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Robin Garr

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"You're not really here for the food, are you, Bob?"

by Robin Garr » Wed Jan 14, 2015 3:27 pm

Craft House: "You're not really here for the food, are you, Bob?"

LEO's Eats with Robin Garr

Griddled cheese at Craft House
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Remember the old joke about a hunter's repeated efforts to bag a giant grizzly bear? It's a little too long and risque to quote here in full, but it ends with the bear lovingly whispering, "You're not really here for the hunting, are you, Bob?"

Craft House in Crescent Hill is kind of like that too. It's a delightful neighborhood hangout; and with 40-plus draft beer selections made by a baker's dozen local microbreweries, it ranks among the city's top destinations for locavore suds. But I don't think people really come for the food.

Although I admire its purported commitment to local and organic fare, I'm seeing Craft House as more a destination for beer. The fare is reliable, reasonably affordable, never awful but rarely exciting. It seems best suited to lay down a base for the beer: "Meh. Get me another pint."

Don't get me wrong. I like Craft House. It gives me the warm fuzzies to have such an amiable eatery within walking distance of my home, even if it has dramatically increased the difficulty of finding an evening parking space along that stretch of Frankfort. I watched eagerly over the sumer as workers gutted the old Darkstar Tavern, opening up the lofty exposed-brick room from stem to stern and dropping in a beautiful new bar.

Close readers will recall that we dropped in for a quick preview on opening night a few months ago (LEO Weekly, Sept. 3, 2014) with similar, albeit preliminary findings: A Caesar salad was palatable; oyster hushpuppies looked like undersize versions of the iconic Louisville "rolled" oyster but were almost devoid of oyster flavor; an eggplant-based veggie burger was just okay.

Our more recent visit, after allowing a few months for the kitchen to hit its stride, yielded similar findings. The atmosphere was fine, the service exemplary, casual as you'd expect of a beer-based venue but right on point; and three beers hit the spot ... Our food picks, though, repeated the earlier experience: Palatable, yes, but somehow lacking the soul that pushes first-rate cookery beyond the ordinary. ...


Read the full review on LouisvilleHotBytes,
http://www.louisvillehotbytes.com/?p=5186
And in LEO Weekly:
http://www.leoweekly.com/2015/01/craft- ... -food-bob/

Craft House
2636 Frankfort Ave.
895-9400
http://crafthousebrews.com
https://facebook.com/crafthousebrews
Robin Garr's rating: 81 points
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Alanna H

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Re: "You're not really here for the food, are you, Bob?"

by Alanna H » Wed Jan 14, 2015 4:39 pm

Thanks for posting, Robin! My monthly dinner group chose Craft House for our January dinner, but I really hadn't heard much about it before. Since I never learned to enjoy or appreciate beer (or hell, any kind of alcohol, period) and will just be sampling the food, I hope this doesn't turn out to be a major disappointment.
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Adam Robinson

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Re: "You're not really here for the food, are you, Bob?"

by Adam Robinson » Wed Jan 14, 2015 5:04 pm

Agree all around. Incidentally, it's also where I got that darned bruschetta I posted a few moons back. That said, it was still a pretty enjoyable time, and it was crazily packed.
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Robin Garr

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Re: "You're not really here for the food, are you, Bob?"

by Robin Garr » Wed Jan 14, 2015 5:05 pm

Alanna H wrote:I hope this doesn't turn out to be a major disappointment.

No, I think you'll be happy, Alanna. I really tried to maintain balance here. I really do like Craft House, and the beer program is super. The food just isn't the No. 1 thing. In a way, if you think about it, BBC St Matthews is pretty much like that too. The food is decent, goes with beer, but if you judged it on the food alone, it just woldn't be a destination eatery.
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Re: "You're not really here for the food, are you, Bob?"

by Eric Hall » Wed Jan 14, 2015 10:41 pm

Robin Garr wrote:
Alanna H wrote:I hope this doesn't turn out to be a major disappointment.

No, I think you'll be happy, Alanna. I really tried to maintain balance here. I really do like Craft House, and the beer program is super. The food just isn't the No. 1 thing. In a way, if you think about it, BBC St Matthews is pretty much like that too. The food is decent, goes with beer, but if you judged it on the food alone, it just woldn't be a destination eatery.


In my opinion, the entire BBC brand is in need of freshening up. Beer wise, they were surpassed years ago. They get credit for being innovators before craft beer exploded. But if you are keeping score, that leaves average beer AND average food in a competitive beer and food town.
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Re: "You're not really here for the food, are you, Bob?"

by Ray Griffith » Thu Jan 15, 2015 9:15 pm

Robin,

That was yet another great review. I do agree about the Oyster Hushpuppies. I thought that they might have made a mistake during the prep and just plain ol' forgot the oysters! :o

However, the Crawfish Remoulade and the Catfish and Chow Chow might elevate your impression on their food offerings. Those alone will lure me back, and of course the beer selection is very nice.
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Re: "You're not really here for the food, are you, Bob?"

by Doug Davis » Sun Jan 18, 2015 5:29 pm

We have really enjoyed the food there. :shock:
I eat, therefore I am.
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Robin Garr

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Re: "You're not really here for the food, are you, Bob?"

by Robin Garr » Sun Jan 18, 2015 6:43 pm

Doug Davis wrote:We have really enjoyed the food there. :shock:

I don't think I bashed it, exactly. I didn't set out to do that. Just observe that it's not what I'd call a destination dining room. It is a destination local beer house.

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