louisville,ky

i posted a list of cities a few weeks ago to vote for the best restaurants in america. i listed four cities, if i had listed five the fifth would be louisville,ky. ok ok- i know what you're going to say- you live there, of course your gonna list it. you would be right i do live there. but when i travel out of the country, i say i live in america, if they pry i say my house is in kentucky. i have been to the 50 biggest cities in the country, most of them many times. i try to go to the top 25 at least once every 5 years. granted, my daughter turning 2 last year and requiring an extra plane ticket slightly slowed this mass blanketing of my nation. but, when i do travel i seek out restaurants like a pig looking for black truffles in the forests of france. i use many sources to find where i am eating. magazines, newspapers, internet, friends in the city, television. anyway, just giving some credence as to why this statement should carry some weight- louisville can hang with any city except for new orleans, san fran, chicago, and new york.

reasons: we have a great culinary program at sullivan university. chef castro has taught many great chefs their profession at this institute, which is up there with the cia, johnson and wales, and maybe one other. my friend allan is also great at teaching ethnic cuisine. he is great with students also. these chefs come to louisville and fall in love with our city. we are lucky to be a big city without horrible traffic, our roads are really good. we are on the eastern time zone, a huge plus. and we are located in the population center of the country. shaded to the east coast, right in the middle- miami in 2 hours, new york city in 2 hours. back to food- why is it sooo good.

we have a history of food in this city. we invented the cheeseburger (kaelins), the hot brown (the brown hotel) and these are big dishes. we also are geographically gifted by having southern and northern influences. also, many establishments are owned by non-native americans. they seem to be excellent in the knack of running a restaurant if they love it. jeff jarfi (jarfi's); mehrzod sharbianni (z's); mahjid (saffron's and volare) ;and peng looi (asiatique and the august moon) are a few that come to mind. they bring an air of international cuisine to the table. we also have indian cuisine in shalimar and kashmir, and many japanese sushi houses. but so do most other cities- why is louisville better. is it the water that sits in our romantic reservoir- my favorite spot in louisville by the way- i can't believe they put up gates so we can't walk there at night. is it the great ingredients that grow from our wonderful soil- or just a drive that is needed to succeed in a restaurant where the bar was set so high by the great restaurants. kathy cary and lilly's, and mrs. shepard at cafe metro are partly responsible for this "high bar".

also, there are distinctive areas for dining, which can each create a different feel. you have bardstown road: seviche, jack fry's de la torr'e uptown and metro, nio's. you have frankfort ave: porcini's, irish rover, north end, and bourbons. you have old louisville: buck's, 610, amici, and carly rae's. there's downtown with morton's, jeff ruby's, proof, primo, park place, blu, and melillo's. and finally the east end, many chains as well as cafe perussa, z's, and limestone. each area offers a different feel of the city. suburbanite, funky, sophisticated, or relaxed. and each can take on a different one of these at any time.

so what is the exact point that puts louisville so far ahead, there isn't just one. by looking at the coverage we give our food (the courier journal in the scene), louisville hotbytes website, the leo, the voice, the louisville originals alliance- it shows we are very in tune with where we eat, and we want the best. its that simple. or was that simple? the fact is we have an outstanding array of dining spots and i'd go as far to say that there is no city our size that can hang with us, and we are better than all but those four. now don't get me wrong- philly has le bec fin which is better than any reataurant we have, but after that angelina comes to mind, and very few others. there are cities with a few great restaurants, but our bottom tier still gets visited by people who do know good food, and that is saying a lot. where are we eating tonight?