SOU might mean “South.” It could represent “soul.” Yet the proper way to pronounce the name of this new Plainview-area eatery is not “sow” or “soo” but “So-you.” Intentional ambiguity seems to lie at the heart of this upscale dining room in a thoroughly renovated former Skyline Chili parlor, and that’s all right. Continue reading However you pronounce SOU, we sure like it.
All posts by Robin Garr
Wiltshire at the Speed makes a museum visit even better
I’m not enough of an architect to describe the design of the expanded and improved Speed Museum and the way it seamlessly blends the old and the new, the traditional and the modern. In fact, I’m not an architect at all. But I know what I like, and I like the looks of the museum. I like the art within. And as a certified foodie, I really like what Chef Reed Johnson has done with its stunning cafe, Wiltshire at the Speed, the museum’s outpost of Susan Hershberg’s Wiltshire restaurant group. Continue reading Wiltshire at the Speed makes a museum visit even better
Taste of Independents!
Join APRON Inc. on Sunday afternoon, July 14, for Taste of Independents, its annual Louisville tasting event. This is a wonderful way to spend a lazy summer Sunday afternoon; enjoying tastings from over 30 independent restaurants and vendors, bidding on a silent auction, and enjoying the smooth jazz of the Robbie Bartlett Duo.
All proceeds go to support APRON Inc, serving independent restaurant employees since 2011.
Tickets are $50 and may be acquired online at this link.
For more details, see the Taste of Independents Facebook page
2019 Taste of Independents
Sunday, July 14, 2019, 1-4 p.m.
The Olmsted at The Masonic Home, 3701 Frankfort Ave.
The mission of APRON Inc is to provide temporary, limited financial relief to professional food and beverage industry workers in the Louisville, KY metro area who work at locally owned establishments and who are experiencing financial distress due to illness, injury or other issues. Go to the APRON Inc Facebook Page.
A Taste For Life, raising awareness for an at-risk industry
For the $35 price of admission you can enjoy an item from each chef.
This chef-driven event seeks to raise awareness and need for help for restaurant industry workers battling addiction and mental health issues
Just one year ago, many were shocked by the news that Anthony Bourdain, famed chef, author and TV personality, had died of suicide. Sadly, such tragic endings aren’t uncommon in the restaurant industry, where stress levels are high, hours are long, the pace is frenetic and the pay is generally low. The end result, as researchers have found, is a trade group unusually susceptible to drug and alcohol addiction and mental illness.
In honor of Bourdain and in an effort to raise awareness for mental illness and addiction in restaurants, a cadre of world-renowned chefs have declared June 25 Anthony Bourdain day. Dovetailing into that effort, local chef, barbecue pitmaster and Four Pegs restaurant owner, Chris Williams, is hosting a fundraiser dubbed A Taste for Life, on June 29, at the restaurant (1053 Goss Ave. in Germantown 40217). The event, scheduled from 4-9 p.m., will feature chefs from 15 local restaurants preparing food for patrons eager to support this cause.
Beneficiaries of proceeds from the event include the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) and the Everything will be OK Project, a mental health advocacy organization.
“With A Taste for Life, we want to hammer home the point that working in the service industry is incredibly hard on those who make and serve our guests’ food,” said Williams. “Working long hours and nights in this business often keeps us away from our loved ones, family and friends and that puts us at risk for mental illness, addiction and suicide.”
Williams added that many in the industry suffering from those challenges don’t know how to get help.
“Part of what we’re doing with A Taste for Life is highlighting the available resources for not only service industry employees, but everyone in need,” he said. “the proceeds we raise from this will help fund these causes.”
Some of the city’s top chefs have volunteered to cook for the event and serve up Bourdain style Street Food at multiple stations around the Four Pegs site. They are:
? Eric Morris, Hull & High Water
? Lee Mayfield Fork and Barrel
? Griffin Pailin, Mirin
? Steve Bowles Pepperwood BBQ
? Cris Banaszynski, Old Louisville Tavern
? Sam Bracken, Celtic Pig
? Dallas McGarrity, The Fat Lamb
? Nick Bean, Molly Malone’s
? Serge Katz,Flavaville Food Truck
? Jessie Huot, Liz Huot, Grind Burger
? Tavis Rockwell, LouVino and Biscuit Belly
? Sean Haggerty, Commonwealth Catering
? Patrick Roney from Ashbourne Farms!
? Nick Bean from Molly Malone’s!
? Henry Wesley and Lamont Bobo from 8UP
? Bruce Jarret and Brandon Hurn from Saints
? Josh Moore, Volare POSSIBLE
? Chris Williams and Kahlil Kennedy, Four Pegs
Live Bands
4-5 p.m., Smash Alley
5-6 p.m., Jr. Detective
6-9 p.m., The Echoes
The event also will include a silent auction, raffles, bourbon tastings and even a dunk tank for the chefs. Tickets for A Taste for Life are $35 and can be purchased at the door or on eventbrite.
For more information or to help support this event, go to A Taste For Life Facebook page.
So long, Artesano. Welcome Steak & Bourbon!
I’m not going to lie about this: I miss Artesano. It was a favorite. This does not mean that I don’t like Steak & Bourbon, its recent successor under the same management. But steakhouses are a dime a dozen around here. Serious Spanish tapas eateries are thin on the ground, so the loss of a favorite is a significant hit.
All my whining won’t bring Artesano back, I know, so let’s move on. We dropped in to Steak & Bourbon with a group of friends the other night and had a fine time. Continue reading So long, Artesano. Welcome Steak & Bourbon!
Simply Thai comforts us with flavor and spice
When you need comfort food, nothing else will do. When you’re feeling down, pulling up to a plate full of comfort may be the best thing you can do for yourself. So it was for me last week when I had to say good-bye to my beloved cat Spike, a ginger-color furball buddy who’d been my special friend and constant companion for more than 17 years. It was either ugly-cry or fill up on comfort food, so I decided to do both.
But here’s the funny thing: When I needed comfort food, I realized that comfort for me does not come from the nurturing culinary memories of a Louisville childhood. No, my culinary comfort needs are filled with the bright, potent flavors of Southern and Southeastern Asia. Make mine Indian, Vietnamese, Indonesian or Thai, and I can feel the tension and sadness quietly draining away.
I hadn’t been to Simply Thai in St. Matthews for quite a while, so it felt like the perfect destination for a bittersweet yet consoling dinner in memory of Spike. Continue reading Simply Thai comforts us with flavor and spice