What the Buck?

Thinking about going to Bucks this weekend. Anyone been lately? Any suggestions on what to order?

Hey this may qualify for the other thread about differing opinions. If I were going to Buck's and I'm not for a varietyof reasons, I'd order lunch. Good deals there, incrediably overpriced for what you get for dinner.

[Robin Garr]

Thinking about going to Bucks this weekend. Anyone been lately? Any suggestions on what to order?

I haven't been for a while and probably ought to do it again. I'm not sure I'd put it as negatively as Leah. I do like Buck's for its great atmosphere and excellent bar, and the bill of fare, in my experience, is always okay. It's just not a cutting-edge, creative food destination like the top-tier restaurants are, at least in my experience. But I haven't had a <i>bad</i> meal there.

On the dessert menu, the mocha dacquoise is one of their signature dishes, and - along with 610 - they've got as much of a claim as anyone to being the original Louisville home of this classic.

Beautiful room, Rick Bartlett playing piano, some of the best cocktails in the city, good service, and a classic, old school menu are good reasons to go. As Leah said, it ain't cheap, but it's solid.

On the dessert menu, the mocha dacquoise is one of their signature dishes, and - along with 610 - they've got as much of a claim as anyone to being the original Louisville home of this classic.

Well, having lived across the street from 610 for low these many years and having had many conversations with Ed and Edward, Ed Garber swears that he supplied the recipe if not the actual product to Buck's. I'm pretty sure I remember that conversation correctly.

Mumble muble years ago I took a cooking class from Ed G at 610. The recipes had been copied on a mimeo machine, purple ink and all. He included his recipe for (drumroll please) mocha dacquoise .

[Robin Garr]

Well, having lived across the street from 610 for low these many years and having had many conversations with Ed and Edward, Ed Garber swears that he supplied the recipe if not the actual product to Buck's. I'm pretty sure I remember that conversation correctly.

Welllll ... yahbut. Remember that Ed Garber ran Hamlet's, one of the long string of restaurants that filled that lovely space between the closing of the old ... Crystal Room? What the heck was the formal old eatery that was there for so many years? ... and the opening of Buck's. I'm sure that the M.D. became a classic at the Mayflower then. Also, wasn't it Gerard (?), the guy who worked his way up from dishwasher to pastry chef, who originally ame up with the dish at 610?

Robin
wasn't it the Canary Cottage?

Well, having lived across the street from 610 for low these many years and having had many conversations with Ed and Edward, Ed Garber swears that he supplied the recipe if not the actual product to Buck's. I'm pretty sure I remember that conversation correctly.

Welllll ... yahbut. Remember that Ed Garber ran Hamlet's, one of the long string of restaurants that filled that lovely space between the closing of the old ... Crystal Room? What the heck was the formal old eatery that was there for so many years? ... and the opening of Buck's. I'm sure that the M.D. became a classic at the Mayflower then. Also, wasn't it Gerard (?), the guy who worked his way up from dishwasher to pastry chef, who originally ame up with the dish at 610?

Gerard was the guy who worked his way up the ladder under Ed and learned everything the man could teach. Gerard is now a most accomplished chef in his own right and runs the show at Buck's. I was unaware that he created the mocha dacquoise.

[Robin Garr]

Gerard was the guy who worked his way up the ladder under Ed and learned everything the man could teach. Gerard is now a most accomplished chef in his own right and runs the show at Buck's. I was unaware that he created the mocha dacquoise.

Well, certainly not the daquoise, which is a classic French pastry. Neither Garber nor Gerard invented the underlying pastry, which has been around for a couple of hundred years.

I <i>thought</i> Gerard came up with the mocha dacquoise variation that became a signature dessert at 610 and Buck's, but I'm dealing with second-hand information that's at least 25 years old, so what do I know?

Bottom line, though, it's definitely worth considering if you're dining at Buck's.

[Robin Garr]

wasn't it the Canary Cottage?

Fred, you're going back to my parents' generation with that one ... for some reason, I thought Canary Cottage was in St. Matthews. I'm pretty sure it wasn't the big formal dining room in the Mayflower, though.

PS: From the Website of the St. Matthews Area Business Association, which was launched from a meeting at Canary Cottage in 1955, "For those of us not steeped in St. Matthews’ lore, the Canary Cottage was located on the corner of Lexington and Macon Avenues, where Republic Bank now operates."

Was there a week ago. It was fine. I went for lunch. Had a very tasty Bruschetta app. It's the only thing that left a mark.

wasn't it the Canary Cottage?

Fred, you're going back to my parents' generation with that one ... for some reason, I thought Canary Cottage was in St. Matthews. I'm pretty sure it wasn't the big formal dining room in the Mayflower, though.

PS: From the Website of the St. Matthews Area Business Association, which was launched from a meeting at Canary Cottage in 1955, "For those of us not steeped in St. Matthews’ lore, the Canary Cottage was located on the corner of Lexington and Macon Avenues, where Republic Bank now operates."

your right Robin

All I can say is that I think I still have Ed Garber's MD recipe.

Beautiful room, Rick Bartlett playing piano, some of the best cocktails in the city, good service, and a classic, old school menu are good reasons to go. As Leah said, it ain't cheap, but it's solid.

Ron hit is square on the head. One of our favorites. For some reason, every time I go there I want to go home and watch a Humphrey Bogart movie -- goes it's the "old time" charm of the place.

Just a reminder that Buck's has a coupon in the Entertainment book.