By Marty Rosen
Special to The Courier-Journal
Beets and black currants. Quail and carpaccio. Champagne and candlelight.
 Le Relais' veal chop is tender enough to cut with a butter knife. By Pam Spaulding, The Courier-Journal |
And as for the kitchen. ...
Well, some folks argue that cooking can't qualify as fine art. They claim that food is ephemeral, that taste and smell are lower in the hierarchy of senses than sight and sound, and that eating is a base activity, closely related to our animal nature.
And thus they argue that even at the highest levels, cuisine can never occupy an aesthetic sphere equivalent to poetry, painting, theater, music, dance.
I say, those folks haven't visited Le Relais.
They haven't contemplated the restaurant's painterly beef carpaccio ($10.50). They haven't been transported by the exquisite layers of flavor in a salad of roasted beets, mache, sugar-cured bacon, walnuts and creme fraiche vinaigrette ($9.75).
They haven't experienced the creamy, explosive pop of salmon roe and capers in the smoked salmon crepe ($9.75). They haven't been entranced by the sight of peppery cress, black currants, quail, celery and almonds against the white backdrop of an oversized bowl ($9.75).
They haven't lucked in to Le Relais on a night when the first crop of morel mushrooms is being served up in a buttery bath ($8.50). They haven't finished a meal with a dense scoop of house-made Earl Grey ice cream.
This is edible art of the highest order.
My wife, Mary, dined on a lentil and vegetable Charlotte ($18.50) as meticulously beautiful as any still life.
Paper-thin slices of zucchini had been molded around a filling of tender lentils that spilled out an aromatic burst of garlic at the touch of a fork.
Enhanced by encrusted dabs of goat cheese and a piquant sauce of red peppers, this was one of the most memorable vegetarian dishes we've ever encountered.
Unable to choose among nine entree options that included pheasant, salmon, lamb, duck, scallops and beef, I finally let side dishes drive my decision.
It was the prospect of indulging in potatoes Anna, the gloriously buttery apogee of potato cookery, that compelled me to order a veal chop ($30).
The chop itself, nearly 2 inches thick, was tender enough to cut with a butter knife. Tilted atop those potatoes, the chop had an aeronautic grace, as if it were trying to lift off from the wedge of pommes de terre that supported it — a whimsy perfectly in tune with a restaurant that is, after all, located in an airport.
Fortunately, despite its upward thrust, it didn't fly away, and those potatoes were finer than any fantasy, at once rich and light, crisp and succulent. A dollop of luxurious onion confit and a subtle veal stock reduction added to the effect — and confirmed my impression that Le Relais is easily on a par with the better Paris bistros we visited in January (and better than several).
I might wish that, like Paris bistros, there had been some humble vins de table available by the carafe (an option the restaurant does offer during the warmer months, when outdoor dining is available), but the 12-page list includes a number of by-the-glass options, a generous assortment of half bottles and plenty of good options (including a nice selection of Rhones) in the $30 range.
As in any Paris bistro, service was expeditious and attentive.
And when we visited, chef Daniel Stage and a large portion of the restaurant's crew had just returned from New York, where Stage (and four other fine Louisville chefs) had cooked at the James Beard House.
A tangible sense of pride seemed to exude from our servers, who were all extremely well informed on all aspects of the menu and wine list.
Freelance restaurant critic Marty Rosen's review appears on Saturdays. You can e-mail him cjdining@gmail.com
Le Relais
2817 Taylorsville Road (at Bowman Field, Louisville, KY
502-451-9020
Rating: 4 stars
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