I don't live in Louisville anymore, so I've got to hit places as I'm in town. Events always conspired to keep me from Proof, but I was finally able to get there while in town for Christmas, even though I had to dragoon my sick dining companion into coming with me.
First off, the 21C Museum Hotel is a stunner. I was very impressed, and so were some of my relatives from Chicago who visited another night. I didn't see any of the rooms, but the design of the common areas and the restaurant is excellent. The bathrooms were particularly sweet. I'm not a huge contemporary art fan, but they had a bigger display than I envisioned. It had always thought the museum part was a sort of gimmick but they really seem to have something.
On to dinner. It was early - and Sunday night before Christmast to boot - so the restaurant wasn't that crowded, but there were a few tables occupied. The service was very good, but we had an excellent ratio of staff to patrons so it should have been.
Partially it must have been because my expectations were set pretty high, but I did not think the food measured up to the decor or the service. It was good, mind you, but only a couple of dishes were standouts. For appetizers we had that ricotta meatball in brodo thing and the chickpea and country ham fritters. The individual ingrediants in my soup were good, but the flavors didn't really harmonize and were pretty stuble to boot. Our speculation on the fritters was "Southern falafel", but it was more like polenta. Again, good, but nothing to write home about.
On to the entrees where I had the country ham wrapped pork chop. Pork chops are one of my benchmark dishes to compare restaurants and this one did not disappoint. It was thick and cut like a steak, very juicy, and bursting with flavor. I'll admit to being a sucker for more intense flavors. This is a dish I definitely will remember. Her oxtail risotto was a bit bland by comparison, though the texture was nice. The other highlight of the evening besides the pork chop was the Weisenberger grits. I'm a typical yankee when it comes to grits - lots of sugar on top - but this was so delicious I just ate it as it. I didn't even salt it, which for those who know me is saying a lot.
So a couple of standouts, and a few solid infill dishes.
One minor nitpick suggestion I would give them. Since they are going for uber-hip, they should consider replacing their rather standard-issue flatware and cutlery with trendier high design models. There's nothing wrong with what they have objectively, but if you want to go over the top, why not do it in everything? Of course, that might risk a bit of caricature.
I'd say Proof was solid, but not so special that I'll probably go back at the expense of trying new places on my trips in town.
The other observation I'd have is about downtown generally. It was good to see signs of life on Main Street at that time. Not too long ago, you could have shot a cannon down Main St. on a Sunday night and not hit anyone. I'm not going to suggest that this place was hopping by any means, but there were some people around, particularly near the restaurants. Also, I did not find an on-street parking spot but had to valet - only $4! - which I take as a good sign. I took a pretty extenisve downtown tour the last time I was in, and continue to be pleased with downtown development, though I will always believe Louisville's heart is in the neighborhoods.
