The other night I was out at Basa Modern Vietnamese (2244 Frankfort Ave.) with friends. We all climbed the 3 steps into this trendy eatery (open less than a year, I think) and I couldn't help thinking, "How were they allowed to open without basic access?" I suspect it's that old "mustn't intrude on the sidewalk" dictum so prized by Louisville's Dept. of Inspections, Permits and Licenses (IPL), the bureaucratic poobahs who oversee the this and that of new restaurants opening.
Imagine my puzzlement and feeling of vast irony upon visiting the restroom during the evening to find it a model of wheelchair access! Nice big door, nice roomy restroom, nice big grab bars positioned correctly... but how could one get into the place?
Marty Rosen, restaurant critic for the C-J, says the place can be gotten into from the back. Maybe that's true; but you sure wouldn't have known it from heading in the way normal folks do. And last Saturday night it sure didn't look like there was a hoppin' back entrance folks were streaming in and out of.
So...
A thumbs'-down to Basa for the lack of a sign.
