NVM Review

By Warren Rojas

Food: 7.5 Ambiance: 7.8 Service: 7.9

No matter the hour, the crowds are there at Carlyle.

Weekend mornings remain the purview of sweets-seeking grown-ups (brunch is effectively handed over to the Best Buns Bakery crew, resulting in stacks of homemade sticky buns and three fingers-thick slices of French toast being paraded in front of your nose at every turn) and precocious youngsters angling for bites off everyone else’s plates.

Evenings give way to a clientele that caroms from the flip-flop-clad to the nattily pinstriped.

Teamwork keeps this hospitality giant’s engine purring like a lap cat. Servers fetch drinks, deliver plates and run checks in concert—but never before getting the high sign from guests (much appreciated).

Pepper-flecked soup is substantial (not quite gritty, but noticeably thick), sporting pleasing bits of white meat chicken and crunchy tortilla twists.

Medallions of cooked-to-order filet mignon, eggs (poached or scrambled) and hollandaise-drenched asparagus make themselves right at home atop buttery slices of sauce-slurping brioche.

Grilled pork powers through throwaway relish (weak corn) with the aid of a terrific brown butter sauce (toasty reduction clings like gravy, but tastes much lighter).

By Warren Rojas

Food: 8 Ambiance: 7.6 Service: 7.8

Shortly after an ordering snafu at Carlyle caused some nearby patrons to receive their entrees ahead of a planned appetizer, an apologetic manager swooped in with the comped snack in hand and a chorus of mea culpas.

“We’ll try harder next time, I promise,” he pledged. And that is what’s known around these parts as “GAR star” service.

Local diners have come to expect a lot from the Great American Restaurants family, and most staffers seem all but too happy to live up to the well-deserved hype. One overachiever ticked off his specials with ease, breezily segued into a mini-profile of new daily wine deals (much appreciated), provided regular status reports and checked back like clockwork.

Batter-fried shrimp join diced papaya (mostly sweet), sliced peppers and seasoned noodles in a flashy Asian salad. Lean hanger steak can’t quite hang with other local beef barons, but a side of deep-fried mashed-potato rolls interlaced with pungent blue cheese goes a long way to filling in the cracks. Grilled halibut sizzles astride andouille and crawfish succotash.

By Warren Rojas

Food: 8.1 Ambiance: 7.6 Service: 7.7

The crown jewel of the locally owned Great American Restaurants empire, Carlyle continues to cement its reputation as an all-occasion destination by plying patrons with edible Americana, unflagging service and just a hint of well-earned bravado.

A long-time anchor of the now-booming Shirlington promenade, Carlyle appears perennially packed by legions of baby-toting couples (typically parked along the outdoor patio), extended families (sprinkled throughout the two-level dining room) and random groups of fun-loving friends (fixtures at the standing-room-only bar).

A team-oriented service strategy means help is never more than a flick of the wrist away, though most servers proactively quash potential problems—drinks are refreshed like clockwork, addictive rolls from the neighboring Best Buns Bread Company arrive toasty warm—to avoid unpleasantness later.

But man cannot live by bread alone.

Alien-looking crab fritters (crispy tendrils convey an “it came from the sea” feel) deliver blue crab bobbing in a grilled corn and peppers cream. Beef back ribs are swabbed with a mustard-molasses glaze well worth getting your hands dirty for. Brown butter-kissed chicken can be spit-roasted for on-the-bone enthusiasts (good) or sauteed with arugula, peppers, capers and mushrooms over angel hair pasta (better).

Beer and wine prices veer from respectable (by-the-glass pours are all less than $10) to ridiculous ($5.25 for a bottled Corona?). Instead, let loose with a signature cocktail or specialty martini.