Review | Ditto's carves out Louisville niche

• Three stars out of 4
• Address%3A 1114 Bardstown Road Telephone%3A 581-9129 Web%3A dittosgrill.com Cuisine%3A Contemporary American%2C Italian and Asian Alcohol%3A Yes Vegetarian%3A Yes
• Price range%3A Moderate Reservations%3A For eight or more people Credit cards%3A AE%2C V%2C MC%2C D Children%27s menu%3A Yes Smoking%3A No
• Access%3A The restaurant appears to be fully accessible for people using wheelchairs without assistance. Hours%3A Monday %u2013 Thursday%2C 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.%3B Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.%3B Sunday brunch 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.%2C full menu noon to 10 p.m.

Twenty-five years can pass in a flash or they can seem like an eternity, depending on what you're hoping will pass or what you're hoping will never disappear. The span of the last quarter century has reflected a revolution in Louisville. We inched, then began taking giant leaps away from provincial attitudes about food and dining to a city that is, in some circles, being lauded as one of the most interesting, progressive cities in the country for food and restaurants.

For a restaurant established in 1990 to survive the onslaught of cash and hype lavished on new, trendy, flashy and edgy restaurants of every ilk is a remarkable accomplishment. Ditto's has done it without a trace of vanity or arrogance.

In some ways, it has settled into the background of all the noise and clutter of what's new. Ditto's has carved out its niche. The restaurant connects with diners on a comfortable, simple level. It's well-grounded in that neither food nor service unnerve or disappoint with harsh or sudden jerks.

The kitchen is not headed by a solo act, but by two experienced chefs, Dominic Serratore and Frank Yang, both of whom have roots in the Grisanti restaurant group, which proved to be an incubator for many of the who's who in Louisville restaurants.

My friend Nancy and I liked Ditto's menu because it weaves no-surprise, but forever popular, dishes such as onion soup ($5), crab cakes ($10, $16) a fish sandwich ($10) and tomato garlic pasta with broccoli and chicken ($10, $13) with more imaginative, attention-grabbing fare like a Chinese burrito ($15) and Pacific bass stuffed with pesto ($17).

Asian dishes make several appearances in addition to the burrito — Thai chicken sizzle ($16), Thai salmon ($15) and Thai wings ($9, $13). But the menu is impressively rounded with fajitas ($17, pork chop ($15), medallions of beef ($22) and three pasta offerings.

The crabmeat quesadillas ($10), with provolone, were wan and blah and would have been greatly improved with more apricots and cilantro.

Layered with distinct flavors and enough vegetables to surely satisfy a week's worth of vitamins and minerals, the ultimate veggie pizza ($12) was sensational. Gooey Colby, Jack and Parmesan cheese blended with eggplant, broccoli, spinach, zucchini, caramelized onions, red peppers and mushrooms. It was all liberally topped with bleu and mozzarella cheese. A vegetarian dish that even the most carnivorous of palates would find richly satisfying.

Pan Asian garlic noodles ($16) were taste-boggling. An Asian sauce, a sauce verde and tomato basil were a much too competitive trio. The noodles were served with the choice of crispy chicken or cod or Thai salmon. The latter was deliciously seasoned. It put up the good fight but couldn't stand out from the other flavors. The accompanying garden salad was packed with a bounty of color and crunch. Citrus salad, with currants, Mandarin oranges and cherries may be ordered as an alternative to the garden salad.

A pork chop accented by port wine sauce, and served with smashed potatoes, portobellos, mushrooms, caramelized onions and spinach seemed like a fine way to spend $15 until I noticed on the menu the Woodland Farm pork burger with Andouille sausage ($10).

I have eaten more burgers — beef, wild boar, duck, antelope, bison — than one should eat in two lifetimes. Ditto's pork burger with andouille is one of the burgers for which I had still been waiting. I've always hated the trite phrase "melt-in-your-mouth" when applied to anything that can't actually melt in your mouth. Meat is one of those things. Well, the pork was so tender and cooked so perfectly it honest to goodness came close to melting in my mouth. What made it one of the best burgers was also the combination of spicy andouille, caramelized onions and smoky provolone. The side dish of macaroni and cheese ($5) was more than a little extra touch. It was a big touch that had melted into hot, creamy cheesiness before it ever reached my mouth.

I could eat whipped cream in or on anything. Or by itself. Ditto's coconut cream pie ($6) should have been a dessert with my name on it, but I would have preferred some substantial custard underneath the whipped cream.

Many restaurants have come and gone since Ditto's opened 25 years ago. From the looks of it, Ditto's isn't going anywhere. That's very welcome news. Consider this a shout-out to a restaurant that helped make Louisville a good food town long before anyone recognized it as a great one.

You can email freelance restaurant critic Nancy Miller at millermadison@aol.com. Follow @WhatNancyThinks on Twitter.