LEO's Eat'N'Blog: By any name, Varanese is a winner

[Robin Garr]

<table border="0" align="left" width="310"><tr><td><img src="http://www.louisvillehotbytes.com/varanese.jpg" border="1" align="left"></td></tr><tr><td>Varanese - named for chef John Varanese, who's been chef at the Cardinal Club and the late, great Azalea - opened last month in the old Red Lounge on Frankfort Avenue. The space has been completely renovated, and the food recalls Azalea. Photo by Robin Garr.</td></tr></table>LEO's Eat 'n' Blog with Louisville HotBytes

I was really excited when I heard about this new restaurant. Its name sounded like "Veronese." Verona! The legendary home of Romeo and Juliet is one of my favorite cities anywhere, and Veronese food and wine rank among my favorite cuisines. If this new place was going to feature the delicious dishes of Northeastern Italy's Veneto region, I would be a happy boy.

Duh. I wasn't listening close enough. That's VarAnese, not VerOnese. Never mind!

In fact, this new dining room - it opened Aug. 20 in the former Red Lounge - is named for its owner and chef, John Varanese; and that's not a bad thing, not bad at all.

Varanese, who's been chef at U of L's posh, private Cardinal Club golf club near Simpsonville and before that executive chef at Azalea, has put his personal stamp on a totally renovated Red Lounge. Indeed, if you've been missing the recently closed Azalea, you may find some consolation in Veranese's somewhat similar upscale casual bill of fare.

Full reports in LEO and on LouisvilleHotBytes.

Everytime I drive by it's packed.

We took advantage of industry night at Varanese yesterday and had a wonderful time. Food was great and the service was friendly. By the time we made our way through cocktails, crab cakes, calamari, and lamp empanadas there wasn't room for entrees or dessert, but we're definately going back. The empanada crust is amazing- light and flaky without overpowering the lamb. I couldn't believe how much calamari there was, and they happily subsitituted the sweet chili sauce with a very flavorful marinara. The live jazz was the best part- it was great background music but not too loud.

I'd recommend everyone checking the place out. Hopefully the water wall is running soon.