A couple of weeks before heading to Louisville, I was not familiar with Edward Lee. After returning home, I realize Edward Lee basically planned my trip, and to good effect.
Lee is a well-known chef from Louisville. 610 Magnolia is his primary restaurant, though he has other interests in the area. When I started researching Louisville, I read about 610 Magnolia, went to its website, and found out that it’s open Wednesday-Sunday and serves only from a tasting menu. I immediately e-mailed for a reservation. No luck. I was asking about a Wednesday, so I had some hope. But I went about my trip planning, thinking a visit to 610 Magnolia might not pan out.
Later online, I found an interview Edward Lee did with Andrew Zimmern. The subject was what to do in Louisville. Lee recommended staying at Gralehaus, part of the Grales family. I looked into that, it seemed cool, so I booked it. Gralehaus was cool. I added the Beer Lover’s package to my room, and four unique beers awaited me in the mini-fridge when I checked in. The room was dark and smartly decorated. It looked down into the biergarten, but the biergarten wasn’t open on Tuesday night. The room had an old school tape deck with a drawer of tapes I had never heard of. The set up looked too inviting, so after checking in, I put one of the tapes on and listened with headphones to some cool music. Next, I needed to get out and walk around.
I headed toward the Big Four Bridge; this is a pedestrian bridge over the Ohio River that crosses into Indiana and is recommended by any what-to-do-in-Louisville feature. On the way, I passed Cave Hill Cemetery, where Muhammad Ali is buried. It looked inviting, and I wish I had a gone inside to take a look. It’s huge, and you could see all the paths and plentiful green space through the entrance. I kept walking toward the bridge. The walk was too long, probably two miles, but I think I just wanted to get out in the city and explore. It was at times pleasant and at times ill-advised. Pleasant: walking through tree-lined streets near North Campbell Street, looking at lovely old houses. Not pleasant: walking past a desolate rock-crushing plant near the soccer stadium; there were sprinklers running here to tamp down the dust. Nonetheless, I made it to the bridge and walked across.
The bridge was cool, definitely worth doing. There are great views into Louisville and into Indiana. The University of Louisville women’s crew team was practicing below when I walked across. There were a lot of people on the bridge, but it didn’t feel crowded. My plan was to eat at bar Vetti after the bridge, but I was now tired of walking and sitting on the Indiana side.