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Photos by John Nation |
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 Porcini 2730 Frankfort Avenue - 894-8686 Glamorous but not pretentiously so (unlike some of the cars parked outside), Porcini has become a much-in-demand dining destination for Louisvillians who want to make the week/files/storyimages/scene — a chic magnet, if you will. Where else does a big front window serve as a movie screen for watching auto traffic and freight trains go by? Where else with candlelit tables does the level of conversational din negate any need for a music track? That table next to yours — no way are they going to overhear your private dialogue.
Split by a “broken” brick wall and gurgling fountain into bar and dining areas, the restaurant’s decor smartly blends cosmopolitan reserve with Italian rustic charm. In the hubbub-filled bar, 12 amber hanging lamps soften the gleam of brass and polished wood. In the dimly lit dining room, black ceiling panels, tabletops and server garb are offset by floral-backed banquettes and age lines on a distressed-plaster wall.
Accentuating the conservative/homey mix is Porcini’s owner/host Tim Coury, whose statuesque Mediterranean good looks belie a truly affable personality. The menu, too, deftly walks the line between Tuscan comfort food in ample portions and visually appealing plate presentations. You can share a crackery-crust pizza or order veal or rack of lamb in a deliciously complicated sauce.
Romance in many forms — Porcini has it.
— Jack Welch |
| La Bodega 1604 Bardstown Road - 456-4955
With its shiny copper, glossy wood and colorful tile, De la Torre’s is the closest you’ll come in this town (perhaps this entire region) to the sensation of having just walked off the street into an exotic but unobtrusive Mediterranean setting. The feeling spills over into its adjacent sister establishment, La Bodega.
While the former might be the ideal spot for a night out with family or close friends, La Bodega is more the site of pure romance. You will often find mopeds and Vespas parked out front, leaning against its windows, lending the place just the right air of sophisticated late-night Euro-snacking. In Spain, where the workday for most people doesn’t /files/storyimages/until 8 p.m., this culinary arrangement is nothing but sensible. Here, it is a luxury, an indulgence, a wonder not to be missed.
Over there, groups of friends wander from one tapas bar to the next before settling in for the meal proper. But La Bodega has so many superb little dishes to choose from that a couple will not need to move anywhere else to eat. You can gaze out at busy Bardstown Road action or into the center of the restaurant, where various dishes to be served for the evening are displayed in showcases around the curved bar. Or maybe you’ll just want to gaze at each other while sampling nicely priced bites — seafood, sausage and vegetable-based — yummy enough to leave you speechless.
— Mary Welp |
| L&N Wine Bar and Bistro
Nestled in a 19th-century historic building on the corner of Mellwood Avenue and Brownsboro Road, L&N is a perfect setting for an intimate, supremely comfy dining experience. Ducking into the restaurant on a cold winter night, you feel as though you are entering a friend’s house. You can usually count on being greeted by Len Stevens, the approachable proprietor who oversees the dining room with such special attention that you might catch him folding your napkin over your seat when you’ve made a trip away from the table. The interior’s exposed-brick walls, soft lighting and cozy tables generate a warm vibe, as does the fireplace that blazes in one of the main dining rooms.
L&N’s huge above-bar Cruvinet wine-dispensing system holds 90 carefully chosen vintages, all of which are available by the glass (400 wines are available by the bottle) and can be sampled in mini-glass flights, providing a more interesting way to toast your loved one than champagne.
Intoxicated by the wine bouquets and soothing atmosphere, peruse the creative bill of fare. The pan-seared Caribbean snapper with a spicy frisee salad in a Meyer lemon beurre blanc, served with lobster hushpuppies, should please most gastronomes, and the Croque Madame — grilled brioche stuffed with country and honey ham and Swiss cheese smothered in an applewood Cheddar mornay and topped with a fried egg — should satisfy any comfort craving. You would be remiss to skip dessert because nothing says amore like L&N’s eminently sharable Belgian chocolate fondue.
— Melissa Duley |
 610 Magnolia
If you’re not already feeling romantic when you walk into 610 Magnolia, don’t be surprised to find your mood warming up quickly. The ambience may convince you you’ve left Louisville for an intimate European taverna. The elegant sparkle of Riedel crystal (three stems per place setting) contrasts beautifully with the subtly rustic varnished-brick floor, the low exposed-beam ceiling and the botanical center-pieces. The effect is to simultaneously transport diners and make them feel perfectly at home. Even more welcoming is the knowledge that when you reserve one of the restaurant’s 10 tables, it’s yours for the evening.
Beyond the setting, intimacy is integral to the dining experience itself. Dinner at 610 — served Thursday through Saturday only — consists of a six-course prix-fixe meal. Courses are small but unfailingly exquisite. The experience begins with two appetizer courses that stir up the sensuality: a trio of cold hors d’oeuvres followed by a trio of hot. It’s impossible to indulge in the tiny, perfect mouthfuls — a bite-sized crawfish beignet here, a single shrimp over caramelized fennel there — without turning to your partner and practically moaning with delight. Next comes the salad course, the entree and dessert, each lovingly prepared and presented, and each likely to inspire couples to trade forkfuls, crooning, “Honey, you’ve got to taste this.”
Just when you think you’re finished, the after-dessert chocolates (oh yes) arrive to cap off the experience. When your meal reaches its conclusion, expect to feel supremely satisfied — yet not too full for a little after-dinner amour.
— Katy Yocom |
 Le Relais 2817 Taylorsville Road (Bowman Field) 451-9020
Even if you’ve never been to Le Relais, I’ll bet a dining retreat much like it lives in the “romance” portion of your brain, next to the sections holding moonlight, roses, heart-shaped candy boxes and Barry Manilow.
Le Relais combines intimacy, elegance, exoticism and escapism within the walls of Bowman Field’s FDR-era administration building. Entering Le Relais is much like walking onto a Mervin LeRoy movie set. The Art Deco-inspired decor — with faux burlwood panels, vintage airline posters, linen-draped tables, delicate light sconces, and plush banquettes — creates an exceptional ambience. Genteel host/owner Anthony Dike provides Continental flair, whether its casual conversation about skiing in Geneva or sophisticated assistance with wine pairing.
Le Relais’ cuisine is true to France, where romance isn’t just around the food; it’s often about the food. Dishes like pheasant with truffle risotto, quail and mache salad, and pate du chef are much more charming than steak. And nothing says “savoir faire” like a cheese course — which Le Relais proudly presents.
From escargot to Epoisses, food at Le Relais can be so good it can encourage contemplation, relaxation and sharing . . . and isn’t that a big part of romance? You and your significant other can enjoy various gratins, vinaigrettes, pates, souffles and other French creations, and get a bit tipsy on a nice Bordeaux. The only way to get more romance would be for the two of you to run outside Le Relais and flag down a charter plane to some exotic destination. Romantic, yes — but then you might risk missing the Grand Marnier souffle.
— Stephen Hacker |
 The Jazz Factory 815 W. Market St. - 992-3242
The Jazz Factory is a charming hideaway — and one that’s uniquely equipped with a suave-plus live soundtrack. Located in the lower level of Glassworks on the western edge of downtown, this music venue/eatery successfully marries urban and cozy to create a setting that is inviting, innovative and intimate.
Despite the underground locale, the place is anything but dingy. Its red upholstered chairs and booths, chocolate-brown ceiling and charcoal-gray floor may dominate the room’s color palette, but accents of orange and turquoise provide a splash of color. It twinkles under a star-like haze due to what seems like hundreds of small light bulbs suspended from the ceiling. The golden glow radiates through-out the club and softens the stark brick walls and stone pillars.
Although modest-sized, the Jazz Factory feels airy and spacious thanks to spread-out clusters of round-tops and tall walls. For more privacy, head to the elevated seating section in back. An ample pathway separates the seating area from the wraparound marble bar, allowing everyone an unobstructed stage view.
If libations are more your desire, the Jazz Factory offers an enticing specialty drink menu, beers, and a nice selection of wines by the glass and bottle.
Once the show begins, however, not much will distract from the music — except maybe your date.
— Melanie Wolkoff Wachsman |
 Asiatique’s Lounge A
There may be some folks out there who still don’t know the little secret of this marvelous lounge in the basement of the city’s best Pacific Rim restaurant. Each of its 14 dishes (some on the main menu upstairs, others not) is a mere $6. That’s right: In some cases, you’re paying half the price you’d be paying for the same dish on a different floor . Upon first glance, Lounge A might appear to be a bit high-tech to call romantic. It’s a rather intense yellow, and it gleams with lights set, floor to ceiling, into the walls. It has low-lying furniture against a background so Japanese-looking that you almost expect to walk outside into a botanical garden on the edge of a koi pond.
The space to procure for a night out with your sweetie is the leather couch against the far wall of the room. Turn off the television that’s set discreetly into the adjacent wall; TV does not bode well for anyone’s romantic future. Once you sink into this couch, let the oh-so-attentive bar waiter (with his innate sense of when to dash downstairs to check on your needs for a refill of food or drink) take care of you for the duration. He’ll tell you which wine from the smartly selected wine list (most of these also go for $6 a pop) works best with the garam masala-scented scallops and which would be ideal to sling back with the vegetable tempura orgy. In truth, what you’ll want to drink with the latter is the cucumber marinade at the bottom of the bowl. Bring it on! But stay on that couch.
— Mary Welp |
