CJ likes Cafe Lou Lou, mostly ...

[Robin Garr]

A generally positive review, glowing at points, grants Cafe Lou Lou three stars, although her evident dislike for Marsha's awesome peanut butter pie does somewhat call her taste buds into question.

It also seems unclear whether she is reviewing the St Matthews or Highlands locations or both. Thinking about Havana Rumba and Simply Thai as other exambles of two-unit local mini-chains, these siblings are rarely identical twins.

I'll also keep my own counsel about the ethnicity of "gyro roll on lavash," as I don't know whether to source that to the CJ reviewer or Cafe Lou Lou's menu.

Your thoughts? Is the new food guru wearing well with you, or hard to get used to?

http://www.courier-journal.com/story/en ... /13056941/

Maybe it's just me, but I'm getting comfortable with her style. This review seemed balanced and straight forward, at least to the extent I could tell what went well, what was Ok, and where the food/service came up a bit short. I didn't see anything to get my knickers twisted in a knot about.

[Robin Garr]

I didn't see anything to get my knickers twisted in a knot about.

Subtle ... and very funny!

This is her best piece thus far. I think we are starting to see her real voice. There was much more confidence in the writing and the construction.

The quibble at the beginning seems unnecessary and starts the reader off with negativity that I think clouds the rest of the review. The informal style makes me unsure if I am reading a review of many local pizza places or just Lou Lou. Better framing instead of "edgy" banter at the start could have prevented this.

I still think she is a "food reviewer" not a "restaurant reviewer" as she pays lip service to everything else and gives the food dominance in the piece. That's ok, I just need to change my expectation of how these things are going to go.

I was also a bit confused by the "Lou Lou is not a Greek restaurant" lead-in on the gyro paragraph. Since she never defines what style Lou Lou claims, I have no reason to think Lou Lou is a Greek restaurant, or Irish, or Mexican. Telling me what Lou Lou is not, even as part of a backhanded compliment, is a poor writing choice.

I still think this is Nancy's strongest piece yet and I look forward to more from her as we go along.

I will say I was puzzled that, with so much to choose from, she visited twice and ordered one of the same entrees both times. And it seems odd she only ordered one appetizer and one dessert total in two visits. There's not a single mention of our extensive beer and wine lists and cocktail menu. Perhaps a tee-totaler? Not that there's anything wrong with that, but that would be important info to know about a restaurant reviewer - and of course, you wouldn't need to imbibe to report back about what was on offer.

Still, I'm happy she liked our pizzas and gyros, and grateful for all the other nice stuff she said.

[Robin Garr]

she visited twice

Just out of curiosity, Marsha, did management know there was a critic in the house on either or both occasions? Or did she sneak out un-detected?

I was also a bit confused by the "Lou Lou is not a Greek restaurant" lead-in on the gyro paragraph. Since she never defines what style Lou Lou claims, I have no reason to think Lou Lou is a Greek restaurant, or Irish, or Mexican. Telling me what Lou Lou is not, even as part of a backhanded compliment, is a poor writing choice.

If pressed, I'd probably say we are a casual, Mediterranean/Italian eatery with a Cajun twist. That is NOT to say we put a Cajun twist on Mediterranean and Italian food. "Lou Lou" references Louisville and New Orleans, Louisiana, where Clay owned another restaurant before moving back to Louisville to open Lou Lou.

Yes, Robin, she's not wrong - our Gyros is served in the thin lavash bread we serve all our rolled sandwiches in - you should try it! And yes, she came in under the radar, and both times to the St. Matthews location.

[Robin Garr]

our Gyros is served in the thin lavash bread we serve all our rolled sandwiches in

And I see that "gyro roll" is actually your menu title for it, so she's not making that up.

And, while I'm pimping a little bit, big news: Cafe Lou Lou's Highlands location is now serving liquor. Since that location opened we'd had only beer and wine (but GREAT beer and wine) on offer. You can visit our Facebook page here to see our new cocktail menu, now available at both locations: https://www.facebook.com/CafeLouLouLouisville

Also, 38 BOURBONS available...soon to be 42. So it's a good week to be Cafe Lou Lou.

The gyro roll is one of my go-to sandwiches. I also enjoy the daily specials- that beef stroganoff was amazing, to say the least!