I am, in modern parlance, “an old,” so I remember the unsettling scene from 1976’s “The Marathon Man” in which a Nazi war criminal, played by Laurence Olivier, repeatedly asks Dustin Hoffman “Is it safe?” while laying out dental instruments with which to torture him with. Hoffman – terrified, sweating, strapped to a chair – replies “Yes, it’s safe, it’s very safe, it’s so safe you wouldn’t believe it.” Whenever I see the blue polo shirt of a Metro Health Department inspector slip into my place of employment, my brain coughs up this scene. Continue reading Is it Safe?
All posts by Robin Garr
We’d cross the road for Ward 426
Why did the diner cross the road? To get to Ward 426, of course! Actually, we’d gladly take a quick detour around the block, park down the street and then cross the road to dine at this fine Baxter Avenue eatery.
Actually, the issue of minor traffic and pedestrian gyrations on Baxter Avenue is what I’m getting at here: Continue reading We’d cross the road for Ward 426
Cottage Inn going strong near century mark
Quick! What’s the longest-lived Louisville restaurant that’s been in continuous business at its original location? I’m going to say Cottage Inn, where we, our parents, and maybe even our great-great grandparents have been enjoying hearty down-home country fare since 1929. Continue reading Cottage Inn going strong near century mark
Discover the Jamaican joys of Roof Top Grill
Let’s tear down that wall, the imaginary one along Ninth Street that some people think separates our West End neighbors from the rest of us. I can’t think of a better time than Derby season to do it, and I’ve got a great destination in mind: Roof Top Grill, a friendly eatery that turns out some of the best Jamaican food around. Continue reading Discover the Jamaican joys of Roof Top Grill
We came to Aladdin’s for labneh. We stayed for all the food.
I love labneh, the thick, tangy, strained-yogurt cheese of the Eastern Mediterranean. It was a treat to get a dab of labneh, dotted with pumpkin seeds, atop a risotto at Marketplace last week, but a bite only made me want more. So we headed over to the highly regarded Aladdin’s Cafe in New Albany the other day, where you can get the stuff in a sandwich or on a plate.
We came for the labneh, and we ate all the food, or a good share of it anyway. Continue reading We came to Aladdin’s for labneh. We stayed for all the food.
Even on a quiet night, Marketplace rocks
We had such a good time checking out Main Street last week that we decided to hit the other end of downtown for dinner at Marketplace. Hmm. This block is different.
Walk down Fourth Street toward Broadway on a quiet evening when there’s nothing playing at the Palace, Mercury Ballroom or the Brown Theatre, and you may not meet another human being. Until you get to Marketplace Restaurant, anyway. Continue reading Even on a quiet night, Marketplace rocks
HotBytes listed in world’s top 20 review sites
LouisvilleHotBytes has been named to Feedspot’s Top 20 Restaurant Review Blogs and Websites To Follow in 2018. According to Mumbai-based Feedspot author Anuj Agarwal, “This is the most comprehensive list of best Restaurant Review blogs and websites on the internet … Continue reading HotBytes listed in world’s top 20 review sites
Yum Center bound? Dine at BBC first
Say what you will about the Yum Center – and I say it looks like the offspring of an unnatural union between a toaster oven and an ink-jet copier – you have to give it credit for helping foster a boom in good places to eat in its Main Street neighborhood. Like Bluegrass Brewing Company. And other good places, too, but BBC, I’m looking at you right now. Continue reading Yum Center bound? Dine at BBC first
La Lupita stands out in Clarksville
Can a dining decision be political? You bet! When nightly news shows horrifying images of immigrant parents ripped from their families while partisans shout for a border wall, it’s time to call B.S. The best way I know to do that is to take my dining business to local restaurants run by Latino neighbors, such as the spectacularly good La Lupita in Clarksville.
And while I’m there, happily noshing, I want to thank the owners and servers and tell them I’m glad they’re here: “Me gusta que tu eres mi vecina,” I’ll say in fractured Spanglish, reaching out with a few words in their language. “I’m happy that you are my neighbor.”
MozzaPi brings bread maker’s art to remarkable pizza
Which came first: The pizza or the bread? A trip out to Anchorage to visit the excellent MozzaPi might recalibrate your thinking on this not-so-simple question. Continue reading MozzaPi brings bread maker’s art to remarkable pizza