New York could take a lesson from Louisville

From the sound of this review:

http://events.nytimes.com/2007/11/14/di ... ref=dining

Louisville restaurants could teach New York City's Cipriani restaurant a few things.

I feel as if sometimes we don't realize how good the restaurant scene in Louisville actually is--until you read something like this. And the prices.

Cipriani is an perfect example of what can happen if you go to NYC and don't know where to eat. It is terrible to think that some tourists get trapped into paying $35 for calamari.

There hundreds of excellent and fairly priced restaurants in NYC. Places like Cipriani should be shunned. Good for Bruni to expose this place for what it is.

[Robin Garr]

From the sound of this review:

http://events.nytimes.com/2007/11/14/di ... ref=dining

Louisville restaurants could teach New York City's Cipriani restaurant a few things.

I feel as if sometimes we don't realize how good the restaurant scene in Louisville actually is--until you read something like this. And the prices.

Whoa, great review! I love reviews like that, although I'm kind of glad that few places in Louisville offer much opportunity to write one.

if people pay for it & continue to go back, then more power to them.

if people pay for it & continue to go back, then more power to them.

do you own a restaurant?

i did at one point.

Oh wow, I did not know the hotel restaurant and "Harry's bar" in Venice were
should I say, "connected"!


Thanks for the ("off with his") heads up!

Hint hint.

The only Cipriani establishment that is worth the money, IMHO, is The Rainbow Room, and that is for the amazing view. Of course it is rarely open to the public.

David,

My husband and I are self-employed, and we could have chosen to live anywhere. We chose Louisville, and it was partly because we were overjoyed to get such good food in a city of this size.

On the other hand, we were just in New York. We ate pupusas, real Korean bbq, real Thai, Turkish, Hong Kong style dim sum, bahn mi on bread that had come straight from the oven, Indonesian noodles and roti canai, and some damn fine pizza. The only meal that cost over $40 for a family of four eaters (plus a baby who took the occassional lick) was the bbq, and we went a bit crazy ordering the meats.

The Louisville area has no real Thai (Mai's is just very good American-Thai, not the real thing), no truly good pizza, no truly good dim sum (Jade Palace is only fairly good), no Korean bby that I know of, no Turkish, no truly good Indonesian (just an American Chinese with a few Indonesian dishes)...I could go on. I love Louisville's restaurants, don't get me wrong, but to dismiss New York because the Ciprianis fleece tourists just doesn't make sense. A lot of Louisville restaurants fleece tourists during Derby too. New York is one of the best eating cities in the world, hands down.

That said, I would never move back to New York, and we do have it good here.

Just out of curiousity Eliza, would you mind delineating what you mean by American-Thai vs. true Thai? This was a subject that came up before on the board a long time ago, and at the time I think we pretty much agreed that Louisville didn't suffer from dumbed down americanized Thai food. So I'm a little surprised to see it mentioned now. Of course I've never been to Thailand to really compare, but everything I've read / heard is that most of the local Thai places are pretty authentic...

Aaron,

I have been to Thailand only twice for a week both times, so I'm hardly an expert. I have eaten Thai in Queens numerous times, however, and there are a couple of restaurants there that taste like what I ate in Thailand.

Basically, Thai food has a number of complex, yet well-balanced flavors. In spite of that complexity, though, everything tastes very clean and pure.

When I ate at Mai's, I didn't taste that complexity. There was a certain heaviness to the dishes that you'd never find at a real Thai place, where everything is clean, fresh, and just pops with flavor. Somehow, the many flavors blend into something unmistakable that if you've tasted once, you'll know forever. I also didn't find some of the authentic Thai ingredients that I know - the beautiful little peppers, the fresh herbs, the tiny little eggplants. My spicy dishes were seasoned with pepper flakes, which is a poor approximation at best.

I don't know if I've described it at all; it's one of those things where you'll know it if you see it.

Eliza A.........You hit the nail on the head with your comments....sometimes we need to get the rest of the story on this forum....

Comparing NY to Lousiville is like comparing Lousville to some tiny town in rural KY. NY has millions more people and is a world class destination. I agree with Elza that just because some NY restaurants are overpriced that we should not overlook the world of smaller, authentic places that satisfy every palate. That said, however, Louisville has an incredible balance of accessibility (easy parking, less traffic), reasonably prices, and wide selection of food choices. There may not always be the absolute "authentic" of whatever kind of food, but there are many fusion restaurants and others that serve good ethic and other dishes by people who know their stuff. My wife and I enjoy eating out in town and there are more great choices that we can possibly choose. Just along Frankfort and Bardstown (Baxter) alone there are over 60 restaurant, cafes, bakeries, pub-bars (not counting fast-food joints) for our dining and drinking pleasures!

but to dismiss New York because the Ciprianis fleece tourists just doesn't make sense.

Huhh? Eliza, Eliza, Eliza, relax, my intention of linking this WILD review was not to dismiss the city of New York.

The first thought that came to my mind while reading the review was "wow, I could walk into Primo (or put in your favorite Italian spot) and get better quality food and service right here in Louisville than in one of New York's more renown restaurants and for less". That's it.

It's just mere chink in New York's armor! I've never dined in New York, but, common sense tells me that their dining scene suffers the same goods and bads as any other city's. CS also tells me that there's no doubt that New York's spectrum of dining fare far exceeds and out shines ours here in the humble city of Louisville.

With that being said, it was kind of neat to see Ciprianis get such a well worded spanking.

Aaron,

I have been to Thailand only twice for a week both times, so I'm hardly an expert. I have eaten Thai in Queens numerous times, however, and there are a couple of restaurants there that taste like what I ate in Thailand.

Sripriphai?

I love that place.

But, the laab and papaya salad that I had at Sala Thai, while not nearly in the category of Sripriphai, did not strike me as americanized at all.

Your point about Cipriani is well taken. Most of the best grub in NYC is above 100th, below 23rd, or in the outer boroughs.