Since opening 14 years ago, Lilly's quickly became of Louisville's finest restaurants. Now, it just seems to get a little bit better with each visit. This is no easy task, given the already high level of accomplishment of Kathy Cary, the guiding light behind Lilly's and her two La Peche locations.

Today, Lilly's has adopted a fairly simple philosophy. Serve vegetables and fruits that are in season, let the food speak for itself and sauce only with something which adds and compliments rather than makes its own statement. Kathy has always worked well with local farmers to obtain the freshest foods. An incredible facility to pair interesting foods is one of Lilly's hallmarks and one of the many good reasons to visit. If you asked what is the major influence on Cary's cooking, I'd say French inspired with Kentucky overtones where possible.

By any standards, Lilly's is not what we call a "fancy" restaurant; there are no wood panels, tuxedo clad wait staff, stately chairs, etc. Rather it is quietly decorated in dark colors, lots of art on the walls, white tablecloths, and soft music plays in the background. Physically, Lilly's is an attractive restaurant but it's the food that brings people to its Bardstown Road location which has very reasonable prices given the quality, preparation and presentation of the food.

In the past year, Kathy Cary has narrowed her menu selections, and is coming back more to a "where the farm meets the restaurant" theme.

The appetizer list always offers a soup, several salads, and some seafood items ranging from $6-$10. New on the menu are fried oysters with a Kentucky country ham and shitake hash ($8). I saw this being served and will order it the next time.

We had a green salad ($7) with mixed field greens tossed in a light vinaigrette with a sherry vinegar and freshly grated Parmesan. The interplay of slightly bitter greens with the sweet overtones of the sherry vinegar was sensational. My duck confit spring rolls ($7.25) were presented beautifully with a sweet chili sauce in a martini glass. The rolls were filled with plenty of duck, and some sauteed vegetables. Deep fried and grease free, they were delicious and with a salad, could be a meal.

The menus lists many new items and we tried two of them. Lilly's always offers a fresh fish and a veal preparation. There are several entrees under $20 that makes this one of the truly outstanding values in town given the quality of food. Lilly's famous chicken pot pie that appeared on the cover of Bon Appetit is back on the menu for $14, and smoked salmon crepes are $12. At the high end is venison for $36 and rack of lamb for $32.

My guest's pork chop was a highlight of eating out. It's a simple pork chop from the Berkshire line of pork, and it's like not pork you've tasted before. It has FLAVOR. The menus said it was served with gravy, but the reduction of cream and chicken stock redefines gravy. Served atop a mixture of Southern greens flavored with old-fashioned bacon grease, the play of sour and sweet was memorable. A rich corn pudding with lots of cream was served on the side.

My Kentucky country ham and local shitake mushroom entree was served with spinach, penne pasta and a mustard sauce with a Camembert crust ($16). The juxtaposition of salt in the ham, sweet and rich in the sauce and cheese worked wonders. Dishes like this with unfamiliar combinations of flavors and ingredients always work at Lilly's. This is a huge portion of great food.

From the dessert menu, there are eight choices priced at $7 each. Several staples such as the chocolate velvet and yellow cake with caramel icing would incite and justify riots if they were removed. We had two new items; the lemon chess stack pie and a Woodford blackberry pudding. The rich lemon filling in the stack pie was in an old fashioned crust, light as a cloud and fragile as fine china. Our presentation was creative with three cakes atop each other, each a bit smaller than the one below. The caramel sauce was superb.

My blackberry pudding reminded me of a meal on a working farm; large in size and bursting with fresh flavor. The mixture of spices didn't overwhelm the taste of the blackberries and the bourbon sauce added a creative dimension. It was similar to what we'd call a hard sauce, only much better.

Service is always professional and efficient. The wait staff is uniformly friendly and accommodating and no question is answered with anything other than a smile. After all, they work at Lilly's.

Is Lilly's the best restaurant in town? You'll have to try and determine that for yourself.

Best bets: Throw a dart, point your finger, let somebody else select; it's all great.

Atmosphere: It's a Bardstown Road restaurant, full of lively conversation where you can easily hear everyone at your table. Its feel is versatile; equally at home are people there for business meals, romantic ones, and just those in search of great food.

Wine list: An improved and expanded wine list offers many selections, and the markup appears reasonable across the board. The wait staff is knowledgeable and you'll find many selections in the $25-$35 range.

Other: Lilly's is located at 1147 Bardstown Road. Reservations are accepted by calling 451-0447. There are separate sections for smokers and nonsmokers. The nonsmoking area is down one step, so that may present a problem for the handicapped. All major credit cards are accepted. There is a parking lot in the rear and there is always plenty of on street parking in front. Lilly's serves lunch Tuesday through Saturday from 11-3; dinner is served Tuesday through Thursday from 5:30-10 and on Friday and Saturday from 5:30-11.