the silver dollar

a big hit or miss. every ti.... a big hit or miss.
i wonder what i'm going to get today...
order the same thing every time but never know what might show up on my plate and wait staff don't seem to know the level of quality for each dish.
expecting more than a cracker barrel, i would assumesilverdollar might train their staff to review, but also care about what they are serving. overall, definitely not worth the price.

what service?. the first time i went to thesilverdollar i loved it. it's located right down the street from my house and it's an historical building in the heart of clifton where i grew up so it was right up my ally. we ordered fries and onion rings, which were great. service was pretty decent that day. the 2nd time we went, we were seated right away and the hostess brought us glasses of water. 20 minutes later, we were still waiting for our server. workers kept walking past us, looking at us and walking away as if someone else was taking care of us. they were not. we ended up leaving and headed up the street to sol aztecas. boo,silverdollar, boo.

while in louisville for a cousin’s wedding, we spent the day exploring the city, from coffee to tacos to beer to authentic kentucky hot browns and more. of course, the following morning we had to hit up brunch before we left town, and on my cousin taylor’s suggestions, we gathered at thesilverdollar. an absolute thumbs up for thesilverdollar’s brunch. beautiful space, big range of creative dishes, very attentive service. a must if you’re traveling to louisville.

update: we recently ate here again and were very impressed with our dishes. we are big fans of the menu, which nicely blends creativity with tradition. for our appetizer, we ordered the sd dog (cornbread pancake battered, smoked breakfast sausage, and maple syrup) - a tasty twist on a classic item. my wife ordered the double cheeseburger (grass-fed; cheddar cheese; lettuce, tomato, red onion and pickles on the side), served with house-made potato chips. i ordered the biscuit and gravy (four buttermilk biscuits with an over-easy egg and peppered bacon gravy) - a hearty dish and perfectly spiced gravy, with a side of bacon (four pieces) and hash browns. we will certainly be back.

we ate at thesilverdollar for brunch, and we thoroughly enjoyed the atmosphere and the covered patio.

i ordered the huevos rancheros (fresh corn tortilla, over easy egg, black beans, salsa roja, and sour cream), which were too spicy for my taste, with extremely poor plating/presentation. my wife ordered the cornbread pancakes (served with maple syrup, butter and apricot jam), which were perfectly cooked with a cornbread crunch!

we also ordered a side of hash-browns (crispy, heavily seasoned hash-browns with scallions), which were some of the best we have ever had.

we will certainly return to try more of the menu!

thesilverdollar is a classic honky tonk paying homage to the bakersfield sound. the bar program is arguably the city's best representation for classic cocktails while the food is southern comfort food with an upscale preparation and presentation. the dollar resides in the former albert a stoll firehouse which was active from 1890 all the way up until 2009, shortly prior to the current owners' purchase. many of the architectural vestiges have been preserved including the giant garage door, an especially excellent feature when the weather is nice. dim lighting and a large patio make for a great ambiance.

great food and atmosphere. i really enjoyed thesilverdollar, despite the mediocre reviews seen here. went on a wednesday evening and had no wait. the food was tasty and presented well. the drink selection was fantastic. the server was helpful and attentive. price was mid-range, which i expected, and the meal was not overly expensive, even after ordering a couple of bourbon cocktails. i will definitely return.

also, the mac n' cheese is well worth your $6, but you might want to split it as a side.

one of the culinary highlights of our trip to louisville was eating the lamb shank at thesilverdollar , a restaurant that is representative of southern cuisine mixed with the honky tonk music culture in 1950′s california.

i love lamb.  one bite of this dish and my taste buds were transported to heaven.  first of all, this lamb (when alive) must have been jacked because the meat was literally packed on the bone (more for my tummy!).  thankfully, it was braised beautifully, and the meat that fell apart on my fork was so intrinsically gamey!  the lamb in the region must be raised differently because on a plate, this lamb was by far some of the best i’ve ever had.

country vinyl & great drinks.. when i lived in the clifton/crescent hill neighborhood, i'd frequent thesilverdollar once a week. usually for drinks, but occasionally for dinner. vintage country records are spinning all day from many of my favorite artists including merle haggard, buck owens, dwight yoakam and many more. they take requests, too, so keep that in mind. the place is located in the old firehouse at frankfort and payne, a booming part of the neighborhood. the front garage door is open on nice weather days adding to the atmosphere.

while the food is delicious, i frequent the place for booze purposes more often than others. they have a few $3 bourbon shots and rotating taps to keep things interesting. if you aren't in for dinner, it is nice to combine beers with their delicious fries and/or chorizo corndog.

the bartenders are mostly nice and attentive, and the atmosphere is lively and happening. but if you're looking for a quiet place to eat on a friday night, thesilverdollar isn't it.

fun and relaxing restaurant. it was hard to find much about thesilverdollar that i didn't like. the service was helpful, friendly and attentive. their drink menu has scores of bourbon options as well as beer, wine and mixed drinks. the place is known for the bourbon selections, however.

the menu is fairly simple with a southern flair. there is something for pretty much everybody, however.

our group had onion rings and fried pickles for the appetizers. i'm not a fan of fried pickles, but they were good. the onion rings were lightly battered and had a great flavor.

the entrees came in large portions. two in our group had the chicken pot pie and one could probably have fed the entire table. they both enjoyed their meal and had plenty to take home with them. i had the brisket and it was excellent: very tender and tasted great.

if i had to say one negative it would be that we were seated near the door and every time someone came in or went out, we got hit with a blast of cold air...but that's just being picky.

it's a great place to go to enjoy a drink and a meal in a laid back atmosphere. i'll definitely go back.

great for date night. my experience at thesilverdollar was amazing! the service was friendly, the drinks were refreshing (ladies, you must have the 'forever june!' its divine!) and the food was delicious. i had the pork sandwich and sweet potato fries... the dipping sauces were fun and the food was very satisfying... portions are big too... almost too big... but worth the price. the ambiance was a great place for a date and i look forward to going back.

one of my current favorites. full disclosure: my best friend is the general manager of this restaurant, but my love for thesilverdollar is real.

housed in a converted firehouse on frankfort ave, thesilverdollar has the ambiance of a dive bar/ saloon/ speakeasy in an upscale, not urban gritty way. natural wood booths, classic aluminum chairs, and giant colored christmas lights give this place just enough charm without veering off into precious territory.

the food, which i've been told is bakersfield style, is spot on. my appetizer obsession is the beef empanadas made with brisket: smoky and spicy, they offer the perfect way to wake up the taste buds. for dinner i tend toward the chicken and waffles or the country fried steak. both are fantastic, although they remind me of childhood in georgia. but i've never been to bakersfield, so maybe they co-opted southern food? the desserts are solid, especially the warm banana pudding, which competes against the bread pudding for my favor.

silver dollar styles itself as a bourbon bar and rightly so. i have no clue how many varieties they carry, but i've never been disappointed with the selection. our last visit found our table sampling a few signature cocktails, including the forever june, which was the freshest tequila drink ever. talk about spring time in a glass.

to be fair, the price point can be off-putting, but there are ways to eat budget friendly. the appetizers are large portions, as are the entrees.silverdollar is a great place for late night dining in a warm, friendly environment. the fact that they've awesome food and drink is a bonus.

underwhelming experience. after several friends told me that i must try thesilverdollar i decided to take my lovely of the loveliest there and see what the fuss was about. i arrived a bit early and waited for open. i was one of the first to arrive, was instantly seated in a small two top center of the room instead of one of the many open booths in a mostly empty restaurant . i am 6'1 and felt a little cramped in the little retro chair. next i noticed that everything on the menu was priced a bit more than i expected. did i mention its cold as hell in there(this is probably due to the fact the whole front of the building is a garage door) i ordered the chicken and waffles $18 dollars so as you can imagine my expectations were high. my wife ordered chili and some forgettable app. drinks came sauces explained, like i have never seen tomatillo sauce before? anyway food showed, first thing i noticed very high quality maple syrup on the stone cold half waffle! yes one half of a waffle cut into two pieces! i had just asked my wife if she would share it with me right before it came to the table, expecting a regular size waffle,jokes on me i guess. chicken was good warm probably brined and soaked in buttermilk, a bit smallish for 18 bucks the whole thing seemed more like a 12 dollar meal. it was tasty on some level. the wife's chile had brisket in it which was okay i won't comment on it further because i am a bit of a chili snob and could really destroy this thing, no need. wait staff typical hipsters. (take that for what its worth lol) i see this experience as a wash for me as i would not have been happy until i tried it. i will not return. not trying to be an ass, i suspect maybe on a different day it could have went a bit better, but i just wont take the chance.

p.s. i've had better waffles at barbara lee's just around the coner.

we stumbled on thesilverdollar because our wedding cake baker is across the street. the atmosphere is very unique and the food is delicious. we had the sopes, chilaquiles, waffle and cornbread pancakes. all fabulous!!! we can't wait to eat here again!

food came out fast and my cheese burger was good. my fries would have been good too if thesilverdollar had regular ketchup...

another meh... for louisville dining.. thesilverdollar is ok but they are a bit pricey on their bourbon, and the food is just average. i wouldn't say that anything was awful, but nothing about the experience made me want to come back. worth going once if you have friends that want to check it out, but be prepared to pay top dollar for your drinks and don't be surprised if the food doesn't wow you.