chris, I liked the filet because I could tell the difference between their filet and garden varieties you'll find. But I found Carlton's filet to take it an unnecessary step forward and to me, it even borderlined gamey. My wife does not feel the same way and would happily eat it again. I would be somewhat reluctant and might try the barramundi next time.

Served with rather peppery whipped potatoes, a crispy potato wave/wedge and steamed vegetable, it was a well executed entree. Foolishly deciding against the barramundi, I went with lobster and crab ravioli with a petite lobster tail. Now I must preface this by saying it was not foolish in the choice to have the pasta, but foolish in that I did not use the opportunity I was given to try something new.

Regardless, the dish arrived and was beautifully presented. All four of the ravioli were arranged in a diamond shape in the shallow bowl, topped with julienne vegetables and covered in a delicate cream sauce. I had to perform a double take to locate the petite lobster tail. It was miniscule. Now, I like to think that I know food, but as far as I know, petite lobster tail doesn’t mean “lengthy of a ten year old’s pinky finger.” What a massive disappointment. I was hoping that the lobster would hold prominence in this dish because I had that much more of it. It didn’t. Truthfully, it was the texture of the pasta essence of the sauce that tied it all together. The crunch of the perfectly steamed veggies suggested that the executive chef thought about the dish instead of throwing it together. Again….attention to detail.

For dessert we ordered the Apple Sour Cream Crumb and the Whiskey Bread Pudding. I ordered the latter. I found that the streusel icing was far to sweet and I didn’t get the expected tartness I desired out of the apples. I was disappointed with this dish. My wife enjoyed it but I feel that the name of the dish is more appealing that its taste. The Whiskey Bread Pudding was absolutely divine. A rather large portion was served and it was perfect. I assumed my wife would not like it because bread puddings can have a tendency to be mushy towards the bottom. Yet each bite I took dismissed that notion. In fact we can describe it as a dessert French toast. Hopefully that can illustrate it in your mind. The best part of the dessert had to be the whiskey topping. This caramel sauce sweetened each bite without overpowering you with sugar. This sauce was so good that my wife felt it improved her apple crumb when she dipped into it.

We really enjoyed The Carlton. Overall I was thoroughly impressed with the portion sizes across the board for the appropriate courses. I was never able to gorge myself with any particular course, nor did I feel there should have been more of any single one.

The total for all of the food, wine and two coffees was $156 (before tip). Worth it.