Ferd Grisanti's

What do you guys know about a restaurant that used to be in Louisville called Ferd Grisanti's? I may not have spelled it right. I just hired a chef that was their executive chef for 7 years. He said he worked for the family. I've taught him about the Calabash style seafood we do but now I'm letting him get a little creative. Not being from here, I don't know anything about their dishes. If you've been there, what did they do well?
Steve
Chef/Owner
Son of a Sailor SFR
LaGrange,Ky

What do you guys know about a restaurant that used to be in Louisville called Ferd Grazoni? I may not have spelled it right. I just hired a chef that was their executive chef for 7 years. He said he worked for the family. I've taught him about the Calabash style seafood we do but now I'm letting him get a little creative. Not being from here, I don't know anything about their dishes. If you've been there, what did they do well?
Steve
Chef/Owner
Son of a Sailor SFR
LaGrange,Ky

Steve, I think you probably mean "Ferd Grisanti", and if you run a search you'll find it was a popular Louisville Italian fine dining staple for years. Here's Robin's review from about 5 or 6 years ago, and I'm sure you can find more threads on this forum if you search "Ferd Grisanti" in the search box in the upper right-hand corner of your screen here.

[Robin Garr]

Steve, that would be Ferd Grisanti. It was a somewhat upscale Italian restaurant in Jeffersontown that lasted for about 25 years but closed recently after the family ownership sold out and the successors, unfortunately, didn't fare so well.

The style of cooking was general Northern Italian, and they did well enough to stay in business for a generation.

What do you guys know about a restaurant that used to be in Louisville called Ferd Grazoni? I may not have spelled it right. I just hired a chef that was their executive chef for 7 years. He said he worked for the family. I've taught him about the Calabash style seafood we do but now I'm letting him get a little creative. Not being from here, I don't know anything about their dishes. If you've been there, what did they do well?
Steve
Chef/Owner
Son of a Sailor SFR
LaGrange,Ky

Steve, we used to visit Ferd's at least once a week before it was sold. I believe the latest chef there was Cory...Watson, maybe? He is wonderfully talented and creative, and very personable. If that's him, make sure he brings back the chorizo bean soup!

I will do that and yes, it is Corey Watson. He is very talented and creative. We have a private banquet room and what Corey is wanting to do after Christmas is a reservation only wine dinner where we have fresh seafood flown in from Hawaii and some upscale pork and beef items. How do you think this will go over in LaGrange.

I will do that and yes, it is Corey Watson. He is very talented and creative. We have a private banquet room and what Corey is wanting to do after Christmas is a reservation only wine dinner where we have fresh seafood flown in from Hawaii and some upscale pork and beef items. How do you think this will go over in LaGrange.

It sounds wonderful! It probably wouldn't do well in LaGrange alone but since you're so near the east end of Louisville you should be able to draw a good crowd from that area. You may want to look at some of the other wine dinners that are held around town as to pricing, number of courses etc. Quite a few have been done very successfully.

Hope this is in addition to a low country boil which was mentioned elsewhere!

There is a new restaurant going in their old location called the Emerald Club. Upscale with fresh Seafood and Steaks. Looks like they will open mid December.

I will do that and yes, it is Corey Watson. He is very talented and creative. We have a private banquet room and what Corey is wanting to do after Christmas is a reservation only wine dinner where we have fresh seafood flown in from Hawaii and some upscale pork and beef items. How do you think this will go over in LaGrange.

It sounds wonderful! It probably wouldn't do well in LaGrange alone but since you're so near the east end of Louisville you should be able to draw a good crowd from that area. You may want to look at some of the other wine dinners that are held around town as to pricing, number of courses etc. Quite a few have been done very successfully.

Hope this is in addition to a low country boil which was mentioned elsewhere!

Agreed....you'll need to pull from NE Metro Louisville, as well as western Oldham County....there is a market for upscale dining in the OC, but not sure it's large enough to sustain an on-going menu....but what you're proposing (i.e., occasional wine dinners) would have some appeal if they're marketed....

I agree also but I was thinking about doing this in my private dinning room while still doing the Calabash Seafood Restaurant in the main dinning room. I don't think the area we are in would support it enough to make it a full time thing.