March 25, 2006

• Only places in Louisville I've been are this and this. Dunno about the smoking or the bars: you might try here.
• BBC (Bluegrass Brewing Company) has a brewpub out in the suburbs, and a little cafe downtown. If you have some free time during a weekday, you can tour distilleries, but they're mostly in dry counties and they don't give samples. If the weather's nice, we're not far from Mammoth Cave (and there are outdoorsy things nearer, too). There's the Frazier Arms museum downtown, and of course the Kentucky Derby museum at Churchill Downs. The museum should be open, but the track isn't running at this time of year. What kinds of things do you like? How long will you be in town? What part of town will you be staying in? We have some problems with sprawl, so these are all very helpful in suggesting places to go, things to do. I think you can smoke in bars, but not in restaurants (with a few exceptions).
• I might as well plug the establishments in my neighborhood. For eating and/or getting drunk I'd recommend the Tavern if you like basic working-class neighborhood bars, the Granville if you prefer a more collegiate crowd and the Rudyard Kipling if you're cultured; two bars that don't serve food but that are great for getting drunk at are the Magnolia ("Mag") Bar for the pierced- &-tattooed hipster crowd (great jukebox) or Teddy Bear's (our neighborhood gay bar, neither ferny nor fashionable). Of these, personally I'd recommend eating somewhere first (Taste of China is a block from the gay bar, while Scheler's little grocery across the street from the hipster place has a carryout grill) and drinking in an place devoted solely to that purpose, though I can't imagine the Tavern's gone nonsmoking. (The smoking laws recently changed; since I don't smoke I haven't kept track, but I do prefer drinking in dives where the smoke adds to the atmosphere.) Note that none of these places I've mentioned (nor most of the others on that Old Louisville web page) are devoted to the tourist trade, though they are only about a mile from the Convention Center (say a short ride on the 4 Fourth Street bus). If you'll have a car (or plenty of time to take the damn bus) there are other options farther from downtown, but since I have neither wheels nor patience for freezing at bus stops I don't have much recent experience with those. I would say that there are plenty of decent places downtown right close to the Convention Center but I don't go there so I know nothing about them, and it just occurred to me that if you want to have a drink in an uncrowded bar that looks like it was luxurious about 50 years ago and is very comfortable for straight geezers like me you could check out Freddy's Bar on Broadway between 3rd and 2nd; I'll sometimes stop in there after going to the library (on 3rd just south of Broadway) even though it is too damn dim in there to read. I must say that having anything to do with me is entirely optional (even for the hot chick who lives here). It's just a good night for trying to be helpful, is all.
• I get there today and I leave next sunday. I'm staying downtown. I enjoy sushi, beer, whiskey, I don't have all that much money so staying downtown would be the best for not having to pay for a cab. Thanks for the suggestions so far.
• BBC: their cafe is a block or two north of Broadway, on Fourth. It's south of Fourth St. Live itself, but still in the cobblestoned area. There's an inexpensive Middle-Eastern place called Safir's (or was) in the same area, as well as Cunningham's, which is just Cunningham's but not so much since the original bulding burned down. It's hard to explain. Used to be very unpretentious, though. Somewhere in Fourth St. Live, there's a Maker's Mark restaurant, and oh yes they have bourbon, and not only Maker's Mark. They're probably kind of pricey, and I've never been there, so I can't say much more than that. Around 5th and Market (go out one of the north sets of doors at the convention center and turn left along Market, I think) , there's a Heitzman's bakery, which does the usual bakery goodies well enough, and does lunch as well. I've only ever had the bakery goodies, myself, but those are definitely okay. Sushi: I'm not sure where you'd find this downtown. There's a health food store called Amazing Grace that has it, though. It's on Bardstown Rd., in a neighborhood called the Highlands. If you take a bus down, it's not far at all from downtown, and would be on your left as you head out from downtown, just past the intersection of Winter (which I hope is actually called Winter at that point). A little further, there's a decent Indian place called Kashmir. That would also be on your left as you head away from downtown, and is across from Mid-City Mall. Mid-City also has a City Cafe location, which is pretty good and not usually expensive at all. The Highlands is full of bars and restaurants, and if you want to be surrounded by loud young college-age kids, that's where you'll go to drink. You might try checking at Robin Garr's restaurant reviews, assuming you still have access. Unfortunately, those are far from complete and are often outdated, so call ahead to anyplace to make sure they're still open. All this is assuming you'll have internet access to check after you're in Louisville....Good luck.
• One can get sushi at Bendoya on the corner of 5th and Market. Downtown is rather devoid of things to do after quitting time, in my opinion. Yeah, 4th Street Live, yadda, overpriced. Probably better off visiting the Highlands, Crescent Hill, St. Matthews, Clifton, or Old Louisville. There's all kind of bars, restaurants, in those neighborhoods. The cab fare for those rides to and from downtown shouldn't be too steep.
• Oh, and you can smoke in a place if >50A% of their sales are alcohol, I believe. I ended up quitting smoking at bars and restaurants after the ban.