We have 4 leaving Thursday afternoon.
Any recommendations for things to do in Louisville and places to eat?
People in Louisville like to think their restaurants are good (downtown Louisville is the hipster capital of the world and everyone is a foodie), but in general, they're "meh". When I go for a weekend, I basically follow the "
Ed Lee" rule, which is to eat at his 3 restaurants (610 Magnolia - Southern, Milkwood - Southern/Asian Fusion, and Whisky Dry - Fancy bar food). 610 Magnolia is easily the best restaurant in the city and would be a Top 10 in Atlanta.
Outside of the Ed Lee, I'd really only recommend Ward 426 and Bourbon's Bistro. If you need a 4th, try Milkwood (Ed Lee's Southern/Asian fusion restaurant). If you want a good burger place, try Bluegrass Burgers. A decent hot chicken place outside of Nashville is Royal's - but you'll have to wait in line out the door for 30 mins - 1 hour to place an order.
The only touristy thing I'd recommend is Churchhill Downs if there is live racing. I've gone a few times other than Derby and it's still really neat when they have live racing. Definitely worth a visit once in your life. They also have a museum on site (but I wouldn't go just for that). Ali Center is OK to waste 90 mins or so.
The University is terrible and not worth a visit: imagine if Tech banned research and only taught. As a result, the Administration knocked down all buildings and constructed 10 replicas of Skiles - and that's it. That's the University of Louisville. Hell, the library has like 100 books and 30 tables for studying. But the athletic facilities are top notch. They have a rowing facility on the Ohio River that's nicer than our stadium.