Ian said,
“I expect to see a full recap tomorrow.” So, here's exactly what happened.
The Kickstarter VIP event was held tonight at the Exchange Pub and Kitchen from 6:00 – 7:30. Entry to the event was through the private entrance and up the stairs to the 2nd floor private dining space known as Shrader and Sons.
Donna and I got a bit of a late start and pulled into a slot at 1st and Market just as the sun dipped behind the Knobs and vanished from view. All the small parking lots around the building at 118 W. Main St were full up. Even with that, the walk to the restaurant was a short one and while I missed the balmy evening of a couple a weeks ago, it seemed we'd caught a break as the wind was off chasing other diners this night.
The invitation said there would be small plates and cocktails so we had intended to eat something before going. My wife's meager tolerance for foodie fare is near legendary and due to the chain-saw - like appurtenances I now sport on my dentalia, I too have become very choosy about what I try to masticate in public. We approached the building with our intentions unrealized however so I fervently hoped we would find something suitable to fill our bellies!
We turned the corner and the private entrance marked for the special event was right where I had remembered seeing it on our previous visit. This time it was for us and I felt a slight thrill as the door opened easily to my grip and we stepped in. Not to belabor the point, but I truly believe this is a place meant for purposeful custom and commerce, whether it be a stable, saloon, funeral parlor, or restaurant, it's the natural order for the doors here to be constantly filled.
I turned at the first landing and looked back at Donna who'd only ascended the second stair. She's a long legged girl who has been shadowing my six foot frame since we were teenagers. She can keep up when she wants but has long since ceased to tell me to slow down when she doesn't. While my gait has likely slowed on its own over the years, my locomotion and motivation have always been in unconscious sync. I grinned down at her and waited for her to scold me or join me or probably both. Together, we climbed the second flight and looked in at a full room.
With this room the owner has achieved a comfortable balance of old and new. I suspect my impressions are somewhat at odds with the reality, yet it feels like something out of time. I'm not suggesting that it's a museum quality renovation, just that it captures the essence of antiquity. It feels like you could look out on the street at carriages, horses, and men packing shootin irons. Add in an upright piano in the corner, some comely girls wearing stripped pantaloons and tall feathers, and tell the bar keep to put my whiskey in a damn dirty glass!
We paused in the open doorway and I glanced around the room to see if I recognized anyone. No girls in stripped pantaloons, comely or otherwise. My eyes were drawn to the bar like iron filings to a magnet where I instantly recognized the bar keep. Casey looks like a rock star and when it comes to slinging beers, mixing magic elixir, and pouring firewater, he is just that. He's never served my drink in a dirty glass but he could pull off a handlebar mustache like T.C. Handy himself.
I did noticed a comely lass behind the bar that I didn't recognize who was moving with a purpose. It would turn out later to be none other than the proprietor’s wife, Nikki. Speaking of the proprietor, there was Maroon Five's lead man, Ian Hall, at the far end of the bar talking to a distinguished young couple. Well burn my britches if that ain't Bob and Carol Carnighan!
There was an empty space just behind the pair near the window so we moseyed on over and said howdy. Bob nearly jumped from his seat to give it over to Donna in a gentlemanly gesture in keeping with a more courteous era. Carol had a glass of wine in front of her and I caught Casey's attention to secure something wet for ourselves. I didn't bother to ask Carol what she was drinking as I knew Donna wouldn't want wine. I noticed an ornate glass bowl with fruit swimming in it on the bar that I assumed was some form of Sangria. Whether it was or not Casey filled us each a glass and passed them over.
Carol greeted Donna warmly and added the pronouncement I've come to expect whenever I first introduce her to my food & beverage acquaintances. So, Shane does have a real wife! She's used to it and always seems to agree with some surprise herself as she admits it (I know right?) That's when the small plates arrived.
The first plate had hummus and cheese spread on crostini and I took one without thinking. I've learned to avoid things that have to be bitten off with my front teeth. This is not because I can't do it but rather because large portions often end up sticking to my braces. I know this has occurred when my dining companions begin to stare at my mouth like a cobra following a snake charmer's flute or else they avoid looking at me at all cost even when I'm addressing them. Now what would I do? I've got this plate of food, I'm literally starving, yet I couldn't expose the Carnighans to such a heathen display. I looked at Donna and said, “Have you ever had hummus?” She gave me “the look” and said, “Yeah right!”
I sat the the plate down in the window sill and tried to forget it while we continued to talk. Ian came over and asked, “Have you had the lamb yet?” Hmmmmm lamb! I could just picture thin delicate slices of tender lamb, medium rare, with a ginger sauce drizzled over it. When Nikki appeared with the plates (I still didn't know who she was) I snatched one from her hand. I think I got a solid shoulder into Carol sitting next to me, like I was blocking her out for a rebound. I pulled the plate greedily to me and peered down to see a beautiful and utterly useless lamb pop glistening with a dark barbecue glaze. No knife and fork in sight. I don't think anyone noticed my frustrated whimper. I looked over at Donna. “You know I can't eat baby lamb!” she said. It too went on the window sill.
My drink was long gone and I'd been bumping the leftover asteroid of ice in my glass against my lips for the last ten minutes. You can't eat ice with braces! I was eyeing Carol's wine sitting on the bar behind her which was still mostly full and thinking “Maybe she wouldn't notice if I just took a quick pull.” No, Bob was standing next to me and he would certainly see such a dastardly move! Before I could give in to my temptation to perform an act so uncivilized it would likely get me barred from the scurviest gin house, another plate arrived. Yessssss! This one had soft food on it. A crostini topped with a generous mound of finely shredded duck confit and a lobster thingy that I could swallow whole if I had to!
I don't remember how I got a hold of this plate but next I knew I was holding it in trembling hands, my mouth fairly flooded with saliva, and that's when Ian called for everyone's attention. Nooo!!! Now this was a quandary. Manner's demanded I pay attention without a mouth full of confit and lobster thingy. I would also likely need my hands free to clap at some point. I reluctantly sat the third tray down in the window sill next to the others. I hoped no one could hear the pathetic mewling noises issuing from my starving gut and even more I hoped that Ian Hall was a man of few words!
No so. Adam Lavine himself would have been briefer receiving his lifetime achievement award. An episode of “The Voice” would pass faster than Ian's speech. I'M KIDDING! Ian gave a touching talk. He introduced his family on hand, including his wife Nikki who is very much involved at the new restaurant and she gave him a big smooch in front of everyone! His two sisters, Rachel and Olivia who were such a big part of the original NA Exchange and are very talented in their own right were sitting at the bar next to us.
Rachel Smallwood owns and operates Orange Clover Kitchen and More in Jeffersonville. Before that she was a big part of the creative team in the kitchen at the NA Exchange. She took her skills upriver a ways and has been a big success. I wrote about our visit to Orange Clover in November
http://forums.louisvillehotbytes.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=20152 I believe Ian said that Orange Clover is now doing a significant amount of catering and Rachel had disengaged to come back for a few days to pitch in “both hands” at her brother's new place.
I've sung Olivia's praises here before. I met Olivia Hall when she also was working at the NAX. In truth, she is probably the reason I made it a regular lunch stop even before I realized how good the food and beer was. From my first visit she treated me like a regular. She also first told me about Hotbytes so, you can love her or hate her for it, but she made a big impact in my life. She moved on from the NAX to become the Sales and Marketing Manager at Actor's Theatre and I'm thrilled to say she recently married the very cool Derrick Pedolzky.
By this time, I think my stomach had succumbed to torture on par with anything seen on “O Dark Thirty” and had ceased to make noises so I actually heard Ian's heart felt speech. He graciously thanked his Kickstarter supporters and revealed that we were now immortalized on the wall of this wonderful restaurant. Afterwards, Ian invited us all to stay as long as we liked and there was much cheering and back slapping.
I for one am grateful to have been given the opportunity to be a tiny part of the project and I congratulate Ian, his family, and staff on this accomplishment!
Oh, I carried my plates of food right out of that place to our car. I consumed every morsel with careless abandon within its darkened confines and enjoyed the delicious scraps caught in the net all the way home!
