LEO's Eats with Robin Garr
When Tony Palombino opened AP Crafters over the smoking remains of the short-lived Indigo Joe’s in Westport Village a year ago last spring, I couldn’t help wonder what the guy who might rank as Louisville’s most innovative entrepreneur of good eats was up to now.
After all, Palombino is the guy who built Tony Boombozz from a tiny pizzeria into a local chain of pizza-and-brew houses more than 15 years ago, while spinning off and incubating one new restaurant idea after another. Thatsa Wrapp, Benny B’s, Bazo’s … some flared then fizzled, while others have become local standards.
Just last month, Palombino opened another new concept, Manny & Merle, in the Whiskey Row neighborhood, a hearty Bakersfield-style mix of Latino and Anglo food and music. I’ll head over there one of these days, but first, let’s see what’s going on at AP Crafters.
Anchoring a corner of the Westport Village shopping center, AP Crafters mirrors the evolution of Westport Village, a modern remake of the old Camelot center that has thrived on a base of local restaurants and indie businesses that make an attractive commercial magnet for its suburban neighborhood. AP Crafters fits right in, taking the place of a franchised sports-bar concept with 47 units in 10 states. Never mind that it seemed to cover much of the same sports bar ground as had Indigo Joe’s; there was a familiar face at the helm and clubby dark-wood paneling and antiques, and it was all good.
They called it a “gastropub,” which is OK, I guess, as this is a malleable term, although when I hear that trendy buzzword I think of something more like Butchertown’s estimable Blind Pig, which at first glance didn’t seem to have a lot in common with AP Crafters except for a very good beer list.
But AP Crafters is evolving, and during a leisurely dinner visit the other night, I was delighted to discover that, while it still executes pub grub very nicely, the place has also developed a more upscale persona featuring serious, well-executed entrees such as you might expect at a more trendy bistro on Bardstown Road or Frankfort Avenue or NuLu’s urban streets.
Read the full review on LouisvilleHotBytes,
http://www.louisvillehotbytes.com/ap-cr ... -and-drink
And in LEO Weekly:
http://leoweekly.com/dining/ap-crafters ... -and-drink
AP Crafters Kitchen & Bar
1321 Herr Lane
Westport Village
690-5000
http://apcrafters.com
Rating: 88