You don’t need artificial intelligence to love North of Bour

[Robin Garr]

You don’t need artificial intelligence to love North of Bourbon

Tender, mild cornmeal-breaded and fried Kentucky catfish nuggets hit the spot at North of Bourbon, and there were plenty of them.

"I recently had the pleasure of dining at North of Bourbon, a New Orleans-style restaurant in Louisville. From the moment I walked in, I was transported to the vibrant, colorful world of the Big Easy.

"The atmosphere at North of Bourbon is lively and energetic, with good music, colorful Christmas decorations, and the smell of good food and spices in the air. The menu is filled with classic New Orleans dishes as well as more unusual offerings. The portions are generous, and the flavors are bold and spicy.

"But the real star of the show is the bourbon."

Okay, hold it right there. I have to confess: I loved North of Bourbon, but those aren’t my words. I asked the new artificial-intelligence ChatGPT to write me a review in the style of Anthony Bourdain. He/she/it/they complied as a good robot should, without complaint.

This is kind of scary. Since I have no interest in an AI bot putting me out of work, it stops right here. All the rest of today’s words are mine. But I can’t deny this reality: ChatGPT got the basics right.

North of Bourbon, which opened New Year’s Eve in the heavily renovated Goss Avenue quarters that formerly housed Mr. Lee’s Lounge, is one of the city’s most popular tables now.

Pledging to blend “Bourbon, Louisville, and New Orleans into a unique  Southern experience,” North of Bourbon’s menu is inspired by the Louisiana and Mississippi roots of Chef Lawrence Weeks and the restaurant’s owners, leavened with other Southern classics that focus on the connections between Louisville and New Orleans.

If you go during the next week or two, you’ll find that Louisville-Cajun-Creole flavor further tempered by a substantial blast of … Christmas! It’s ho-ho-ho all the time during the season, with a flotilla of holiday lights hanging overhead, Christmas tchotchkes on the walls and tables, Christmas rock on the sound system, and even a gigantic blow-up Santa straddling the front door. ...

Read the complete article with both reviews on LouisvilleHotBytes,
https://www.louisvillehotbytes.com/north-of-bourbon

You'll also find this review in LEO Weekly's Food & Drink section:
https://www.leoweekly.com/2022/12/you-d ... f-bourbon/

North of Bourbon
935 Goss Ave.
749-3305
https://northofbourbon.com
https://facebook.com/NorthofBourbon
https://instagram.com/northofbourbonky

Noise Level: This popular place can get noisy enough to make conversation challenging when it’s full of happy diners and the sound of background music like Lindsey Stirling’s Snow Waltz. Decibel levels hit an average of 74.4dB with peaks to 80.6dB, approaching the level of a nearby large truck.

Accessibility: The entrance and dining room are wheelchair accessible, although wheelchair users may want to ask for a table near the front entrance; the large barrel-shape booths appear impractical for those with limited mobility.

Thanks for the review, I've been hoping you'd find your way there. As is clear from my post from a couple months back, we are huge fans of the place. On our first visit, we too learned that those front tables are not the best; the booths are much more comfortable and intimate. And yes, the Santa-themed cocktail list was a bit odd in that you can't get anything else (our server told us that it's a package deal from some vendor and apparently they lost out to a competitor for the "Miracle on 34th Street" package). Great vibe, great food, and that bourbon selection (and display with the undershelf lighting) is quite impressive.

[Robin Garr]

Yep, agreed on all counts. It's one of the rare places that I'll go back to when I'm not reviewing.

Just a comment/question:

I've been interested in trying it for some time, but when I see the menu with options like "chicken leg quarter" for $30 it gives me pause! There are many good restaurants in town . . . I understand that it's good, but is it worth that price?

[Robin Garr]

Andrew, that Country Captain is the second-most expensive entree at $30, and to be honest, I don't know what drives the price. It appears to be a fairly complex dish that also includes a named (Giffords) bacon. In the restaurant's defense, I'd say two things:

• It was one of the best dinners I've had lately, and at the end of the meal, the $63.60 tab (plus tip) for dinner with drinks seemed entirely fair. Apparently the crowd that slammed the place thought so, too.

• I know you know this, but times are changing. The combination of rising food prices and an evolving paradigm for worker costs is going to change what we think of as modest vs expensive dining. It's a decision we all are increasingly going to have to make. Dine out and pay the new price, or eat at home and, um, have you looked at your grocery bill lately?

I think Robin nailed it regarding the cost of the chicken dish. I'll add that Red Bud, just down the street, has a somewhat similar dish for $27 and I'm pretty sure back in the day, Eiderdown's Sunday Sitdown was $26. So, $30 doesn't seem too out of whack IMO. Plus, I've been three times now and each time I've walked out thinking that was money well-spent. And, to be honest, that is happening less and less these days as I've had some disappointing meals from some stalwarts in the past couple of months.

[Robin Garr]

... I'll add that Red Bud, just down the street, has a somewhat similar dish for $27 ...

Dang, you're right. And thanks for the reminder that I need to get to Red Bud one of these days too. Have you been, Steve?

Mamaw’s Chicken $27
Honey Dijon Glazed Airline Breast, Mashed Potatoes, Fried Green Beans

Yes, I've been once. I want to give them a do-over because there were elements of the meal I enjoyed but it was marred by a heavy hand on the salt shaker.

I can attest from the supply side, even cheaper cuts like chicken leg quarters ain't as cheap as they used to be. At the height of the supply chain/inflation debacle we switched from chicken breasts to leg quarters and still had to run the plate at $26+ to cover costs. We've also switched from Ribeyes to top sirloin to keep our steak plates under $40. Make no mistake, we are taking a beating on the operator side.

hi all! nice to be back. I wanted to let you all know about something that occurred last evening on our first visit to North of Bourbon.

So let me get the "high" out of the way first.
It'd taken some time for me to get us in there as I'm opposed to their c.c.-in-advance booking policy, but that's another thread... But last night, I decided we'd just "pop in" and, sure enough, they were very accommodating! Couldn't have been nicer, welcoming us and seating us in a barrel.
And keeping things on a "high", the food was excellent! I had a "wedge" app/salad and a catfish bits plate. Really tasty and well prepared. My wife, the evening special whih she really enjoyed. And she most enjoyed her cocktail(s). So much for the "high".

The "middle" would be the service. Our server was cordial enough, but once w finally got our orders in, it was long delays and a bit of a comedy of errors having the wrong dishes brought to our table by various servers. Like I said, bit of a "comedy", but a bit frustrating, none the less.

And finally - and perhaps most importantly, the "low"....
As you might guess, given the name, this place is a tribute to bourbon. It's been mentioned in previous posts in this thread how visually impressive the bourbon collection is. So when our server brought the bourbon list, I was really excited. I looked through the extensive (3-4 pages) list a number of times. And what particularly caught my eye were a couple of "allocated" ones that I had heard so much about, but were impossible to find and/or out of my price range....or both. But here they were, at a reasonable price! Not cheap, but reasonable. I ordered the more expensive one, on the rocks. It was absolutely delicious but, after finishing, I decided to go for the second one, a bit less expensive, also on the rocks. Treats for me! But the problem was, when we got our bill.
It was my wife's treat last night and it came in about 40% higher than I would have estimated. On the drive home, I queried her about it and she sheepishly said that it was my bourbons that had bumped it up so much. And when we got home, I looked at ther itemized charge slip to find that both of my bourbons had been......DOUBLES!
WTF?!
I assured her that I had never mentioned "doubles" to our server and she suggested that I phone the restaurant. I reached them late in the evening and spoke with who I believe was th owner/manager. I explained what had happened, he pulled up my wife's charge slip and confirmed yes, I had been billed for two doubles. He asked if there was any possibility that the server could have thought that I wanted doubles? No, I said. Then, the kicker....he told me that, "well, 2 oz. is our "standard" pour at our bar."
Oops...
And who was supposed to let the customer know this? (no one)
And where was it printed on the bourbon list? (it wasn't)
Oops...

At the end of the day, he graciously offered to either refund the difference ($50) to her c.c., or give us a gift-cert for the diff. I told him how much we had enjoyed our dinners and would probably be back, so just make out the gift cert and we'd pick it up from the bar, next time we're there.

But I'm not sure there'll be a "next time". My recollection is that the bourbon list that I was shown gave only the names and prices for 1 oz. pours. When I look at the bourbon menu online, it shows the names, and prices for 1 oz. pours and 2 oz. pours, a.k.a. "doubles". But no mention whatsoever that any bourbon ordered would be a double, unless otherwise requested. And no, there was no mention at all by our server, that I was being served "doubles".

And if you're wondering, when poured over the top of a very nice, molded custom ice-block - that virtually fills the glass itself - it is not as obvious as you might think to tell the difference between 1 oz. and 2 oz.

So that’s it then. Yes, I should have checked the bill, at the table, before we paid it. It could’ve all been settled there and then. And yes, North of Bourbon certainly has the right to make their own decisions about portion sizes, pricing, etc. Only thing is, if you’re going to do something as obscure as this, let the customers know up front so that you won’t appear to be doing anything that hints of “bait & switch”?

[Robin Garr]

Welcome back, Willie, and thanks for your report including the good, the bad, and the ugly.