It seems as if Porcini just got here. It seems as if Porcini has been here forever. The truth, as usual, lies between these extremes, but one thing is certain: The years have flown since I first sat down to a fine Italian dinner at this comfortable Frankfort Avenue landmark. Continue reading Porcini’s landmark status is well and fully earned
Category Archives: $$$ Upscale ( $50 – $80)
bar Vetti lights up 800 Building
Who knew that a hot new eatery would bring Louisville rushing back to the old 800 Building? Old-timers might consider this unlikely, but the delightful bar Vetti (management prefers the lowercase “bar”) fits nicely in the renovated turquoise tower. Continue reading bar Vetti lights up 800 Building
Hull & High Water’s oysters inspire hymns of praise
When we headed over to the new Hull & High Water the other evening, our friend Don said he was afraid he would be a pretty tough judge. Just back home from a conference in Boston, he had taken advantage of the opportunity to sample some of Beantown’s finest oysters and fish.
A half-hour later, though, he was singing a different tune, and Mary and I and our friend Anne were joining the hymn of praise in four-part harmony. Continue reading Hull & High Water’s oysters inspire hymns of praise
Lupo’s pizza and pasta sing a fine Italian song
Whatever might prompt two members of an indie rock band with a 17-year record and three songs on the Billboard 200 to leap from the world of music to the hard work of opening Lupo, an Italian restaurant that features pizza and pasta?
That’s just what vocalist and guitar player Adam Turla and cellist-keyboardist Sarah Balliet of the band Murder by Death have done, though. In August they joined Sarah’s brother Max Balliet, owner of the popular Holy Molé taco truck, to open Lupo, a fine, casual eatery in a nicely restored 19th century red-brick house on the far inner end of Frankfort Avenue where Clifton meets Butchertown. Continue reading Lupo’s pizza and pasta sing a fine Italian song
Mojito may not have invented the small plate, but they improved it
I want to find the culinary genius who invented small plates and give them a hug. Or at least go to Mojito and hug someone there for doing small plates so well.
Continue reading Mojito may not have invented the small plate, but they improved it
Look! Up in the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s … SuperChefs!
Holy pancakes and waffles, Batman! This place has got a bat-ton of food, piled as high as Gotham’s towers! With great power comes great responsibility, and SuperChefs’ latest and most impressive location meets that standard and then some. Continue reading Look! Up in the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s … SuperChefs!
It’s all about the wine, and great food too, at Cuvée Wine Table
I’m a wine geek. Or you could call me a wine nerd. But please don’t call me a snob.
Look, I’ve enjoyed wine since I was a teenager, Chianti diluted with 7Up with Italian-American friends in Brooklyn. Later I found out about this cool place called Napa Valley, where you could get free wine, a long time before most of you had probably heard of the place. I’ve been writing professionally about wine since around 1980, and have been lucky enough to visit wineries and judge wine competitions around the world.
But you’ll never catch me taking this stuff too seriously, and you shouldn’t, either. Continue reading It’s all about the wine, and great food too, at Cuvée Wine Table
Foodies may happily graze at hiko-A-mon
When I go to a Japanese restaurant, I generally love to pull right up to the sushi bar. I can hardly imagine a more immersive entry into the world of Japanese cuisine than sitting right across the tale from the sushi chefs, with the striking colors of beautiful fresh fish and other edible delights lined up in perfect rows between you. Continue reading Foodies may happily graze at hiko-A-mon
ROC rocks Italian food and drink
Some of Louisville’s favorite restaurants have their roots in other cities. Consider Selena’s, for instance, which came up from Tampa almost a decade ago. Or Jeff Ruby’s, which added Louisville to its thriving Cincinnati metro operation; or even Vincenzo’s, which can trace its roots to the Hill in St. Louis.
Now let’s put our hands together for ROC, an elegant eatery that owners Rocco and Stacy Cadolini pretty much loaded on a moving truck in Manhattan’s Tribeca and unpacked in Louisville’s Highlands last month. Continue reading ROC rocks Italian food and drink
We relax with upscale comfort food at The Blackstone Grille
Let’s see … Mexican, Mayan, Venezuelan, Nigerian, soul food, Indian. What culinary genre haven’t I tried lately? Oh, wait, how about some good, old-school American food? Continue reading We relax with upscale comfort food at The Blackstone Grille