Grand opening at St. Charles Exchange

[Robin Garr]

Thanks again to Antonia (with Tim) for covering the St. Charles Exchange opening for us. Good work, makes me want to go there Real Soon Now.

http://www.louisvillehotbytes.com/go-we ... s-exchange

What a great review, Antonia. My twenty-one-year-long wonderful friend, Jolea, photographed that cocktail - small world! You write very well, lady.

I really like this place and I had no idea that a hotel lobby bar was the concept, that is exactly how i have been describing it. They hit that nail on the head.
I haven't had the food but my friends are loving the cocktail and punch selection, I love the large array of bitters available.

Looks like they're open for lunch starting today.

Editing to add the lunch menu that came with the press release email just now:

Hors d'oeuvres
Deviled Eggs     5 
Our daily selection
 
Smoked Chicken Wings     7
Root Beer, Black Pepper, Buttermilk
 
Elvis on Horseback     8
Peanut Butter Stuffed Dates, Bacon Wrapped, Smoked Banana Vinaigrette
 
Larder
Cheese  16 for 3, 20 for full board
Our Daily Selection with Preserves and House Baked Crackers
 
Olives and Pickles   8
Our Daily Selection with Toasts and Salted Butter
 
Soups
Smoked Tomato Soup    7
Blue Cheese Popovers, Fried Shallots, Sage
 
Soup of the Day   market price
 
Salads
Greens and Herbs Salad   7
Spices Apples, Chicken Cracklin's, Cornbread, Buttermilk
Add Broadbent Kentucky Ham    3
Add Smoked Breast of Chicken    4
 
Rockefeller Salad     11
Fried Oysters, Baby Spinach, Pickled Red Onion, Hard Cooked Egg, Bacon Dressing, Black Bread Crumble
 
Farmhouse Salad     10
Baby Vegetables, Escarole, Aged Cheddar, Smoked Shiitakes, Green Goddess
 
Rock Shrimp Louie     12
Rock Shrimp, Local Asparagus, Soft Cooked Egg, Fried Capers, Louie Dressing
 
Sandwiches
All sandwiches come with choice of Lamb Fat Fries, Housemade Salt and Vinegar Chips, or Fresh Greens Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette.
 
BBQ Duck Biscuits     11
Duck Confit, Blackjack BBQ Sauce, Spicy Cabbage Slaw
 
Salmon Club    12
Salmon Salad, Smoked Salmon Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato, Herb Mayo on Black Bread
 
Roasted Forest Mushroom French Dip     9
Grilled Red Onion, Creamy Goat Cheese, Sherried Mushroom Jus
 
Kentucky Hot Brown Monte Cristo    11
Roasted Turkey, Smoked Bacon, Tomato on Rye French Toast, Batter Dipped, Pimento Cheese Mornay
 
St. Chuck Burger     15
8oz. Lamb Burger, English Muffin, Aged Cheddar, Crisp Curried Onions, Mint, Sweet Pea Mayo
 
Entrees
Local Mushroom Risotto    13
Asparagus, Mushroom Broth, Herbs, Pecorino
 
Scottish Salmon    16
Braised Escarole, Lemon Jam, Creamy Oregano Rice, Salsa Verde
 
Game Hen    15
Pole Beans, Spring Onions, Pecorino, Farro, Tomato Buerre Blanc
 
Sides    6
Salt and Vinegar Chips
Spicy Cabbage Slaw
Asparagus with Lemon Jam
Lamb Fat Fries
 

John and I had an early dinner at SCE last night (Saturday).

First of all, the space is beautiful, as previously reported. We asked to sit outside but were told the patio isn't open just yet; however, they did take us to have a peek at it - a soaring two-story ivy-covered inner-city grotto that we can't wait to dine in. On the way back from the patio area, we glimpsed a corner of the kitchen, full of sunshine, one of the few restaurant kitchens I've ever seen which have big windows. It must be a pleasure to work with the sun streaming in.

It's hard to decide what to order. The menu presents an array of stuff you don't want to have to decide between. We started with the "Elvis on Horseback" Antonia recommended from her grand opening visit. Peanut butter stuffed dates, wrapped in bacon, with smoked banana vinaigrette. They were, in a word, outstanding.

We moved on to the cheese plate, which comes in 3- or 5- cheese versions. We went with three - gotta leave room for mains and desserts! - Pt. Reyes blue from CA, Red Hawk from Cowgirl Creamery (also CA) - both of these cheeses I remember fondly serving on L&N's cheese plate back in the day. The third cheese was a mild sheep's milk cheese that was unremarkable but still tasty. Served with crispy fried thin baguette slices and a rich fig jam, it was heavenly.

Table bread is sliced soft baguette presented with triangles of butter at exactly the right temperature. I can't tell you how often I notice restaurants serving cold, hard butter. I hope they continue to get this detail right.

John, a reuben fanatic, ordered the pork belly reuben. Two THICK slabs of pork belly, crispy on the outside, unctuous on the inside, were served on top of "rye bread pudding", not too custard-y, just right. Vinegar-braised red cabbage was served on the side. He wasn't too sure about the "pickle relish", a neon-green finely shredded garnish, but he totally dug the whole mustard grains that topped the whole thing off.

My entree was rabbit croquettes, presented beautifully with one whole and the other one cut open on top of almond mashed potatoes, with creamed shiitake mushrooms and english peas as the veg. (Zoiks! they spelled "shiitake" wrong on the menu. I pretended not to notice because I was having such a good time.) The whole dish was surrounded by a pool of sherry "glace", a sherry and rabbit stock reduction which I wanted to lick from the plate, it was so good.

Desserts are made in house and sounded wonderful, especially a rhubarb cobbler special we were told about, but in no way had room for.

We'll go back. Boy, will we ever. Three cocktails, one Bell's Oberon, one appetizer, one cheese board and two entrees came in under $95, I couldn't believe it. We tipped generously because service was professional without being in the least stuffy.

Oh, man....I love this place.