It had been a while since i had been to an opening night of a restaurant. a lot of restaurants just start serving food, but not Mehrzod. He understands the buzz that is created by a grand gala blow-out where you can sample the cuisine and the drink, mingle with fellow foodies and locals, and see the atmosphere of the new restaurant. By inviting local business people and proven customers from another restaurant scene, you are building your future clientele in a way that they will not soon forget.
As we got off the elevator from the parking garage to go in the Market street entrance, a very eager doorman opened the door and started the welcoming experience, asking us to sign the guestbook and telling us to explore, peruse, and enjoy. We saw Mehrzod down the hall past the restrooms, so we bypassed the food and drink to offer our congratulations. He and Bita seemed very excited about the new restaurant, and why not- it is a very beautiful spot. there is a blue neon/iridescent '"river" that runs the length of the very long restaurant on the ceiling, which is mirrored in color on the carpet below the meandering waterway. it seemed to connect the far reaches with a common sense of place, the bar area with the dining room. the decor was very hip, from the gray and light black glass restangular tiles behind the bar to small glass window panels measuring 2x2 that marry the bar area to the hallway behind it. with bottles of liquor like cognac and louis xiii lit inside, it adds class to the function of the windows. the exterior marble and clean steel were a nice touch, and i especially liked the upper curved portion of the facade. the dimly lit interior with large windows providing sweeping views of Market street, coupled with the snow made me feel like i was in a much larger city. perhaps a new york or chicago, and this had a lot to do with the very modern restaurant.
There were two food stations set up, one at each end of the restaurant, and around 5 wine stations, and 4 spcialty drink stations. My friend Heath Saunders is the mixologist chief at Z's oyster bar and steakhouse, and he concocted four signature libations for Fusion. The mango mojito was the first drink i tried, it was extremely good. a cucumber martini was very refreshing, but not for me on such a cold night, very inventive, though. a herradura drink was also excellent, served in tiny cognac-shaped glasses. but the prize would have to be given to the lychee infused champagne. i could have sipped this all night long, but i felt it was my duty to report on all of the great drinks. i first discovered lychees in a great hotel bar in El Paso, Texas, and have seen them reach the east coast and now move inland, but this was the best edition i have ever tried, and i'll say will ever try. the drink was an 11, and i NEVER give those out. great work, Heath. Makers mark also had a booth set up, manned by my almost neighbor Ginger Flowers, who always has the latest scoop in the bourbon world. She was serving old-fashions in take-home red wax glasses. overall, the drinks were impressive, i can't think of a restaurant in Louisville that has set the bar this high in the drink category, i really think i would drive 32 miles downtown to have one of those lychee champagnes.
as i was talking to my father about the concept early in the evening, i asked a person in black (employee) what was in the little cups, hoping she would say what she did- its an oyster shooter. no horseradish or cocktail sauce here though. as i had just knocked one back, i saw the chef Dallas McGarity walk by, and i introduced myself. He is an extremely nice person who has worked at Volare, gone to England for more culinary experience, and cooked at the James Beard House in NYC. as we spoke, i inquired about the shooters, and i could tell by the excitement in his voice he knew he was on to something as he said " I pickle the oysters before I add the ingredients ". Let me say I am not a fan of the bivalves in general, I had never eaten more than one in a week, I had 7 last night. The shooter had sweet onion and mango salsa atop the oyster. simply stunning. There were also white tuna burgers that had been flown in from Hawaii about 8 hours prior to reaching my mouth. there were also appetizers being passed around, like an artichoke spring roll, and an excellent 5 spice chicken spring roll with apple. crab cakes and salmon with cream cheese in a shell were also on the bill of fare. at the rear of the restaurant was a sushi bar, the sushi master was in his element, hand rolling the treats as fast as we could eat them. the crunchy tuna roll was a favorite, along with the california roll. there was traditional soy sauce and a wasabi infused version, both were very good. for dessert, there was a mango and banana creamy shot in a cup, a flourless? chocolate cake, and a very good graham cracker crusted cheesecake. (I hope i got most of these dishes right, it is kind of hard with no menu, and did i mention i tried nearly every drink at least once).
No party is complete without people, and there were plenty of them. A-listers included John Schnatter and Larry Townsend. I ran into my buddies Paul and Sandy (who will be working at Fusion, and he has a passion for service), the director of the Jefferson Club, Wayne and Heat Saunders, and Bob and Patty Ethington, Lori, Linda Ethington and Jennifer Settle, Edward Lee from 610 magnolia,and the Vandertolls to name a few. Heath said 1100 invitations were sent out, and about 400 more word of mouth invitations, and by 6:45 there were 800 signed in guests. when we left around 7, it was getting very crowded, which translates to mission accomplished. my guess is this morning saw a lot of conversations talking of the great future this restaurant holds. Jackie, Scott, April, Dallas, Heath, Mehrzod, Kelsey, and all employees of Fusion, Best of luck. Downtown has a new shining star.
I can not rate this restaurant until i have a sit down dinner, so for now i will say- this restaurant should be here to serve Louisville for a great run. The only two minor setbacks were when the bathroom plumbing backed up, easily remedied by alternate bathrooms by the sushi bar which is excusable. the other was inexcusable, when a hurried older kitchen hand about knocked one of those 7 oyster shooters out of my hand as he very rudely rushed past me and did not think of saying excuse me or I'm sorry, my guess is Mehrzod will have this corrected in a short time. Or weeded out. Can't wait to go have dinner so i can get the full effect.
As we got off the elevator from the parking garage to go in the Market street entrance, a very eager doorman opened the door and started the welcoming experience, asking us to sign the guestbook and telling us to explore, peruse, and enjoy. We saw Mehrzod down the hall past the restrooms, so we bypassed the food and drink to offer our congratulations. He and Bita seemed very excited about the new restaurant, and why not- it is a very beautiful spot. there is a blue neon/iridescent '"river" that runs the length of the very long restaurant on the ceiling, which is mirrored in color on the carpet below the meandering waterway. it seemed to connect the far reaches with a common sense of place, the bar area with the dining room. the decor was very hip, from the gray and light black glass restangular tiles behind the bar to small glass window panels measuring 2x2 that marry the bar area to the hallway behind it. with bottles of liquor like cognac and louis xiii lit inside, it adds class to the function of the windows. the exterior marble and clean steel were a nice touch, and i especially liked the upper curved portion of the facade. the dimly lit interior with large windows providing sweeping views of Market street, coupled with the snow made me feel like i was in a much larger city. perhaps a new york or chicago, and this had a lot to do with the very modern restaurant.
There were two food stations set up, one at each end of the restaurant, and around 5 wine stations, and 4 spcialty drink stations. My friend Heath Saunders is the mixologist chief at Z's oyster bar and steakhouse, and he concocted four signature libations for Fusion. The mango mojito was the first drink i tried, it was extremely good. a cucumber martini was very refreshing, but not for me on such a cold night, very inventive, though. a herradura drink was also excellent, served in tiny cognac-shaped glasses. but the prize would have to be given to the lychee infused champagne. i could have sipped this all night long, but i felt it was my duty to report on all of the great drinks. i first discovered lychees in a great hotel bar in El Paso, Texas, and have seen them reach the east coast and now move inland, but this was the best edition i have ever tried, and i'll say will ever try. the drink was an 11, and i NEVER give those out. great work, Heath. Makers mark also had a booth set up, manned by my almost neighbor Ginger Flowers, who always has the latest scoop in the bourbon world. She was serving old-fashions in take-home red wax glasses. overall, the drinks were impressive, i can't think of a restaurant in Louisville that has set the bar this high in the drink category, i really think i would drive 32 miles downtown to have one of those lychee champagnes.
as i was talking to my father about the concept early in the evening, i asked a person in black (employee) what was in the little cups, hoping she would say what she did- its an oyster shooter. no horseradish or cocktail sauce here though. as i had just knocked one back, i saw the chef Dallas McGarity walk by, and i introduced myself. He is an extremely nice person who has worked at Volare, gone to England for more culinary experience, and cooked at the James Beard House in NYC. as we spoke, i inquired about the shooters, and i could tell by the excitement in his voice he knew he was on to something as he said " I pickle the oysters before I add the ingredients ". Let me say I am not a fan of the bivalves in general, I had never eaten more than one in a week, I had 7 last night. The shooter had sweet onion and mango salsa atop the oyster. simply stunning. There were also white tuna burgers that had been flown in from Hawaii about 8 hours prior to reaching my mouth. there were also appetizers being passed around, like an artichoke spring roll, and an excellent 5 spice chicken spring roll with apple. crab cakes and salmon with cream cheese in a shell were also on the bill of fare. at the rear of the restaurant was a sushi bar, the sushi master was in his element, hand rolling the treats as fast as we could eat them. the crunchy tuna roll was a favorite, along with the california roll. there was traditional soy sauce and a wasabi infused version, both were very good. for dessert, there was a mango and banana creamy shot in a cup, a flourless? chocolate cake, and a very good graham cracker crusted cheesecake. (I hope i got most of these dishes right, it is kind of hard with no menu, and did i mention i tried nearly every drink at least once).
No party is complete without people, and there were plenty of them. A-listers included John Schnatter and Larry Townsend. I ran into my buddies Paul and Sandy (who will be working at Fusion, and he has a passion for service), the director of the Jefferson Club, Wayne and Heat Saunders, and Bob and Patty Ethington, Lori, Linda Ethington and Jennifer Settle, Edward Lee from 610 magnolia,and the Vandertolls to name a few. Heath said 1100 invitations were sent out, and about 400 more word of mouth invitations, and by 6:45 there were 800 signed in guests. when we left around 7, it was getting very crowded, which translates to mission accomplished. my guess is this morning saw a lot of conversations talking of the great future this restaurant holds. Jackie, Scott, April, Dallas, Heath, Mehrzod, Kelsey, and all employees of Fusion, Best of luck. Downtown has a new shining star.
I can not rate this restaurant until i have a sit down dinner, so for now i will say- this restaurant should be here to serve Louisville for a great run. The only two minor setbacks were when the bathroom plumbing backed up, easily remedied by alternate bathrooms by the sushi bar which is excusable. the other was inexcusable, when a hurried older kitchen hand about knocked one of those 7 oyster shooters out of my hand as he very rudely rushed past me and did not think of saying excuse me or I'm sorry, my guess is Mehrzod will have this corrected in a short time. Or weeded out. Can't wait to go have dinner so i can get the full effect.
2 comments:
Now I am not jealous anymore....I got a sneak preview without going out in the cold...not as good as being there, but clearly the next best!
The "river" looks very cool.
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