Category Archives: QuickBytes

Short, conversational mini-reviews that report on new sightings, updates on previously reviewed restaurants or other restaurant reports that may not fit the full-scale review format.

Hablamos y comemos at La Guanaquita Restaurante

¡Buenos días, señoras y caballeros, hermanos y hermanas! ¡La Guanaquita Restaurante es muy bueno!

Why, yes, I am speaking a little Spanish today, signing on from a sweet little new Central American eatery in the South End. Continue reading Hablamos y comemos at La Guanaquita Restaurante

A Half Peach and a whole Slice

Some days I want to eat something healthy. Some days, not so much.

That’s why I’m glad that there is room in the world for places like North End Slice, where the bill of fare is all pizza, all the time; and places like Half Peach Bakery & Cafe, where there is nary a speck of meat or even any animal-based products like eggs or cheese on the premises. Continue reading A Half Peach and a whole Slice

We look back at 2015, and way back at Oriental House

We’re just a few days into the New Year, and most of you foodies are probably already tired of reading many versions of the same basic story about all the new restaurants that joined the metro’s culinary community last year. So let’s not do that.

I’d like to tip my fedora to Baby 2016, though, by pulling up for a wider view: Was there any consistent flavor in the boiling, simmering, seething stew of the city’s eats beat in 2015? Continue reading We look back at 2015, and way back at Oriental House

Home-style comfort food with a twist at Cottage Inn

Can a person – well, this person, anyway – ever get tired of international food, the vast smorgasbord of culinary delights from all the world’s regions? I would say not. Give me Indian, Mexican, Thai, Argentine, African, Chinese, German, Korean, Yugoslavian, French or German cuisine, and I’ll bounce right back in pursuit of the next fascinating thing. Continue reading Home-style comfort food with a twist at Cottage Inn

We mentor a budding food writer at Toonerville Deli

In this food-loving city full of food-fascinated folks, there must be a thousand food bloggers, freelancers and journalists. My friend Dana is one, and she does it well. So I was truly honored when Dana asked if I’d help mentor her 12-year-old cousin, Amber, visiting from Michigan, who wants to be a food writer, too.

How could I say no? Continue reading We mentor a budding food writer at Toonerville Deli

Epic Sammich Co. is not Rumplings, but it’ll do

For a too-short, brilliant seven months, the glory that was Rumplings blazed like a comet soaring across the sky of Louisville’s dining scene.

Then, just like that, one night in early June, Rumplings went dark, accompanied by a chorus of wails from despairing fans.

Okay. I admit it. That’s kind of dramatic. But dammit, that’s how I felt, and judging from the anguished voices I heard, I don’t think I was alone.
Continue reading Epic Sammich Co. is not Rumplings, but it’ll do

On the Mexican road again …

“On the road again” … “En la carretera nuevamente …” Hmm. Willie Nelson’s classic ballad doesn’t translate very well, rhythmically speaking. You just can’t make the syllables fit the notes. But that’s not important right now. What’s important right now is Mexican food, because it’s filling and spicy and delicious.

I like Mexican food, and I like languages, and I’ve still got a lot to learn about both things. But there’s always room for more learning, both in the food department and the linguistic department. Like most Americans — er, Norteamericanos, that is — my language skills are weak.

“Eureka,” I said, an exclamation that works in English, Spanish and Greek. “Why don’t I go eat at some Mexican restaurants? I can practice my Spanish on the servers!”
Continue reading On the Mexican road again …

We lock eyes with the bison and the bison wins at Feast BBQ NuLu

“Hey, let’s go over to the new Feast BBQ in NuLu and get some delicious brisket!”

A slice of gently smoked, tender brisket sounded good, or at least it did until I settled down at a long table in the back of the room and glanced up. There on the wall was a buffalo head, mounted like a game trophy. Was he real or fake? I’m not sure, but he looked pretty real to me. His fur was kind of scruffy, but his black glass eyes were soulful. They seemed to look right into my heart.

“Um, maybe not the brisket.”
Continue reading We lock eyes with the bison and the bison wins at Feast BBQ NuLu