(By Jim Murphy. Republished with permission from G3 Illustrated)

We heard about The Pink Door from our good friends, Mike Neal and Big Jim Stewart. They had gone several months ago and encouraged us to feature the new restaurant as A Great Bite. Given Mike’s temperamental palate, I knew that The Pink Door would be good.

The Pink Door is located in Douglass Loop and does actually possess the symbolic “pink” door. The owners, Brian and Heather Werle, transformed the previously dreary pub décor into a light and airy Asian-inspired eatery.

Drawing from Brian’s Korean roots, Heather created a menu which has something for everyone – Thai, Chinese, Korean and Japanese. The ambiance is open and intentionally comfortable. Best of all, for vid-iots like Michael and me, they have wireless internet and great gadgets to play with or observe. In one room, they have Macs set up so you and your party can take a picture and have it posted to their website. They dedicate one of their walls to a slide show coordinated with the music then playing … very cool.

The bar is well stocked and unique. Aside from the Sake List, The Pink Door boasts at least two super-special cocktails: the Bon Bon (with a canned grape juice that had real grapes in it!) and the Sac Sac (made with mandarin orange juice). Both cocktails were wonderful. In addition, The Pink Door offers a variety of 23 loose-leaf hot teas, far superior to that found elsewhere.

Upon dinner time, Michael and I chose to eat in the dining room and began with some of their signature dishes. We enjoyed the light and delicious Maki California Roll, a spicy beef sushi called the Pinky Roll, and the Vegetable Crepe (not a crepe at all, but quite tasty). All were so tasty and fun.

Michael had a Rice Bowl with Teriyaki Chicken and I had the Noodle Soup with Spicy Pork. Each was wonderful and spiced perfectly. For the noodle soup, I had a choice of either thick (Soba) or thin noodles (Udon), a curry or miso broth, and for each of the rice or noodles, the choice of a tofu, beef, pork or chicken complement. We left sated and determined to come again. Aside from the wonderfully eclectic food, the prices are extremely reasonable.

In addition to the food, there is “Alternative Night” on Thursdays. The lights go down, the music goes up and the boys (and many ladies) come out to dance. It gets crowded and is a blast.

I have always thought of Douglass Loop as a fun place to hang out and the Pink Door just makes it all that much more fun and delicious.

Pink Door
2222 Dundee Road
(502) 413-5204
www.pinkdoorlouisville.com

G3 Illustrated
February 2007