Fleur de Lis Cafe is up for sale

Frankly, I'm surprised it lasted this long. The guy who bought it made his fortune when his medical coding/transcription business was bought out by a national company, so he had money to burn. Zero restaurant experience but plenty of opinions—in fact, he was ready to ditch the otherwise experienced house staff until he got to know them and realized they knew more than he did. I wonder how the turnover was after he took the reins.

Plus, the food did not impress me. I gave it one shot and thought the eggs Benedict to be overpriced and uninspired. I hope the next owner will be more savvy on all fronts.

[Robin Garr]

Frankly, I'm surprised it lasted this long ...
Plus, the food did not impress me. I gave it one shot and thought the eggs Benedict to be overpriced and uninspired. I hope the next owner will be more savvy on all fronts.

This was one of those occasional cases - not that occasional, really - when I read the CJ review and shake my head.

http://www.courier-journal.com/article/ ... e-Lis-Cafe

Frankly, I'm surprised it lasted this long. The guy who bought it made his fortune when his medical coding/transcription business was bought out by a national company, so he had money to burn. Zero restaurant experience but plenty of opinions—in fact, he was ready to ditch the otherwise experienced house staff until he got to know them and realized they knew more than he did. I wonder how the turnover was after he took the reins.

Plus, the food did not impress me. I gave it one shot and thought the eggs Benedict to be overpriced and uninspired. I hope the next owner will be more savvy on all fronts.

Really? I worked with the owner and his wife I believe, (owners?) and found them to be quite pleasant as people. The whole local, independent, wait a minute...

[Robin Garr]

the next owner will be more savvy on all fronts.

Really? I worked with the owner and his wife I believe, (owners?) and found them to be quite pleasant as people. The whole local, independent, wait a minute...[/quote]
I just re-read everything that Eve said, and I am at a loss to see the place where she said anything about them being "pleasant."

Not sure how I was quoted as saying anything about the owner's savvy. I believe that does belong to Eve.

You are right Robin, Eve did not. I never meant to imply that, chalk it up to evening brain drain. What I was trying to peacefully emote was a rebuttal; I read Eve's post today at work and, after the opportunity to think about it, was moved to share my own experiences.

Since you asked , I felt the words about the owner were harsh and seemed to be second-hand, IMO.I also question this inside knowledge without knowing the result, ie. turnover, after the reins were taken over. They were open for long enough to ride out or be snuffed out by "turnover." It is a shame, either way, but more of a shame if I did not shout a holler for some decent folk whose dream, for whatever reason, didn't get realized. They were always nice to me.

I got my information directly from a phone conversation with the owner. I still have my notes if anyone's interested.

Can't attest to his friendliness, as the time I went in there I asked to meet him and/or his wife and neither was around. I'm not suggesting, though, he lost the business because he was a jerk or anything like that—for that matter, that's never hurt a lot of restaurateurs—but more likely because he underestimated the challenges of running a restaurant, especially on Bardstown Road.

The place seemed overpriced to me. That, and the floor design is pretty horrendous.

Not sure what is with the odd bar in the back. The area by the door and the long bench do not work.

Never seemed to bother me when i was getting a cheap breakfast at Sweet and Savory. For some reason all the unsuccessful quirks bother me a bit more at that price point.

[Robin Garr]

Not sure how I was quoted as saying anything about the owner's savvy. I believe that does belong to Eve.

Oops, sorry, I messed up the quote. I meant to ask what was up with your responding about them being "pleasant" to Eve's post that didn't mention their pleasantness. Anyway, you responded appropriately and well, no further questions ...

Zero restaurant experience but plenty of opinions—in fact, he was ready to ditch the otherwise experienced house staff until he got to know them and realized they knew more than he did. I wonder how the turnover was after he took the reins..

I got my information directly from a phone conversation with the owner. I still have my notes if anyone's interested.

Fair enough. Who am I to fight with notes? No offense meant, None taken.

I got my information directly from a phone conversation with the owner. I still have my notes if anyone's interested.

Fair enough. Who am I to fight with notes? No offense meant, None taken.

No fightin' words intended. But I wanted to let you know that my information was firsthand.

This was one of those occasional cases - not that occasional, really - when I read the CJ review and shake my head.

http://www.courier-journal.com/article/ ... e-Lis-Cafe

Agreed. The whole tone of that review sounded like, "For a place that sucks, it's really great!"

Robin, I'm curious: when you dine somewhere and have a really poor experience, do you publish a negative review or simply refrain from reviewing it? And, for that matter, how do you decide whether any given meal is going to be a review visit or just regular personal dining?

[Robin Garr]

Robin, I'm curious: when you dine somewhere and have a really poor experience, do you publish a negative review or simply refrain from reviewing it? And, for that matter, how do you decide whether any given meal is going to be a review visit or just regular personal dining?

Jeff, those are very good questions. The answers are a little fuzzy, but I don't mind taking a shot.

First, I try not to review the same place again before I get back to the new ones, although this doesn't always work out because sometimes a place falls off my radar, and I'll occasionally re-review a place after a year or so if there's been some significant change like a new chef or complete menu revision.

But by and large, when I go to a new place or a place where I haven't reported for years, a review is at least a possibility.

As for negative reviews, the good news is that so many of the newer places around town are decent or better that there's usually something good to say. I'll try to call it as I see it, and if a dish is poor, I'll say so. If several dishes are poor, I'll say that, and my overall tone and rating will reflect it. But it's rare that I have occasion to really come down on a place, and frankly, if it's a little ethnic spot or neighborhood joint, I'll more often pass on doing a review rather than slam them. A place that has a lot of buzz but that proves disappointing is the one instance in which I'll come down hard. I gave Wasabiya a poor rating, for example, because they gave us bad fish, obviously having held over leftover product from the weekend to the following Tuesday. A follow-up visit - my usual practice if a place with potential disappoints - was not in the picture, because they committed an unforgivable sin.

So, it's really variable. I try to err on the side of being kind, but not at the expense of giving readers a fair picture. I'll give a place another shot if, in my best judgement, its missteps appeared to be exceptional and the result of a bad day, although even if they excel on a return visit, I'll still report on both experiences.

But to be honest, I don't always insist on doing repeat visits to every restaurant if I'm confident that I took its measure on the first go. I like to eat, but I also respect my health and my waistline.

I think it's a bummer. We have had breakfast there a few times and really enjoy it. Price is a little high, but quality is good IMO.

I think it's a bummer. We have had breakfast there a few times and really enjoy it. Price is a little high, but quality is good IMO.

Agreed with regards to breakfast/brunch. We loved Sweet n'Savory, but found both the quality and service (and level of air conditioning in the summer) to all improve once it became Fleur de Lis. SnS was notorious for having one or at best two servers on insanely busy weekend mornings (and it was always sweltering inside). FdL did much better. Yes, this all came with a slight price increase, but we thought the tradeoff was worth it. Plus, FdL kept all of our SnS favorites.

We never made it for dinner, so no comment there.