Food finds

Louisville

Chef Spotlight

Jim Gerhardt

An Ohio native, Jim trained at The Culinary Institute of America in New York. Upon graduating, he worked at Maisonette in Cincinnati and The Mansion on Turtle Creek in Dallas with classmate and friend Dean Fearing, another favorite Southern chef. After cooking at a Caribbean resort and one more swerve through Texas, he settled in Kentucky at The Oakroom in 1995. Along the way, he married his wife, Becky, and they now have three small children.

With his menu choices, Jim indulges one of my top dining philosophies: When visiting a place, get to know it by its local flavor-literally. In high style and a dark, rich, gentleman's club setting, Jim gathers ingredients from his region and gently coaxes them into refined dishes. You'll see Kentucky country-cured ham, bourbon, limestone lettuce, smoked spoon fish and its caviar in new ways. And in dessert, you'll find that Southern fruit: pawpaws. That's a funny story; ask Jim when you go.

When the chef of The Oakroom at The Seelbach Hilton gets to dine rather than cook, he enjoys these restaurants.

Jicama Grill

Jim knew this trendy Bardstown Road restaurant would be good long before it opened in the summer of 2000. Its chef/co-owner, Anthony Lamas, had worked in Jim's kitchen for a couple of years, and Jim looked forward to the flavors of Anthony's Mexican and Puerto Rican heritage in the young talent's own venture.

"He always had a flair and fascination for the foods of his homeland," Jim tells us as we dig in to a bright assortment of Anthony's ceviche (raw fish marinated in citrus juice) appetizers. "Chile and lime: the `peas and carrots' of Latin American cooking," he says, licking his fingers. We sample a couple of Jim's favorite ceviches with him, nodding in agreement, our mouths full. Be sure to sample Anthony's unexpected Asian twist on the tradition: gentle slivers of rare tuna in a spunky coconut-ginger broth.

When Jim dines here with his wife, he often selects as his main course feijoada: a homey Brazilian dish of smoked meats and sausage with rice, black beans, cooked greens, and salsa. For those times when he wants a lighter meal, he chooses the macadamia-crusted Chilean sea bass with cranberry-studded couscous and refreshing passion fruit sauce. Even though dessert at Jicama Grill brings several intricate cakes, what we most enjoyed was the simple flan created by co-owner Jun Eugenio's aunt. 1538 Bardstown Road, Louisville; (502) 454-4383. Entrees: $9-$23.

Chick Inn

If you've treated yourself to Jim's fine cooking at The Oakroom, you've seen his innovative approaches to traditional regional ingredients. He leans toward that nostalgic side when he heads about 20 minutes from downtown to this fabulous fried-chicken haven at Harrods Creek.

Here, owner Kathy Dollinger continues the legacy of family dining she and her father began 23 years ago. Jim brings his wife and three small children to gather around Kathy's table. "It's home to everybody," Jim says of Chick Inn.

The dining room is comfortably cute, but not frilly; the masculine afterwork crowd settles easily at the bar. The menu offers other entrees, but don't dare pass up the fried chicken. Kathy first soaks the pieces in salt water to plump and purify them, then dredges them twice in plain flour with a dip in buttermilk between, seasoning them after they emerge-crisp and glistening-from the frying pan. Jim likes to bring his Chicago in-laws here to taste what he calls "real Kentucky fried chicken." 6325 Upper River Road, Harrods Creek, (502) 2283646. Chicken dinners: $5.75-$9.

Come Back Inn

Norm Peterson never sauntered in, and our waitress was much kinder than Carla, but everything else here reminded me of Cheers. Mark and Gena Wagner wanted to run an old neighborhood pub, so they bought this rundown, historic spot in Louisville's Germantown, polished it up a bit (but not too much), and rolled out their Italian-American welcome mat in 1996. "It's not grand or glorious. You walk in and feel comfortable here," says Mark.

Jim brings some of his kitchen staff to the Come Back Inn for working lunches. "This is where we come to redo our menus," he says. Armed with pens, pads, and brainpower, they share a table full of appetizers and pitchers of beer.

Though we were not much help with planning The Oakroom's menu the day of our visit, we did feast on bruschetta with sauteed mushrooms, breaded ravioli with marinara, eggplant-olive-tomato caponata with fried pita chips, garlic breadsticks, and-best of all-- wontons rolled around Italian cheeses and prosciutto, then fried. You should also try Mark's main dishes, such as Linguine Puttanesca. "It's straightforward food, and that's one of the reasons I enjoy it," Jim says. "Everything's fresh." 909 Swan Street, Louisville; (502) 627-1777. Entrees: $449.

Napa River Grill

This once dark, old-line Italian restaurant has been magically transformed into a large, gallery-like room with Napa Valley-themed paintings and a wall of wine bottles. Jim and Becky love this relaxing spot for "date night," when Jim can find an evening off. "It's a pleasure to dine out, to sit down and know the effort that goes into it," Jim says. "And I always take something away-ideas."