Louisville Critics Turn their Attention to Austin's, Lolita's Tacos and Uptown Cafe

Robin Garr reviewed Austin's and Lolita's Tacos for LEO Weekly, a likely sign that he's running out of restaurants to cover. We're hearing rumors that next week he's critiquing picnic spreads at the Cherokee Triangle Sunday concert. His thoughts on Austin's:

The menu calls the fare "Southern and regional cuisines with a contemporary touch." It struck me as a slightly fancified, well-made cookery from a corporate kitchen intended to please a well-traveled Midwestern farm family that's equally happy with country fried steak ($9.79) or grilled chicken alfredo ($12.49). [The fuck?—Ed.]

Appetizers (many of them salty, crunchy bar fare) and dinner salads range in price from $6.99 (for the house salad topped with bacon, eggs and toasted almonds) to $12.69 for the meal-in-itself bronzed salmon salad, which one of our party declared "a winner." Soups are $2.89 for a cup, $3.89 for a bowl. [LEO Weekly]

Garr's thoughts on Lolita's Tacos:

Lolita's Tacos, a bright spot in the culinary landscape of Poplar Level Road near the Watterson, is a great place for lunch, but it's a good idea to show up early. The other day, the tiny eatery's handful of tables were already filling up by 11:30 a.m. Many of the diners, it seemed, had come on pilgrimage to get Lolita's trademark favorite, the avocado burrito.[LEO Weekly]

Marty Rosen forgot he was reviewing Uptown Cafe for the Louisville Courier-Journal and accidentally penned supplemental lyrics to Leo Kottke's "Rings": "Wedding rings, earrings, signet rings and toe rings. Boxing rings, rings of power, rings of magic, rings of fire. Of the making of rings there is no end. And we can be sure that tales of ring-related quests will go on as long as we have tale tellers among us." Finally though he came around, cause he got love and baby, he gave Uptown Cafe some of it (3.5 stars out of 4, "excellent"):

A grilled flank steak marinated in ginger and beer was a perfect summer dish, full-flavored, cooked to a tender medium-rare, served with a spicy, house-made version of Henry Bain's sauce and plated with a crunchy golden stack of au gratin potatoes that opened like a book to reveal paper-thin slices of luscious, creamy potatoes within ($19.95).

The envy of the table, though, was a dramatic platter of grilled, sun-dried tomato polenta ($12.75). Thick wedges of polenta — blackened from the grill, studded with points of red, served with a colorful mix of sauteed vegetables, tomatoes, spinach and mozzarella — were packed with flavor (and the portion was big enough for sharing, or a tempting plate of leftovers). [Louisville Courier-Journal]

·All Week In Reviews [~ELOU~]

[Photo: Courtesy Facebook/Austin's]