Welcome to the Louisville Restaurants Forum, a civil place for the intelligent discussion of the local restaurant scene and just about any other topic related to food and drink in and around Louisville.
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Chris Dunn

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Re: GQ disses Louisville Food

by Chris Dunn » Wed Mar 25, 2009 4:07 pm

If I'm not mistaken, this very same publication, in the previous month's issue, listed ear-X-tacy as one of the best independent record stores in the country.

So we've got that going for us, which is nice.
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John Greenup

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Re: GQ disses Louisville Food

by John Greenup » Wed Mar 25, 2009 4:36 pm

I don't think anyone is really missing the point, Phil....I think it's just a natural reaction to a less-than-complimentary remark about our community -- a community in which we take pride and enjoy living....this forum is an outlet for opinions, reactions, venting and debate, and I agree w/you that a more amplified response must come from another level -- e.g., The Louisville Convention and Visitors' Bureau...promoting Louisville IS their job.

But that won't keep someone with an attitude and a means of expressing it from throwing an occasional journalistic dart at Louisville, or Kentucky in general....I don't know Mr. Comer, nor do I know how long he lived here (he claims to be a native), but Louisville apparently didn't hold what he was looking for in life...I've traveled throughout much of the world -- New York, LA, Hawaii, London, Paris, and crawled around some dusty Egyptian tombs --but always enjoy coming back here and calling Louisville home...we have virtually everything that larger cities have -- arts, sports, fine dining, a unique culture and friendly people -- and I'm not the least bit bothered by an innocuous filler piece in a magazine that I rarely open, let alone read....
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Phil Gissen

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Re: GQ disses Louisville Food

by Phil Gissen » Wed Mar 25, 2009 4:50 pm

John,
I appreciate your pride in the community. However, that does not bring in tourist or convention money. As I said, a little blurb in a magazine with the readership of GQ can hurt Louisville exponentially. As long as I live here, I want people from other places to appreciate the city and to come here and spend money. You must admit, that Louisville could use an influx of money. While I will agree that the restaurants are great, Louisville does need to improve its public schools, and infrastructure. Money will help the city do this. Tourism can bring in tons and once people from other states experience the restaurants here, they will be back. I guarantee it!
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Re: GQ disses Louisville Food

by MichaelBolen » Wed Mar 25, 2009 5:13 pm

You guys don't want to admit it, but Louisville has a HORRIBLE reputation nationally as a slow, backwater town...if people have heard of it in general. The fact is, Evansville is a slow backwater town, but to those on the outside looking in, Louisville and Evansville are eqivalent. Does that make sense? As we all know, this is so far from the truth. Louisville is in fact very hip and very progressive, especially inside I-264.

As Phil said, how does a city like Nashville get better press than Louisville? Louisville is INFINITELY cooler, more organic, and more hip. As I have stated time and again, the only cities that beat Louisville for coolness, restaurants, and arts in the 1-3 million metro range are probably Austin and Portland.

Louisville doesn't yet have a buzz, and it would benefit the city to have a buzz. Growth and change are good. Transplants like John and Phil and myself and others here who have lived internationally and across the US will only make this area more interesting.

With regards to Andy Comer, he likely grew up in a suburb of Louisville, made it downtown only a handful of times, graduated college, and left the state never to return but for short trips where he stayed with family in the suburbs and ate at Texas Roadhouse on Outer Loop close to his parents house (I am just guessing here). Also, from what hear, part of the picture he paints of the city WAS what it was like in the 80s and early 90s. From what I hear, Louisville has done a complete 180 in the past 10 years, and the word needs to get out that it is a hip city.
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Re: GQ disses Louisville Food

by John Greenup » Wed Mar 25, 2009 5:20 pm

Phil Gissen wrote:John,
I appreciate your pride in the community. However, that does not bring in tourist or convention money. As I said, a little blurb in a magazine with the readership of GQ can hurt Louisville exponentially. As long as I live here, I want people from other places to appreciate the city and to come here and spend money. You must admit, that Louisville could use an influx of money. While I will agree that the restaurants are great, Louisville does need to improve its public schools, and infrastructure. Money will help the city do this. Tourism can bring in tons and once people from other states experience the restaurants here, they will be back. I guarantee it!


Fundamentally, I don't think we disagree, Phil. If GQ ran a complete article on Louisville that was deemed less-than-flattering, I would probably be as concerned as many of my fellow posters -- but I'm not.
Like everyone, I want to see, hear and read more positive stories about what Louisville offers -- yet not overreact to an occasional tepid drive-by observation in a magazine written by a former resident who may visit occasionally, if at all...but Michael's prior post is largely on-target -- Louisville is a well-kept secret to many....time to get the word out!

I don't know...either I'm underestimating the influence of GQ, or you're overestimating it....
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Re: GQ disses Louisville Food

by Robin Garr » Wed Mar 25, 2009 5:57 pm

MichaelBolen wrote:From what I hear, Louisville has done a complete 180 in the past 10 years, and the word needs to get out that it is a hip city.

Take it from a guy who was a foodie here in the '70s and writing about restaurants for the now-defunct afternoon paper in the '80s, Michael. That's absurd. Louisville's interest in dining out goes back a long way - to our grandparents' time at least - and the modern dining revolution - and the Bardstown Restaurant Row - were going pretty strong by the late 1970s.

Evansville? Shirley, you jest.
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Matthew D

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Re: GQ disses Louisville Food

by Matthew D » Wed Mar 25, 2009 9:31 pm

Count me out if a list is being made for those who support the idea that we need to "advertise" all that is good about Louisville.

I talk up Louisville as often as I can (to those who care to listen). I go out of my way to show out-of-town guests a great time. As a result, I've had a number of friends tell me - when I get the chance, I'm moving to Louisville. I've also had friends tell me, I could never live in Louisville for X reason.

To each his own. But I don't think Louisville needs to be advertised. If people are interested, they'll do their research. And if their not, great - more of Louisville for me.

And before Phil jumps on my resistance to advertising, two thoughts. 1) The convention business in Louisville is huge. Between the churches, and the FAA, and the hot rods, and the .... 2) as my business-savvy dad often says, Louisville's never going to become a national player or a destination city until it because a national hub for a major airline. I know there is Southwest, but people are not going to put up with traveling through Chicago, Cincy, Houston, or Atlanta to come to Louisville for the weekend. Ain't happening.

The minute you get that hub, though, you get other "advances" like, ummm, NBA basketball. And, then, it's not Louisville anymore. I don't know what it would be, but I have bad visions of "Cincy South" or "Indy South." No thanks.
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Re: GQ disses Louisville Food

by Jason G » Wed Mar 25, 2009 10:07 pm

Personally I wouldn't mind being Indy South this coming weekend...
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Re: GQ disses Louisville Food

by Sonja W » Wed Mar 25, 2009 11:43 pm

I agree with Phil in that Louisville has been unsuccessful in promoting itself as a foodie-friendly city. Why is that? Well, it's both external and internal. External, because too many newspapers/publications rely on their existing low-paid arts/culture staff to cover food writing. There isn't time, resources (and often, inclination) for them to go beyond a few Google searches and do real research. And these writers weren't hired in the first place for their food cred. Music and style, maybe, but not food. Consequently, most general articles that address the Louisville food scene read as if they were written ten years ago.

Internal? Well, based on my admittedly subjective viewpoint, the people I've met via Greater Louisville Inc.(the chamber of commerce) don't strike me as particularly foodie-oriented. Most are from the business/marketing world. They're fine people and work hard to promote the city, but their focus is on biggest-bang-for-the-buck appeal. If you're trying to entice a convention, what's your most-likely sales angle? Appealing to the maximum 10% of your potential clients who love unpredictable menus? I doubt it.
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Re: GQ disses Louisville Food

by Steve P » Thu Mar 26, 2009 12:11 am

Matthew D wrote:Count me out if a list is being made for those who support the idea that we need to "advertise" all that is good about Louisville.

And before Phil jumps on my resistance to advertising, two thoughts. 1) The convention business in Louisville is huge. Between the churches, and the FAA, and the hot rods, and the .... 2) as my business-savvy dad often says, Louisville's never going to become a national player or a destination city until it because a national hub for a major airline. I know there is Southwest, but people are not going to put up with traveling through Chicago, Cincy, Houston, or Atlanta to come to Louisville for the weekend. Ain't happening.

The minute you get that hub, though, you get other "advances" like, ummm, NBA basketball. And, then, it's not Louisville anymore. I don't know what it would be, but I have bad visions of "Cincy South" or "Indy South." No thanks.


Matthew,

Your point about the convention business in L'ville is spot on...Becky has been in the construction industry for many years and L'ville is one of the industry's favorite (regional) destinations.

As for your comments regarding airline "hubs"...be careful what you wish for. Having just "graduated" a couple of years ago from a 25 year career in the aviation industry I wouldn't wish being a "hub" city on anyone. The point however is mute because (and I'll bet ya something nice) a hub ain't never-ever gonna happen in Louisville.
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Re: GQ disses Louisville Food

by looi » Thu Mar 26, 2009 1:35 am

Marketing dollars and a keen sense of direction and dedication from our city government are needed if we are to inform non Louisvillian of theculinary treasure that awaits them here. Unfortunately it is not so and thus we are still though of as a fried chicken town.

The Chamber of Commerce encourages out of towners to patronise the Fourth Street area and the city openly invites chains to set up shop here with no regards to the consequences of the independent restaurants with smaller budget but produces great food. Which river city has only two restaurants on its banks besides Louisville, one of which is called Crappy Joe's.

The Zagat people were not invited with excuse of lack of funds. It was the same excuse when we chefs were invited to cook at the prestigeous JBF "Taste of Louisville" dinner. Thank you Brown Forman, Kentucky Proud and Kentucky Cattlemen for all the assistance along with our suppliers whose FOC products helped frayed the cost of the whole trip.

Until the city is wiling to assist, it would takes a very great effort from the rest of us to send the message out that we really have a great dining scene to offer. Some countries even market their cuisine, for tourism or truth.
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Re: GQ disses Louisville Food

by Phil Gissen » Thu Mar 26, 2009 6:35 am

Here! Here! looi! You get it! Hey, some of you need to rip off the insulation and realize that tourist dollars will help every independent restaurant in the city. How much power does Zagat's have? Ask anyone from a large city.
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Re: GQ disses Louisville Food

by Mark R. » Thu Mar 26, 2009 7:46 am

Steve P wrote:I wouldn't wish being a "hub" city on anyone. The point however is mute because (and I'll bet ya something nice) a hub ain't never-ever gonna happen in Louisville.

Great point Steve. There are 2 major thing being a hub does. It will set you up to lose a majority of your airline business if your hub airline has financial difficulties. Secondly it ensures you have higher air fares because one airline has a monopoly, flight costs out of Louisville are much more competitive than out of Cincinnati for example.

Besides, Louisville is already the hub for a major airline, UPS! Which actually contributes a lot more jobs than being the hub for a passenger airline.
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carla griffin

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Re: GQ disses Louisville Food

by carla griffin » Thu Mar 26, 2009 9:14 am

I think we're all agreed that tourism dollars would be of incredible value to Louisville. That's a given. How to get the word out to draw the crowd in is the snag. Typically, when any publication puts a "touchy/feely" article within its pages they try to do it as cheaply as possible. Advertising sales pushes content for most magazines like GQ. i.e.. "We only had 8% of our advertising sales out of the southern states last year. Let's do some articles on the south to draw in southern readers and garner advertising from their industries. " ( You can almost bet that if an article is run about KY it's because the magazine wants to sell advertising to someone in the bourbon industry.) Then, rather than run the expense of actually sending someone on a road trip and pay for gas, hotels or a flight, they have someone sit and google OTHER articles. So what the public gets is the same old info rehashed and put into print with slightly different wording. That's why so much of what we read sounds so dated. It is! REAL reporting, for many publications, is a thing of the past. It's a very expensive expenditure.

Here's my proposal... let's contact GQ, tell them we read their article and found it...um...lacking. We - meaning our party folks here on this very forum - then offer to put up one their writers for a week and show him the town. We absorb the entertainment costs of the writer. Then he can do an in depth, boy was I there, sort of insiders guide. Magazines like GQ don't worry about "conflict of interest" issues so we'd be cool there. It could be an extended "off line" party that lasts for a week with different people entertaining the writer according to their schedule. For instance, Phil, being from NY, could show him what impresses him about Louisville and why he likes it here. Everyone could contribute something or some amount of time. Perhaps some of the restaurants here wouldn't mind picking up part of a dining tab. This could be a well done guerilla marketing campaign for Louisville. Yes it's a bit unconventional but I think these forum members do that best. What say ye?
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Re: GQ disses Louisville Food

by Broc Smith » Thu Mar 26, 2009 10:50 am

I live in NYC now. I can say objectively that while there is more selection in NYC, there seems to be a higher percentage of Louisville restaurant owners that are consistently better.

I've found that as I venture out in NYC, it can be hit and miss. For every fabulous meal I have, I also fall upon 1-2 disappointments as well.

I had many fewer disappointments in Louisville. I have so many places I'd like to take my derby guests, but I know there won't be enough time or room in our stomachs to show them all of the places I love in Louisville.

Varanese-Empanadas
Jack's Lounge-Calamari & nachos
Bourbon's Bistro-Duck Confit & Bourbon
Volare-Sea Bass
Porcini-Mushroom Bruschetta & Meatballs
The Argentinian steakhouse (Forgot Name) Filet cut to order w/ chimichurri
Wild Eggs-Bananas Foster Waffles
Sakura Blue-Penny Sake & Bloody Mary Roll
Indi's-Kiel Piece (Fried Chicken)

Just to name a few...

I'll let you know how my New Yorker friends food experience turns out after Derby. I've set their expectations high and plan to meet or exceed them.
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