Places that don't feel like you are in Louisville

My way of looking at it is that things like Thai restaurants, trendy new Americans, upscale French, etc. don't distinguish places. They are certainly nice to have and a collection of them like Louisville's is a credit to the city, but these places are reasonably indistiguishable between cities. What delivers a local flavor or local character is something like a regional cuisine or style of restaurant. Think Cincinnati chili or NY pizza. I wouldn't say Louisville has a lot of famous regional cuisine, but there are a lot of restaurants that seem to embody the "spirit of the place" more than others. Rocky's in Jeffersonville immediately comes to mind, for example.

Pearl Oyster Bar does indeed have an amazing lobster roll, as well as many other great items.

Also, I second the seafood connection idea. That place has (had?) a meeean lobster roll.

Cribstone (now NV Tavern, i think) had one that was rumored to be good, but I never got around to trying it .

Also, to stay on topic...

I feel like North End and Proof are the only places i visit that have ever made me feel like I was in another city. I do, however, like feeling like I am at "home" when at a restaurant. Not that i dislike the "out of place" atmosphere at Proof or North End, but it isn't what makes me like those spots.

[Robin Garr]

Also, to stay on topic...

I feel like North End and Proof are the only places i visit that have ever made me feel like I was in another city. I do, however, like feeling like I am at "home" when at a restaurant. Not that i dislike the "out of place" atmosphere at Proof or North End, but it isn't what makes me like those spots.

Welcome to the forum, Billy! Good additions, atlhough it's funny how much personal perceptions vary in these things. Not meaning to be argumentative, but for me, both Proof and North End seem VERY Louisville, mostly because they both make attractive re-use of old, established Louisville buildings. When I look out front of Proof in particular, that stretch of West Main Street strikes me as looking a lot like it must have looked backin the 1800s. Of course, it also looks a little like SoHo in NYC, but there's not nearly as much of it ...