Voice-Tribune review by Robin Garr
You don't need to know nearly as much French as you used to do in order to enjoy dinner without assistance at La Coop. Well, you don't need a French dictionary much, anyway, once you translate the moniker "Bistro à Vins" to discover that it means something like "unpretentious eatery and wines."
The oversize menu with its small print in long columns still looks a lot like a French bistro menu, though – and I like that – but "starters," "salads," "soups" and main courses fall under their English names now. When La Coop opened two years ago, most of those terms were offered in unapologetic French. But it's easier now, especially for those of us who aren't real clear about the word "Entrée" meaning not "Main Course" but "Appetizer" in French. ("Entrée," "Entry," can you hear it?)
There are still a few French words that it might pay you to know: "Escargots," for example, might surprise you unless you know that they are snails – out of the shell, bathed in delicious garlic. "Frites," on the other hand, are French (or Freedom) fries, and they are delicious, fried in exotic and succulent duck fat.
La Coop is still just as French as French can be in just about every particular, from its very Parisian look and style to chef Bobby Benjamin's "traditional French bistro cuisine with a slight Southern twist" and sommelier Aaron Wilson's all-French and very well-chosen wine list. The beer list is mostly French and Belgian, while liquor offerings are international.
Read my full review on LouisvilleHotBytes.com:
http://www.louisvillehotbytes.com/you-d ... ve-la-coop
and in the Voice-Tribune:
http://www.voice-tribune.com/life-style ... e-la-coop/
La Coop: Bistro à Vins
732 E. Market St.
410-2888
http://Coopbistro.com
Facebook: https://Facebook.com/lacoopbistro
Robin Garr's rating: 87 points