Oh my! What a dinner. Today went from the ridiculous to the sublime. A long train ride not getting in until 3am. 3 car rental cos not having cars I reserved. One of the truly bad restaurant meals of the last 20 years at lunch.
Then Barn 8. On a large ranch bought by a wealthy couple to prevent it being turned into yet another faceless suburban development. In a real horse barn with half a million dollars of bar, bathrooms and kitchen.
The menu was 1 page of around 12 dishes. They had 3 pages closely spaced of bourbon, rye and whiskey. They had Joseph Swann pinot noirs on the wine list. And our server, Lindsey!
We started with an Old Fashioned made with Peerless Bourbon, foraged hickory syrup, housemade orange bitters, and Angostura bitters. I had a bourbon flight: McKenna 6 year, Barrell 29, and 1792 Barn Barrel selection. The Barrel 29 was amazing! As was the 1792. The latter just overshadowed the McKenna which was fine until I tasted the next two. Lindsey helped me make the selections and put them in the proper order.
Our first plate was a bread and spread plate. 3 breads: sourdough, focaccia, and dinner rolls w/salt. The spreads were butter w/spices, an amazing red kuri squash spread (amazing!!) and the only miss, an overly spiced romesco.
Next was a superb burrata on a peach coulis w/really good country ham sliced prosciutto style.
Last was a red kiri squash spaetzle in a sauce of cultured cream, locally grown mushrooms and tiny cubes of delicata squash. Decadent yet really simple. Superb.
A chocolate budino with peanut crumble & bourbon mousse was our over the top dessert. A peerless barrel select rye accompanied.
Coffee to finish
Around $200 and so worth it. Unpretentious, delicious and souĺ reviving.
The manager, Abby and our server Lindsey made the evening better. I also spoke to the barkeep and our runner but did not get their names.
While I never would cook dishes like these, the philosophy behind the cooking was similar to my own. We NEEDED a dinner like that.
We would love to go back if we can before we leave Louisville. Located in Goshen KY 20 minutes north of our hotel. One of the best meals since we closed the Grotto.
