Charr'd Bourbon Kitchen & Lounge - Louisville KY

Charr'd Bourbon Kitchen & Lounge

Address: Marriott Hotel
1903 Embassy Square Blvd
City, State: Louisville KY 40299

Hours:
Sunday - Thursday: 6AM - 2PM, 5PM - 10PM
Friday - Saturday: 6AM - 2PM, 5PM - 11PM

Website: Charr'd Bourbon Grill

Description: I didn't do a lot of research on Charr'd before making the visit. The restaurant was near my Louisville East hotel, received pretty good reviews and was part of the Louisville Urban Bourbon Trail. As I arrived, I was a tad disappointed that the restaurant was inside the Marriott hotel. The atmosphere was casual with prohibition themed bourbon barrels and limestone surroundings. It contains an appealing menu and dozens of tempting bourbons available. They have a bourbon expert in house willing and able to describe each variety of bourbon and offer taste suggestions.

The menu features local ingredients and food was really good. I ordered the Charr'd burger described as a burger with wood smoked bacon, pepper jack cheese, crispy onions topped with bourbon barbecue sauce on a butter toasted brioche bun. The bacon, crispy onions and toasted bun made the texture very dry but overall, this burger was huge and cooked excellently. The sea-salt seasoned fries were a great addition.

Star Rating: 3
Price Range: $$$
Menu: Dinner Menu

Doc Crow's - Louisville, KY

Doc Crow's Southern Smokehouse & Raw Bar

Whiskey Row
127 W Main St.
Louisville, KY 40207

Hours: 
Monday - Thursday: 11am - 10pm
Friday: 11am - 11pm
Saturday: 5pm - 11pm
Sunday: 5pm - 10pm

Website: Doc Crow's

Doc Crow's Southern Smokehouse and Raw Bar is located on Whiskey Row on Main Street among the renovated Whiskey Row Lofts adjacent to the KFC YUM! center. Whiskey Row contains several restaurants including the Sidebar, Troll Pub, Doc Crow's, O'Shea's and Manny & Merles.  It's a great place to bar hop and experience Louisville. The area appears to be a local hotspot and may consist of a long wait if there is an event nearby.

Doc Crow's is a unique experience serving a combination of raw oysters and barbecue meals. two things you typically don't associate together unless perhaps, you're in Louisville. I attempted to visit this location two separate times and encountered a 45 minute table wait and a 30 minute table wait. The bar is open seating (If you can find one). The bar has hundreds of whiskeys available and offers flights for those wanting a taste of five different flavors.   I had the Southern Fried Dixie Chicken Sandwich with lettuce, tomato, onion and mayo on a brioche bun. It was cooked perfectly and hit the spot after a long day.

Star Rating: 3.5
Price range: $$

Menu: Dinner Menu

Bistro 301 - Louisville, KY

Bistro 301

301 W Market St.
Louisville KY 40202

Hours: Tuesday - Saturday: 11am - 3pm, 5pm - 10pm
Sunday - Monday: Closed

Website: bistro301.com

Bistro 301 calls itself a "Relaxed, casual eatery featuring upscale regional-leaning dishes". An interesting mission statement.  The restaurant is separated into two halves, the restaurant and the bar area. The bar contains twelve beers on tap and dozens of bourbons available. I sat at a table in the bar area and enjoyed the Fried Calamari appetizer, it was good but slightly rubbery. for dinner, the Fettuccine Carbonara with bacon, mushrooms and peas in a garlic cream sauce. It was good but not great.  The pasta was over cooked and not as tender as I would have liked and the chicken tasted as if yesterday's left overs were reheated.

Star Rating: 2
Price Range: $$$
Menu: Dinner Menu

The Galt House - Louisville, KY

The Galt House

The bar surface at AL J's

**This experience is based on Jockey Silks and Al J's bar visits. I did not stay at the hotel or see anything inside other than the bar.

The Galt House is an upscale hotel on the Ohio River at 4th and Main. Its unique southern flair make it a great place to say or just visit as you're passing through.

The Louie Link from Fourth Street will guide you to Al J's 2nd floor bar area on the mezzanine that crosses 4th street between the SUITE and RIVUE towers. Enjoy a draft or spirit as you watch hundreds of goldfish swim below your glass while sitting at the unique 30 foot long fish tank bar.

If you're looking for a cozy and quieter atmosphere, Jockey Silks Bourbon Bar is a floor lower in the RIVUE tower. They offer over 150 varieties of Bourbon.

The Galt House hotel

Sidebar at Whiskey Row - Louisville, KY

Sidebar at Whiskey Row

Whiskey Row
129 North 2nd St.
Louisville, KY 40202

Hours: 
Monday - Wednesday: 11am - 10pm
Thursday: 11am - 11pm
Friday: 11am - 12am
Saturday: 12pm - 12am
Sunday: Call for hours

Website: Sidebar at Whiskey Row

The Sidebar is located on Whiskey Row on 2nd Street among the Whiskey Row Lofts adjacent to the KFC YUM! center. Whiskey Row contains several restaurants including the Sidebar, Troll Pub, Doc Crow's, O'Shea's and Manny & Merles.  It's a great place to bar hop and experience Louisville. The area appears to be a local hotspot and may consist of a long wait if there is an event nearby.

The Sidebar is a unique experience with each menu item having a court related theme. I had the Bailiff, a certified Angus beef burger with smoked bacon, pimento cheese and lettuce.  53 different local bourbons are available and the stop is included on the Urban Bourbon tour. You be the judge if this restaurant is worthy of your vote.  They certainly earned mine!

Star Rating: 4.5
Price range: $$

Menu: Dinner Menu

Hard Rock Cafe - Louisville, KY

Hard Rock Cafe - Louisville

Restaurant Name: Hard Rock Cafe
Location: 4th Street Live
Star Rating: 1 of 5
Price Range: $$

The Hard Rock Cafe has lost the unique atmosphere it had several years ago and the downtown Louisville location seems to have lost a lot of it's charm.  I arrived at 4 PM and found the place deserted. I was the only patron.  I sat at the bar and enjoyed discounted drinks and 1/2 price appetizers.  I ordered a plate of chicken tenders and got exactly what I ordered a plate of five tenders and a little cup of honey mustard.  No garnish, and the tenders were dark, dark brown to the point of appearing burned.  As the hostess delivered them she apologized for the appearance and said the color was due to the oil used.  The taste was fine however, there is a problem if a waitress needs to apologize for the appearance of the food as it's being delivered.  I didn't stay for a meal or dessert and left very disappointed by my experience with the Hard Rock.

Statue of David, Louisville, KY

Statue of David 

At the corner of Main and 7th streets you'll find a 30 foot tall golden replica statue of Michelangelo's David. The statue was fabricated by an artist who created the statue using internet models, he has never seen the original. It's definitely unique and worth a detour.

Statue of David

Louisville Slugger Factory & Museum

Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory

Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory
Hours: 9 am - 5 pm
Cost: Museum =  Free
Factory Tour = $14.00
Time: 2-3 hours
Rating:  6

The Louisville Slugger Museum is located at 800 West Main Street.  You don't need an address, just look for the 120 foot tall, 9 foot diameter giant baseball bat reaching high into the skyline. The bat is considered the worlds largest and is an exact-scale replica of the model R43,34 wood bat designed by specifications for Babe Ruth in 1920. It weighs 68,000 pounds and is made from a carbon steel, not wood. The Slugger factory tour ($14.00) allows you to walk the production line where you can learn the fabrication process of baseball bats and physically see the bats in various stages of the manufacturing process.  The museum (free) contains informative interactive exhibits where you can learn more than you every wanted to know about baseball bats and their history.  As you enter you'll notice the signature wall of names showing a piece of bat with the signature of each contractual player who used a Slugger.   There is a ton of MLB history in the 8,000 wooden plate signatures on the wall.  Look for the more popular names in the hall of fame section containing dark wood bats.

Progress to the Bat Vault containing over 3,000 unique models of baseball bats created throughout the factory's history.  It's considered the Fort Knox of Louisville Sluggers.  Each bat is stamped with a letter and a number.  the letter represents the first letter of the name of the player it was created for.  The number is the number the player was within his letter.  For Example, Hank Aaron was the 99th player with a last name beginning with the letter A.  Thus the model A99.

Signature Wall

Vault

Literally, strike out in the batting cages where you can experience the feel of a 90 MPH fastball whizzing by you.  As they say, you'll never hit a home run if you don't swing away.

The facility contains a Ripley's believe it or not museum. This was an interesting addition to the baseball museum however seemed like an irrelevant space filler.

Several nearby corporations have attempted to capitalize on the world's largest bat.  The Kentucky Mirror and Plate Glass factory has a large baseball appearing to smash a giant window as their facade.  A nearby costume store also claims to have the worlds largest bat on their facade.  This bat is the winged and flying type.

Kentucky Mirror & Glass

Costume Shop

As you walk West Main Street you'll encounter a fascinating addition to the museum called the Louisville Slugger walk of fame.  The walk of fame starts at the Louisville Slugger Museum and spans approximately one mile to the KFC Yum! Center and contains 60 bronze bats and used by Major League Baseballs greatest hitters.  Each memorial contains a home base plaque with information on the hall of fame hitter and specific bat used.  Pick up a walk of fame brochure for a listing of each player honored with a star and its location.

Walk of Fame - Lou Gehrig

Walk of fame - Babe Ruth

Fourth Street Live - Louisville, KY

Fourth Street Live
Fourth St, Downtown

Fourth Street Live is Louisville's downtown scene with a plethora of restaurants, bars, entertainment and specialty shops spanning two stories along both sides of the road. Fourth Street is closed to vehicular traffic and accessible by foot only. Restaurants include the Hard Rock Cafe, Howl at the Moon dueling piano bar, a PBR bull riding themed restaurant, Bourbon Raw Bar and a Gordon Biersch brewery (see separate post) to name a few. The specialty shops include a Jim Beam Urban Stillhouse and Fudgery.  The Jim Beam Stillhouse provides some history on the local bourbon, a gift shop and offers bourbon tastings for $5.00.

The Sports & Social Club is a sports bar with a biker style atmosphere. I was a bit hesitant to enter after looking in and seeing the dim lighting and darkness.  After entering I found 50+ televisions tuned to a variety of sporting events, an eight lane bowling alley and they additional standard sports bar pool tables and darts.

Sports & Social Club

Note:  There is a indoor elevated sky-walk called the Louie Link which allows one to walk from Fourth Street to the KFC Yum! Center completely indoors.  The Louie Link travels through a couple hotels, the downtown Convention Center, the Galt House hotel and KFC Yum! Center.

Time: 2-3 hours (including dinner)
Rating:  6

Churchill Downs, Derby Museum, Derby Cafe

Churchill Downs, Kentucky Derby Museum

Churchill Downs Entrance

700 Central Ave

The Churchill Downs venue and a surprisingly beautiful facility as you progress through the heart of Louisville.  Plenty of free parking is available.

You are greeted by the statue and story of 2006 Derby Winner, Barbaro (2003-2007) whose remains are buried under the memorial.  Barbaro was the 2006 Kentucky Derby winner whose career was cut short after he broke his leg during the Preakness Stakes.  Multiple surgeries to repair the leg resulted in complications which reduced his life to four short years.

2006 Derby Winner Barbaro Memorial

The main entrance is straight ahead, the museum entrance is to the left. A $15.00 entry fee applies but value is worth the expense to learn about the history of the grounds, the horses, the jockeys and the history of the derby hat.  I'm not a horse racing fan and found the learning experience beneficial.  Enter through the starting gates to two floors containing a variety of interactive exhibits that will entertain visitors of all ages.  I enjoyed the Guinness Book of World Records certified world's largest horseshoe ranging 6 ft 9 inches wide by 6 ft 11 inches tall weighing 610 pounds. It's a replica of the shoe 1973 Triple Crown champion, Secretariat wore during his illustrious racing career.  His 1:59 2/5 is the fastest time for the derby track and he also holds the fastest speeds for the Preakness Stakes track (1:53) and Belmont (2:24).

The exhibits take you through every stage of a thoroughbreds life while teaching you about the history of Churchill Downs and 142 years of the Kentucky Derby.

At 10 minutes past each hour "The Greatest Race" is projected onto the world's only 360 degree, 4K theater.  The story is educational, informative, historic and emotional that gets your heart racing in both pulse and with emotion.

The Paddock where each horse is saddled

A 30 minute historic walk of the grounds is included with your price of admission and runs half past each hour.  The tour starts by showing the name and year of each winning horse along the facade of the facility. All 142 past winners are displayed and triple crown winner names are written in gold. You'll learn about the history of the location, see the paddock where horses are identified, weighed and saddled and visit the grandstands allowing you to get right next to the dirt track.  The tour ends at the Garden Terrace where you'll see the former finish line spire (the new ones have electronic cameras and timers installed), the headstones of five past derby winners; Brokers Tip (1933), Swaps (1955), Carry Back (1961), Dust Commander (1970), and Sunny's Halo (1983).  The stable is a few steps away where you can meet resident thoroughbred: Unreachable Star and resident Mini-thoroughbred: Winston.

The dirt track

Th Churchill Downs Finish Spire

Unreachable Star (left) and Winston

Hours: Monday - Saturday: 8 am - 5 pm, Sunday: 11 am - 5 pm
Cost: Factory Tour = $15.00
Time: 2-3 hours
Rating:  9

The Derby Cafe: 

Mint Julep

The Derby Cafe is a quaint restaurant attached to the museum.  Stop by the bar for a quick refreshment or fully experience what the grounds has to offer with lunch and a Mint Julep.  I wasn't a fan of the sweet drink or strong bourbon but the take home souvenir glass was a rewarding bonus. I ate the Chicken tenders appetizer with a side of fries.  They were average. Be sure to walk through the souvenir gift shop before you depart.

Hours: Monday - Friday: 11 am - 3 pm
Cost: $$$
Rating:  6

Gordon Biersch - Louisville, KY

Gordon Biersch
Location: 4th Street Live
Star Rating: 4 of 5
Price Range: $$

Gordon Biersch is the best restaurant on the 4th Street Live strip.  They offer eight (maybe nine beers brewed in house).  The bar has a TV monitor showing the names of each beer, a short description the % ABV value and the birthday of each beer. They offer individual samples of each as well as flights. I ordered the chicken sandwich with garlic fries and found the taste excellent.  The garlic fries were awesome however I wouldn't recommend them if you are here with a friend of the opposite sex. I was here at 5:30 PM on a Tuesday and the place was hopping.  I would have given them a 5 star rating except I received the tomato I didn't want on my sandwich and was never given a napkin or utensils.  I was sitting at the bar and it was easy to reach over the counter and self-serve replacements.

Crowne Plaza - Airport - Louisville, Kentucky

Crowne Plaza (Airport)
830 Phillips Lane
Louisville Ky 40209

Hotel Amenities: 

Complimentary WiFi
Indoor Pool - open 10 AM to 10 PM
Airport Shuttle
Complimentary Parking
24 hour Fitness Center
Blue Horse Restaurant & bar
Breakfast Available - not free
Refrigerator

Notes - The hotel is located conveniently close to the airport and offers a complimentary shuttle service.  Unfortunately, this also means you'll hear the sound of jet engines every 20-30 minutes as the planes take off and land.  The hotel is within walking distance of the Kentucky Expo center and Kentucky Kingdom amusement park.

I found the amenities better than average when it comes to hotels.  The rooms were average size with all the usual room accessories.  It was nice to have a small fridge available in the room. I found the 24 hour fitness center surprisingly large  (for fitness center standards).   It offered a room with 6 treadmills, elliptical machines and recumbent bikes then an additional two rooms for free weights and yoga.   The Crowne Plaza lost points due to the jet engine noise and lack of complimentary breakfast. Overall it was a nice place that I would recommend it.

Trev's Rating: 8 of 10

Holiday Inn & Express Suites - Louisville KY

Holiday Inn Express & Suites
800 West Market St
Louisville, Ky 40202

Hotel Amenities: 

Complimentary WiFi
Airport Shuttle
24 hour Fitness Center
Breakfast
Refrigerator, microwave, Keurig

My initial impression of the Holiday Inn Express was positive, The hotel was recently constructed and open only a few weeks before my stay.  They have a unique 15 Ft tall water feature in the lobby and everything was new and clean.  The room has a refrigerator, microwave and Keurig machine along with a 40 inch HD TV.  I was in a corner room (314) and could not pick up a consistent WiFi signal.  I saw the hotel shuttle in the parking lot however it was not running at 8:00 PM to pick me up from the airport or at 5:00 AM for a drop off.  What's the point of a shuttle if it's not being used.

The hotel is a in a very convenient location from Main Street and a block away from the Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory. It it within walking distance of many downtown restaurants and locations such as the KFC YUM! center, the waterfront and 4th Street Live. I found it very convenient.

I didn't use the fitness center due to the accessibility of the Louisville Loop and waterfront which provided several miles of running trails. I'd highly recommend heading east due to the amount of homeless people and camps as you head west.

Trev's Rating: 7 of 10

Urban Bourbon Trail - Louisville, KY

Urban Bourbon Trail

Collect your passport at a visitors center (4th and Jefferson), a bar on the trail or download the app (Louisville's Urban Bourbon) and stamp your way along the Urban Bourbon Trail  sampling some of Kentucky's finest Bourbon, Mint Juleps and local spirits at some of the worlds best bourbon bars. I'm not a bourbon drinker but the stamp collecting experience brought me to many unique, extravagant, and special locations within Louisville.  As of this writing I've visited 19 of the 35 locations and definitely enjoyed some more than others however each had its own personality and offered its own experience.  This was a great way to explore Louisville and visit a unique location you probably wouldn't have stopped by.  Many of the locations were only for a quick drink, others were for dinner. The pricing ranged from a few dollars at most locations to nearly twenty at a couple upscale bars.

Until prohibition in the 1920's, a section of Main Street was known as “Whiskey Row” where up to 50 distilleries were active and producing bourbon on a daily basis.The local bars and restaurants embrace the trail carrying anywhere from 50 to 200 different bourbon whiskey's on the shelves behind each bar. Search for the official drink of the Kentucky Derby, the Mint Julep is available at many of the stops. The establishments on the Urban Bourbon Trail vary from historic hotel properties to cosmopolitan “scenes” where urban trend-setters are making retro drinks such as the Old-Fashioned and Manhattan in vogue again. Five are in downtown hotels, four have been internationally recognized and all are serving up bourbon-inspired dining. All offer bourbon flights, special bourbon cocktails and all have at least 50 different bourbon labels on the bar with trained staff that can explain the nuances and tasting notes in the varied offerings.

  After visiting 9 of the 35 locations you've become an official resident and earned yourself a T-Shirt.

Color Code:
Green = Restaurants and bars I've visited.
Blue = Restaurants and bars I also have a dining review on the Louisville main page and map.
Red = Restaurants I have yet to visit.

Individual Stops on the Urban Bourbon Trail
Asiatique	Bar at BLU	Bistro 301
Bourbon Raw	Bourbons Bistro	Bristol Bar & Grille -Downtown
Bristol Bar & Grille -Highlands	Brown Hotel Lobby Bar	Buck's
Charr'd	Derby Cafe	Dish on Market
Doc Crow's	Down One Bourbon Bar	Harvest
Haymarket Whiskey bar	Jockey Silks	Lilly's
Manny & Merle	Marketplace Restaurant	Momma's Mustard, pickles & BBQ
North End Cafe	O'Shea's Downtown	Old Seelbach Bar
Proof On Main	Ramsi's Cafe	Rye
Seviche	Sidebar at Whiskey Row	Sway
The Silver Dollar	Troll Pub	Varanese
Vincenzo's	Volare

Color Code:
Green = Restaurants and bars I've visited.
Blue = Restaurants and bars I also have a dining review on the Louisville main page and map.
Red = Restaurants and bars I have yet to visit.

Map of the locations on the Urban Bourbon Trail