2011 Year End Recap

Anyone (especially Robin) want to post some year end 2011 thoughts on various topics like new arrivals, sad (and maybe welcome, though I hate to see any business fail) departures, new trends, and things to look forward to in the New Year.

Overall, my take is continuous progress despite a still tough economy, but which seems to have leveled off and is getting better. Big trends I noticed were:

1. Downtown getting stronger on Main (thanks, YUM Center)
2. Continuing strength of East Market
3. Germantown getting its groove on
4. Portion sizes continue to grow (as do Americans) - Stop the madness!!!

Interested in other takes........

[Robin Garr]

Anyone (especially Robin)

That's a good idea, Ron. I'm not doing that for print media this year - it just didn't seem to fit - but it's a good idea to do here, and I'd love to see others join in with their thoughts. I'm busy today, but let's "pin" this to the top of the page and hope it starts a great conversation. I'll do my best to get mine in tomorrow, but this is a club of peers, and my opinion isn't any more important than anyone else's.

Favorite new restaurant of any kind is Coals Artisan Pizza. Once they get their beer taps operational I may never eat pizza in Louisville at any other place. I hear the Mellow Mushroom might have 21 taps.

Runner up: Doc Crows has a great combination of location, beautifully restored building, way better than average food at unbelievably good prices. Just don't get the brisket. If your wanting brisket that is.

Best new bar to watch a game or just hang out while waiting for a game is the Troll Pub Under the Bridge. Lot's of Hi-Def TVs, great atmosphere, interesting menu. I'm hoping they will expand their beer selection to include more locals.

Biggest Disappointment this year was ATG for me. I had huge high hopes for this place. Their brewing policy, menu, and service have all been disappointments to me. Their beer has been very good and it's likely the service will improve. I hope that their menu transitions to a bit more conventional fare.

I discovered the Sea Hag and it is the bar that I wish was located close enough to be my local. It has the most charm and best cuisine of any bar that I eat in. Best fish taco (be sure to ask for Kyle's chipotle sauce) and best sweet potato fries with marshmallow sauce. It's Cape Cod in Kentucky.

The most disappointing meal that I was so looking forward to was at Eddie Merlots. The $27 Wagyu burger with truffle oil fries and $19 lobster mac-n-cheese side. I wouldn't eat this again if you paid me. OK if you paid me I would. The service at EM's is exceptional but the décor and the beer selection (bottles) is strictly geared towards business expense account clientele IMO.

The most fun I've had at any new place was at the Silver Dollar. Yes it's loud, dark, and a little expensive. It's also exciting, original, and they served me the best cut of beef I've had at any restaurant in recent memory. I'll wait till summer to go back when they are open before the sun goes down so I can see the menu.

The best burger I had all year was at the Columbus Bar. Yes, that's in Columbus Indiana. You people should get out more. This place has been written up in the NEW YORK papers as having the best pork tenderloin sandwich. I wouldn't know. What I do know is that the “Heart Stopper” burger with the poblano pepper aioli is calling me back there.

Best oyster Poboy was at the Coach Lamp. Yes I dissed this place at first and got called on it. My return resulted in my finding what I think is some of the best cajun food in town. The oyster Poboy is better than Doc Crows IMO. Way more oysters and better bread.

Best thing I wasn't sure I'd like. Bacon ice cream at the Blind Pig. Really it's very good. Especially with Old Speckled Hen. Seems obvious now.

Bar I most want to check out but haven't had the chance. Four Pegs. The guy who own's it is called Smitty! Bar I likely won't return to – Holy Grail. Rudest bar tender to ever honor me with a beer.

Restaurant I most wanted to try but didn't get to. Hammer Heads. I actually drove up to the place one day. I took a look around, locked my doors and decided to wait till I had backup. I'm still waiting.

Most anticipated event that lived up to and exceeded all expectations. The Whiskey Roundup put on by StephenD at Majid's. Really, I can't wait to do this again.

Awesome roundup, Shane. I've been laZy about posting my comments about Hammerheads (probably because their praise is already so over-flowing), but hang tight, good buddy. It's worth the wait. I finally made my way over there with my foodiest of friends and we were all floored by the flavors. I giggled about the fact that the only vegetables on the menu were one single field green salad and the sandwich accoutrements. Sides consist entirely of fries (huge variety of options here, of course) pork and beans, potato salad, and smoked mac-n-cheese (unless I missed something on a specials board) - this site will never make anybody's #9 on Marsha's list . Fine by me. I had a venison burger that was outta this world. Come to think of it, there was green inside of it: rosemary and another herb (thyme, maybe). It was incredible, and cooked perfectly mid-rare. I sampled from everyone's plates and we had several starters, so it's safe to say I went through a good bit of menu. The duck sandwich and grit cakes were my two favorite bites. Go, Shane. Go quickly. It's (f-bomb)ing good. Offline? (Sorry for the derail - I know it's not a Hammerheads review thread, just needed to get it out).

We followed with a night of cocktails at Meat, and I have to pile on with what everyone else has said on this board. Coolest and most inventive cocktail bar in this city. I sipped from about ten different drinks (my friends and I have a give/take kind of love, which I love).

It's hard to write up the year. I've loved all of the new places I've dined: Gary's, Doc Crow's, Majiid's, Harvest, the reinvented atmospheres at Seviche and Hillbilly Tea, Roots/Heart & Soy, Silver Dollar, Bluegrass Burgers, etc... But I've missed a few. This fits well into a New Yrs Resolution.

Saying goodbye to Doll's was the low point of 2011 .

Considering where it started just a few years back, the continued growth of downtown New Albany dining options in 2011 needs to be somewhere on the list.

Last year was a complex and changing time for the Louisville food scene,

The Broken Sidewalk Blog has a review of openings and closings around town. Worth the read.

http://brokensidewalk.com/2011/12/27/ta ... 1-wrap-up/

Bar I most want to check out but haven't had the chance. Four Pegs. The guy who own's it is called Smitty! Bar I likely won't return to – Holy Grail. Rudest bar tender to ever honor me with a beer.

And, I thought it was just me.

Richard

[Robin Garr]

Bar I most want to check out but haven't had the chance. Four Pegs. The guy who own's it is called Smitty! Bar I likely won't return to – Holy Grail. Rudest bar tender to ever honor me with a beer.

And, I thought it was just me.

It might have been. We've never had any rudeness problems, and these two complaints are the only ones I've heard about this at Holy Grale. I can think of a few other places around town known for rude bartenders, though ...

It might have been. We've never had any rudeness problems, and these two complaints are the only ones I've heard about this at Holy Grale. I can think of a few other places around town known for rude bartenders, though ...

That struck me as odd as well - not that I'm saying these folks are making anything up. Their experience is their experience. But my husband loves the place, and so after reading Shane's post, I asked him if he'd ever had any rude bartenders there, and he said no - quite the contrary. Hopefully, if there was a rude employee, they've either been corrected or ousted.

Have to admit, I'm really surprised to hear that you guys were surprised to hear that I'd been treated like I wasn't worthy to order a beer at this place. I went there pretty quickly after they opened and my own disappointing experience was echoed pretty frequently on Urban Spoon/Yelp for a while. I recall, one poster said that they had been cursed at by a server there.

I just checked both sites and there are no similar reviews now. Although one does mention they are beer snobs. The reviews must expire after a while. What I experienced when beyond snobbery.

I stopped by on a Saturday afternoon as I recall and found myself a place at the end of the bar. The young hip bar tenders seemed especially good at avoiding eye contact but I was in no real hurry anyway. The place was beautiful with light coming in through the stained glass and I was thrilled to be there. Until the bar tender finally came over.

I had already checked out the offerings and knew what I wanted. “I'll have a pint of the Monty Python,” I said. The young woman rolled her eyes and said “the pours are 12oz,” her voice dripping with so much disdain as she walked off that I'm sure I saw a drop hit the floor. She poured the beer, returned and put it down announcing what I owed her. I put down the cash immediately. Still no eye contact. We didn't exchange another word. I wondered how I had offended her. I don't ever expect a bar tender to be chatty with me especially if they are busy. I do expect common curtesy.

Two older gentlemen came in and stood next to me. I could tell they either didn't notice the beer list on the wall in front of them or just where not knowledgeable about beer. I am typically eager to offer assistance in such situations but, before I could, a different bar tender came up and asked them what they wanted. They asked for advice. The bartender, with obvious impatience, quickly described the beers. Way too quick for anyone who wasn't well informed about beers to take in. These gentlemen obviously could not process this information quick enough for the bar tender who turned without a word and walked away.

When the bar tender returned both gentlemen ordered something without asking for any further clarification and It seemed they were bewildered and intimidated by the situation. This more than anything pissed me off. Just recalling it now still annoys me. Over the next few weeks I saw many many complaints about how rude the Grale's staff were posted on the before mentioned sites. I don't see them now so I guess this is no longer a problem there.

As the saying goes, you only get one chance to make a good first impression. I know I shouldn't ever judge a place based on a single visit. The other reviews however, amply confirmed that my experience was not atypical for that establishment at that time. There are too many good places now to drink beer to have to put up with such nonsense.

If you are a regular there, you are likely treated differently. If you are the premiere food reviewer in town you are likely treated differently. If you are nobody and just happen to stop by for a drink, you should be treated with respect. Some people think rude treatment is atmosphere. Maybe that's how it is now at the Grale and maybe not. I'll not likely find out for myself any time soon as there are too many good places to drink beer. Places with parking lots even. My next stop isn't one of them.

My next planned stop in the area is at the Four Pegs where I hope I get a chance to try a burger with a beer glaze and chat with Smitty to find out if he really intends to offer local beers. I'll let you know what he says.

my own disappointing experience was echoed pretty frequently on Urban Spoon/Yelp for a while.

I don't ever really look at those websites, so that probably explains why I haven't heard anything funny about the place. Word of mouth from various people I know is all I've heard. My husband's not a regular or a food writer, but he's been there several times and he likes it.

All that aside, thanks for detailing your experience. Sounds super-crappy. From what I know from my in-person contact with you, I can be sure that you didn't do anything to evince rudery from a bartender. I also like how you reported not only for how you were treated, but for the other gentlemen in the place. What I've heard from family members and friends is very positive about the place, so I'm going to go on what I've heard most. Since I'm not much of a beer drinker, it won't matter much anyway. It's actually quite encouraging that whatever complaints you saw have since died down. Sounds like the owners realized the direction their staff was taking them and they righted the ship.

my own disappointing experience was echoed pretty frequently on Urban Spoon/Yelp for a while.

I don't ever really look at those websites.

When considering a restaurant where we've never dined, Urbanspoon is the first place I check. The reviews are all over the map in terms of an individuals ability to articulate their experience but one can usually manage to decipher enough to figure out if a restaurant has "issues" or not.

Sorry. Back to the "recap".

I'll post a couple of my favorites and disappointments from 2011. The list is by no means exhaustive. These are just a few of the ones that jumped to the front.

Best New Cocktail Discovery: Bombay Heat at Basa
Runner Up: The Count at Blind Pig
Best Classic Cocktail Discovery: Stephen's classic gin martini at Majid's
Honorable Mention for Cocktail: Steffen Wolff at Proof

Best Ethnic Discovery: Queen of Sheba
Second Place: Habana Blues

Best Appetizer/Tapas I'll never get to have again: Escargot at Red Hog Tapas

Favorite Vegetarian Dish:
Biscuits and Gravy at Hillbilly Tea

Great/Really Good Meals that I can remember:
Majid's
Le Relais
Basa
DiFabio’s Casapela
L&N
Proof

Good food and my favorite server in town:
Mozz with Jonathan Tarullo as server

Favorite fish dish of the year:
Halibut special at North End

Dish I can't stop thinking about:
Fried Chicken at Marketplace on Theatre Square (or maybe now just Marketplace). I would marry this chicken.

Favorite sushi that always deserves a shout-out:
Hiko-a-Mon

Sweet Birthday Surprise:
Per my husband's request, Corbett's made a red velvet cake for my birthday.

Best Sit at the Bar for Drinks and Apps experience:
Z's Oyster Bar - split fried oysters, escargot, salad and burger. Martinis and whatever my husband was drinking also good.

Best Special Dinner:
Blackberry dinner at Limestone with their Lobster dinner running a very, very close second.

Disappointments of 2011:
Harvest - for me, overpriced, not great food, rude server. I did have a great cocktail.
Village Anchor - extremely rude host, food was okay. Will try the Sea Hag.
A.P. Crafters - as often as we go there, you'd think we loved it. We want to, but the food just doesn't do it for us.
Jack's Lounge - it hurts me to put this here. I've been going to Jack's for years, but they seem to have lost their way. The last few times our food has been wrong, or not good. Ryan is a great server, but we've had issues with others. They still make a fine cocktail, but it's not enough to keep going now that there are so many great bartenders around. I still love the burger.

Forgot to add Gary's on Spring to my "great meals" list. Nice place.

I'll mention some good experiences from places that weren't around a year ago.

-Garage Bar. The sweet corn pizza, the rolled oysters, the country ham sampler, and the custard float made with Old Rasputin!

-Holy Grale opened in late 2010 but close enough...instead of going on about their everyday great food and beer selection, I'll mention some of their special events. I went to two special brunches they had this year, and I advise everyone to go to the next one. One was devoted to Founder's Brewery, the other to Kenny's Cheese. Amazing value! And when they devote all twenty taps to one brewery, as they did with Dogfish and Bell's, respectively, expect it to be worth navigating the crowd. Ok, one thing about their everyday beer selection: one night I stopped in and had a Three Floyd's Zombie Dust and a Thirsty Dog Siberian Night Barrel-Aged Stout, delicious beers from opposite ends of the taste spectrum. I was in beer nerd heaven.

-Doc Crows. I've only been for lunch but had a nice Po' boy and really want to return.

-Troll Bar. Really cool place, had a few drinks there after a UofL game a few weeks ago.

-Against the Grain. I admittedly prefer the food at NABC and Cumberland, but I love the fact that they rotate their offerings. I enjoy discovering something different every time I go.