My wife will be traveling from Nashville to see a show at Headliner’s soon. Any KY Dopers have ideas where we can grab dinner before the show? We are pretty open to suggestion, but would prefer eat cheaper than $30 each.
Also, any traffic, parking, neighborhood tips are welcome as well.
Thanks y’all!
One quick bump, then I’ll let this go…
There are some great places in the section of Market St. they’re calling “NuLu”. The Garage has great (upscale) pizza and a cool atmosphere. Mayan Cafe is supposed to be great. Taco Punk is excellent but it’s way more casual–think Chipotle but way better and with local ingredients. Harvest may be a little out of your range and I’ve only had brunch there but it was terrific.
Two places I’d recommend close to Headliners (which isn’t quite downtown) are The Blind Pig and The Silver Dollar. The Blind Pig is a gastropub with great sandwiches and killer drinks, and if you go upstairs to Meat the cocktails get even better. The Silver Dollar is going for an old-school Bakersfield roadhouse vibe, with sides of classic country on vinyl, great mezcal drinks, and hands down the best chili I’ve ever had in a restaurant.
Hope that helps.
Try louisvillehotbytes.com for some suggestions. Also, there are quite a few interesting places on East Market / East Main Street (called NuLu) that are not too far from Headliners. Zagat has given Louisville high marks for being a “foodie” town. Enjoy!
I haven’t lived in Louisville for years, but was just there recently for my sister’s wedding, catered by Bluegrass Brewing Co. The food was excellent and the atmosphere was great. You also won’t go wrong if you eat down by the river: Kingfish, Tumbleweed. Find Bardstown Road and drive down it for like 8 million restaurants. 
I second Ellen Cherry’s suggestion to hit Bardstown Rd and see what you find. I’m biased, though, because that’s my neighborhood. I especially like Ramsi’s Cafe on the World. If I drive there, I usually park in the Mid-City Mall parking lot right across the street.
I also recommend looking up restaurants on Frankfort Ave. That’s close to Headliner’s, has some good restaurants, and is a nice area for walking around.
Thanks very much! It’s a good place to start