Louisville Magazine is Louisville's city magazine, covering Louisville people, lifestyles, politics, sports, restaurants, entertainment and homes. Includes a monthly calendar of events.
Issue link: https://loumag.epubxp.com/i/131459
Restaurants Basa Modern Vietnamese (2007) 2244 Frankfort Ave. // 896-1016 basarestaurant.net The lights are low and the inventive menu at one of the hottest restaurants in town combines French and native Vietnamese cuisine. Blue Dog Bakery & Cafe (1998) 2868 Frankfort Ave. // 899-9800 bluedogbakeryandcafe.com Scrumptious breakfasts, lunches, tapas and simply to-die-for artisan breads and other baked goods. Bluegrass Burgers (2011) 3334 Frankfort Ave. // 614-6567 bluegrass-burgers.com This impressive burger spot keeps it close to home and simple — Kentucky grass-fed beef and bison and hand-cut fries (along with chicken and tuna) dressable with a host of cool topping choices. Bourbons Bistro (2005) 2255 Frankfort Ave. // 894-8838 bourbonsbistro.com You might have guessed that bourbon would play a starring role in the cooking here. Caffe Classico (2003) Includes Clifton Heights | Brownsboro-Zorn | Riedlonn | Cherokee Gardens HISTORY 5áFACTS The old Louisville and Shelbyville Turnpike (Frankfort Avenue) and an antebellum railroad line to Frankfort opened up today's Clifton and Crescent Hill neighborhoods to early development, including the relocated Kentucky School for the Blind in 1853. By the turn of the century, the town of Clifton (chartered in 1876) and most of Crescent Hill (1884) had been annexed by Louisville. The bustle of Frankfort Avenue, the commercial backbone for both old Victorian towns, had faded by the 1970s but came back in a big way during the 1990s. Ewing Avenue divides the two neighborhoods. 2144 Frankfort Ave. // 895-0076 caffe-classico.com An assortment of European languages fow as patrons dine on delicious, meticulously presented lunches and dinners. Cliftons Pizza Co. (1990) 2230 Frankfort Ave. // 893-3730 cliftonspizza.com This spot has built a strong loyal following with nicely topped pizzas, major calzones and live music several nights of the week. Cubana (2010) 2206 Frankfort Ave. // 409-4828 cubanarestaurantlouisville.com The turquoise and salmon colors evoke the Caribbean, and the abundant menu is rich with authentic Cuban dishes. DiFabio's Casapela (2010) The bricks of the Peterson Avenue hill road bed were laid at angles to the steep, 15-degree slope so cars could maintain traction in rainy weather. They're why the ride up and down is so dang noisy. Clifton's long, thin and easily bypassed Bingham Park was designed by the sons of famed landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted. In the mid-1980s you could count the number of Frankfort Avenue restaurants on one fnger: Genny's Diner. In the 1870s, Zorn Avenue was called Pipe Line Avenue because the Louisville Water Co. pumped river water from the Ohio under the roadway's median up to the then-new Crescent Hill Reservoir. Nobody can tell you with an ounce of certainty how Crescent Hill got its name. 2311 Frankfort Ave. // 891-0411 difabios.com The building is 182 years old; the Italian tradition served up here by sisters Caitlind and Sarah DiFabio — including table salads and warm, yeasty bread — is a whole lot older. El Mundo (1995) 2345 Frankfort Ave. // 899-9930 502elmundo.com Check out its great back patio (where meals are sometimes punctuated by the rumble of passing trains) and its "twisted version of authentic Mexican" cuisine. Fat Jimmy's (2001) 2712 Frankfort Ave. // 891-4555 fatjimmyspizza.com Fat Jimmy's website instructs us to "Eat it!" We'd be offended if the ten-topping Fat Jimmy pizza wasn't so gosh-darn good. (Several locations) Four Sisters (2013) 2246 Frankfort Ave. // 384-4262 Spanking-new Southeast Asian cafe with excellent crepes and mini-baguette (banh mi) sandwiches. The Grape Leaf (1992) GREATEST HIT 56 LOUISVILLE MAGAZINE 2217 Frankfort Ave. // 897-1774 grapeleafonline.com The Mediterranean dishes are stunningly good and the portions are huge. The Irish Rover (1993) Catching a summer sunset with the joggers, walkers and geese up on the Crescent Hill Reservoir rim. 6.13 2319 Frankfort Ave. // 899-3544 theirishroverky.com The prices are nice, the food is way beyond standard pub fare, and the atmosphere is comfortably lively.