Louisville Restaurants Forum

Hello again all!

Marsha - my count expected there would be a few last minute cancellations(there always are). The original count was 17, plus Todd and Gayle made 19, plus Richard was 20. Minus Doogy made 19.
However, I woke up today with a nasty sore throat that makes it extremely painful to swallow. And while a beer/cold med combination might make me very entertaining - I probably shouldn't subject you all to whatever I have. It will be all I can do to make it through work.
So, Tom and I are out, which
Makes it 17. Can someone take the lead tonite? Reservations are for 18 (so you have space for 1 extra) at 7pm under "Melissa Richards". Have fun and I'm sorry to miss it!

nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Rats. I was really looking forward to meeting you, too.

I reckon I could pretend to be you, unless someone else is really hot to do so. Caveat: John doesn't get off work until 5:30, so we probably wouldn't be there any earlier than 6:50. So if anyone gets there before me, just go ahead and get seated (if they allow partial seating) or we'll be along soon.

I'll be riding the bus and won't arrive until 7:00. I guess whoever gets in first can be Melissa.

Don't forget - bring cash if possible. Looks like they won't split the check (totally understandable).

We had a great time last night even with all the no-shows and cancellations. Marsha treated us to dessert at Cafe Lou-Lou afterword. A special thank you to Marsha, Bob and Carol.

David R. Pierce wrote:We had a great time last night even with all the no-shows and cancellations. Marsha treated us to dessert at Cafe Lou-Lou afterword. A special thank you to Marsha, Bob and Carol.

WAAAHHH! I had to go pick up Mary, and I missed dessert!

Thanks to all who attended ... there weren't THAT many no-shows, I'm guessing we had 13 or 14 in attendance, and it seemed a good time was had by all.

Sorry Roger couldn't make it to help us evaluate the beer, though!

We had a blast. And I only made dessert - it was actually Bob's (edited to say "and Carol's" ) treat.

I had three different beers at BJ's (you can get a 5 oz taster for $1.50); the nutty brewnette, the pm porter, and the Pirahna pale ale. I thought they were all nice examples of their varieties - pretty much the same thing Robin said in his review. I was dieting, so I only had a salad, but it was perfectly servicable. I thought service was awesome. Michelle had said we should bring cash because they had a policy of one check for large parties with an auto-gratuity, but as a nice surprise, they brought us separate checks at the end, and they were pretty much right.

John had a wedge salad and a meatloaf sandwich. He loved the salad. I believe he said he thought the meatloaf was a little dry, but I had a bite and I really liked it. Of course, that's the first bite of meatloaf I've had since January, so my standards might be a little low

Michelle and everybody else who didn't make it - we missed y'all!

Great minds drink alike! I had a pint of the Pale and tasters of the brown and porter.

It was great meeting everyone! Marsha's banana pudding is just like grandma used to make!

Marsha L. wrote:He loved the salad.

I had the wedge salad as my main course, due to having pigged out on wings as an appetizer (photo below). I thought the salad was excellent, too, and the wings were also very good ... and may win a prize for the most attractively plated wings I've ever seen. In fact, several people commented that BJ's pays unusual care to plating for a ch- ch- chain joint ... there are definitely real people working in the kitchen, not just a manufacturing device extruding food to order.

The wife and I had a total blast! Great to meet some new people and visit with some long time pals!

The beers are pretty standard. I had the Kolsch and Hefe (and my wife a Hefe as well) and they were just like everyone else has said: standard. Noting offensive or risky just standard. The food was much the same way. We started (as did nearly everyone) with the avocado egg rolls, which were ALL avocado, despite promises of bacon, sun-dried tomato, and onion. The "tamarind" sauce that accompanied them was very sweet and syrupy. I ordered the Chardonnay Shrimp Pasta, which had tasty shrimp, but lacked any hint of Chardonnay. Once again the promised "sun-dried" tomatoes were absent, but in their place was some diced tomato. The sauce was fairly bland, but the pasta was cooked perfectly! My wife had the Turkey Club. She was unimpressed and commented that it was exactly as promised: Turkey on bread with lettuce and tomato. Nothing stand-out about it.

With so many great indie places in this city, I doubt BJ's will get much of our future business. Especially not when BBC does the same kind of thing so much better. Oh, and BJ's menu is EXPANSIVE. You'll need a while to get through it all and you had best take notes. Maybe that is on purpose so that you'll drink more beer while you peruse that tome.

Service was pretty solid. As Marsha said, they did split up the checks for us which was nice. I was a little worried when we had finished our starters but had not yet ordered our mains. But the turnaround in the kitchen was quick and we never really waited for too much of anything.


Sorry we missed Marsha's exceptional desserts, but I had to get back to my store and make salad dressings! Fear not, we'll be in to LouLou's soon!

Great seeing everyone! Looking forward to the next one!

I have to say: I would probably not make BJ's an eating destination on purpose any time soon. The food was good, but in no way super-outstanding. That being said...I did call to speak with the manager of last night's dinner service today, just to tell her how great a job our servers did. There were two, I can't remember their names, but I thought they were basically flawless. I think credit should be given where credit is due, and those two guys were total professionals.

I was struck by how grateful she seemed to get the compliment. The moral of this story seems to be: If you want to feel good, call the restaurant you had a good time at the night before and give a compliment the following day. It's very much appreciated, and you get a warm, fuzzy feeling from the feedback.

Sandy and I had a good time. Put some names with people.

The beers were fine. Had a couple and no complaints.

The food was very spotty. Carol had the same salad that Robin had (lettuce wedge) and a potato with toppings and really liked it.

I had the fettuccine alfredo. Really nasty. Wallpaper paste on overcooked pasta. No sign of taste. No additions such as butter, salt, pepper or herbs. One of the worst dishes I have had in a restaurant in a long time.

Sandy had a salad that included chicken. The chicken looked like some processed chicken, squished, boiled and cut. Really bad. Amy (Ronnie's wife) had the turkey sandwich. She said the turkey was not good and only ate a half. None of us finished our food and none of us wanted a box to go. I seldom eat everything at a restaurant, but like to take the leftovers home. Nothing here worth taking home.

As Marsha said the service was excellent. I told this to the waiter. He earned an extra % on the tip because of splitting the ticket. He did this individually. This guy should really move to a top of the line place with higher checks and therefore bigger tips. I hate the idea that a group should get one ticket.

Basically, I would probably not return to this place.

Hi guys -
While I missed you all last night, I was glad that I didn't come, as the doctor today confirmed strep throat. Glad I didn't expose you all! According to Dave's post, y'all had fun. Marsha - I'm sorry I didn't get to meet you - I'll bring hubby to Lou Lou soon! Hope we can do another offline soon. Maybe we can beer taste up at NABC - hubby's never been!

Melissa, I hope you feel better soon, and thanks for not exposing us!

Yes, we should plan a new offline soon.