All posts by Robin Garr

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Oriental House returns, just as good as ever

By Robin Garr
LouisvilleHotBytes.com

When Oriental House posted the news of its reopening on social media earlier this month, it made me so happy that I wanted to “Like” it twice!

“We just want to thank everybody for the patience, love, and support throughout this journey,” the owners wrote. “This will be our first time opening our dining rooms to the public since the pandemic, so please continue to stay patient with us! Takeout will still be available as well.”

This was huge for me. I’ve been a fan of Chinese cuisine since, well, most of my life. Continue reading Oriental House returns, just as good as ever →

Commentary

As winter nears, restaurant stress is about more than Covid

By Robin Garr
LouisvilleHotBytes.com

Here comes another winter, the third since the global pandemic started early in 2020, and – talking mostly about the restaurant, food and drink scene here – where in the heck are we?

For a lot of us, things are feeling pretty good. Sure, quite a few of us have at least one Covid encounter for ourselves or a friend or loved one to spin tales about, But things are looking better now, right? Continue reading As winter nears, restaurant stress is about more than Covid →

Commentary

Best restaurant eats when you’re bouncing back from Covid

These three short features published in LEO Weekly today are my contribution to LEO’s 2022 Best in Louisville Staffpicks in LEO’s annual Readers’ Choice Awards. Be sure to check them out at the links!

By Robin Garr
LouisvilleHotBytes.com

Why, yes, I did get Covid last month, after 2 1/2 years of artfully avoiding the pandemic. And no, I am not recommending this to you as one of Louisville’s best things to do in 2022.

But Covid did teach me some useful things about eating. I didn’t have a lot of appetite while recovering, but a man’s got to eat, so I treated myself to local restaurant fare to fascinate my appetite. In this and the following two reports, I’d like to share with you my nominees for the best breakfast, lunch, and dinner (for me), when recovering from Covid. Continue reading Best restaurant eats when you’re bouncing back from Covid →

$$ Modest ($30-$50), Downtown, NuLu and Butchertown, Mexican, Cuban, Caribbean, World Food

Señora Arepa serves delicious Venezuelan street food

By Robin Garr
LouisvilleHotBytes.com

Covid-19 has been rough for NuLu restaurants. The pandemic has taken at least partial blame for the loss of Harvest, Rye, and most recently, Decca.

For the Martinez family’s Olé restaurant group, though, challenges create opportunities. They opened the Cuban restaurant La Bodeguita de Mamá in July 2020, early in the pandemic, in the former headquarters of Creation Gardens at 725 E. Market St.

Señora Arepa came next, opening in the spring of 2021, serving Venezuelan street food in the smaller building behind Bodeguita at 721 E. Market St., once the home of Ghislain on Market. Continue reading Señora Arepa serves delicious Venezuelan street food →

Commentary

Dining trends come and sometimes go

By Robin Garr
LouisvilleHotBytes.com

How can you tell when a trend has run its course? Yogi Berra had the right idea with his memorable observation, “Nobody goes there any more. It’s too crowded.”

Restaurant and culinary trends are sort of like that, too. A great new concept takes hold, catches fire, and before long everyone is doing it, some in slavish imitation, others adding their own riffs. And then everyone tires of the idea and we move on.

Except when we don’t. Continue reading Dining trends come and sometimes go →

$$$$ Luxury ($80 and up), Farm-to-table, Northeast Metro, Outer East End, Outside the city

Barn 8 delivers culinary treats in a delightful farm setting

By Robin Garr
LouisvilleHotBytes.com

If you haven’t made your way out to Barn 8 Restaurant at Hermitage Farm in Goshen, take my advice: You ought to give it a try soon. You’ll be glad you did.

Walk in the front door of the black, red-trimmed former horse barn on U.S. 42, and one of the first things you see will be a small painting of local art enthusiast and 21c hotel founder Steve Wilson, showing a big smile and his trademark red glasses.

Yep, Barn 8 is related by family to Proof on Main, 21c’s much-lauded downtown eatery. I might not call Barn 8 “Proof East” or “Proof in the countryside,” but it’s fair to point out the similarities, and there are plenty of them. Continue reading Barn 8 delivers culinary treats in a delightful farm setting →

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A stroll down restaurant Memory Lane

By Robin Garr
LouisvilleHotBytes.com

Covid, Delta, Omicron, BA.5, bah! Sometimes it seems as if the pandemic will never end. In fact, the experts say, it’s more likely to shift from pandemic to endemic status, which isn’t much better since it’s essentially acknowledging that it will always be around, like the flu or common cold.

While in some ways the pandemic has shown the resilience of the restaurant business, I sometimes wonder, too, how long that can last. We’ve lost too many favorite places, and those that remain are struggling with rising costs and shortages of both labor and food. Everyone is tired of Covid. Hardly anybody wants to wear a mask any more.

And yet, with the latest variants pushing Louisville back into the scary red zone, it’s all too tempting to skip dining out for a while, or at best to grab takeout or have something delivered to the relative safety of our homes. Continue reading A stroll down restaurant Memory Lane →

$$ Modest ($30-$50), Indian, Northeast Metro, Outer East End

Tandoori Fusion offers artistic Indian creations

By Robin Garr
LouisvilleHotBytes.com

Thoughts inspired by a recent meal at Louisville’s Tandoori Fusion restaurant: Fusion cuisine has been around for centuries, going back as far as Chinese restaurateurs coming up with chop suey to please western consumers in 1850s California, and maybe even to Marco Polo and his noodles.

But the concept didn’t get a name until the 1980s, when chefs like Roy Yamaguchi and Wolfgang Puck began to intentionally combine flavors from different cultures. Before long, just about everyone was chowing down on Pacific Rim cuisine and Thai pizza, and calling it “fusion.” Continue reading Tandoori Fusion offers artistic Indian creations →

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Just because you can doesn’t mean you should: Menu edition

By Robin Garr
LouisvilleHotBytes.com

When a new friend or neighbor finds out that one of my jobs involves writing restaurant reviews, their first response is usually something like this: “Wow! You get to eat out at a different restaurant every week? That must be great!”

Why yes! Yes it is! It’s fun to try new eateries, and the older ones too. We’re fortunate in this food-loving city to have a restaurant culture that understands what diners want and knows how to deliver it.

I can hardly remember a place that really disappointed me. No, wait, now that I mention it I can remember a few, but let’s set that aside for now. Continue reading Just because you can doesn’t mean you should: Menu edition →