Bravo closed

Bravo over by Oxmoor Mall is closed. My wife and I will miss them, we really liked their shaved chicken chopped salad.

[Robin Garr]

Bravo over by Oxmoor Mall is closed. My wife and I will miss them, we really liked their shaved chicken chopped salad.

I'm always sorry to hear of another closing, although I have to confess that I hadn't been to Bravo for a long time. Now I need to start thinking about other places that I haven't enjoyed lately but ought to go to because I'd miss them if they were gone. Does that make sense?

We did the same thing when we heard DiFabio's on Frankfort was closing. We hadn't been for a couple years. We stopped in and had the usual experience. Great food, great atmosphere. Hated to see that place close, too.

I wonder if people are just not that into Italian anymore? Along with those two, we also lost Comeback Inn in the past year or so. Or, maybe people aren't into the kind of Italian those restaurants served.

[Robin Garr]

Mike, that's a fascinating question. It does seem that New York/New Jersey-style immigrant family Italian isn't getting the attention it used to, while some of the more upscale Italian places like Volare and Vincenzo's, which still bring a touch of family style to more authentic Italian dishes, appear to be going strong. I understand the Perso chef has bought Ciao and is going to be making some changes. That will be interesting to watch.

And then, of course, there's always Olive Garden ...

The latest Food and Dining magazine lists about 25 Italian restaurants. I'm sure a few are a stretch. But there are many known brands that have been around for a longtime and seem to be holding their own.

https://issuu.com/foodanddiningmagazine ... inter_2025

[Robin Garr]

Thanks, James! There is indeed quite a range of styles, all the way from Olive Garden to Buca di Beppo to Silvio's to Volare.

Ate there with my parents frequently when they would visit shortly after I moved to Louisville and had a place in Lyndon (late 2014). We soured on it after a couple of experiences with tables that hadn't been cleaned and probably other issues I no longer recall. Their cheesecake (imported from NYC, if memory serves) was really good.

I wonder if people are just not that into Italian anymore? Along with those two, we also lost Comeback Inn in the past year or so. Or, maybe people aren't into the kind of Italian those restaurants served.

I suspect that you have hit upon something. Here in my town we recently lost our old-school Italian restaurant, Taliano's, that I would compare to the old Lentini's when we lived in Louisville. Taliano's served the same classics like veal parm and canneloni, but faltered when the new upscale Italian place opened with more bells and whistles and really good menu items like osso buco.

[Robin Garr]

I suspect that you have hit upon something. Here in my town we recently lost our old-school Italian restaurant, Taliano's, that I would compare to the old Lentini's when we lived in Louisville. Taliano's served the same classics like veal parm and canneloni, but faltered when the new upscale Italian place opened with more bells and whistles and really good menu items like osso buco.

Speaking of Lentini's, the fact that it also closed, after the departure of the orginal family followed by a few faltering years pretty much supports the hypothesis.

Does anyone remember the brief period when Lentini's was both Italian and Vietnamese? Sure sign that the end was near ...

We don't really go out for Italian American red sauce food here. My husband is from Jersey - our last name ends with i.

It's too expensive. No idea why food here is more expensive in general here than in the NY/NJ area, but particularly pizza and basic red sauce pasta. I'm not paying $25 for spaghetti in sauce - I don't care if you call it pomodoro.

When we have to be more selective with how we spend our $$, it will go towards things we can't easily make at home for less.

Just my Italian adjacent .2 cents. I have also been thinking lately about more restaurants here being about the vibes recently than the food but that's a subject for a different thread.

[Robin Garr]

I have also been thinking lately about more restaurants here being about the vibes recently than the food but that's a subject for a different thread.

Oooh! Oooh! Do it, please!

Oooh! Oooh! Do it, please!

I'll think about it - I understand the restaurant business is brutal. I don't want to make anything harder for anyone, even if I don't care for the food/concept/whatever. So if I can come up with a way to be descriptive and vague at the same time lol....

Also, I fully understand that as a vegetarian, my perspective is probably a little different than others. Will think on it some more and try to pull my thoughts together.

[Robin Garr]

Will think on it some more and try to pull my thoughts together.

No pressure, Heather! I thought it just sounded like a good topic for discussion, but didn't consider that nuance, oops. Don't worry about it at all.