610 magnolia

saturday during the day i was informed my daughter was spending the night with grandmommy and her mother and i were free to eat at a grown-up restaurant. this explains why 610 was not on my list friday. i was excited and thought quickly- where to go i could get in. it was 3:45 i wanted to eat at 7. le relais was not available. i thought- proof or 610. i called 610 first-money.

when we arrived, our last name was requested and we were taken immediately to our table. we were given a "center stage" table and asked about a cocktail. JLG ordered a champagne and i a glass of chardonnay. they were poured tableside and we toasted to the good ole days- as i always do. the $75 prix fixe 5 course menu had a few choices to be made, so we perused the two pages. our starters were picked for us. a house cured gravlix with sturgeon caviar atop a cucumber; a country pate atop a fancy crouton; and my favorite, the 610 blt. this blt had foie gras as its main ingredient.

for our second course, i had a nova scotia lobster with a green sauce that might have been flavored of melon. it was very mild, but the lobster would've been fine bare. the succulent meat was shown perfect resistance to the bite. JLG had a salad consisting of two colors of green beans, balsamic vinegar, and a wonderful goat cheese. the green green beans were good, but the white ones were not tasty. a little lettuce rounded out the beautifully presented square plate.

our third course was the official salad course. i had a ravioli that was recommended by our wonderful server. she has been with he restaurant since the days ed garber had his over the top tasting dinners- invitation only. trust me- it was THE place to be whenever they were given. the ravioli was four or five plump round handmade noodles with a ground dry cheese on top. JLG had the same version as mine, except with eggplant as her filling. some tangy sun-dried tomatoes rounded out the dish. this was my least favorite of my dishes, not very memorable.

the main dish was beef for me. two ways, with potatoes and bacon in the middle. a brisket cube was to my right. it was very flavorful and cooked to perfection. the strip on my left was beautifully red and was sliced into strips. there was just enough fat on these strips to lend wonderful flavor to the meat. JLG had a sea bass. i believe there was a lemon sauce on the fish.. i am not a huge fan of fish, but i'll always take a couple of bites of anything. it was very mild, and i feel the sauce could have lent more flavor. i had a glass of spanish red wine with my meat, served in wonderful stemware.

dessert- JLG had a peach bread pudding. it was very good, served in a cool "wings lifted" bowl.. i had a pomegranite fig tartlette with balsamic gelato atop. the ice cream melded perfectly with the dry tartlette, and the three split figs were a wonderful treat. the petit fours were also great. cheesecake on a stick, covered with chocolate, and a cake that was outstanding.

when i compare this restaurant with a five star restaurant (and keep in mind 610 is our city's best shot-corbetts is too big and tries to do too much) i feel that taste is all that's missing. granted, this is a huge factor. there was but one service error, and that was simply failure to remove an empty chardonnay glass after pouring the red wine. with the two super attentive servers, this was as close to perfection as you can get in Louisville. i have been to this place twice since ed lee took over, and i felt the flavor was just under 5 star quality. he is an incredibly nice man and a gracious host. what he brings to the table is the closest thing we have to a 5 star restaurant in louisville. our bill was $240 and that showed with the 5 tables that were there as we dined. but it was summer and they'll be fine. ****stars excellence is achieved AE