You have to hand it to Louisville entrepreneur Tony Palombino. His newest creation “ap Crafters Kitchen and Bar” (ap stands for Antony Palombino) is packing in crowds at Westport Village after only a couple of weeks in operation. The restaurant has done no advertising during their soft opening, (it’s all word of mouth) and the word has been mouthwatering food at reasonable prices in a friendly atmosphere!
If you’re new to Louisville you need to know that Tony is the brain behind a number of local Louisville restaurants including Tony BoomBozz Pizza and BoomBozz Taphouse. This new restaurant is Tony’s first gastropub.
My wife Norine and I had the Charred Chicken Wings for an appetizer. I have to tell you Norine is not a big wing fan, bit she really enjoyed the flavor of the dry rubbed with smoked paprika wings with cheese ranch dressing and the crafters hot sauce. That’s saying a lot! I loved the taste of the hot sauce but Tony could have turned the heat up on the sauce for my taste buds!
We also ordered the side salads which were enormous and that cheese ranch dressing really made the salad a tasty treat!
We both tried burgers for our main dish, I had the signature El Vez (a burger with green chili jam, sweet potato straws and arugula) and Norine had the Bella Burger (Portabella mushrooms, swiss cheese, griddled onions and garlic mayo). Both were delicious in fact I stopped and wondered what grade meat the restaurant was using because these burgers put others to shame!
For desert we tasted the warm doughnuts with salted caramel sauce. I’m not normally a desert fan but this one dish could change anyone’s mind.
Tony reportedly visited a number of restaurants around the U.S. to create ap Crafters epicurean delights. I can tell you the time on the road was well spent. Tony you’ve done it again, Louisville is proud of you and ap Crafters!
Bob Sokoler is a former Anchor/Reporter turned Louisville Realtor 7 years ago in Louisville Kentucky. You can learn more about Bob, his Team and Louisville Real Estate at www.weselllouisville.com
