Discussion of Robin Garr's St. Charles Exchange review

[Robin Garr]

Old-school comfort and fine dining at St. Charles Exchange
Voice-Tribune review by Robin Garr



Americans have long formed a ready market for new things made to look old. From suburban tracts full of "colonials" to the Ethan Allen furniture company, we love the feeling of historical things around us, as long as we don't have to live with sketchy wiring, noisy heating systems and plumbing that requires frequent professional assistance.

But now and then something that was old becomes new again and it works just right. I submit in evidence St. Charles Exchange, the lovely, appealing dining room and watering hole that appeared last spring in one of the oldest buildings on West Main Street.

There's no split-level vibe here, though, but a spacious dining room with an imposing, antique-style bar and comfortable banquettes that make the place look and feel very much like a classy hotel eatery and bar of the pre-Prohibition era a century ago.

Located in a long-vacant main floor section of a 180-year-old building that houses some of Brown-Forman's offices and, just east of St. Charles, the Morton's of Chicago chain, St. Charles Exchange arrives here as a sort of fraternal twin with Philadelphia's Franklin Mortgage & Investment Co. bar and its restaurant, Supper.

Executive Chef Mitch Prensky, who came here from Supper, has set up an appealing, not overly long bill of fare that features modern takes on American and European standards.

Read the full review on LouisvilleHotBytes.com:
http://www.louisvillehotbytes.com/old-s ... s-exchange

St. Charles Exchange
113 S. 7th St.
618-1917
http://stcharlesexchange.com

St. Charles Exchange
3708 Bardstown Road
456-1111
JohnEsRestaurant.com

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[Robin Garr]

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D'oh! Problem with filling in an old template with newer stuff. It showed up correctly on the site, fortunately, and I have now modified this post.

St. Charles Exchange
113 S. 7th St.
618-1917
http://stcharlesexchange.com

Oh, you should have had the Elvis On Horseback. It's a silly name but the dish is such a fine explosion of flavors! I chatted with the bartender and apparently they are into serious drinkslinging. An occasional vodka gimlet is as far as I stray from straight whiskey or straight beer, but he made it sound like they pride themselves on mixing as an art.

Oh, you should have had the Elvis On Horseback. It's a silly name but the dish is such a fine explosion of flavors! I chatted with the bartender and apparently they are into serious drinkslinging. An occasional vodka gimlet is as far as I stray from straight whiskey or straight beer, but he made it sound like they pride themselves on mixing as an art.

Second the Elvis! It sounds weird, but the dish rocks!

Also agree about the bar - they do a series of old-fashioned punches that are tasty, fun, and bring a tear to the eye of old-timers like me.

Took my most significant other (a.k.a., my wife) in for her B'day last month. We had *heard* that the drinks/bar were spectacular, but that the menu could be..."sketchy". Turned out sort of the opposite... the drinks/bar were very nice, albeit nothing one couldn't find in a half-dozen other L'ville watering holes. But the food was *excellent*! I can't even recall what all we had, but everything was delicious. We'll definitely return!

Brian & I went Sunday night for a drinks and a light meal. We loved it! The place is beautiful and very inviting. We found the drinks to be excellent and really interesting; our mixologist was excellent both in knowledge and service. They obviously take their drink craft seriously. We also ordered the Deviled Eggs ( ok) and the full Cheese Board which was excellent and plenty for the two of us. We will definitely be back for drinks again- maybe next time we'll try the Kentucky Ham board.

I went for just a drink with a friend and really enjoyed the folks!

Yup- the cocktails were delicious. I had the 'Blow Up the Moon' and my date was made a nice Negroni variation.

I knew about thier cocktail program, so that was no surprise. What I liked best was thier hospitality.

Door-to-door, we were treated very nicely. I could ramble on about Levi- our cocktail geek bartender or Amir- the manager who learned English by watching the Sopranos or the barback that seemed to have as many arms as an octopus or the manager who held the door for us on our way out.

But I'll just say this:

They're going to fit in quite well in this city. I was pretty jazzed about my brief experience and am looking forward to going back.

An addendum:
Brian works at the Humana HQ building and walks by St. Charles on the way to his garage. After our great experence, Thursday he decided to stop for a drink before going out with friends for the weekend. He walked into the the bar, and Amir greets him by name and remembers Brian's favorite drink ( Cowboy Killer) from our 1st visit on Sunday . Bran was very impressed; great customer service.

Finally had dinner at the St. Charles Exchange. Stupendous! Started with a Sazerac cocktail worthy of New Orleans. Next, the greens and herbs salad with spiced apples and cornbread. Remarkable! The apples had a touch of cinnamon that took the salad to a new level. The spiced cornbead croutons added another nuance. For the entree I had their burger - a lamb burger on English muffin topped with crisp curried onions and accompanied by large Texas sized fried cooked in lamb fat. Without a doubt this is now my favorite Louisville burger. I can't wait to return and begin working my way through the menu. The only slight down note was the bread - slices of a toothsome baguette lacking flavor, but who neded it!