LEO/LHB: Seviche: And then there was one. That one!

[Robin Garr]

LEO's Eats with Louisville HotBytes.com

What does fine dining have to do with politics? Consider this: The post-election map of the metro's voting precincts painted a telling picture of Jefferson County demographics in stark red and blue, and we're not talking Cardinals and Wildcats. Inside the Watterson, the city's liberal enclaves and African-American neighborhoods were solid Obama blue. The suburbs, in contrast, bled McCain red.

As a statistical generalization, the city and its suburbs are different, and that difference extends to dining preferences. There's a reason why the 'burbs are awash with chain dining while most of the independent local eateries that make Louisville weird are located in the People's Republics of the Highlands, Clifton and Crescent Hill, plus enclaves in and around downtown and St. Matthews.

So, while I was really sorry to learn that Chef Anthony Lamas was closing Seviche A Latin Bistro, his suburban operation on Goose Creek Road, after just under a year in business, I was not surprised.

Lamas attributed the decision to poor economic conditions, exacerbated by losses following Hurricane Ike and a kitchen fire last month. "I have done everything I could and have put all my passion in this restaurant, but it is not enough," he told the LouisvilleHotBytes forum.

I hated to see it go. Seviche is one of my favorite local restaurants, and Lamas ranks among the city's most talented chefs.

But I can't say I didn't see it coming, and I expect Lamas did, too.

Read the complete report in LEO and on LouisvilleHotBytes.

Seviche A Latin Restaurant
1538 Bardstown Road
473-8560
http://www.sevicherestaurant.com
Robin Garr's rating: 95 points

Great writeup Robin! Anthony and the gang do a tremedous job and there can't be enough written about the things he is doing. Long live Seviche! My wife and I are planning on visiting for the Argentinian menu next week.

I personally don't agree with the broader generalizations in this article. Similar trends do not always imply a relationship. There has been a big expansion in independent dining in the eat end the last 3 years or so. Some have met with great success. Shelbyville Road and Browns Lane are within site of the suburban Malls...hardly urban. On the other hand I do agree that Seviche Bistro was in a poor location and was surprised they opened in that spot.

I think the cost of rental space has as much to do with the chains vs. indys as target audience. Hot suburban locations are often in new construction that commands much higher rents than old houses on Frankfort Avenue. Thus the profit margins just aren't there. Chains by economies of scale can pay that higher rent. In addition, take the east-enders who eat in the Highlands and Creasant Hill out of the mix and those restaurants suffer a big hit.

Then again maybe I am another knuckle dragging suburbanite.

Robin, I think you're making an awful big generalization regarding dining preferences all the Blues' vs. the Reds'! Yes most of the chains are outside the Waterson but I believe the reason for this has more to do with available locations for construction than it does eating preference. On the opposite side as Mark noted the rent in older locations in the urban area allow smaller restaurants to thrive. The type of restaurants and its rise has more to do with economics than with that dining preferences of the residents of the area.

Many suburbanites trek to the urban area to eat at local restaurants and actually it's part of the charm of the restaurants. Many of us gladly bypass the chains to eat out. Also I really question the location chosen for Serviche on Goose Creek, it was off the beaten path and several other restaurants had already failed in that location. Several other excellent restaurants are surviving, even thriving elsewhere in the east end so maybe location had more to do with it than anything else.

Please leave those of us who bleed red alone as far as our dining choices, we support and believe in Louisville Originals as much as you urban blue bloods do!

Mark, I side with Robin, and think you're seriously in the minority...but other than that, I'm not touching this hot potato with a 10-foot clown pole!

What color do we Libertarians get? Green is already taken.

In addition, take the east-enders who eat in the Highlands and Creasant Hill out of the mix and those restaurants suffer a big hit.

I think this hit the nail on the head. Just because folks live inside the Watterson does not mean that they do not dine inside the Watterson. So I guess the generalization is that republicans like cookie cutter chains and dems like cool indies. How outrageously flawed logic and innuendo.

Just wondering....
Would Seviche Cafe have fared better say, in Norton Commons?

[Robin Garr]

Robin, I think you're making an awful big generalization regarding dining preferences all the Blues' vs. the Reds'!

Hey, Mark, that's why I wrote "As a statistical generalization, the city and its suburbs are different ..."

Also please note that I've long been notorious for coming up with something weird and wacky to make my reviews a little different from the competition ... I was having a little fun there, and seeing if I could get a reaction ...

[Robin Garr]

Just because folks live inside the Watterson does not mean that they do not dine inside the Watterson.

True to some extent, although that brief flirtation with $4.50/gal gasoline had a marked impact on that habit for a lot of folks.

How outrageously flawed logic and innuendo.

True to some extent, although that brief flirtation with $4.50/gal gasoline had a marked impact on that habit for a lot of folks.

Naw....we east enders just gas up the Hummer and go where ever we want. Unfortunately some of those "inside the Watterson" are self-deluded with a sense of being "hipper-than-thou". I'm sure it will play well in LEO.

[Robin Garr]

Naw....we east enders just gas up the Hummer and go where ever we want. Unfortunately some of those "inside the Watterson" are self-deluded with a sense of being "hipper-than-thou". I'm sure it will play well in LEO.

Hey, you're talking to a guy who lives two blocks from Porcini and drives a Compact Utility Vehicle ...

I personally don't agree with the broader generalizations in this article.

As Robin has already pointed out to some extent, the generalizations are doing certain rhetorical work in the article. You don't have to agree with them. What Robin has accomplished is not only speaking to the assumed audience (LEO leftists) but others who may be interested in the topic at hand (food people). Not only does he speak to both audiences but he constructs the audiences to serve his purpose, which is two-fold: to commend Seviche for its fine cuisine and to get people thinking about dining choices in Louisville. The generalizations are not meant to be agreed with or disagreed with (as no information is truly objective), but, instead, meant to start a conversation. Which is, well, what we have here.

I personally don't agree with the broader generalizations in this article.

As Robin has already pointed out to some extent, the generalizations are doing certain rhetorical work in the article. You don't have to agree with them. What Robin has accomplished is not only speaking to the assumed audience (LEO leftists) but others who may be interested in the topic at hand (food people). Not only does he speak to both audiences but he constructs the audiences to serve his purpose, which is two-fold: to commend Seviche for its fine cuisine and to get people thinking about dining choices in Louisville. The generalizations are not meant to be agreed with or disagreed with (as no information is truly objective), but, instead, meant to start a conversation. Which is, well, what we have here.

So Robin is brainwashing me?