<a target="_blank" href="http://www.thecarlile.com/">The Carlile Room</a>

820
Pine Street

Seattle,
WA

Tel.
+1 206 946-9720

Food:

Pan-fried Padrón peppers from Prosser, raw milk cave-aged Gruyère, Jacobsen
sea salt, olive oil

Fancy heirloom tomato, pole beans, almond-fennel pesto, smoked corn

Roasted cauliflower head, lobster head broth, fregola sarda, coriander
stems and seeds, chili oil

Rotisserie chicken, blueberry, basil

Roasted Berkshire pork shoulder larded with chorizo, bitter orange
sauce

Pepper pot of clams, prawns, squid, salmon collar, rockfish, garlic
toast

Wine:

2013 Zarate Albariño Rias Baixas 91

1995 Giuseppe Mascarello &amp; Figlio&nbsp;Barolo Riserva Monprivato Cà
d’Morissio 92+

What’s left to say about Tom Douglas, the wizard of Seattle whose restaurants
pop up as reliably and frequently as bouquets from a magician’s hat, and who already
has 12 storied venues throughout the city—places like Dahlia Lounge and Bakery,
Lola and Palace Kitchen? 

&nbsp;<img alt="" src="https://allgrapes.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads%2F1444402157229-030.JPG">

As it turns out, plenty. Douglas opened his 13th restaurant
in Seattle, The Carlile Room, in July of this year with a characteristic
flourish and a bunch of well-deserved accolades. The restaurant is apparently named
after his fave singer-Seattleite Brandi Carlile, although her
alternative-country style has no discernible connection to the bass-heavy
background music featured here. The theme this time around is “circa 1972,” evidenced
in the décor of vinyl booths and sputnik chandeliers, the lounge-lizard
cocktails (Manhattans, Mai-Tais, Tom Collinses, and Brandi [get it?] Alexanders),
as well as a lineup of DJs spinning records that span a couple of decades from mid-century rock and soul to British
Invasion to ’60s garage and early-’70s funk. The vibe is retro, lively and very
loud.

&nbsp;<img alt="" src="https://allgrapes.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads%2F1444402171854-Fancy+heirloom+tomato%2C+pole+beans%2C+almond-fennel+pesto+and+smoked+corn.jpg">Fancy heirloom tomato, pole beans, almond-fennel pesto and smoked corn 

The cuisine, on the other hand,
is anything but nostalgic. Fresh and contemporary, it’s several generations removed
from the meat-centric ’60s. In fact, this self-styled “plant house” is a steak house
in reverse: it’s local-veggie-intensive, foregrounding a list of “Plant” dishes
meant to be paired with an item from the “Carne Diem” selection of salmon,
pork, beef and chicken. As it’s just across the street from the Paramount
Theatre, where Douglas also happens to do the concessions and owns a few seats,
the room caters to pre-theater and late-night crowds: it has a hearty
bar menu of sharable plates and sensibly offers side-dish portions of its main
courses so diners can pick and choose from all over the menu. The extensive wine
list is among the most impressive of the Douglas empire, stocked with some rare
“Limited Edition Wines” but also deep in affordable choices from Europe and the
Northwest. You won’t have any problem finding brisk, mineral-driven whites or
energetic reds on the list, often from cult producers.

&nbsp;<img alt="" src="https://allgrapes.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads%2F1444402212870-025.JPG">

Much of the produce featured here comes from Prosser Farm, owned by
Douglas and his wife and business partner Jackie Cross—according to Douglas,
the most expensive thing he’s doing in the restaurant business is growing
vegetables. The results more than repay the effort: bright beet greens, baby
rainbow chard, tender lettuces and radishes, and prize-worthy heirloom
tomatoes, peppers and eggplants—all shown to advantage in preparations that
emphasize intensity of flavor with a minimum of fuss. Witness the success of
starters like red and green heirloom tomatoes dressed with smoked corn, or sautéed
Padrón peppers served under a silky blanket of Gruyère. Our table clashed forks
over the remains of a roasted cauliflower unexpectedly infused with lobster
stock and coriander and spiked with a dash of chili oil. 

&nbsp;<img alt="" src="https://allgrapes.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads%2F1444402227476-022.JPG">

The 2013&nbsp;Zarate Albariño, reportedly from one of the first truly organic
growers in the Rías Baixas, took the veggie starters to another level. With its
aromas and flavors of sea breeze, lime blossom and fresh herbs; its tactile,
extract-rich salinity; and its dusty length, the Albariño was a lovely match
for the caramelized crunch of the cauliflower and the smokiness of the tomato-corn
dish. And its saline minerality elevated the lobster stock in the heirloom
tomatoes and smoked corn dish.

&nbsp;<img alt="" src="https://allgrapes.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads%2F1444402238670-IMG_20151002_212944.jpg">

The same inventiveness in the kitchen transformed simple meat dishes
like moist rotisserie chicken with cherries, mint and basil, pork shoulder with
chorizo, and pepper pot—a peppery cioppino of fish, shellfish and corn.&nbsp;<img alt="" src="https://allgrapes.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads%2F1444402294767-Rotisserie+chicken+with+blueberry+and+basil.JPG"><div>Rotisserie chicken with blueberry and basil </div>Our
bottle of the 1995 Mascarello Barolo Riserva&nbsp;Monprivato Ca’ d’ Morissio, which I had carried from
New York, was still in ascendance at age 20, offering a deep, bright red color
with a hint of amber and seductive aromas of cherry, rose petal and leather.
Its penetrating acidity and subtle smoky character sliced through the meltingly
rich pork shoulder, bringing out the sweetness of the meat and the pungent
spice of the sausage.

&nbsp;<img alt="" src="https://allgrapes.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads%2F1444402259227-Roasted+Berkshire+pork+shoulder+with+chorizo.JPG">Roasted Berkshire pork shoulder with chorizo 

Virtually all the desserts here offer a touch of restraint, with savory
or citrus notes playing off sweet, but I’m ashamed to admit that we had to abstain
on account of we were stuffed.

How does Douglas manage to come up with so many winners in this town?
Diners here are adventuresome and dedicated locavores, but they're not willing
to pay for smoke or hype. Sure, Douglas has a gimmick for each new venue, but
the crucial success factor is that his menus consistently deliver value at
realistic price points. 

--Stephen Tanzer&nbsp;

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