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This archived review dates from 2007 or before. Use SEARCH above to find all recent reviews.
It has been just long enough since Louisville had a really good place to get steamed lobster that many of us have nearly forgotten how to dissect the tasty crustacean. Happily, this unsightly gap has been well filled by the recent resurrection of Cribstone Pub in the tiny Bardstown Road saloon that formerly housed Slick's Tavern. It's served by the same chef and repeats the concept of the old Cribstone Lobster House, a similar eatery (with the same chef) that enjoyed a cult following at two locations near Churchill Downs in the middle to late '90s. The new Cribstone is much like its fondly remembered predecessor: a neighborhood bar turned into a lobster and steak house. Fine seafood and beef is prepared with care and served without pomp or circumstance in a setting so casual that you can wear your shorts and T-shirt to dine, weather permitting, and expect to pay about one-third of the toll at the city's fancier spots. You won't find tableside service here, but curbside cookery is just about as good: A charcoal grill and big lobster pot sit out front, sharing sidewalk space with a cluster of patio tables and chairs that provide alfresco dining for overflow crowds - which seem to be the condition daily at this already popular spot. Inside, the room is clean and attractive, if spartan, with pale butter-color walls beneath a silvery corrugated metal ceiling from which dangle two good-size overhead fans that stir up the summer air. A couple of beer-advertisements and a bright neon beer sign complete the minimalist decor, and a short bar with a half-dozen stools fills the back third of the room. Tables for four are draped with protective clear plastic covering sea-blue cloth that looks a bit like a colorful shower curtain with its fanciful design of dolphins, fish and coral. The bar serves beer only, by the way, and the law forbids lugging your own in from The Wine Merchant next door, a disappointing regulation since hardly anything goes better with lobster than a full-bodied, buttery Chardonnay. No matter, though, Bass Ale from bottles is not a bad alternative; and never mind your British pretensions, crackling cold beer from a frosted mug is good on a hot summer evening. (Management hopes eventually to extend the license to permit wine and liquor, but it's a dicey issue on Bardstown Road, where Kentucky's Puritanical state licensing laws don't harmonize well with the vibrant Restaurant Row scene. One of these years we'll win home rule for Louisville.) The menu is brief, and its highlights are covered in the big red-and-white sign out front: Fresh Maine lobster and Black Angus steaks. Lobsters are market price, currently $24.99 for a 1-pounder, $27.99 for a one-and-a-quarter pound item, and $30.99 for a 1 1/2-pound beast, also known as the Incredible Hulk). The steak is a rib eye, $16.95 for an 8-ounce chunk, $19.95 for a 12-ounce slab. Other dishes, mostly seafood, are available if you insist: About eight soups, starters and light bites range from $4 for a cup of lobster stew ($7.95 for a bowl) to $11.95 for a dozen fresh oysters on the half-shell. A fried cod sandwich is available (only at lunch) for $7.95, and a crab roll or lobster roll - delicious New England treats that have been too long coming to the Derby City - are $9.95 and $10.95, respectively. A half-dozen additional main courses run from $12.95 (for baked Atlantic cod) to $16.95 (for eight large deep-fried shrimp). Baked scallops or a grilled salmon steak go for $14.95, and an appetizing seafood medley, featuring chunks of lobster, shrimp, scallops and oysters baked under a mozzarella blanket, is $15.95. If you want to go whole hog or none, so to speak, the classic Surf & Turf is market price. We dropped in for dinner one steamy early-summer evening and chose to dine within, where the overhead fans stirred a gentle air-conditioned breeze. Although the sultry weather suggested lighter fare, duty called, and we went for the big two, figuring that the only fair way to evaluate a steak and lobster house is to have, well, steak and a lobster. We found the food consistently well prepared and exactly to order. Cello-wrapped gourmet crackers with tubs of real butter kept us occupied in the early going; they were briskly followed by simple but fresh baguettes, sliced and warmed and plenty of it. I started with a rolled oyster ($2.75), and it was a good one, perhaps a bit more refined than the Mazzoni's original but neatly fashioned: A bit bigger than a golf ball, it was golden brown, sizzling hot but admirably grease-free. It was so neatly formed that it almost looked like a commercial product, but the fresh, delicate and not overcooked oysters within proved that it was freshly homemade. A bit of a doughball, yes ... that's what a rolled oyster is. Main dishes come with bread and choice of two side orders. The cole slaw was estimable, served in a bowl the size of a handle-less coffee cup. It consisted of crisp, fresh shredded cabbage with a creamy, not-too-sweet dressing and a sprinkle of paprika on top for color. The house salad was fine, too. Fresh cold romaine was assembled with thick red-onion slices, bits of sliced radish and carrot and a couple of juicy, tart-sweet cherry tomatoes, topped with a generous portion of blue-cheese crumbles. A decent red-wine vinaigrette - a creamy reddish-brown emulsion - was served on the side. My wife, who can't look a lobster in the eye, went with the 8-ounce Black Angus rib eye option ($16.95) and was rewarded with a fine slice of beef, served sizzling from the outdoor grill on a steel plate too hot to touch. It was on the thin side but perfectly prepared, juicy and flavorful, pulled from the fire while still on the rare side so it would finish cooking to a perfect medium-rare on the plate. Great work! My lobster ($24.99 for a "small" 1-pounder) was perfect, too, presented simply, served whole on a big white oval plate with clarified butter in a small white dish and a couple of wedges of fresh lemon on the side. A full set of deconstruction tools included the standard nutcracker and heavy knife to get at the goodies, a big bucket for the remains, and a plastic bib for the obvious purpose. If you're new to lobster, the friendly servers are glad to show you how to separate the tasty bits from the crunchy bits. Mine was steamed just so, hot and fresh but not overcooked, so sweet and succulent that I worked it over for a good hour, sucking the last tasty morsels from the legs so as not to leave a bite behind. The rest of the side dishes maintained the same high standard. A baked potato was wrapped in foil but didn't suffer from this treatment: It was mealy and fine. And although the condiments came in institutional packs, they were the real thing: quality butter and real sour cream. Fries were even better, thick-cut and crisp, golden and grease-free. Desserts sounded good - trademarked Derby Pie ($3.50), a key-lime pie or cheesecake ($4.50 each), but the filling dinner really needed neither a sweet ending nor coffee to make it complete. I sipped the last of my second beer, and we wandered out into the long twilight of a summer evening, fully satisfied with a dinner that cost a fraction of an equivalent spread at a more luxurious place: Dinner for two came to a thrifty $59.63, with a $12.60 tip for friendly, no-nonsense service. $$$ (June 2003)
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