Category Archives: Hikes Point

It doesn’t have to be Lent to enjoy Sharks Seafood

By Robin Garr
LouisvilleHotBytes.com

You probably didn’t even notice that I didn’t bother to talk about fried fish for Lent this year. Everyone else was doing it, it seemed, including our pals at LEO Weekly, so why add another voice to the chorus?

Plus, to be frank, with more than one-fourth of Americans now describing their religious affiliation as “nothing in particular,” and no more than one-tenth of the remaining religiously affiliated strictly observing abstinence from meat during Lent, it felt like the pressure was off.

On the other hand …

Continue reading It doesn’t have to be Lent to enjoy Sharks Seafood

A trip to Jamaica in a takeout box from Eden & Kissi

By Robin Garr
LouisvilleHotBytes.com

My friend Erica posted a Facebook challenge: “Y’all…look. This place. These wings. Go. Robin Garr, have you been here yet?” It came with a photo of a succulent golden brown chicken wing the size of a turkey wing, a tantalizing treat from Eden & Kissi.

That was last September, and I really meant to get right out to this little takeout spot in Buechel. But one thing after another got in the way. So here we are, 4 1/2 months later, and suddenly, with the Omicron variant hanging around, great Jamaican takeout sounded good. Continue reading A trip to Jamaica in a takeout box from Eden & Kissi

We celebrate our immigrant neighbors at Alwatan

Within hours after taking office on January 20, President Joe Biden moved quickly to sign executive orders make life much better for immigrants and refugees. He halted construction on the border wall, stopped family separation at the border, and pushed for an end to mass deportations.

These good things merit celebration with a meal at an immigrant-owned eatery, so I headed for Alwatan. This little spot, which is operating for takeout only during the pandemic, is owned by Palestinian immigrants. It offers a good variety of Palestinian, pan-Arabic, and Mediterranean food, taking full advantage of fine Mediterranean breads from its sibling bakery next door. Continue reading We celebrate our immigrant neighbors at Alwatan

Bodega mi Sueño — worlds of delicious I

Well, here we are again, another week that finds me torn between two new spots that feature cheap, delicious world cuisine: Bodega mi Sueño in West Buechel dishes out mouth-watering Cuban fare in oversize portions in the casual setting of a traditional bodega. Ngon Appétit in Clifton Heights offers a short but tasty list of Vietnamese fare with a hint of the French accent that a colonial empire left behind.

Let’s go to both! Continue reading Bodega mi Sueño — worlds of delicious I

Mt. Everest View offers a delicious taste of Nepal

Our friend Ashley just came to town recently, from Alabama by way of 10 years in New York City. A savvy foodie with a love for ethnic eats and a proud adoptive Brooklynite, she came to Louisville expecting great regional fare, but worried that her new home town might be a culinary purgatory when it came to world cuisine.
Continue reading Mt. Everest View offers a delicious taste of Nepal

Signs of the apocalypse: The White Castle veggie slider

I can’t resist mentioning this briefly, since my mini-report on the HotBytes forum and Facebook on New Year’s Day blew up with “Likes” and comments, hinting that there’s public interest in this bizarre development: White Castle, at least for a while, now offers a veggie burger, of all things. They’re only 99 cents each, cheap, but like their meatful siblings, it takes a few to satisfy an appetite.
Continue reading Signs of the apocalypse: The White Castle veggie slider

We ‘C’ no evil at Alwatan

I’ve been eager to get back to Alwatan ever since I heard that this lovable little Eastern Mediterranean eatery had outgrown the small space it shared with its sibling Palestinian bakery and moved into larger quarters next door. We wheeled in and grabbed the last parking spot. Suddenly, a scream shattered the wintry silence.

“GAAAAH!” Mary was staring at the door. No, she was staring at a placard on the door.

“GAAAAH!,” she repeated, pointing at a large, scarlet letter. “THEY GOT A ‘C’!”

D’oh! Yet, while this may surprise some of you, we went right in, enjoyed a fine Mediterranean meal and survived to tell the tale. Continue reading We ‘C’ no evil at Alwatan

Jet’s Takes Off With Detroit-Style Pizza

If there was ever any doubt that pizza has truly become an all-American treat, it was surely put to rest with Pizzagate this week, when New York City’s new mayor Bill de Blasio provoked screams of outrage when he attacked a gooey pie at a Gotham pizzeria with – the horror – a knife and fork. “Blasphemy! No one would ever do such a thing in Italy,” the angry hordes shrieked.

Actually, that’s not really true. Continue reading Jet’s Takes Off With Detroit-Style Pizza

Bring patience and an appetite to Little India Café

Just imagine what it would be like if you had a good friend who was Indian, and he invited you over for dinner while his grandmother was visiting from Mumbai. If you enjoyed Indian food at all, much less loved it as much as I do, you would surely look forward to these authentic goodies with great anticipation.
Continue reading Bring patience and an appetite to Little India Café

John E’s, born in a log cabin

“Born in a log cabin.” In not-so-distant American history, this status – a symbol of humble, honest origins, was just about mandatory for those who wanted to run for president.

Baked scrod at John E's
Baked scrod at John E’s
It’s likely that seven of America’s chief executives, and possibly as many as 10 drew their first breath in a rustic log abode. Which ones? Cabin-born prexies certainly included Abraham Lincoln, whose birthplace is now a National Historical Park in Hodgenville, Ky. Zachary Taylor, born in a log cabin in Virginia, grew up in Louisville in decidedly more elegant quarters at Locust Grove.

Others, some subject to debate among historians, included Andrew Jackson, Millard Fillmore, Franklin Pierce, James Buchanan, Andrew Johnson, Ulysses S. Grant, James Garfield and Chester A. Arthur.

And then there’s John E’s Restaurant & Lounge. It never ran for president, although if it ever did, there are surely hungry folks in Louisville who would consider voting for it. But it was indisputably born in a log cabin, and what’s more, no mere rude shack of felled trees but a log structure of significant historic worth, now designated a Kentucky Landmark.

It was the home of the Hikes family, descendants of the pioneer Louisville settler George Hikes, who received land grants in Kentucky for his Revolutionary War service. The existing four-room, two-story structure that still forms the core of John E’s was built around 1851 on the site of an earlier house. Hikes Lane and the Hikes Point neighborhood still keep the family’s historic name alive.

The building has been a popular restaurant for half a century – originally Bill Boland’s, and since the 1980s John E’s. The space has been expanded substantially, including four dining rooms, a bar and a fully enclosed Patio Room, but I still like best the small dining room that reveals parts of the original cabin. Much of the walls are covered with large, antique-print wallpaper, but the original logs still show through in places, as does the beamed ceiling.

John E’s dinner menu offers standard American fare, with emphasis on steakhouse delights. It begins at $9 (for beef or veggie burgers) and $19 (for several items including chicken breast dishes, Boston scrod, or a full pound of pork chops). Most main course are under $30, with a hefty two-pound T-bone priced at $38 if you eat it all by yourself, or $45 divided for two.

My brother and sister were in town, so we got together with them, a cousin and an aunt for a big country-style dinner, and I can’t say we had a thing we didn’t enjoy. We started with a shared app, a big plate of green chili won tons ($7), which were a lot like the Bristol’s. I won’t speculate who had the idea first, but John E’s presents a good version.

A burger ($9) did its job well, juicy and hot, dressed with a slice of melted cheddar (50 cents extra) and the traditional lettuce, tomato and mayo. The rib eye pepper steak ($28) was a splendid piece of this flavorful cut, cooked medium-rare as ordered. It was crusted in so much coarsely cracked black pepper that it almost seemed hot, but it was tender and the flavors worked well. A stuffed twice-baked potato ($2) was first-rate, and there were no complaints about a standard, fresh house salad.

With glasses of California Apothic red ($8) and Gaston Argentine Malbec ($7.50), our share of dinner came to $64.66 for two, plus a $14 tip for friendly, attentive service.

John E’s Restaurant & Lounge
3708 Bardstown Road
456-1111
JohnEsRestaurant.com