20 Best Dishes in Louisville

Can we put Naja's chocolate chunk cookies on that list too? They aren't really a dish, but I crave them fortnightly.

Unless it's got to be chocolate for you, Chris, you really ought to try Najla's new alfajores, possibly available only at Caffe Classico. Rich coconut cookie filled with just a dab of dulce de leche ... amazing! I could eat 'em by the sack, but really one little cookie is plenty.

Must... have.... now....

Wow. Now this will take some thought. Let's see:
Green Chile Won Tons - The Bristol
Serendipity Roll - Maido
Chorizo and White Cheddar Omelet - Toast
French Fries - Palermo Viejo
Anything with Chimichurri Sauce - Palermo Viejo
BLT - L&N Wine Bar & Bistro
Filet Entree - Jack Fry's
Washington's Salad - Z's Oyster Bar
Bacon and Eggs w/Truffle Oil - Limestone (not sure if they still do this)
Roasted Chicken Pizza - Cafe Lou Lou
Chicken Ceasar Salad - Cafe Lou Lou
Port Marinated Roast Beef Sandwich - Blue Dog Bakery
Drunken Chicken - J. Gumbo's Frankfort Avenue
General Tso's Chicken - Yang Kee Noodle
Chili - Whole Foods Hot Bar (I can't remember who's recipe it is, but it is in the name. Robert?)
Chicken Parm Sandwich - ZA's
Serrano Ham and Goat Cheese Croqueta Salad - Seviche
Burger with Swiss and Bacon - The Monkey Wrench
Antipasto Wontons - The Come Back Inn
Roundhouse with Sausage, Roasted Garlic and Spinach - New Albanian Brewing Co.

My RIP pick is:
L&N Fish and Chips - L&N Wine Bar (I still think about it now and then and long for it...)

I'm a sucker for any of these:

Lemongrass beef stew-Basa
Skirt Steak-Seviche
Rare Tuna Seviche-Seviche
14 oz Filet-Z's
Shrimp and Grits-Lou Lou
Swiss Burger and Chips-Uptown
Lobster Bisque-Metro
Selma's Favorite-Ramsi's
J7 (pork)-VK
Bowtie Pasta-Porcini's
Fish Taco's-El Mundo
Table bread-Jack Fry's
The Speilberg-Stevens & Stevens
Chicken Pad Thai (5 hot)-Simply Thai
Queso and salsa-J. Alexanders
Chilled Melon Soup-Meridian
Curry Chicken Salad-Cheddar Box Chenoweth Ln
Veal Sweetbread-211
Olive Nut sandwich-Butterfly Garden
Banana Chipped Cupcake-Cupcake Shoppe

My favorite drink food: Jackson's Cold Toddy - Sweet, strong, and creamy - a treat, not expensive, and very different from the usual suspects. Not an ideal meal sub, but it's worth the splurge.

As for the food:

Seviche - Whole Fish (Gone maybe, but not forgotten)
Basa - Tuna Tartare
Steven's and Steven's - Charlie Tuna's wife (off the menu, but still attainable)
Volare - Capsante - scallops with truffled sweet pea puree
Mazzoni's - rolled oyster
Maido - sashimi and edemame
City Cafe - tarragon chicken salad
Jack Fry's - lobster campanelle
Ramsi's - pastafari
Uptown Cafe - shrimp bisque
Irish Rover - scotch egg
Proof - mini skillet octopus
Nancy's Bagels - egg salad everything with xtra cholula sauce
Asiatique - duck nachos
Grape Leaf - chicken sumac
Baxter Station - morrocan mushroom soup
El Mundo - Dippity Doo de di doo de di doo
Ramsi's - 10.000 Arabian Lentils - alas no more, and I am sad
Za's - wheat crusted super veggie - my dillusion of health
Anthony Lamas' - spicy wild Mushroom soup

Here are a few I've enjoyed in the past:

Mushroom fume, crab cakes, shrimp jenkins - Equus

Meatball sandwich, shrimp and grits, Lou Lou pizza - Cafe Lou Lou

Bison burger, jerk chicken wings - Cumberland Brews

Fish sandwich - Stan's

Original pizza with homemade Italian sausage - Impellizzeri's

Grouper, ropa vieja - Havana Rumba

Guacamole - Mojitos

Buffalo wings - Spring Street Bar and Grill

Fried chicken - Science Hill

Green chili wontons - Bristol

Rock shrimp burrito (special) - El Mundo

Calzone - Clifton's Pizza

Brisket - Kentucky Barbecue Company

Skirt Steak with Chimichurri- Seviche (way too many great dishes at Seviche to list, but this is my favorite)
Tres leches- Seviche
Gui Con (Spring rolls)- Annie’s Cafe
Com Bo Xa Ot (Lemongrass beef w/ curry)- Annie’s Cafe
Buike-Monster- Maido (Have went through almost the entire menu at Maido, and nearly everything is exceptional)
Filet Oskar- Z’s
Calimari –Mojito’s (Too many great dishes to list)
Mike’s Special -Saffron’s
Wild Mushroom and Roasted Garlic Scramble -Wild Eggs
Lemon Souffle Pancakes - Toast
Shaking Beef- Basa
Chicken Pad Thai- Simply Thai
Tortilla espanola - La Bodega
Turkey sandwich with Granny Smith apple slices and Applewood bacon – Blu Dog
Gorgonzola fettucine with mushrooms – Le Gallo Rosso
Fish and chips – Irish Rover
Chicken Tandoori – India Palace
Kenny’s Kentucky Scramble- Lynn’s Paradise Café
Crepe with dulce de leche - Palermo Viejo
Pork tacos – Sante Fe

Not necessarily in this order but, there's a reason that Lilly's scallops are first on my list.

Scallops - Lilly's
Scallops - Basa
Ravioli alla fiorentino - Porcini
Lemongrass Tofu with Curry on Steamed Rice (V7) - Annie Cafe
Veracruz Duck Mole - Mayan Cafe
any of the Salbutes - Mayan Cafe
Cheese and Avocado quesadilla - Las Gordita's
Carnitas Taco - Las Gorditas
Kanpachi Nigiri, Saba Nigiri, and Uni nigiri - Sapporo
Grilled Marinated Pork Loin - De La Torres
Bi-Bim-Bop - Lee's
Upside down Pizza - Rich-O's
Curry Soup - Zen Garden
Tostada - Lolita's Tacos
Bison Burger w/ Blue Cheese and garlic fries - BBC St Mathews
Saag Paneer - Kashmir
that dish with fava beans wrapped in something - The Grape Leaf
Pollo Al Mojo - Havana Rumba
Mid City Underground - Stevens and Stevens
Joan of Arc - Stevens and Stevens

C'mon, Robin.......let's hear 20 of your favorites.

[Robin Garr]

C'mon, Robin.......let's hear 20 of your favorites.

I'm having a really hard time with this! I want to make a list, but it's hard for me to narrow it down to 20, and given my position, I'm particularly conscious of not hurting anyone's feelings by inadvertently leaving a favorite out.

I'll try to bite the bullet and come up with something, though.

My "Top 20 Dishes" reflect not only currently active eateries but also a few former local establishments whose talents and offerings are sadly missed...

:: In no particular order ::

1. Escargots in Pernod Butter on Broiche – Dietrich's
2. Pork Chop with Dry Vermouth Glaze – Jack Fry's
3. Ropa Vieja – Havana Rhumba
4. Camarones con Ajillo – Mambo
5. Veal Sweetbreads – Corbett's/Equus
6. House Specialty Briyani – Kashmir
7. Tortas de Lengua with Salsa Verde – Santa Fe Grill
8. Singapore Noodles – Zen Garden
9. Finbar's Fish of the Day – Lilly's (Chef Finbar prepares some of the best!)
10. Nemo's Revenge – Maido
11. Cheeseburger and Spicy Fries – Ollie's Trolley
12. Antipasto Salad with House Dressing – The Comeback Inn
13. Catfish in a Clay Pot – Vietnam Kitchen
14. Tomato Dill Soup – The Café Restaurant
15. Veracruz Duck Mole – The Mayan Café
16. Pollo Asado – Seviche
17. Green Chili Wontons – Bristol Bar and Grill (you know you love 'em...)
18. Smoked Baked Potato with BBQ – Hickory House Bar-B-Q
19. Phyllo Wrapped Sea Scallops – Café Metro
20. 3 Piece Fried Chicken Dinner Box – The Chicken King

Enjoy!

My favorite meal is Crabcakes, Caesar salad prepared table-side, & Shrimp Jenkins from Equus (...and a big glass of wine of course). SO YUMMY!!!

Here are my thoughts on the subject (In No Particular Order)

Any Burger from the Granville Inn
Any Pizza from Hero's
# 17 at El Nopal (Taco, Burrito and a Chili Relleno)
Chess Cake at Equus
Shrimp and Grits at Jack Fry's
Ultimate Nachos at Jack's
Migas at North End Cafe
Five Way at Skyline Chili
Pretty much anything from Havana Rumba (Ropa Veija)
Fried Chicken at Big Spring(I know most of you can't have it, but we serve a lot of it and I still can't resist its tasty goodness!)
Pancakes at Wild Eggs! (as RR says; Yummmo)
Any Fried Fish from Clarksville Seafood(If you can figure out when they are open)
Chorizo Torta from La Rosita
Ultimate Butterburger from Culver's
Hot Brown from the English Grill(It's worth paying for parking...It doesn't get any better than this!)
Ollieburger from Ollies Trolley
Deluxe Pizza with extra Cheese (ask for well done) from Pizza King
Any sandwich on Levain from Blue Dog Bakery (Eggs and Prosciutto)
The Lunch Buffet at Shalimar(You can get a little of everything from the Indian Subcontintent and its all good; My wife loves the Chicken Tikka)
Brisket Sandwich with Cobbler and Slaw from Jucy's

Most of these are not as refined as some other folks lists, but they are all tasty and high on my list just the same!!!!!

(Not necessarily in order of preference)...

1. NY Strip (Stoney River)
2. Chicken Alfredo (Come Back Inn)
3. Hot & Sour Soup (August Moon)
4. Biscuits & Gravy (Bob Evans)
5. Eggs Benedict (Mimi's Cafe)
6. "Speilberg" (Stevens & Stevens)
7. Fried Calamari (Rocky's)
8. Pork Dijonaise (Bristol)
9. Mushroom-Swiss Burger (Beef O' Brady's)
10. Cajun Seafood Alfredo (Corner Cafe)
11. Fried Chicken Dinner (Our Best)
12. Fish & Chips (Irish Rover)
13. Reuben (Stevens & Stevens)
14. Szechuan Calamari (PF Chang's)
15. Pizza (Steve O's - Buckner)
16. Filet Mandarin (Bristol)
17. French Onion Soup (Panera)
18. Fettucini Alfredo (Rocky's)
19. Mixed greens salad w/homemade Rocquefort dressing (Pat's)
20. Chicken Flautas (El Nopal)

WHEW!!

Dan- my father GM'd Big Springs for a while in the 70's and would bring home fried chicken on Sunday night. It is still the benchmark that I use to judge fried chicken to this day. I'm glad to hear it is still so good.

Here are the dishes with the highest number of mentions so far. I really thought there would be a bit more overlap.

4 Votes Each
----------------------
Skirt Steak - Seviche
Shaking Beef - Basa
Sweetbreads - Corbett's/Equus
Fish & Chips - Irish Rover
Shrimp & Grits - Jack Fry's

3 Votes
------------------------
Tuna Seviche - Seviche
Green Chili Wontons - The Bristol
Shrimp & Grits - Cafe Lou Lou
Ropa Vieja - Havana Rumba
Chicken Pad Thai - Simply Thai

The restaurant with the most mentions was Seviche (15). Followed by Cafe Lou Lou and Jack Fry's (each with 10).