Vieux Carré

Walking into a Cajun joint in downtown Spokane, you're not exactly bracing yourself for a Condrieu. But Vieux Carré's wine list surprises — it's concise, shows actual taste, and has no business being this interesting next to a bowl of gumbo. The French Quarter theme isn't just décor; someone clearly raided both the Rhône Valley and Washington State before printing this thing.

The list clocks in at 30-50 bottles but punches above its weight with genuine selections across Washington, France, and California. You've got Tablas Creek's Esprit Blanc sitting alongside Francois Villard's Condrieu and Guigal's Côte Rôtie — that's not an accident, that's someone who actually cares. The Washington representation is solid with Chateau Ste. Michelle and Ponzi making appearances, and the Domaine Tempier Bandol Rosé feels perfectly at home with the Southern-inflected menu. The gaps are real — no Oregon beyond Ponzi, nothing from Spain or Italy — but what's here has a coherent point of view.

Six to ten pours by the glass in the $10–$16 range, which is reasonable for downtown Spokane. The specific BTG lineup isn't fully published, but the price ceiling suggests you're getting mid-tier selections rather than anything from the prestige end of the bottle list. Tuesday's half-price bottle deal makes the glass program largely irrelevant one night a week anyway.