The Carlton Awards

The Carlton Restaurant Review:

Caricatures of Pittsburgh personalities, framed in white against the dark wood bar, line the entrance to downtown mainstay The Carlton. Business suits jam the place for the traditional power lunch. Dinner adds cultural mavens augmenting their meal with free limousine service to and from downtown’s theater and cultural venues. Private rooms accommodate purposeful meetings. A trailblazer in affordable wine pricing, the restaurant also boasts an extensive wine wall as well as an annotated iPad-based list and self-serve selection. Wine dinners enjoy a close-to-cult status. The seasonal kitchen produces straightforward American cuisine, with major seafood selections, plus steaks, veal and pasta. Try the Bolognese, Cajun swordfish and filet mignon. For birthdays, you can have the famous Toll House Cookie Sundae. On other days, order the banana cream pie or the whiskey bread pudding. A chairlift makes the space handicap-accessible.