For my birthday this year, my beautiful wife Meg treated me to a stay at one of my favorite hotels and two wonderful dinners at two very different restaurants in Louisville, KY. We stayed at the 21c Museum Hotel in downtown Louisville. There is truly no other hotel quite like this. The entire hotel is a museum. There is an actual gallery on the first floor which melds right into the lobby. Throughout the building, including the guest room floors, there are art installations both large and small. The red penguins are a motif repeated throughout the building as well.

Here’s some pictures from our trip:

Cheese plate that was waiting for us in our room when we checked in.

The bed… very comfy.

Me, hanging out in the room.

My beautiful wife.

Meg and Molly, hanging out in Proof. Great for dinner and also has some fun drinks. My favorite was one called a “Snow Maiden” which consisted of sake and St Germain Elderflower liquor.

The best potato au gratin I’ve ever had, at 732 Social.

A 40 year old rye whiskey, cooled by what the owners said was a single hand cut spherical ice cube.

Fun with penguins:

Our last dinner in Louisville was at Corbett’s. I won’t go into detail here, the dinner deserves a full post all by itself. Suffice to say, it was the one of the best dining experiences I’ve ever had, rivaling 13 courses at the chef’s table at Pigall’s. I wore my seersucker suit and a good time was had by all.

This is the tomato confit. The clear liquid was indescribably delicious. The absolute essence of tomato, distilled into a clear, smooth, refreshingly cool confit. Floating on that sea of deliciousness are some heirloom tomatoes and a cucumber sorbet. This was my favorite dish of the evening.

If you are ever staying in Louisville you must try out the 21c hotel.