Bistro 1860 Salad Gives C-J's Rosen 'Heebie-Jeebies' But It Got Better

While the Louisville Courier-Journal's Marty Rosen chalked up three stars ("very good") on the big board for Bistro 1860, his meal—to say nothing of his review—was almost done in by a wayward watercress salad:

We got off to an inauspicious start one night at Bistro 1860. The watercress salad ($5, $10) sounded like a delightful summer starter. We imagined delicate, peppery cress studded with dried Bing cherries, smoked blue cheese and finely diced lardons of bacon dressed in a vibrant red wine vinaigrette that would accentuate all the other flavors.

Instead, we got a thicket of cress with thick, awkwardly long stems; large, pale chunks of soft, fatty bacon; and all the other ingredients — doused in an innocuous dressing.

It was a startling dish, and one I wouldn't have served company at home. And it gave me the heebie-jeebies about the dishes to come — especially since we were celebrating a young companion's newly minted bachelor's degree. Happily, though, that salad was pretty much the low point in a meal that kept getting better and better as it went along.[Louisville Courier-Journal]

For LEO Weekly, Robin Garr visited Bourbons Bistro to recite the menu:

About 10 apps and "greens" (salads) start at $7 for a modern variation on the classic "wedge," summoning whole green romaine leaves to pinch-hit for the iceberg, gussying it up with crispy bacon and tiny tobacco-style onions, halved juicy cherry tomatoes and a creamy mayo-based blue cheese dressing.

At the high end of the starter menu, $13 will bring you a lobster bruschetta, with sweet Maine shellfish, shallots, roasted tomatoes and more antipasto goodies on grilled French bread, or a plate of artisan cheeses and cured meats. Spicy fried oysters ($12) have been a Bistro favorite since the start, and in an era of snout-to-tail cooking, the house-cured, bourbon-glazed Berkshire pork belly ($10) is not to be missed.

Not counting the burgers — which include a Kentucky Creekstone Farm beef burger ($15) or an earthy, juicy patty of ground Maple Leaf Farm duck ($16), plus up-charges of $4 for pork belly or $2 for a fried egg — the 10 summer-menu main courses run from $18 (for the meat-free grilled beets entree) to the steaks at $33 (for a Creekstone beef filet) or $32 (for a grilled skirt steak). All the rest are priced in the $20s, including such goodies as a Maple Leaf Farm duck breast ($25), pan-seared bone-in pork chop ($25) or short rib osso buco ($28). [LEO Weekly (Priceless)]

·All Week In Reviews [~ELOU~]

[Photo: Courtesy Bistro 1860]