Recent Dining

Well I have been hitting the dining trail quite hard in the last month and have some nice additions to the dining dossier and some nice re-assurements to some seasoned restaurants. Just from time to time I like to remind our readers how lucky we are to live in a city with such high marks for good restaurants and a standard of appreciation amongst the diners of Louisville. Having first hand knowledge of all major markets in the US, there are not more than five cities which exceed the river city's quality.

I will start with the new Zapata's on Shelbyville Rd where the old (real old) Mazoni's was. One of the few "institution" restaurants had left a void in our landscape, but that story was posted a while back. So I must say Zapata's breaks the mold that nearly all mexican restaurants in America hold. They bill their fare as authentic, and I somewhat agree, but the food is excellent regardless. The very colorful dining room, in which the servers wear VERY traditional small town garb, is sure to awaken your senses. The chorizo fundido was excellent, but the coctal de camarones was hands down off the chart. The quesadilla was huge and wonderful, the carne azada skirt steak was large and tender, and the Tacos of steak were served in excellent corn tortillas served in a festive sombrero. This place will find a devout following quickly! *** 1/2

I had eaten brunch at Rivue a year or so back, but had never been for dinner. My brother works for the Schneider Co, who owns both the Galt House and the Crowne Plaza, and he had repeatedly requested I fit the revolving restaurant into my rounds. On a Thursday night in April the time came, and we took the express elevator to our perch over the Ohio, looking out at the new arena as it takes its shape and the wall of glass facing the river is installed. Tim played very soothing music on the piano as we walked past the small bar to the hostess stand. We were shown to our table in the eastern revolving room and were greeted by our server Andre. While I touched on the attributes of diners in Louisville, I must not overlook the high standard of servers in this city either. Within 10 minutes I had already rated Andre to be in the top ten of Louisville. He was concise in his knowledge of the restaurant, the menu, what accentuated each dish and was excellent at conversing in general, as my brother loves to talk to everyone. We started with glasses of Cambria chardonnay ($14), that although slightly overpriced were served chilled perfectly tableside from the bottle. We enjoyed the white full bodied wine as the river became our scenery. Our first course we were to split, and we decided on the trio of sea scallpos. One was served atop red tomato sauce, one atop yellow tomato sauce, and the final atop an asparagus sauce. The yellow tomato, topped off with crunchies, was the only disappointment. The flavors did not meld in harmony, hiding the natural excellence of the plump scallop. The bread was good, but the butter should be commended. One accutrement this city has not mastered is the importance of butter quality. For our main courses I had the filet with a potato gnocchi-like seared pasta. These were a welcome respite from the usual servings of starch found around town. The filet was very tender and flavorful, but I could not keep from thinking about my recent steak experience and this was simply playing second fiddle. Rivue gets the review, ***1/2

So I guess the introduction for the best steak in Louisville has already been written. Now the question is which spot is going to knock Pat's off their perch? Is it the ultra sexy Jeff Ruby's, where the bar scene is the place to be seen on the weekend downtown?? As excellent as they are, especially to get fresh stone crab back in December this far from South Florida, that is not the answer. The answer lies atop one of my favorite buildings anywhere. That building would be the Kaden Tower. The Frank Lloyd Wright designed building creates as air of specialness to me as I enter the elevator past his portrait. As we leave the cold lobby after a UL basketball game, we are greeted with the warm wood, carpet, and overall decor of a steak worshipper's home. As we sat at the bar to watch more basketball, we ordered a shrimp remoulade. The four jumbo shrimp were great, but the remoulade was just a tweak off. Although Ruth Fertel originated this well-run chain in New Orleans, the recipe for this sauce must have gotten lost in the move. Not bad, just not where it could be. But redemption was on the way. Oh sweet redemption, when it comes in the form of a 9 oz. sizzling filet mignon on a plate that could fry an egg. The perfectly bloody center mixed with the bernaise sauce in a harmony that made my mouth smile and my eyelids slightly close as if to say- wow. Me picking a chain as the best steak in Louisville means it already overcame a large hurdle. But however many there are in the country does not matter to me at this point. The flavor of that meat served scalding hot and the well-executed cooking does. On another trip shortly after the first left our cravings unfinished, we started with a crab cake, and I would order that in lieu of the shrimp remoulade on subsequent trips. Ruth's Chris is where it has been for some time now, it just took me a few years to allow a chain to receive such high status from me. They have paid their dues ****

Recent musings also included a wonderful foie gras hand delivered by Kathy Cary at Lilly's. The chef knows how to do foie gras. All renditions here are excellent, and paired with unique tart or sweet flavors. The service here was good and the restaurant looks to be doing well in the downturned economy. Also on a Friday night we went with friends to the Come Back Inn. After trying a few of the pastas and leaving with a grin and not a smile, I found what I needed to bring me back to the genial spot tucked away between Bardstown Road and downtown. An entree that would keep me coming back with a dish in mind, instead of a warm spot for a cool evening. The pizza rocks at the Come Back Inn, but don't tell everybody, because you can't hardly get into the no-reservations dining room easily even if you are life long friends with the owner's dad. Geena can flip a table with speed and talk about the daily grind with a no-nonsense style that is genuine and makes a diner happy to know their money is going to the propreitor who is bussing tables and expediting orders. The final restaurant I recently dined at was El Toro on Shelbyville Rd. I was introduced to a new drink, consisting of beer, tabasco, worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, and some fruit drink. called an enchilada. There was a hispanic contingency that had the tall bartender rocking out the enchiladas. The quesadillas were great, but the tacos carne asada were less than desirable. Probably won't go back to this spot.

So get out there and enjoy the dining this city has to offer! Your favorite restaurant is probably having trouble in the hard times. Go have a nice dinner and support the local owners in their businesses. Or you may not be able to when you start craving that dish you love.

AE