LEO's Eats with Robin Garr
Back in the day, when I was young and stupid, I would often make the long drive down California’s agricultural Central Valley, burning up the Golden State Highway to visit a girlfriend at UCLA.
When I hit the dusty town of Bakersfield, surrounded by oil rigs and potato fields, I knew I was within 100 miles and a couple of fast-driving hours over the Santa Monica Hills to my destination. Sometimes I would reward myself with a pit stop and a cold beer at some dark and noisy honky-tonk, where the dominant sound was invariably loud country music.
Little did I know that many years later, a dark and noisy Bakersfield-style honky-tonk would emerge as the hottest new hipster destination back in my hometown of Louisville.
Say hello to The Silver Dollar, which now proudly resides in the space that long housed hook-and-ladders in the historic Albert A. Stoll firehouse in Clifton.
The red brick firehouse (Hook and Ladder Co. No. 3), built in 1890 and named after a city school board president of that year, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, described as “an architectural gem in the Gothic Revival style.” New owners Larry Rice, who came from 732 Social, Michael Rubel, who has tended fancy bars like Chicago’s Violet Hour and Big Star, and local attorney Shawn Cantley have done an admirable job of renovating and re-purposing it as, well, a honky-tonk.
The 42-foot pinewood bar appears to seat about 30 tipplers in elbow-to-elbow comfort; the bar and the sturdy booths along the other side of the former fire-engine room are said to be made with wood from the Old Crow Distillery near Frankfort. They’ve respected the feel of the old firehouse while importing a distinct impression of a Bakersfield farmer bar — an impression not diminished by the high-decibel sound of Buck Owens, Merle Haggard and their rockabilly peers that blasts out almost continuously.
Did I mention it is loud in there? In fairness, we unexpectedly shared space with a local firm’s Christmas party, which got insanely loud, but was kind of fun until our ears started to ring. The decibel count remains fairly high here even on a more normal evening, though. It’s also dark — dark enough that I had to squint to make out the menu.
Not that I’m complaining. A Bakersfield-style honky-tonk is supposed to be dark and noisy. That’s part of the shtick. In an authentic Bakersfield farmer bar, you’ll also see a lot of drunks, a lot of cussing and about as many fights as you get during a hockey game; I don’t expect The Silver Dollar will go there.
Read the full review on LouisvilleHotBytes,
http://www.louisvillehotbytes.com/echoe ... ver-dollar
And in LEO Weekly:
http://leoweekly.com/dining/echoes-bake ... ver-dollar
The Silver Dollar
1761 Frankfort Ave.
259-9540
Facebook: http://on.fb.me/TheSilverDollar
Rating: 84