knotty pine on the bayou

i am so excited because beth and i finally made it to knotty pine on the bayou tonight! we have been meaning to go for like 6 months and we just had not gotten around to it. we had hoped to get there while it was warm out and eat outside, but we missed the boat on that one. eating inside was great though.

for anyone who doesn't know, knotty pine on the bayou is a cajun restaurant off on some random state road in kentucky not too far from 275. it is just this little place off the highway but when you go inside, it is totally warm and welcoming and cute. wood paneled walls, lots of neon, and new orleans themed art.

sorry for the photo quality but i forgot my camera. fortunately beth had her iphone which takes much better pics than my crappy verizon phone.

when beth and i got there, the hostess asked if we had a reservation. we did not. she wandered around, assessing the situation, and told us it would be an hour wait. but by then we had already sat down at the bar and ordered drinks (we both ordered abita lagers, a louisiana beer), and she said we could also just eat at the bar right then. that was fine with us so she gave us menus and we began perusing.

i was very torn because i felt that i should eat something really unique, given the offerings. i was debating between the alligator and the frogs legs. beth was looking at a few different things too so we asked the bartender. he said that he thought the grouper (a special that night) and the halibut were the best things on the menu. you can choose your style of preparation and he was adamant that pan fried with cajun seasoning was the best. so beth got the grouper and i got the halibut. we ended up trying all the sides between the two of us (the choices are roasted red skin potatoes, green beans, collard greens, and rice with gravy).

our food came out not too long after we ordered. beth was in the middle of a story when i bit into my fish. "OH MY GOD!" i yelled. "THIS FISH IS AMAZING!" i totally forgot what beth was talking about and went into raptures over the fish. truly, the fish was absolutely delicious. it was perfectly crisp on the outside, tender and juicy on the inside, and extremely flavorful. definitely some of the best fish i have had in cincinnati.

grouper, rice, and green beans

beth also forgot what she was talking about when she tasted her fish. it was also tasty. actually, i really could not tell the difference between the two fishes. maybe hers was a little softer or something. but the seasoning was so flavorful that you really could not tell a difference in fish flavor.

for sides, i felt that the potatoes and the green beans were the best. the greens were ok but could have been better. the rice with gravy was pretty bland, but actually it was nice with the fish because the potatoes were really flavorful too and it was almost too much flavor (is that even possible?).

my one complaint about the food is that it was too salty. the salt level kind of got overpowering after a while. i went through two beers and a glass of water and i have been parched since i got home. other than that one detail, it was really good. the salads were fine, nothing special. we did both try the homemade dressings (red wine vinaigrette and onion mustard) and they were yummy.

halibut, red skin potatoes, and collard greens

the ambience is really fun. it is a very laid back atmosphere and all the servers and staff seem to know and love each other. everyone is friendly and helpful and it is casual and quirky. there was a table of about ten asians who we were sure had gotten bored of jo an and wandered over from toyota. there was a semi-drunk middle aged woman wandering around the restaurant wearing a tiara that said "birthday princess." there was a dude at the bar who was raving to the bartender (who i think was also the owner) about terry's turf club: "you've got to go. they serve a really good burger." clearly knotty pine is my kind of crowd.

we were kind of shocked that people were smoking inside the restaurant but then we remembered we were in kentucky.

prices were a little more expensive than you might expect. our fish dishes were $23 each and the beers were $4.25 each. other entrees ranged from about $16-$25.

it takes about 15 minutes to get to knotty pine from downtown cincinnati. it's really easy, you just take 471 to 275 and then a few miles of state roads and you're there. and if you want to make a night of it, the bartender recommends a bar about a half mile down the road whose name i don't recall but it's pretty much the only other building you will pass on your way to knotty pine. it looked fun and very local but we were too tired to go. next time! and we will definitely be making a reservation...