Robin Garr's LOUISVILLE Restaurant Reviews

91	Third Avenue Cafe 1164 S. Third St. (502) 585-2233

Cupping her card as if it were an inside straight that needs a jack to fill, my wife gave me a glinty-eyed stare and read the question: "What famous monster reads Paradise Lost and speaks good French?" "Frankenstein's monster," I shot back. "Ask me a tough one."

Here's a good one: "Do apes sport tails?" The answer is "no," which makes me mighty glad I didn't order country-fried ape tail.

Welcome to Third Avenue Cafe, an exceptionally pleasant neighborhood eatery - complete with Trivial Pursuit cards on every table to help you pass the time - that fits in to its Old Louisville setting as snugly as if it had been there forever.

Actually, although the building is practically historic - it housed Zeiden's Pharmacy for generations - the restaurant is quite new. Opened originally as a short-lived coffee house just over two years ago, it gave way briefly to an equally short-lived bistro called Lacy Shay's before returning in its present form last year ... a form that now seems likely to last, as it appears to be attracting loyal crowds.

I've gone back repeatedly, with increasing delight, and concluded that there's no way to award fewer than four stars to any restaurant that so consistently produces excellent fare and serves it up in a cozy setting that brings you back for more.

The good-size room is simply painted in plummy burgundy colors with an attractive mural - a stylized graphic of Old Louisville Victorian houses - highlighting one wall. Oversize windows overlook the shady Old Louisville street scene, with a few sidewalk tables out front for dining alfresco when the weather permits.

Tables for four are draped in maroon oilcloth and set with dinette-style chairs; higher tables are placed adjacent to the bar along one side. A couple of potted fig trees and sheffleras complete a simple, homey decor that's comfortable and welcoming, very much in the style of the Old Louisville neighborhood but also reminiscent of hangouts in Seattle's U District ... or probably of just about any funky urban neighborhood anywhere. It's the kind of place where you don't have to rush but can hang out, sip coffee and enjoy a snack, read a book or magazine - or borrow one from the restaurant's collection if you didn't bring our own - or challenge your partner to a round of Trivial Pursuit.

You won't find fancy entrees here - this is a cafe, not a bistro, with a bill of fare that features soups, salads and sandwiches. Homemade soups, salads and sandwiches, that is, made with quality ingredients and fashioned on excellent home-baked breads. And, of course, desserts. About 15 sandwiches are priced in the single digits, from $5.75 for a grilled three-cheese sandwich to $7 for "Carla's hummus veggie delight," loaded with grilled vegetables and black-bean hummus. A number of vegetarian options are offered, including a barbecued tofu sandwich for $6. I am not kidding about this.

The soup of each day is $2.25 cup for a cup, $4.25 for a bowl; and four salads are $7 for grilled chicken, Greek or spinach salads and $7.50 for the chef's special.

The bar offers full alcoholic beverage service plus coffee drinks - cappuccinos, lattès, mochas and such ... and a list of fine teas. A short wine list includes 18 items, most of them available by the glass, topping out at $7.50 a glass, $30 a bottle for Echelon Pinot Noir from California.

The dessert menu is posted on a blackboard, offering an often-changing array of seductive homemade sweets, some billed as "vegan," which presumably signals soy milk or even tofu in place of dairy products.

On one autumn visit we started with a cup of the soup of the day ($2.75), a chicken-and-potato corn chowder. It was hearty and thick, full of corn kernels and tiny slices of green beans with chunks of chicken and diced red bell pepper, redolent of herbs. It came with a slice of all-grain herb bread with a pleasant whiff of rosemary.

A grilled portabello and veggie sandwich ($6.75) was imposing, almost too thick to bite, a meaty marinated mushroom the size of a hamburger patty, with a tight-fitting skullcap of roasted red pepper topped with grilled squash, fresh spinach, red onion slices, sliced tomato, earthy feta cheese and a garlicky roasted red-pepper aioli on thick homemade foccaccia. In contrast with the approach too many eateries take to portabello ("This is for vegetarians, so let's make sure it's not too scary"), this one is full-bore. I rate it among the city's best.

A classic Reuben ($6.50) was pan-fried like an old-fashioned grilled-cheese sandwich, just pleasantly greasy as a Reuben should be. Ample rations but not too thick to bite, thin-sliced, salty corned beef and deli swiss with tangy sauerkraut and a light schmear of Thousand Island dressing.

Both lunches were accompanied with the Cafe's trademark potato chips, made on the premises, addictively crunchy and dusted with spicy barbecue flavoring.

This was way too much food, but it was so good that we just couldn't quit; finally, swearing to skip dinner, we finished with two desserts ... none of this namby-pamby ordering one to share.

Creme brulee ($5) was excellent, served in a small cereal bowl rather than the usual oval dish, but it was perfectly done, in the classic style, rich custard topped with a glassy caramelized topping that Escoffier would have approved. Chocolate chai cake ($4.75) was rich and intriguing, not too sweet, a symphony of spices singing high notes to a chocolate ground bass.

We went back another day and found the food just as good and the portions just as large, although the prices appeared to have been marked up a bit, perhaps because it was St. James Art Festival weekend. Black bean hummus ($3.50) added real flavor depth and character with pureed black beans joining the usual chickpea spread. This hearty starter was further elevated by homemade, crisp pita slices covered with black and white sesame seeds.

This day's soup ($4.50 for a bowl) was a thin but flavorful vegetable soup with chunks of potato, asparagus bits and red bell pepper in a savory broth with mixed herbs that lent an aromatic perfume.

The Cardinal Club ($7.50) was a thick sandwich, a true, old-fashione club with three slices of lightly toasted seeded whole-grain bread, filled with thin-sliced mild, Colby and Swiss type cheeses and deli ham, crumbled crispy bacon and a thick, warm slice of roasted turkey breast, dressed with leaf lettuce and tomato. An outstanding sandwich, it was simple but of the highest quality, as by this point we had learned to expect from Third Avenue Cafe.

Our first lunch came to $30.48 plus a $6.52 tip, a toll that it's hard to reach at the Cafe without skirting the edges of gluttony. A lighter repast on our second visit was $19.61 for two, and a $4.39 tip. $$

(October 2002)

(A bakery behind the restaurant at 315 W. Oak St. offers the restaurant's breads and desserts for take-out service.)