Proof on Main - Louisville

For a variety of reasons, we decided that the best way to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday was to get outta town. Back in August, we had taken a roadtrip; then it was between Minnesota and Kentucky. We decided to reserve Kentucky for a warmer season, and this turned out to be it.

We fiddled and faddled about where exactly to be/eat on Thanksgiving. I finally settled on the Inn at Shaker Village only to find it booked. We also knew we'd eat at Proof on Main in Louisville. We just did not know what date. As it turns out, Thanksgiving was that date. Oh, but around the night before Thanksgiving, we had some misgivings. Nothing against Proof on Main, but my kidz were revolting against the idea of cranberry mostarda Luckily, my wife resolved that problem well, with a bit of research. We had a very traditional Thanksgiving lunch in a barn in Southern Indiana (right down to the wine made with local grapes). This freed us to throroughly enjoy Proof.

And enjoy we did. A few minutes after we started perusing the menu, a phalanx of servers appeared. Seems they heard through the grapevine ( ) that I'm a relish guy--one of the things that attracted me to Proof's menu was a daily assortment of dishes called Relish off to the side of the menu. A friend of ours had arranged for us to try the day's offering of Relish: curried cauliflower, baked rhutabaga, braised fennel and radish bagna freddo. The relishes expertly introduced us to the method of this place. High quality, seasonal ingredients, approapriate garniture, and ample use of pork in all its forms. So, while all of these relishes twinkled our palates, nothing made us happier than the rhutabaga with chunks of ham, kinda a Southern lardon. We could have left happy; I mean at this point, maybe cranberry mostarda sounded good.

I am sure the mostarda was good. Nothing we ordered was less than good, but having ate our fill of tradition, we skipped the take on Thanksging. Instead, we got this. For appetizers, we had a butternut squash soup with a bit of chicken liver toast and arugula salad (perhaps a bit too heavyily dressed even if it was aged balsamic). My older daughter and wife split the skirt steak with a slaw made of trevisio radichio and hand made spaghetti with rock shrimps, although daugher scarfed down 3/4th of the steak. I had pan roasted pork chop, wrapped in country ham and sided with rapini and pickled peach marmalade. My other daughter just wanted whipped olive oil potatoes, and we indulged. Proof indulged us more by bringing out all the day's vegetables, adding cast iron pots of brussell sprouts and simmered pole beans to our table. Remember that bit about pork? Bits and pieces of porcine products enhanced the vegetables. No one would ever make fun of these brussell sprouts. The pole beans (i.e., green beans) were nearly as good. Desserts were a warm vanilla pudding cake and a lemon cookie tart served in a very hot, thin cast iron pot. We left stuffed, no stuffing eaten.

Proof on Main has garnered several awards including being one of Esquire Magazines Best New Restaurants. It is so like I want to eat. The idea is this is a Tuscan take on Kentucky food, but there was no hint of fusion here. The best thing I could say is that this is what the cuisine would be like if Louisville was in Italy. Proof sourced outstanding ingredients, then used simple ideas to bring out the deliciousness of those ingredients. It goes without saying, that at their price points, appetizers less than $10/mains less that $30, that this place is quite the value. I'd love to return.

For those who do not know, Proof on Main is the canteen for a hotel that also doubles as a museum of modern art. The 21C Hotel is worth a visit without being hungry.

Proof on Main
702 W. Main
Louisville, KY
502.217.6360
proofonmain.com

This sounded so wonderful that I just made reservations for Tuesday night. Hubby and I have been mulling over where to dine during a quick trip and this settled the discussion. I can't wait.

Diannie

I hope you enjoy; please report back!

One huge error I made in my report...I was telling my kidz yesterday about the report, they just loved this place, and it turns out I forgot the thing that put them over the top in love with this place.

At the end of th meal, with the check, they gave us some cotton candy in the same minu-Stubb cast iron pot that the relishes came in, and boy was this excellent cotton candy. Who needs a piece of white whooly stuff that looks like cotton--cannot you see that at Moto--this was the best cotton candy ev-ah.

Well, we certainly did enjoy our dinner at Proof. After a long day visiting museums (The new Mohammed Ali Center and the Frasier International History Museum) and a trek back to the airport in search of my lost bag. Then a quick shopping trip so I could buy appropriate dinner out clothes....

We were hungry and ready to relax over a nice meal. We had been looking forward to sampling the house made country pate but they were out so plan B included a scallion pizza topped with a fried egg. Beautiful light crispy crust, roasted scallions, and two sunny-side up fried eggs on top. Eating this was fun as we sopped up the egg yolks with the pizza slices.

The soup that evening was the Roman style egg drop soup with a semolina dumpling, which my husband ordered. He loved it and described it as lemony but in a clear broth with egg whites swirled in. The dumpling was a perfect foil. I odered the roasted beets. Six (?) beet wedges topped with mache, endive, goat cheese and pistachios in a light cirtus dressing.

We couldn't resist the relishes so our waiter made up a sampler platter of all 4 for $12. I couldn't decide on a favorite but the baked rutabaga came with bacon, not ham that evening.

My entree was the pan seared diver scallops over a bed of caramelized spaghetti squash topped in a "piccata" sauce. This was a traditional capers/lemon/onion treatment. Unfortunately the chef sprinkled the top with kosher salt and my first bite was so salty I couldn't taste anything else. After two more tastes, one by hubby, we called this to our server's attention and he professionally whisked it away and returned shortly with the plate remade. This plate was perfect. I think the slight pinch inadvertanly turned into a BIG one the first time.

Hubby had the braised short ribs which were wonderful. We wisely decided against ordering sides as the pizza, soup and salad were nice size portions. I ordered the burbon-vanilla gelato for dessert. It boasted a nice balance of flavors with the burbon and vanilla complementing each other well. A crisp cookie set off the creamy ice cream.

We certainly splurged but still thought the prices reasonable. The meal, inlcuding 2 glasses of wine for me, soft drink for hubby and coffee came to about $130.

We also really enjoyed the atmosphere. The hotel is also host to a contemporary art museum and pieces of contemporary art dart the dining room walls. Sound levels were conversation friendly and service was attentive without being overbearing. My food issue was noted and corrected right away, for example.

Thanks, VI for this recommendation!

Cookie and I spent a long weekend in Louisville and capped it all off with a visit to Proof on Main. We actually arrived 90 minutes early for our reservation, toured the gallery space (which is impressive), and had some cold relishes and excellent cocktails at the bar.

As VI noted above, the cold relishes really capture the spirit, theme, and strength of this restaurant. I particularly enjoyed a well-seasoned curried cauliflower punctuated with capers as well as fennel with orange zest. After a hunk of grilled bread, these flavorful veggies, and a glass of Campari, I could have ended the meal right there and been very happy.

After this, we went for three full courses in the dining room.

First Course: For me: Salt cod and country ham fritters. Crispy, salty, full-flavored, and balanced nicely by a mustard cream sauce--this was the highlight of the meal for me.

For Cookie: Egg-drop soup. This was a surprisingly flavorful broth, made silky by the bits of egg and punched up in flavor by a Parmesan-semolina dumpling.

Main Course: A crisp fillet of local bass for me, with fennel and a light broth. A nice piece of fish, but an undercurrent of saltiness in the broth turned me off. For Cookie, a hangar steak with Gorgonzola and morels. To both of our tastes, the morels and cheese completely overpowered the meat.

Dessert: Two selections, both warm and tasty, but nothing I'd order again: Warm vanilla pudding cake with buttermilk gelato and a peach crostada with salt caramel gelato. The pastry chef clearly has a talent for gelati, and the dessert menu highlights these, offering multiple flavors on their own.

Proof is a delightful restaurant with a lot of skill and quality ingredients in their menu. The space is attractive, the staff is friendly, and the fact that their intertwined with a modern art museum provides a lot of eye candy.

But there were some elements that really hold back Proof from being a destination restaurant.

At the end of the evening, I had the feeling that I consumed a significant amount of sodium (the broth with the fish being the one item that stood out as too salty).

Also, I was a little surprised to see that the menu hasn't really changed much from earlier descriptions or from an earlier example on their website. Their website boasts that the menu changes frequently based on availability of local ingredients. Sure, a fish is substituted in a preparation, or a peach finds it's way into a dessert, but the preparation remains the same and daily specials are the same every week and printed on the menu. I'd like to see what this restaurant can accomplish if they scaled back the menu and approached their ingredients as new possibilities rather than simple substitutions. Focusing on local and seasonal should enhance creativity, and Proof seems a bit stifled.

Best,
Michael

(More to come about our Louisville weekend in other relevant threads).

Some Proof on Main pics from our visit outlined in the previous post:

Some fancy fruity drink at the bar


Cold Curried Cauliflower


Bass Entree


Peach Crostada


Exterior


Best,
Michael

Well you certainly can't get bored here!

eatchicago wrote:Main Course: A crisp fillet of local bass for me, with fennel and a light broth. A nice piece of fish, but an undercurrent of saltiness in the broth turned me off.

Michael,

The broth may have been salty, which would be a deal breaker for me as well, but the fish itself sure looks good with crisp skin and moist flesh. Cold curried cauliflower, with it's interesting mix of flavors, sounds a good dish to replicate on a hot summer's eve.

Louisville seems a nice weekend getaway.

Enjoy,
Gary

In Louisville for work for a few days, so I stopped into Proof (as a result of this thread) for an early dinner.

First, had a manhattan, well made. I don't know what kind of vermouth was used, but it wasn't overly sweet. Just enough to take the edge off the bourbon. (side note: as you might expect, they have an extensive selection of bourbons on offer including four roses and pappy van winkle).

while i waited for my food, they supplied some warm bread and good butter.

first a salad of lettuces, with parm and vinagrette. nothing exciting, but i needed some greens.

I ordered a selection of meats and cheeses, some la quercia prosciutto, some bresaola and some salami, a chunk each of truffle tremor and humboldt fog. the board came out with some really good truffle honey and smoked grapes that were really good when they were warm right after they came out, as well as some grainy mustard, toasts etc. this plus a glass of tempranillo was plenty to fill me up.

i ate at the bar, and service couldn't have been nicer. thanks lth, for leading me here.

Mrs. JiLS and I enjoyed a too-brief visit in Louisville, my dad's hometown, this Memorial Day weekend. We arrived Sunday night, exhausted from attending the Greatest Spectacle in Racing, it was 8:30 when we got to the Brown Hotel in Louisville, and all we could handle was dinner in the lobby bar of the hotel. That included a Hot Brown (model: archetype) and, surprisingly (and ordered almost randomly), one of the best pieces of salmon I've ever eaten. But that's another post.

Monday evening, after beating the odds in spectacular fashion at Churchill Downs (up $10.75 after 5 races!), we dined Monday night at Proof on Main, and it was truly one of the most refreshing dinner experiences I've had in the last couple of years. Every good thing written about this place holds true; while the reservations, especially regarding stasis/lack of progress/innovation in the menu, does not seem to obtain. This link likely is going to be soon replaced, but this is the menu we ordered from.

We started with the Snack Trio, consisting of a variety of pickles (including baby carrots, zucchini, and others), a variety of excellent olives, and fried hominy. That's in bold for a reason. Of all the foods characterized on LTH as "crack" this or that, this is the first to which I've felt inclined to award that sobriquet: Jimmy crack corn, and I DO care, this was like the wet dream version of Corn Nuts, preternaturally good. Lacy-textured, a suspension for oil and corn essence as of the cracklings the angels snack on. So, "corn cracklings." Go there for this snack alone, and you will not be disappointed.

But, then things just continued to be generally marvelous throughout our meal. We doubled up on appetizers by splitting a half order of bucatini amatriciana with a fresh mint counterpart to the tomato and peppers that made this simple dish simply soar. For a restaurant that is not even attempting to portray itself as Italian, this dish could serve to school (read: woodshed) many of those who do. I will be remembering this one months from now and hoping I can order it when I visit Proof on Main again.

The bison burger was a big, meaty buffalo shot. Perfectly what Mrs. JiLS wanted. The strip steak I ordered was very flavorful, very well prepared, and very much not nearly as good as about any steak you'd get in a mid-level or above steakhouse in Chicago (among other things, it was cut way too thin, like a budget steak from Tony's on Fullerton, and just not worth the asking price). But what was I thinking ordering steak here; clearly the "man's order" on a diverse and deep menu, and not one I'd repeat. Mia culpa, and again, it was as good as or better than most steak served in most places, just not up to what you'd expect from a Chicago steakhouse (or even the Louisville branch of Morton's), and simply not a strength at Proof on Main.

We finished with a goat's milk ricotta pound cake with rhubarb sauce that was an elegant, concise and masterful coda to this meal.

This was one of the best meals I've eaten in the last year. It would be foolish not to eat at Proof on Main if you are in Louisville; I know we'll be back.

P.S. The urinal in the men's room has not been remarked upon, I think, in other posts, yet is a thing worth noting. To wit: God DAMN (to coin a phrase). For those who've not witnessed this marvel of micturational technology, imagine, if you will, peeing into a waterfall while looking through a two-way mirror onto the hallway where your wife (and others of both sexes) are standing about, checking their hair in the floor-length mirror, as you finish your ablutions mere inches away. Mrs. JiLS reports that the one-way mirrors in the lady's room are positioned over the hand-washing sinks, which just isn't the same thing.

I'm going to be in Louisville for one night and I'm reading through here trying to decipher whether Proof on Main is worth a visit. Sounds to me like another midwestern restaurant whose reach exceeds its grasp when they try to get all big city-fied. One reviewer mentions his meal is totally oversalted, which means they don't even bother tasting their food before they send it out of the kitchen. And then I'm especially puzzled by JiLS calling this a great meal but describing his main course in non-glowing terms:

...not nearly as good as about any steak you'd get in a mid-level or above steakhouse in Chicago (among other things, it was cut way too thin, like a budget steak from Tony's on Fullerton, and just not worth the asking price).

Sounds to me like you really wanted to enjoy your meal and succeeded, but they served up some substandard meat and a high price. I've had plenty mediocre fine dining meals in Indianapolis, I don't feel like adding Proof on Main to my list - what's really going on here?

Everything other than the steak was excellent, and it was a mistake to order it here, although it certainly wasn't enough to spoil what was really a fine meal. The steak failed to meet my expectations; everything else pretty much exceeded them. The steak was not worth the price asked. Note that the comparison to "budget steak" referred just to the very thin cut of the steak, not the quality of the meat, which was OK, just not as good as what you'd expect for a similar price at a more steak-centric restaurant. I imagine the branch of Morton's I saw just down the street from Proof on Main would be serving better steaks, but would be a substantially less interesting restaurant. Next visit, I'll stay away from the steak and be just that much happier with Proof.

Fast Eddie wrote:One reviewer mentions his meal is totally oversalted, which means they don't even bother tasting their food before they send it out of the kitchen.

Not necessarily true. The kitchen very well could have been running slow, they tasted, sent it back to the line to get more salt and it accidentally got hit twice- it's happened to me a number of times in places where I know darn well the kitchen tastes their food going out.

By the way, your quote about mid-western restaurants getting all big-citified could be made about a large number of Chicago restaurants too.

I've had two more meals at Proof since my first post, and I've enjoyed it highly each time. It's not a completely high end restaurant if that's what you want, but I would call it some where between Mado and Vie in style, and equal to both in good cooking.

By the way, your quote about mid-western restaurants getting all big-citified could be made about a large number of Chicago restaurants too.

By big-citified I mean complex preparations requiring lots of technique, which bangs you headfirst into staffing issues. You'll find very talented people who'll work as line chefs and sous chefs in Chicago, not so easy to find good people working for low wages in Louisville or Indy or St. Louis or Columbus. On too many occasions I've been to restaurants in the midwest where you look at the menu and it sounds intriguing, but the execution is lacking. Or if they execute really well one night the next time you go they blow it, the consistencies not there. And when people comment on things like oversalting it yells staff problems to me.

I'll give Proof on Main a shot, and I'll be thrilled if they pull it off and disappointed if they don't. Wouldn't be the first frog I've kissed. I'm the same way with crab cakes, nine out of ten times they're mediocre but I keep ordering them hoping I'll find that one out of ten that blows me away.

We had dinner at Proof on Main last Thursday. We had the pickled vegetable starter, beet salad, cornmeal & country ham fritters, buffalo carpaccio (basically a baked polenta dish), pasta carbonara, roast chicken and an assortment of gelati for dessert.

My favorite dish was the carpaccio - haven't had raw buffalo before, and it was very flavorsome and surprisingly tender for such a lean cut of meat. Topped with a poached egg, which is unusual but worked well. The chicken I wasn't crazy about, it's described on the menu as roasted but it's actually smoked first and then roasted. The meat is very dense, like a kassler ripchen. Which would be fine if I'm in the mood for that - I didn't think it was necessary to grill the waiter on how they prepare a roast chicken, so a better description on the menu would've been appreciated. But they like to surprise you with their preparations, putting an odd twist on things for most of the items.

I like salt but they do have a heavy hand it. It's not the cooked meal that's oversalted, but they finish everything with fleur de sel and a little goes a long way. The beet salad especially was marred by way too much fleur de sel. If I were to go again I'd tell the waiter to make sure they take it easy with the salt.

I'd say overall it was very good, but expensive ($200+ for two with a bottle of wine). But it's worth a repeat visit, interesting place - once you realize what they're doing, you can get a better idea of how to work to their strengths. Definitely lean on your waiter for guidance, and don't assume anything (ours was excellent).

Wife, baby and I enjoyed dinner outside on Proof's front patio this weekend, though I need to remind myself to stop ordering gnocchi at restaurants unless I have strong evidence that it's good. The ricotta dumplings at Proof were even more dense and gummy than most.

Everything else was very good until we hit dessert. Tender, milk-braised rabbit with papardelle had a generous quantity of herbs that came right from the garden that surrounded us while we ate, and the pasta itself was perfect. Bison marrow tasted just gamey enough, and the fat was cut well by acidic gremolata and housemade pear mostarda. Unfortunately, the bones had been rather sloppily hacked and the utensils supplied were too large to dig effectively, so I lamented the fact that I had to return lots of delicious marrow to the kitchen, uneaten. My circulatory system thanks the butcher. Apple crostada for dessert had what seemed like dry, store-bought phyllo and unplumped, unpleasant raisins.

A good meal. I'd go back.