GARY’S ON SPRING 204 S. Spring St. (502) 584-5533 of his successful investments came at a time when, “you could throw a dart at the dot com stocks and come up with a winner.” It’s obvious that this businessman puts more into his ventures than he lets on. When entering this next phase of his professional life, Sutcliffe really took his time pulling Gary’s together. His property hunt began back in ’05. A short time later, he fell for the 125-year-old former grocery store on Spring. A half-decade would pass between that moment and the business’ opening. Part of this long run-up was Sutcliffe’s timing of the markets as well as having to navigate the credit squeeze that followed the ’07–’08 sub-prime mortgage collapse. But, the best example of Sutcliffe’s patience can be seen the moment you walk in the door. The renovations to what was once the Spring Street Meeting House are major and stunning. With help from designer Glenn Hubbuch, Sutcliffe based the layout on Le Colonial: a high end, French-Vietnamese restaurant on Chicago’s Rush Street. The crisp, classy décor displays well with the building’s abundant brick and walnut stained wood. The tucked away lounge upstairs keeps the flow in the dining room open and its din comfortably low. Brickedin, nearly year-round seating on both levels also helps in this regard, bringing the seating capacity here up to 130-plus. This tribute to the Garys looks like the kind of place they might have dined at back in the day. The warm lighting, oldfashioned wooden blinds and black and white photos create a
space reminiscent of an old-school dining room where major players might have met to mull over the career of a young prizefighter on the rise.
Springing forward Were they to dine at their namesake restaurant on Spring Street, the Garys would encounter Chef Baker’s braiding of Old World elegance and New American cuisine, with generous helpings of Southern influence often accented by New Orleans’ flair. For old Europe, look to the Steak au Poivre ($29) or Lamb en Croûte ($26). The fusion of Baker’s Asian Patagonian Salmon ($22) shows off the melting-pot style of New American, while the Oyster Po’ Boy ($10) and Bourbon Street Scallops ($23) are definitively N’awlins. All of this comes with an eye on in-state products, which Baker uses whenever possible. This is a detail his employer and friend is most proud to bring up. “I believe Chef was the first around here to start using local bison,” Sutcliffe tells us. Baker’s history with this protein indeed trails back a few years to his days at Westport General Store, just a short cattle-drive away from the Kentucky Bison Company. Our state’s lean bison can be had at Gary’s in the form of a burger ($11) or Rib-eye ($29). The 12-ounce steak is a specialty of Baker’s and a hit here. It comes dressed in crispy tobacco onions, béarnaise sauce and www.facebook.com/foodanddine Winter 201 1 49