Category Archives: Mediterranean

Have a (disco) ball at Paseo

By Robin Garr
LouisvilleHotBytes.com

When was the day the disco died? Surely the dance and the surrounding culture were already fading by the late 1970s. But historians trace its ultimate demise to July 12, 1979, when a wacky “Disco Demolition” night at Chicago’s Comiskey Park boiled into a riot that caused at least nine injuries, 39 arrests, and the forfeit of that night’s Major League Baseball game between the Chicago White Sox and the Detroit Tigers.

It was a momentous occasion, I’m sure. But riddle me this: Why am I recalling this sad event to introduce this week’s restaurant review? Stay with me. I’ll get there as fast as I can.

Continue reading Have a (disco) ball at Paseo

Meesh Meesh is good good

By Robin Garr
LouisvilleHotBytes.com

I’m going to come right out and say it: Meesh Meesh is one of the best new restaurants to come along in Louisville lately.

But wait! What’s with that repetitive rhyming name? The restaurant’s website explains it all for us: MeeshMeesh means “apricot” in both Arabic and Hebrew.

With the sad fighting going on in Israel and Palestinian Gaza right now, a restaurant that celebrates both of those cultures seems like a good place to be. Continue reading Meesh Meesh is good good

Simply Mediterranean brings Lebanese flavor

By Robin Garr
LouisvilleHotBytes.com

Back in the late winter of 1984, I did my first restaurant review for The Louisville Times. I enjoyed a great dinner at a short-lived Lebanese restaurant on Bardstown Road with a Lebanese-American friend who spent a short time at the city’s afternoon paper before moving on to bigger things.

Here we are, almost too many years later to count, and I’ve just finished a tasty repast from Simply Mediterranean, which I believe is the city’s first ethnic Lebanese restaurant since then. Continue reading Simply Mediterranean brings Lebanese flavor

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

Al Hamra’s lavish buffet takes us to Jordan and more

Pulled chunks of Al Hamra’s whole roast lamb are surrounded by a stuffed grape leaf, okra, rice, hummus, yogurt-cucumber mix, and tomatoes, eggplant and lamb.
Pulled chunks of Al Hamra’s whole roast lamb are surrounded by a stuffed grape leaf, okra, rice, hummus, yogurt-cucumber mix, and tomatoes, eggplant and lamb.
Here’s something you won’t often hear me say: I love an all-you-can-eat buffet. Specifically, I love the buffet at Al Hamra Halal Mediterranean Buffet at Mid City Mall. Buffet, schmuffet: This is the only place I know of where you can fill up on Jordanian specialties and pull forkfuls of tender, juicy meat off a whole roast lamb. Continue reading Al Hamra’s lavish buffet takes us to Jordan and more