Discussion of Robin Garr's Rye on Market review

[Robin Garr]

Rye will make you eat your brussels sprouts and beg for more
LEO's Eats with Robin Garr



Somewhere out there in this wonderfully diverse world, there is bound to be at least one human who truly loves, loves, loves brussels sprouts.

I have not yet met this person. Let’s face it, a brussels sprout is nothing but a tiny cabbage, with all of the faults that its bigger sibling is heir to, but - in my opinion, at least, and apparently that of many others - few of the virtues. Overcook them and they get stenchy. Undercook them and they stay hard, without the saving grace of crunch. And no matter what you do with them, it seems, they remain, well, tiny cabbages.

But the other night I met a brussels sprout - a bowl of them, actually - that swept me off my feet. And therein lies the resounding point of this review: Give Executive Chef Tyler Morris and Head Chef Joe Banet and their kitchen crew at Rye anything to cook - yes, anything, even a brussels sprout - and they can make it amazing and delicious.

I submit in evidence Rye’s Korean roasted brussels sprouts. An $8 side dish, it’s not even one of the small plates or main eats that make up the core of Rye’s concise, frequently changing menu. But perhaps it ought to be. The other night four of us passed around a dish, greedily watching each other to make sure no one nabbed more than a fair share, munching and sighing with uniform delight.

What made them so freaking good? It’s hard to put a finger on it, but for starters, they weren’t chewy. The chef’s decision to slice them into relatively thin rounds for quick cooking surely helped with that. So did roasting said slices, which contributed sweet caramelization to the flavor mix without shifting the sprouts from green to olive drab. Add elusive piquant and tangy spice and top it off with rice grains magically puffed into chewy flavor nuggets. Yeah, I said it. Best brussels sprouts ever.

And that wasn’t all. From luscious, well-made cocktails to seductive desserts, I can’t think of a thing we had that missed the mark.

First, though, let’s get the down side on the table: This is a hip, popular NuLu joint. You know what that means!

1. It’s loud as the banging boiler factory of hell. You really have to focus to carry on a conversation with your partner. More than once I thought about resorting to texting.

2. It’s dark as a cave. Large hanging spheres look like full moons dangling overhead, but they don’t cast nearly as much light. It’s hard for these old eyes to squint out menu details, or see what exactly is on my plate.

Guess what! I don’t care! At the risk of repetition, the food is amazing. So are the cocktails. Loud and dark don’t bother me! Bring on a classic Negroni ($9) or a not-so-classic but delicious scarlet-topped Absinthe Old Fashioned ($12) and leave me alone with the menu, and I’ll be a happy boy.

Read the full review on LouisvilleHotBytes,
http://www.louisvillehotbytes.com/rye-w ... g-for-more

And in LEO Weekly:
http://www.leoweekly.com/dining/rye-wil ... d-beg-more

Rye on Market
900 E. Market St.
749-6200
Web: http://ryeonmarket.com
Facebook: http://goo.gl/jqhHOR
Robin Garr’s rating: 92 points

Bowl of these from Rye and a bowl of Tok-Sel from Mayan Café equals awesome veg time!

First, though, let’s get the down side on the table: This is a hip, popular NuLu joint. You know what that means!

1. It’s loud as the banging boiler factory of hell. You really have to focus to carry on a conversation with your partner. More than once I thought about resorting to texting.

2. It’s dark as a cave. Large hanging spheres look like full moons dangling overhead, but they don’t cast nearly as much light. It’s hard for these old eyes to squint out menu details, or see what exactly is on my plate.

Robin, it's funny. Your down side is my up side. I love loud and dark. I hate a bright, quiet restaurant. I'll even take one out of the two as long as the other condition is present. If a place is bright, it had better be lively. If a place is quiet, it had darn well better be dark.

[Robin Garr]

Robin, it's funny. Your down side is my up side. I love loud and dark. I hate a bright, quiet restaurant. I'll even take one out of the two as long as the other condition is present. If a place is bright, it had better be lively. If a place is quiet, it had darn well better be dark.

Well, of course this is why they make ice cream in chocolate, vanilla and strawberry all three.

I hope the tone of that section makes it clear, though, that first, I'm having a little fun, and second, I'm pretty much talking about extremes. I don't want a place that's solemn! But if I go out with friends, I do like to be able to talk with them. Same for the lighting. I don't want lighting like a Woolworth's lunch counter. "Romantically dim" is ideal. But it is possible to set up lighting in such a way that the room is dim, but you can still read your menu and see what's on your plate. That's all I'm askin ... is that too much?

Oh, yes, I understand that you weren't slamming the restaurant for having those qualities. I was speaking in more general terms.

But whatever, sorry the Blue Boar closed, ya old fogey!

[Robin Garr]

But whatever, sorry the Blue Boar closed, ya old fogey!

Git off my lawn!