Category Archives: Italian (and Pizza)

Grassa Gramma is the next best thing to dinner in Italy

I think Grassa Gramma is more than ready for prime time. Every single thing I’ve had to eat there in two visits (so far) has been really good, and the service was fine in that not-quite obsequious hovering style that’s been a hallmark of fine Italian dining in Louisville since Casa Grisanti went upscale in the 1970s.

But, even two months after Grassa Gramma opened its oversize front doors in Holiday Manor and with crowds trooping in, owner Kevin Grangier and General Manager Tarek Hamada are still striving for perfection. Continue reading Grassa Gramma is the next best thing to dinner in Italy

Appealing Sarino carries Vincenzo’s DNA, but it’s no clone

Vincenzo and Agostino Gabriele reinvented the Louisville dining scene a generation ago. Now Agostino’s sons, Carmelo and Michael Gabriele, have opened their own Italian restaurant in Germantown, named Sarino after the family nickname for another uncle, Rosario.

Will Sarino be something like Vincenzo’s Jr., then? I’m going to say no. But that’s no slam. Sarino is delightful in its own right, but it is as different from Vincenzo’s as millennials are different from baby boomers and as different as downtown is from Germantown. Continue reading Appealing Sarino carries Vincenzo’s DNA, but it’s no clone

Porcini’s landmark status is well and fully earned

It seems as if Porcini just got here. It seems as if Porcini has been here forever. The truth, as usual, lies between these extremes, but one thing is certain: The years have flown since I first sat down to a fine Italian dinner at this comfortable Frankfort Avenue landmark. Continue reading Porcini’s landmark status is well and fully earned

bar Vetti lights up 800 Building

Who knew that a hot new eatery would bring Louisville rushing back to the old 800 Building? Old-timers might consider this unlikely, but the delightful bar Vetti (management prefers the lowercase “bar”) fits nicely in the renovated turquoise tower. Continue reading bar Vetti lights up 800 Building

Lupo’s pizza and pasta sing a fine Italian song

Whatever might prompt two members of an indie rock band with a 17-year record and three songs on the Billboard 200 to leap from the world of music to the hard work of opening Lupo, an Italian restaurant that features pizza and pasta?

That’s just what vocalist and guitar player Adam Turla and cellist-keyboardist Sarah Balliet of the band Murder by Death have done, though. In August they joined Sarah’s brother Max Balliet, owner of the popular Holy Molé taco truck, to open Lupo, a fine, casual eatery in a nicely restored 19th century red-brick house on the far inner end of Frankfort Avenue where Clifton meets Butchertown. Continue reading Lupo’s pizza and pasta sing a fine Italian song

Volare brings its top game to Italian delights

I hate to be a whiner, so before I get to my one complaint, let me tell you all the things that I love about freshly renovated Volare.

• It looks classier than ever, thanks to a light but effective makeover.
• Chef Joshua Moore’s menu is better than ever.
• Its impressive selection of pasta dishes has been kicked up by a fancy new Italian-made pasta machine.
• The bar’s comfortable vibe is not diminished by sophisticated live music Wednesdays through Saturdays. Volare scores as both a neighborhood hangout and a city-wide destination.

But first we had to get our table. Let’s talk about that. Continue reading Volare brings its top game to Italian delights

Quality and attention kick Butchertown Pizza Hall up a notch

Haters gotta hate, but the pizza just keeps on coming. Some of my friends, for reasons that aren’t entirely clear to me, go into a slow burn when another pizzeria opens in town. They sneer as they predict its imminent demise in an overloaded market. There are too many of them, they gripe. It just doesn’t make good business sense, they judge.

I have heard no such whining about Butchertown Pizza Hall. Continue reading Quality and attention kick Butchertown Pizza Hall up a notch

ROC rocks Italian food and drink

Some of Louisville’s favorite restaurants have their roots in other cities. Consider Selena’s, for instance, which came up from Tampa almost a decade ago. Or Jeff Ruby’s, which added Louisville to its thriving Cincinnati metro operation; or even Vincenzo’s, which can trace its roots to the Hill in St. Louis.

Now let’s put our hands together for ROC, an elegant eatery that owners Rocco and Stacy Cadolini pretty much loaded on a moving truck in Manhattan’s Tribeca and unpacked in Louisville’s Highlands last month. Continue reading ROC rocks Italian food and drink

Parlour offers a cozy oasis for bridge walkers and everyone

Have you strolled, jogged or biked across the Big Four walking bridge yet? Who hasn’t? According to the Waterfront Development Corp., about 1,500,000 people enjoy the mile-long bridge between Louisville and Jeffersonville, Ind., every year. Reopening the abandoned, rusting 1895 railroad bridge as a linear public park has proven to be a great idea.

And now, thanks to another great idea, it’s even better. Step off the Indiana end, and what to your wondering eyes should appear, directly across Jeffersonville’s Pearl Street from the foot of the bridge ramp, but a beautifully restored, 181-year-old mansion and extensive gardens, now revealed as Parlour, an inviting pizzeria and beer garden. Continue reading Parlour offers a cozy oasis for bridge walkers and everyone