One Great Dinner: Louisville's The Patron
Wednesday, September 23, 2009 at 11:34PM By JOHN P. WISE
One Great Season
LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- I lived in Louisville two different times for a total of four years and somehow never heard about the restaurant that changed my life Wednesday night.
Well, it might not have changed my life, but it sure as hell made the evening quite memorable.
Tony Boombozz makes himself a delightful pizza indeed, one that I ordered many times when I lived in the Derby City back in the day.
But after William confirmed it was Boombozz, he offered up one more tip: that I should skip Boombozz and instead try having dinner directly across the street at The Patron, where his girlfriend Lauren was tending bar.
As soon as I sat down next to a friendly guy named Andrew, I knew the evening would be interesting. He took my card and said he'll check out the OGS project, then told me to peep his band, The Ringtones, whose site will be up later this week.
I ordered the salami pizza (pictured), which included local garlic, roasted red peppers, ricotta cheese, fresh thyme and balsamic marinara.
After I pounded all eight slices of the 12-inch pie, I asked to see the man responsible for all the belt-loosening carnage. Matt came out and thanked me for the compliments. I told him about my project, how it involves a lot of eating out, and that while I'm not a food writer, his pizza pie has turned me into one for at least a night.
I've lived in New York for 3+ years now, and folks there are pretty proud of the pizza. But what they're doing at The Patron is outstanding. Not only do Matt and the fellas in the kitchen kick it gourmet style, but the front-of-house staff was excellent as well. Most said hello and engaged in some friendly conversation. The dainty Lauren was pretty cool behind the bar, and even introduced me to another patron she knew was like me, in town from Brooklyn. Dean disagreed with my take that New Yorkers are unfriendly, but I didn't listen to his logic. I was busy staring at his friend Sarah with an H.
As I was getting ready to pay the bill, Matt came out with a nice surprise: two scoops of home-made ice cream (pictured) made from fresh, blood-red, end-of-the-season peaches. That shit was the bomb yo.
I shouldn't forget to mention the $1 PBR I enjoyed with dinner, after which I walked around and said hello to a few patrons and self-promoted the OGS tip.
Like I said, I'm not a food writer, but some experiences just make you want to try something you don't normally do, like ask to meet the guy who made your wonderful dinner and wander around an unfamiliar place all alone, introducing yourself to others because you just don't want to leave.
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Reader Comments (1)
"That shit was the bomb yo."
Great job!