Category Archives: Germantown

$$ Modest ($30-$50), Baxter, Bardstown, Highlands, Germantown, Pacific Rim

For a good pho, call Eatz Vietnamese

By Robin Garr
LouisvilleHotBytes.com

Last week I had to try calling Vietnam Kitchen a half-dozen times before I could break through the busy line. I guess I wasn’t the only Louisville foodie aching to find out for sure if they were really back from a month-long vacation.

But one reality remains: Vietnam Kitchen, the beloved South End storefront eatery that introduced many of us to Vietnamese cuisine, isn’t going to stay the same, assuming it stays at all. The shop is definitely on the market as a turnkey operation, and owner Alex Lam will eventually either hand it over to new owners or close it.

We wish the Lam family and Vietnam Kitchen’s many fans well, but let’s face it: If you haven’t done this already, it’s past time to begin exploring the metro’s other Vietnamese restaurants. There are at least a dozen, and each has its own particular pleasures. But when I’m hankering for pho, the traditional and soul-consoling Vietnamese soup, I head for Eatz Vietnamese. Continue reading For a good pho, call Eatz Vietnamese →

$$ Modest ($30-$50), Baxter, Bardstown, Highlands, Germantown, Pubs, Brew Pubs, GastroPubs, Vegetarian/Vegan

V-Grits is head-spinning good, even if you’re not vegan

I had a pit beef barbecue sandwich the other day that was so good it made my head spin. And here’s the kicker: This sandwich was vegan, made entirely from vegetables without a trace of meat.

How can this be? This sandwich, so delicious that I can still taste it in my mind’s palate a couple of days later, came from V-Grits, not just one of my favorite vegan restaurants but one of my favorite restaurants … period. Continue reading V-Grits is head-spinning good, even if you’re not vegan →

$$ Modest ($30-$50), Baxter, Bardstown, Highlands, Germantown, LEO's Eats, Pacific Rim, World Food

Exquisite pho sets a high standard at Eatz Vietnamese

I was re-reading Anthony Bordain’s nook Medium Raw the other day, or I should say I was reading it, until I got to his loving, sensual passage on pho. Then I had to put down the book and go check out the state of the pho at the new Eatz Vietnamese. Continue reading Exquisite pho sets a high standard at Eatz Vietnamese →

$$ Modest ($30-$50), Baxter, Bardstown, Highlands, BBQ, Burgers & Down-Home, Commentary, Germantown, LEO's Eats

Martin’s lands in old Lynn’s with decent ‘cue, no ugly lamps

Five and one-half years and about 500 rumors later, the long-vacant space that long had housed Louisville’s Lynn’s Paradise Cafe is occupied again. Martin’s Bar-B-Que, a small Nashville-based barbecue chain, re-opened the Barrett Avenue A-frame in late August as its eighth property.

Lynn’s, which had enjoyed a 21-year run either beloved or mocked for its wacky decor and oversize Southern-style dishes, closed abruptly on a Friday night in January 2013. Continue reading Martin’s lands in old Lynn’s with decent ‘cue, no ugly lamps →

$$$ Upscale ( $50 - $80), Germantown, Italian (and Pizza), LEO's Eats, New and noteworthy

Appealing Sarino carries Vincenzo’s DNA, but it’s no clone

Vincenzo and Agostino Gabriele reinvented the Louisville dining scene a generation ago. Now Agostino’s sons, Carmelo and Michael Gabriele, have opened their own Italian restaurant in Germantown, named Sarino after the family nickname for another uncle, Rosario.

Will Sarino be something like Vincenzo’s Jr., then? I’m going to say no. But that’s no slam. Sarino is delightful in its own right, but it is as different from Vincenzo’s as millennials are different from baby boomers and as different as downtown is from Germantown. Continue reading Appealing Sarino carries Vincenzo’s DNA, but it’s no clone →

Germantown

Eiderdown, back to its Germantown roots, remains a delight

When I hear news that a restaurant has decided to make big changes, I worry. Over the years we’ve seen more than a few popular establishments decide to reinvent themselves in some significant way. Remember them? Nope, me either. That’s because changing courses in the middle of the stream too often begins a sad slide downward into the place where memories go to die.

So I fretted a bit, just about this time last year, when Eiderdown’s owners told the beloved Germantown restaurant’s social-media followers that they were closing for a couple of weeks to make some changes. Continue reading Eiderdown, back to its Germantown roots, remains a delight →

$$ Modest ($30-$50), BBQ, Burgers & Down-Home, Breakfast and lunch spots, sandwich spots, Germantown, LEO's Eats, Vegetarian/Vegan, World Food

Lydia House reflects its changing neighborhood

If you held a magical mystery mirror up to Louisville’s historic Germantown-Schnitzelburg neighborhood in hope of perceiving what’s going on in this changing community, the chances are the image that first appeared would be Lydia House. Continue reading Lydia House reflects its changing neighborhood →

$$$ Upscale ( $50 - $80), Bistros, Germantown, LEO's Eats

Eiderdown in Germantown makes us happy

I won’t deny that being a restaurant critic is fun, but it’s hard work also. And there is one truly significant downside: When duty calls you to eat out someplace new every week, it’s not easy to return to dine casually at places that make you happy.

Nevertheless, there’s a handful, or maybe two, of local eateries that please me enough – and, frankly, are affordable enough – that I’m likely to drop in now and then even when I’m not wearing my food-critic’s chapeau.

One of those is Eiderdown. Continue reading Eiderdown in Germantown makes us happy →