Secret to a great Chinese banquet: Cook for me, chef!

This table-topper at Red Pepper Chinese Cuisine featured cranes carved from daikon radish, perched on “rock piles” made from yams, decorated with what looked like taxus yew sprigs from the bushes out front. Photo by Robin Garr

LEO’s Eats with LouisvilleHotBytes.com

Are you the kind of adventurous diner who has always wanted to experience an authentic Chinese banquet but have despaired after too many meals of sweet and sour pork, fried rice and the like at chopsticks houses and Asian buffets?

Here’s good news: With a little advance planning, a willing spirit and a smile, you can enjoy a Chinese spread right here in Louisville that will take you surprisingly close to what you’d be served in Shanghai or Beijing.

All you have to do is get together a group of like-minded foodies, drop in on your favorite Chinese restaurant and ask the management’s assistance in organizing a special banquet.

This approach probably won’t work at a fast-food Chinese eatery or buffet. It requires a quality Chinese restaurant with a highly skilled chef. Louisville boasts several of these, my current favorite being Red Pepper Chinese on Brownsboro Road, where Sichuanese Chef Shen Hong Huang boasts restaurant experience in Chicago and in Chinese embassies around the world.
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Seviche: And then there was one. That one!

Traditional Mahi Mahi tacos ($13) were delicious, two pairs of grilled corn tortillas served open-face with bite-size chunks of grilled mahi mahi and sliced, crisp red cabbage, plated with tender white rice. Photo by Robin Garr

LEO’s Eats with LouisvilleHotBytes.com

What does fine dining have to do with politics? Consider this: The post-election map of the metro’s voting precincts painted a telling picture of Jefferson County demographics in stark red and blue, and we’re not talking Cardinals and Wildcats. Inside the Watterson, the city’s liberal enclaves and African-American neighborhoods were solid Obama blue. The suburbs, in contrast, bled McCain red.

As a statistical generalization, the city and its suburbs are different, and that difference extends to dining preferences. There’s a reason why the ‘burbs are awash with chain dining while most of the independent local eateries that make Louisville weird are located in the People’s Republics of the Highlands, Clifton and Crescent Hill, plus enclaves in and around downtown and St. Matthews.

So, while I was really sorry to learn that Chef Anthony Lamas was closing Seviche A Latin Bistro, his suburban operation on Goose Creek Road, after just under a year in business, I was not surprised.
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Industry Standard: Become a regular

Insider Info For Those Who Dine Out
With Columnist Marsha Lynch

Do you get miffed when another table seems to be getting all your server’s attention? You stare hungrily at your empty table. They’ve already got their appetizer … and they were seated five minutes after you! Up comes their second round of cocktails! Guess what: They’re probably regulars.

Many diners believe an enduring myth that service staff “vet” guests as they come in, then decide to fawn over and spoil a lucky few based on their clothes and accessories, the technological elegance of their cell phones or the class of the vehicle they arrived in.

Nothing could be further from the truth. (more…)

Something old, something new … sort of

Sage Indian, which replaces the short-lived India Palace on Oechsli Avenue, has mostly kept its menu – featuring standard Northern Indian dishes – the same. Photos by Robin Garr

LEO’s Eats with LouisvilleHotBytes.com

This week let’s make quick visits to a couple of St. Matthews-area eateries where you can fill the tank for a reasonable price and go away satisfied.

Shady Lane Café, a homey storefront nook in Brownsboro Center, qualifies as “old,” sort of, by local restaurant standards: Owners and cooks William and Susi Smith have been doing business in this location going on two years now, and they’ve built a following the old-fashioned way, earning loyalty through a savvy combination of high-quality, down-home fare at a price that’s right, even when there’s not a recession going on. (See my report in the post below)

Sage Indian makes the grade as “new,” sort of: It arrived last month in the quarters vacated by the amiable but short-lived Royal India, which put up the shutters well under a year after it opened last winter.
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Shady Lane Café: Make yourself at home

Shady Lane Café owners William and Susi Smith have been in business two years. Two excellent dishes are the meatloaf (left above) and the tomato basil soup. Photo by Robin Garr

This friendly East End spot has long been a favorite for breakfast and lunch; when my mother and sister arrived ravenous from Florida on a late-afternoon flight, I was delighted to learn that Shady Lane stays open for dinner Tuesdays through Fridays until 8 p.m.

The four of us presented ourselves for duty and had a hard time choosing from all the goodies on the blackboard menu. And fine goodies they are, priced for recessionary times. Sandwiches and specials range from $3.95 (for my mother’s choice, a classic grilled cheese sandwich, molten cheddar spilling over toast grilled to a mouth-watering golden brown) to $6.95 (for my sister’s pick, the cranberry, Granny Smith apple and walnut salad with blue Gorgonzola cheese and Dijon mustard dressing).
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