More well-deserved praise for Seviche...

Since it's been a good couple of days since anyone has lavished praise on Seviche, I thought I'd get into the fray and share my experience

My wife and I went yesterday night on a whim and, as always, we were blown away! Unfortunately for me, I've only been a handful of times, but every time I've been they've gotten everything right. After the first visit, it instantly made the top of my list for dining destinations. The thing I like most about Seviche is that it's one of the best places I know of to get a four-star meal without the four-star attitude. My question for the few that have not yet eaten here: WHAT ON EARTH ARE YOU WAITING FOR???

Some highlights of yesterday's meal:

Crawfish Seviche: A mountain of tiny, perfectly tender crawfish tails with peppers, tomatoes, jicama and greens. My wife was a bit squeamish about the thought of raw seafood the first time we ordered this dish, but now it is one of her favorites.

Green Chile Caesar: Toasted pumpkin seeds added a wonderfully nutty, crunchy component to an already great salad. This is what Caesar salads everywhere should aspire to be.

And perhaps the winner of the night... The daily tuna special. A good-sized piece of tuna, grilled rare and served atop what appeared to be some sort of corn cake. I can't quite recall the verbal description from earlier, but it was very crispy on the outside and creamy on the inside. It had a taste and texture not too dissimilar to cheese grits (sorry for that analogy, but it's the closest thing I could think of). The tuna was absolutely perfect; it melted in my mouth, as trite as that sounds. And on top of it all, a perfectly grilled, chile-rubbed shrimp.

Service was very good. Matt (I believe) was our server. Through conversation, he let us know he was relatively new to the place, but he did a fine job. I didn't see Anthony around last night; I'm assuming he is hard at work over in the East End. Which reminds me...

Anthony, let me add my belated words of congratulations and best wishes on your new venture in the East End. As an Oldham County resident, I am very excited at the thought of having my very own Seviche only 5 miles from my house. It is very encouraging to see chefs making their way to our neck of the woods. I don't think you'll have any trouble filling the place every night.

We stopped in there late Saturday for a light dinner. We were their last table they sat and while it took forever to get seated, our server was fantastic and the food was still wonderful.

Muchas gracias! David this is why I'm able to open a second restaurant. I was off last night and have been at the new site everyday about 7am to 5pm, then at Bardstown rd. afterwards. My staff has really become sort of a family. Matt is one of the new servers, so this great to hear. I am on a natural "culinary high" and I am so excited about bringing Seviche flavors to the burbs. Join us on Oct 18th for our pre-opening. You too Amy! Once again muchas gracias y buen provecho!

We were their last table they sat and while it took forever to get seated, our server was fantastic and the food was still wonderful.

Amy- Sorry it took so long to get you seated! Thanks for being so patient and im glad you enjoyed your meal!

I totally understand, you all were packed!! We had no reservations and just winged it. It was well worth waiting.

My husband and I had a fantastic meal at Seviche a few months ago and can't wait for the new location to open up near us. With all this talk of Seviche on the forum, I am constantly drooling. Instead of waiting for the new location, I'll be taking a friend (from Lexington) to the Bardstown location Thursday night... while my husband dines on stadium food during the UofL game. Hee, hee. I'm so evil.

When we were there before, I got one of the daily specials and my husband (the tuna eater) got the skirt steak(!). Both meals were fabulous, and I can't wait to try something else. Ok, I'm really a carnivore so it will likely be beef of some sort.

Anthony, can you tell me what is on your home page (and your avatar)? Is it the Ahi Tuna? Whatever it is, it looks delicious and I will have to try it.

Let me premise my review by saying that 1) I'm a picky eater... it's easier to list things I do like (meat and potatoes) than what I don't like (most every thing else) 2) As stated in an earlier thread, I don't care for spicy foods (and see number 1 above). So any chef that can make me say... "you know I guess I do like x, y, or z and will eat more of it from now on"... is a genuis. Chef Anthony would fall in that catagory. I saw him walking around the restaurant last night. It amazes me how he can create such wonderful food and still have time to work at his other location. But I'm thankful for his dedication.

Sorry for then length, but here are details on my visit: My friend was so impressed with her meal that she wants to go back next week to try other dishes, and she lives in Lexington! My friend got the Lemon Asparagus (or is it Asparagus Lemon?) Soup and the Blue Corn Dusted Tilipia. She said it was very good and let me try it. Not being a big fan of asparagus, soup or fish (see #1 above) I was hesitant to try. But try I did and I'm glad. I would order the soup for myself. The fish was excellent as well, but I prefer meat over fish so it's unlikely that I'd order it as my meal.

Matt, our excellent server, gave me his recommendations and those are what I went with: I had the special, the Kijiki Seviche, a South Pacific Blue Marlin (??) that was quite spicy for me. It was fantastic. I have to say, I am now a convert... I love seviches - fish and spices be damned! Matt says there will be a sevich bar at the new location and after the Kijiki, it's likely that I'll be a regular there.

As for my entree, I got the ever-popular Churrascode De Argentina. It was incredible. Because of my finicky tastebuds, I can do without the chimichurri. I love my steak without embellishment. Although the chimichurri is good, it masks too much of the steak's flavors. And for all these years I've turned my nose up at onions and chives. "I hate onions" was my cry. So, tell me: how I was convinced that the smashed potatoes were better if I left the chives in? In the spirit of trying new things, I decided to buck-up and take my chances with the chives (sorry if they were really some other spice). I'm so glad I trusted Chef Anthony's instincts. Everything was spectacular, including dessert. I didn't have enough room to finish my Tres Leches cake, so I took what was left home to hubby. However, I ate every piece of fresh fruit (and how fresh and sweet it was!) that topped the Tres Leche.

For all that fawning over the food, here are my only (slightly) negative comments. My friend and I were seated at what appeared to be the smallest table for two people (larger tables were empty). But it was cute so I didn't ask to be reseated. My friend ordered the Peach and Mango Iced Tea. She said it tasted like plain iced tea to her. Also, her iced tea ran out of ice early in the meal and although someone topped it off with more tea, there was never enough ice for her. And I ran out of soda and had to request more. It had been empty for a while... someone came by and asked if I was drinking iced tea to which I said "No, Diet". But they never came by with more Diet. I guess that person only does water and tea. I know, I'm nit-picking here. But don't you want the good and the only-slightly good?

Of course! This is how were able to fix these things. I'm so glad you enjoyed yourself and thank you so much. Hope to see you on Oct 18th for the pre-opening. That was an invite so mark it on your calender. As always muchas gracias y buen provecho!

We'll be there tonight - my tastebuds are already tingling!

My new-to-Louisville friends were there last Sat night and liked it but for the service...I will get details, because maybe it was just the wait. Haven't gotten to really talk to them about it.

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