West Main Street between 1st and 9th holds Whiskey Row, the corridor of historic bourbon distilleries and the Brown Hotel where the Hot Brown was invented.
Proof on Main in Louisville pairs chef Cody Stone's Ohio Valley plates with a deep bourbon list, set inside the 21c Museum Hotel on West Main Street.
Signature: Bison burger, Seasonal Ohio Valley plates
Order: The bison burger from the local grass-fed herd, plus a bourbon flight curated by the bar team.
Tip: Walk in for the bar menu before 18:00, then dinner reservations land easier on weeknights.
Doc Crow's on West Main in Louisville smokes brisket and shucks oysters on Whiskey Row, pairing both with a bourbon library of more than 2,700 expressions.
Signature: Smoked brisket, Raw oysters
Order: Smoked brisket with two sides, plus a flight of three Kentucky bourbons.
Tip: Book on OpenTable for dinner. Lunch runs walk-in until 14:00.
J. Graham's Cafe in the Brown Hotel serves Louisville's original Hot Brown, the open-faced turkey-and-Mornay sandwich invented here in 1926.
Signature: Hot Brown, Bourbon flights
Order: The Hot Brown, served the way Fred Schmidt wrote it in 1926.
Tip: Walk-in for lunch. Book the Lobby Bar through the hotel for an evening Hot Brown and bourbon.
Mussel and Burger Bar in Louisville pours pots of steamed mussels and grills smashed burgers at a casual American bistro counter on South 7th Street downtown.
Signature: Steamed mussels, Burgers
Order: A pot of mussels in white wine and garlic, plus the house burger with fries.
Tip: Book on OpenTable for the dining room. The bar runs walk-in and pours craft beer.
Mercury Ballroom on South 4th Street in Louisville is the downtown 800-capacity concert hall booking touring rock, hip-hop and indie acts, the city's mid-size live-music room.
Tip: Tickets on Ticketmaster or Live Nation. Standing-room-only floor.
8UP on West Chestnut in Louisville is downtown's rooftop drinkery, the all-glass Hilton Garden Inn-top bar with mint juleps, bourbon flights and skyline views of West Main Street.
Tip: Book the rooftop patio for Derby weekend; the bar runs walk-in most nights.
Pin + Proof inside the Omni Louisville Hotel is a prohibition-era speakeasy with sleek wooden bowling lanes in a dimly lit cellar, hidden behind a photo mural of a woman shushing.
Tip: Find the entrance left of the Omni lobby. Book bowling lanes through OpenTable.
Down One Bourbon Bar in the Galt House Hotel basement pours 100+ bourbons in a low-lit speakeasy-style room under West Main Street, a hidden hotel-attached drinking room.
Tip: Walk-in for the bar. The Old Fashioned class runs Saturday afternoons.