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Canadian chocolatiers, is expanding into a second Westport Village location.Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, serving grilled baguettes, croque monsieurs, panini, quiches, soups, salads, and fine chocolates. $$ L D LA COOP: BISTRO À VINS 732 E. Market St., 4102888. The Ton brothers are trying it again in NuLu. The former 732 Social location has been renovated, and Bobby Benjamin, recently chef at the Oakroom, will head the kitchen. The general menu concept will be French country cooking, but done with modern touches such as sous vide. $$$ B L D hpf LOUIS LE FRANCAIS 133 E. Market St., New Albany IN, 944-1222. The New Albany dining renaissance gains a French bistro to extend the range of international dining options. Louis “Louis the Frenchman” Retailleau will serve prix-fixe dinners typical of the cuisine of his native southwest France. $$$$ D p
EIDERDOWN 983 Goss Ave., 290-2390. The owners of the Germantown watering hole Nachbar also operate the popular Eiderdown, serving Southern comfort food influenced by the owners’ German and European heritage. Dreams of a microbrewery there also dance in their heads; in the meantime, diners are satisfied with a large selection of European craft beers on tap. $$ L D h ERIKA’S GERMAN RESTAURANT 9301 N. Hurstbourne Pkwy. 499-8822. For a city with a strong German heritage, Louisville is woefully short on authentic German restaurants, but this genuinely Germanic eatery attracts hungry crowds to Hurstbourne. Take care not to miss its former fast-food quarters just off I-64 local access ramp. $$ D GASTHAUS 4812 Brownsboro Center, 899-7177. Michael and Annemarie Greipel came here with their five kids in 1993, straight from North RhineWestphalia to St. Matthews. Tiny lights twinkle from strands of fake red geraniums. But the hearty German fare — schnitzels, sauerbraten and rouladen with red cabbage and dumplings — is the real thing. $$$ D
the Whiskey Row complex, anticipating the revival of that edge of the Main Street corridor. Crowds have been elbowing in for upscale Irish-inflected bar food and plenty of sports talk. Now the owners have rehabbed the funky underpinnings of their building into a bar area and dubbed it “The Cellar,” focusing on an aggressive Bourbon program and live entertainment. $$ L D hpfe RI RA IRISH PUB 445 S. Fourth St. (Fourth Street Live) 587-1825. Promising patrons “an authentic Irish experience,” this growing chain is ensconced in a sizable 9,000-square-foot space in Fourth Street Live. Ri Ra (Gaelic for “celebration and good fun”) decorates its pubs with authentic furnishings from Ireland. $$$ L D hpfe SHENANIGAN’S IRISH GRILL 1611 Norris Pl., 4543919. Not just a neighborhood tavern (although it’s a fine neighborhood tavern), Irish-accented Shenanigan’s goes an extra step with an estimable selection of memorable burgers. $ L D hpfe
ADRIENNE’S ITALIAN RESTAURANT 129 W. Court Ave., Jeffersonville IN, 282-2665. A part of the dining renaissance on the sunny side of Louisville, Adrienne’s has been pleasing Indiana diners with home-style Italian dishes. The owners also operate Adrienne’s Bakery in Jeffersonville. $$ L D AMICI 316 W. Ormsby Ave., 637-3167. Satisfying traditional Tuscan dishes are served in this interesting — and supposedly haunted — Old Louisville building. Dine inside or on the romantic patio on a lovely summer evening, There’s no extra charge if the ghosts want to share your penne alla Lorenzo or Valpolicella. $$ L D pf ANSELMO’S ITALIAN BISTRO 1511 Bardstown Rd., 749-0444. Highland residents hankering for simple, traditional, filling Italian dishes can find
just that in this Italian bistro. The menu offers what one would expect: pizza, pastas, lasagna — at reasonable prices. $$ L D hp BISTRO 42 6021 Timber Ridge Dr., 632-2552. Another entry in the dining choices at Prospect Village shopping center. This little family-run place, serving pasta, sandwiches and Italian and American dishes is proud of its 5-cheese 3-meat Bistro lasagna and their 3-hour honey-baked ham, offered at an attractive price. $$ L D hpfe BUCA DI BEPPO 2051 S. Hurstbourne Pkwy., 4932426. Buca di Beppo’s recipe has all the necessary ingredients: huge portions of excellent food served with flair and the Buca scene is fun, a conscious parody of the exuberant decor of family ItalianAmerican restaurants of the 1950s. $$ L D hp CARRABBA’S ITALIAN GRILL 617 S. Hurstbourne Pkwy., 412-2218. Not your ordinary suburban shopping-center franchise eatery. This place dramatically exceeds expectations. From warmed bread dishes with quality olive oil to first-rate Italian-American fare at reasonable prices. $$$ L D
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COME BACK INN 909 Swan St., 627-1777, 415 Spring St., Jeffersonville IN, 285-1777. With both its branches located in urban neighborhoods, Come Back Inn looks pretty much like any other neighborhood saloon. But unlike most Louisville neighborhood saloons, this one houses a family Italian spot that wouldn’t be out of place in Chicago or Brooklyn. $$ L D p DIFABIO’S CASAPELA ITALIAN RESTAURANT 2311 Frankfort Ave., 891-0411. DiFabio’s Casapela has made its mark in this Crescent Hill space, with a menu that harks back to the red-checked tablecloth and Chianti bottle era of Italian restaurants. Look for baked stuffed mushrooms and toasted ravioli, veal parmesan and chicken piccata, and your choice of pastas with your choice of sauce. $$ D f
IRISH EXIT 209 E. Main St., New Albany IN, 944-1929. The Irish Exit (a tongue-in-cheek name referring to the quiet, no-farewell leave-taking of inebriated Hibernians) serves pub fare and entertains patrons with karaoke and acoustic music, pool tables and dart boards. $ D hpe IRISH ROVER 2319 Frankfort Ave., 899-3544, 117 E. Main St, LaGrange, 222-2286. Owner Michael Reidy is the Irish rover, having come to the U.S. from County Clare in 1984. His saloons are as smooth as Guinness, as warm as fish and chips, as genuine as Scotch eggs. The Frankfort Avenue building dates from 1859. $ Br L D pf MOLLY MALONE’S 933 Baxter Ave., 473-1222, 3900 Shelbyville Rd., 882-2222. A carefully constructed replica of a modern urban Irish pub, Molly Malone’s, a worthy addition to the city’s eating and drinking scene, has added a second, suburban location. Both are as authentically Irish as the Wearin’ o’ the Green. $$ L D hpfe MORE SHENANIGAN’S 4521 Bardstown Rd., 4933585. $ L D hpfe O’SHEA’S TRADITIONAL IRISH PUB 956 Baxter Ave., 589-7373. One of the most popular watering holes in the entire Bardstown-Baxter corridor. Twenty-somethings and Louisville belles love its action. But diners of all ages like its meat loaf, roast beef and Irish stew. When music fills the rooms, it’s great to be Irish, even if you’re not. $$ L D hpfe PATRICK O’SHEA’S 123 W. Main St., 708-2488. This downtown Irish bar was one of the first to open in
h = Late Night p = Full Bar f = Outdoor Dining e = Live Music
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