I haven't had a chance to comment more at length but here's an email to a dining friend in St. Louis as I didn't want your suggestions to go uncommented on.
We really dug Louisville...which is good in that I was born there. We were surprised by the lack of chains until you got into the deeper county.
Corbett's was a big time southern hospitality spot that's only been open a few months. They're aiming for five stars, they're probably at about 3 in my estimation. It was good, sometimes very good, but there were some weird areas of service like: cold butter, desserts that weren't nearly as exciting, acold plate on my cooked appetizer. I had a rabbit ravioli with mustard, braised collards and a natural broth that was a huge home run and one of the best things I've eaten this year. They have a vegetarian grand tasting if you and your wife find yourselves back in Louisville. By my estimation (which isn't much) it seemed like they had a very extensive (if slightly overpriced) wine list.
Of course then we ate at Proof on Main which I would frequent regularly if it were in St. Louis. Everything was a touch on the heavy side, but everything was cooked perfectly. We actually had a conversation about Niche with the manager because their chef had just dined there and hit it off with Gerard. Rabbit again was the hit here as they had a rabbit ravioli that I was almost enjoying too much to describe at length. Excellent charcuterie as well, and one of the best pork pates I've ever had period in that it wasn't overcooked as they generally are in St. Louis.
We have a few peaks in St. Louis (Niche) that might top your restaurants, but we slump off fast after about 10. You have a much stronger middle ground than we do, and we'll definitely be heading back to hit a few more as soon as possible.
The other places we went were Ray's Monkeyhouse (we didn't make it to Derby in time), Cumberland Brewery, North End Cafe, Havana Rumba, St. Mathews Farmers' Market, Bardstown Farmers' Market, and the Slow Food Event on Sunday.
