Rye Reconsidered

I've been to Rye twice in the last two weeks and boy have I been surprised.
I first ate at Rye over a year ago and had a nice meal but really nothing that made me want to hurry back. Well the food has gone from OK to Gee Willikers I've never tasted anything like this and it's delicious.
IA couple Sundays ago I drop in with a friend to sit at the bar for a nibble. I got a butternut risotto with pecans that was out of this world. Coupled with shared Korean brussel sprouts with puffed rice it was a perfect meal.
Tonight when a friend and I couldn't get into Mayan Café (they seem to have a $3 margarita on Mondays) we went across the street. My friend had the salmon which was so good he wouldn't even let me have a bite. I had the duck breast with hoisin jus and smoked yam garnished with granola. I have no words for how exciting this was- the granola really didn't add a lot of flavor but an interesting change of texture.
I've been to a lot of new (at least to me) places recently and been disappointed in various ways. Rye has given me a new faith that there is still a lot of fine eating to be had.
I can't wait to get back to Rye.

[Robin Garr]

I've been to Rye twice in the last two weeks and boy have I been surprised.
I first ate at Rye over a year ago and had a nice meal but really nothing that made me want to hurry back. Well the food has gone from OK to Gee Willikers I've never tasted anything like this and it's delicious.

Very, very similar to my response upon eating there last month, Gary.

Rye will make you eat your brussels sprouts and beg for more

I am late in posting this, however, Gayle DeM (My foodie partner in crime) and I ventured to Rye on a recent Friday evening and had the most wonderful meal.

At Robin's recommend, we did order the sprouts (I could make a meal off of those all by themselves), but that was not all.....

Gayle had a wonderful soup to start off with (I think it was rutabaga) that I got a lovely taste of. She opted for the small sides for her meal with the sprouts and a delightful butternut risotto. I went the more "traditional" route...I started with the pork belly toast (a small meal unto itself), half of which came home for lunch the next day. And then I also had their duck breast. OH MY.

The wine selections are very nice, although I found it odd that they didn't offer Malbec by the glass, just by the bottle (that is my poison of choice these days). But we made do...we split a bottle. The staff is very informative and accommodating.

Now I did order dessert for myself. A panna cotta that was "artfully" done with wonderful fruits and oddly enough, as bit of granola on the top....it was tasty, but I must say that I'm spoiled by Josh Moore's at Volare.

Gayle and I are already trying to figure out how were going to fit Rye into our rotation of wonderful places to dine in Louisville.....

What Bill forgot was the "starter" that we shared: Tempura Fried Vegetables with Chili-Lime Aioli. OMG to-die-for! So crispy, totally non-greasy, and inluding tempura fried radishes. I may just order two bowls next time and forget everything else!

The soup I had, rutabaga-apple was an evening special, I believe.

We will be going back!

[Robin Garr]

I'm really glad to see all these glowing reviews coming out of Rye! To be honest, after an early lunch visit was only so-so, I hadn't included Rye among my top-tier list for NuLu. Then when I went back to review it a couple of months ago, I was all, "Whoa! Why aren't more people talking about this!?"

And now you are.