Reader help needed on birthday dinner

Have my wife's birthday coming up next week and solicited from a highly respected friend (equivalent to Robin in his knowledge of the better spots) for a place to go where my wife had never been before for quiet, intimate dinner.

His suggestions that met that criteria:

1. Equus

2. English Grill

3. Holly Hill Inn (Midway)

Of those 3, would appreciate recent feedback as to which might be the best in all mind's as well as something particularly good that stands out on each menu.

Sorry to use this forum as a Cliffs Notes, but your advice to date has been excellent.

thx

[Robin Garr]

R, those three are all good, but forced to choose, I'd rate Equus at the top by a long stretch. The English Grill is always impressive, but I find it more pretentious than Equus. Holly Hill is nice, but for me, there's too many good choices in Louisville to justify the drive to Midway.

Equus, however, is a treasure: Dignified and discreet but never stuffy, and like its partners Corbett's and Jack's, you've got the guiding hand of Chef Dean Corbett to make it special. This one's a no-brainer in my book.

While it would be fun to disagree, on this one I can't . . . Equus cannot be beat!

If it were Spring or Summer, Midway has the advantage of a nice country drive, but to go 45 minutes each way in the winter for a limited (but nice) menu and cooking a full step down from Equus just doesn't make sense. Plus, with roads becomming icy you wouldn't necessarily want to have a leisurely cocktail or two, and Equus has one of the best & most knowledgeable bartenders on earth.

Annother enthusiastic vote of Equus. It's our go to place for special, upscale dinners. GET THE MUSHROOM FUME.

It's on my list of my five favorite dishes so far in my lifetime. BTW, I only have three dishes on my list of five.

Not to beat a dead horse, so to speak, for here's a fifth or sixth for Equus. The English Grill is very very good, and the service is impressive, but it does sort of feel like a hotel restaurant and is a bit pretentious. Go for Equus - you won't be disappointed.

I also would pick Equus, but if it is not limited to the list he provided i would choose Corbett's. Dean owns both place and both are fantastic, I just believe Corbett's is a bit more unique.

Kurt, I completely agree with you. I've only done drinks at Corbett's, however, was so impressed that it is on my short list for a special dinner.

Additionally, whichever venue you choose, be sure to let them know it's a special event, and your wife will be treated like a queen.

I would highly recommend Corbett's. My wife arranged for a small birthday party for me in the downstairs of Corbett's, and I must say it was fabulous. It was in one of their private dining rooms, which is truly something special. The walls and floors appear to be all original brickwork from when it was a residence. Even though it was downstairs the temperature was warm and their wasn't the slightest feeling of dampness.

We went with the nine course tasting menu, and Troy Ritchie, the sommelier, paired each course with some wonderful wine selections. Chris Howerton set up a truly wonderful array of dishes that were rich in flavor but never too heavy, and Chef Corbett even added some extra touches to their normal menu.

What I really appreciated is that the servers never made us feel rushed. They even slowed down or speeded up delivery of the tasting depending on everyone's comments. They had a thorough understanding of what they were serving and were able to answer any questions put forth by our party.

By the end of the night I told my wife it was most assuredly the second best birthday ever; nothing will ever beat that Atari game console when I was 8.

i was treated to a lovely (december) birthday dinner at holly hill two years ago. the property was beautiful, with all of the seasonal decorations, and i was presented with a personalized birthday card from the owners. the food was terrific and on par with some of the city's best.
however, i did find the long drive to be a bit time consuming. we left for dinner around six thirty and didn't make it home until almost midnight. i would have preferred to stay in town and maybe enjoy a cocktail or two somewhere else after dinner.

211 Clover is tucked away and consistently impressive.

Well, we went to Equus last night and have to say I was most impressed.

First of all, the service was top rate. Not only attentive, but knowledgeable. Suggestions were made, but never by being pushy, and server was professional but down to earth.

Now, the food. We had a fantastic Nantucket Scallop appetizer followed by the Mushroom Fume which was terrific.

For main courses, my wife had braised lamb with a pasta that she described as making her wonder why we do not eat lamb more often. I had a tender Duck breast that was served on a very tasty cole-slawish creation.

They also surprised my wife with an excellent dessert to cap the night off.

Also, I was actually surprised that the meal was not as expensive as I envisioned. We tipped very generously due to great service, but still walked out paying less than I had thought.

Anyhow, as we dine out seldomly alone together, I was very impressed by the experience and will definitely put it on list of return places. Only bad part of evening was our schedule was compressed, so never able to check out Jack's Lounge.