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.”
For a few brief, joyous moments of federal sanity last year, it seemed we were going to be friends with Cuba again. Thanks, Obama! But now the new boss has taken Cuba off the table for now. Thanks a lot, Donnie.
But if we can’t easily go to Cuba, it seems that Cuba is coming to Louisville. Cuban immigration to Louisville accelerated so fast in the past decade that the local diaspora has attracted national media attention. Continue reading All aboard on Mi Sueño Cuban Express→
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.
Meanwhile, over in St. Matthews, the old Meridian Cafe has been transformed and taken South of the Border in a substantial remake. The old house stands revealed in bold red-and-white colors and large murals, no longer concealed behind two large shade trees that had to be removed for safety and visibility, manager Rick Moir said. Continue reading Bye bye, Meridian Cafe: Bienvenido a El Taco Luchador→
Is there any culture, anywhere, that does not delight in the joys of wrapping carbohydrates around protein or vegetables and eating it out of hand? From the humble sandwich to empanada, kreplach, pita and Asian bao, among many more, I can’t think of any cuisine that doesn’t boast some kind of portable meal like this. Continue reading Las Gorditas adds a full restaurant, and we’re glad.→
Here’s a memorable twist on an immigrant story: Havana-born Fernando Martinez has tried to get to America three times and made it twice. First, in the mid-1990s, he and his mother and a few friends tried to make their way from their native Cuba to the U.S. in a hand-built raft. Continue reading Guaca Mole soars over all walls with Mexican delights→
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