No "I" in the winning t-e-a-m at The Place DownstairsLEO's Eats with Robin GarrJust weeks after smacking a home run with El Taco Luchador, their tiny taqueria-style eatery in the midst of the Baxter Avenue fun zone, the team of Fernando and Christina Martinez and Fernando's cousin Yaniel Martinez have slammed another rocketing blast high over the left field bleachers with The Place Downstairs.
The place, specifically, is downstairs (via a quick elevator ride) within Mussel & Burger Bar, another of the Martinez's growing list of restaurant success stories. With Chef de Cuisine Ethan Ray in the kitchen and the affable Rick Moir, late of Equus and Jack's, presiding over a skilled team in the front of the house, The Place Downstairs hit the ground running after an extended series of "soft openings" last month.
It is already generating such a buzz, and operating - for now - on a tightly constrained schedule of dinner only on Wednesdays through Saturdays only, that you'll want to take advantage of its reservations policy and stake your claim on a table now. By Derby it's likely to be one of the hottest tickets in town.
Who knew that Mussel & Burger Bar even
had a basement? You'd expect subterranean spaces in urban environments like NuLu, for instance (consider for example the lovable space beneath Decca), but suburban shopping centers aren't generally known for the space beneath.
The team has worked wonders in this space, creating a mood that's stylish and elegant, yet cool and casual, with a comfortable lounge and two dining rooms. Bold red walls and cream-color banquettes, undraped wood tables and comfortable off-white chairs might sound bright, but the large drum lamps overhead are turned down romantically low.
Ray, one of the city's top "young chefs" as a newly minted 30-something, is quickly building a top-chef resume. His experience at the Seelbach Oakroom with chefs Todd Richards and Duane Nutter, followed by service at Proof on Main and Metropole, 21c's Cincinnati venture, stands revealed in Downstairs' creative and beautifully plated dishes.
His bill of fare draws on an international range of flavors and bears a distinctly personal stamp that might pay homage to Alinea or even El Bulli but is too individual to pigeonhole. ...
Read the full review on LouisvilleHotBytes,
http://www.louisvillehotbytes.com/no-i- ... downstairsand in LEO Weekly:
http://leoweekly.com/dining/no-%E2%80%9 ... downstairsThe Place Downstairs9200 Taylorsville Road
384-4834
http://Facebook.com/theplacedowsntairsatMBBRobin Garr's rating: 95 points