Carly Rae's

Ate here last Friday and it was suberb. Stellar service, live music on the weekends that is high quality, and half price bottles of wine on Fridays. Menu items are cheap and very large. I got the Petite Sirloin which was very tasty with garlic smashed potatoes I would put against any in town. The salad was a real mesclin salad with spinach leaves, olives, and nearly a half a tomato! Very delicious and fresh. All this for 16.99. The lady got a wonderful large and tasty barbeque chicken entree for under 10 bucks and had enough for lunch the next day and also with very tasty veggies! All this with excellent service and a bottle of wine came to 45 with tip!
People, please don't forget about the "off the beaten path" restaurants in downtown and Old Louisville. I live downtown and can tell you for a fact the restaurant industry is really really hurting. We all know of the 5-6 restaurants to close in the east/main market corridor recently. According to a former server at one, another is closing soon (I won't mention the place by name on the forum).
Rite Way Barbeque and Kentucky Backroads have both closed in the Henry Clay, leaving Road to Morocco hanging by his teeth. I have never heard anyone on the forum talk about this fine shop. Blue Mountain Coffee on main has been hosting irregular hours it seems. I have noticed Blue Nile Ethiopian doesn't seem open at nights. I have to wonder how places like Amici are doing in Old Louisville. BBC and Cunningham's on fourth have been nearly empty on recent weeknight visits. I think the buzzworthy restaurants are doing fine, but it is up to foodies to keep the other smaller, less well known ones afloat. If you live in the east end and are thinking of Carraba's remember Amici instead. Instead of Mimi's try Cunningham's. Why eat at PF Chang's when many of you probably have never tried Ya Ching's on fourth (and they have many half priced gift cards on louisvilleoriginals.com) If downtown and Old Louisville lose their nighttime affordable restaurants, it will make living here almost useless, like living in a food desert! Thank heavens for groceries like La Bodega, neighborhood bars like Bistro 301, and coffee shops like Matthew at DCE willing to keep late hours for downtown residents!

Michael,

What a great post, and a great reminder to remember those downtown restaurants!

Thanks,
Deb

I, too, had a great experience at CarlyRae's recently! Went with a group of 6 on a Friday night. Ordered 3 bottles of wine between all of us - the half-price bottle special on Fridays is stellar. We all enjoyed our entrees - most notably two in my party who had some sort of creamy-spicy crawfish linguine. They FLIPPED for it. I and another member of the party had bison burgers, which were great. The musical entertainment was really perfect - "high quality" as a previous poster said. The place was not crowded; I wish there had been more people there. I can't wait for warmer weather when we can enjoy the patio. Their patio is truly an Old Louisville gem.

thank you so much about posting about this place, it was awesome. The food and service was wonderful. The neightborhood was scary

The neightborhood was scary

Usually that starts happening more towards the southwest of the east / main market area of town........

thank you so much about posting about this place, it was awesome. The food and service was wonderful. The neightborhood was scary

I find the East End scary - too much homogeneity, not enough character.

Signed,

The Dude at the Corner of First and Oak.

----

Seriously, not only is your post offensive and inaccurate, but saying "the neighborhood is scary" is only going to hurt business. If you think Carly's was awesome, maybe you should think before you post.

/rant.

Sorry Matthew, I disagree with you on this one. The neighborhood is a bit scary. I'm not advocating anyone to stay away but caution is in order. Being over confident and ignoring the situation won't make it OK. It's just what happens in any city anywhere when it gets big and crowded and times are a bit rough. I'd much rather see a block watch or added patrols or lights ; make people aware when there's a problem rather than ignore it and say it doesn't exist. I'm a "Let's take the city back" kind of person and dine DT regularly.

Sorry Matthew, I disagree with you on this one. The neighborhood is a bit scary. I'm not advocating anyone to stay away but caution is in order. Being over confident and ignoring the situation won't make it OK. It's just what happens in any city anywhere when it gets big and crowded and times are a bit rough. I'd much rather see a block watch or added patrols or lights ; make people aware when there's a problem rather than ignore it and say it doesn't exist. I'm a "Let's take the city back" kind of person and dine DT regularly.

Carla,

I see where you are coming from. I retract my statement that the Nancy's opinion is inaccurate. It's an opinion, so it is what it is.

I do find interesting that she said "the neighborhood was scary" while you say it is "a bit scary." There's a rhetorical world of difference in those statements.

So, the questions is not whether or not the place is scary, but what Nancy thought was scary about it. The way in which some of the houses are nice, but some are not? The day center across the street from Carly's? The "street traffic" that can be colorful at times? The liquor store across the street? The mixed racial identity of the neighborhood? The interesting sounds you hear in the nights?

From what she wrote, it's quite clear that Nancy has never been to Old Louisville nor does she know anything about it. Thus, her reaction was a knee jerk reaction. She's come onto a message board and posted a conclusion that could hurt the business at Carly Rae's based on a passing journey through this neighborhood. As this Hotbytes community gets so up in harms about "is this place closing?" rumors, I'd expect it to be offended by unsubstantiated rhetoric regarding the safety of the neighborhood in which a restaurant is located.

I've seen the crime figures. I know the relative safety of my neighborhood. It's not the safest place in the world, but it's also not a breeding ground for rape, murder, and violent crime. It's got a certain "charm" to it - a charm that should be enjoyed when people visit Carly Rae's. Unfortunately, posting that "a neighborhood was scary," does little to motivate people to make a visit. I'd think she could either share what really made her think my neighborhood is scary or she could remove that sentiment from her post - as it adds nothing positive to the conversation.

But should people be aware of their where they park and where they are walking when they go to Carly's? Sure. Nothing wrong with that. If people want to go for a walk after dinner, would I recommend some routes over others? No doubt about it. Would I want my 24 year-old girlfriend walking from my place to the Rud at midnight? Probably not. Would I make that walk with a group of people. Yes. Everything depends on context.

You're right Matthew, a bit of clarification was what was called for. Personally I love the neighborhood and would move there in a heartbeat. My end of town is too "white bread and cream cheese" to suit me. But thinking from a woman's POV I like to know ahead of time what kind of area I'm going into. I wasn't trying to insult the neighborhood in any way. Thank you for your answer. I think your last paragraph tells me we're thinking along similar lines.

From the POV of a woman who lived near Carly Rae's for a year, I think anyone who visit's Carly Rae's after dark should exercise the same caution they would if they were out on Bardstown Road at night, or Frankfort Avenue, or Main Street-pay attention to your surroundings, make sure people know where you are going and stick to the main thoroughfares. There is a liquor store right across the street run by a very nice man, and they are open late, so it's not like Carly Rae's is in a deserted area. I don't think the neighborhood should be a hinderance to visiting the restaurant at all, just as long as you remember it's a city enviroment and stay aware. There are some beautiful houses around there, by the way.

thank you so much about posting about this place, it was awesome. The food and service was wonderful. The neightborhood was scary

what did you find scary? You must be from a small town. I am from Cincinnati, and I dont think any part of Old Louisville is shady at all. You can get raped and robbed at walmart on hurstbourne as easily as you can at first and oak. it is true oak street is not as nice in the area known as smoketown, but old louisville is a beautiful neighborhood and you are missing a a large part of what makes louisville louisville. http://www.oldlouisville.com go down there during the day, when ul is in session, and drive around. better yet stop in the old louisville visitors center and get a guided tour. eat at bucks see a show at the rud, and east at 610 magnolia and see what you think. i love the urbanity of that area, the rest of louisville seems too clean and whitebread. i dunno, maybe im used to the natti.

Just wanted too chime in and say thank you to Michael and Antonia for coming in, I'm appreciative of the wonderful feedback we have had recently. next time you all come in please introduce yourself, I'm always pleased to meet a fellow foodie. It is disturbing the stigma that this neighborhood just doesn't seem to be able to shake. I myself grew up in Sanfrancisco and can tell you I feel much safer here than I do there. but like Mathew says a city is still a city know matter where you might be and to be aware of your surroundings is very important. I personally have spent 1 1/2 years managing this restaurant and have not had one incident concerning a customer and the neighborhood. Anyway just wanted too say thank you to all that have supported us and our fellow old louisville restaurants, we hope to be here for a long time........ thanks.

There have been some people that have tried to call us and have received the wrong phone#
so here is the right # (502)365-1003

Great, Garrett - we look forward to our next visit. Everyone there is always so friendly. And we'll introduce ourselves. We'll have to keep our eyes out for the guy who looks like... Barney from The SImpsons.