My great fortune of returning home frequently came to an end about this time last year after my mother passed and I re-located my Aunt West of the Mississippi so we could help care for her. There have been a lot of changes in a year. My son cried when I told him Palermo Viejo closed and I wept at the thought of no more Elvis on Horseback with she-crab soup from St. Charles Exchange. With the loss of LaCoop went my fav dish there, Coq Au Vin. The good news is that there are still by my count, about a million great restaurants in Louisville, give or take a couple.
Where to dine was a tough decision. With only two nights we were influenced by our lodging downtown, so we first chose a full dinner at Ward 426. I still consider it a duty to try the new ones. We were joined by high school friends and it was a great choice. From the perfect Martini (stirred, not shaken) to the dessert that our entire table fought over, the pistachio oil cake and everything in-between, we had a great experience. The in-betweens deserve mention too. LittleNeck Clams were garlicky enough I believed I might be dining in Winnipeg again at The Vampire. Since good veal is tough to get West of the Mississippi that was my chosen entree. With potatoes some ham and garlic au jus I was a happy camper. We were all pleased enough that Ward 426 will be added to our "do-over" list. We finished the evening with a nightcap at 8 up. We enjoyed the open air rooftop lounge. The entire place was gorgeous.
Friday evening however was the focal point. Revisiting five of our favorite places in a progressive dinner was too much of a challenge for the ladies so it was left up to the men to dine our way through the menus. Earlier I mentioned I loved Elvis on Horseback so we opted for the next best thing, stuffed dates at the Down One Bourbon Bar. They satisfied a craving but it was a dry stop in the drink department. I was informed that they didn't have the ingredients for a new favorite cocktail so I passed. Probably a fortuitous event that early in the evening. On to...
Milkwood. Easily the shining star of our tour. A recent menu change brought some new apps. Foie Gras with a blackberry "unagi" which I thought was eel but was actually preserves and was to die for. The sweetness of the blackberries combined with the fatty goodness of the seared duck liver was pure heaven. My partner in crime chose the Octopus Bacon which was a previous favorite and we shared the bone marrow dish which was also a big winner. If they hadn't already sold out of the sweetbreads (by 6PM)we would have ordered them also, but that leaves something to pine for until the next trip. I did imbibe while there. The bartender served me a terrific Julian Van Winkle Old Fashioned. I knew I could get it at Milkwood because that's where Ed filmed Julian for his show Mind of a Chef. On to...
Proof. Here I took a step back and enjoyed a Manhattan with the charcuterie and cheese plate. The meats, Spalla Cotta, Tesa and headcheese were terrific but the star was the Kentucky made cheeses. One in the style of brie and a bleu cheese. Those, the apricot peach preserves and marmalade on thinly sliced toasted baguette, well it was decadent. My partner in crime chose the grilled octopus purposely to compare it to the octopus bacon at Milkwood. Round 1 to Milkwood, but he said it was also very good. On to...
Rye. This stop included fresh oysters with a Martini. The oysters were indeed fresh and briny, but Rye is stubborn and refuses to provide any condiment such as Frank's hot sauce. I know. The oysters themselves are the show and to dirty up the taste is heresy. Bullstuffing. I teeny-tiny dash of Franks livens things up. They did give me a bottle of Tapatio sauce. Great on Tacos but ugh on oysters. My friend had the tomato soup and unfortunately pronounced it pretty bland. On to...
Decca. I began with a Manhattan. Why you ask? Because Cameron the Manhattan Goddess makes them and I like them the best of any place in town. Unfortunately for me she had the evening off. Bad planning on my part, but the mixologist on duty filled in nicely. We both really like the mussels. This was one of their many excellent recipes with sausage, potatoes and something called Labna. Don't know what that was but the dish was superb. News flash. I just googled it and it's a creamy cheese spread which explains the creaminess of the broth.
Burp. Can't wait to come back.
