Nothing goes much better to rid your palate of the sad and mournful taste of raw kale than a scoop of delicious, creamy ice cream, and the serious shot of bourbon in Ehrler’s bourbon pecan fudge ($3.60 for a kiddie cup big enough for two kiddies) did the trick for me. Continue reading Ehrler’s is back, and it’s good
Category Archives: Downtown, NuLu and Butchertown
Expand your Ethiopian food horizons at Abyssinia and Addis
To gain real insight into other people, walk a mile in their moccasins. This simple old wisdom still feels fresh, maybe more than ever these days. Here’s another saying, not so famous, because I just made it up: To get to know friends from around the world, sit down to a meal of their food. While you’re there, talk to the owners and workers if you can, and thank them for making our town a more diverse and interesting place.
This is easy for me. I’ve always been excited by the opportunity to try food from all over the world, and to get to know the people who make it. I recommend it to you, too. Here’s a good way to start: drop by either – or both – of the downtown Ethiopian restaurants where I’ve enjoyed lunch recently: Addis Grill on the north side of the business district, and Abyssinia Authentic Ethiopian toward downtown’s southern end. Continue reading Expand your Ethiopian food horizons at Abyssinia and Addis
Naïve’s sustainable ethos yields delicious fare
It is so tempting to start with a joke about a restaurant named Naïve that I’m just going to resist temptation and not even go there. Seriously, the ethos behind the name of this charming new spot on the edge of Butchertown is so sweet that it deserves to stand on its own:
“We see the world as a place of hope,” Naïve’s owners write on the restaurant website. “Maybe that’s naive. But maybe it’s one of our greatest strengths. Because we’re not afraid to think big, with no preconceived notions. With a connection to what’s real, from the food we eat to the relationships we nourish.” Continue reading Naïve’s sustainable ethos yields delicious fare
Even on a quiet night, Marketplace rocks
We had such a good time checking out Main Street last week that we decided to hit the other end of downtown for dinner at Marketplace. Hmm. This block is different.
Walk down Fourth Street toward Broadway on a quiet evening when there’s nothing playing at the Palace, Mercury Ballroom or the Brown Theatre, and you may not meet another human being. Until you get to Marketplace Restaurant, anyway. Continue reading Even on a quiet night, Marketplace rocks
Yum Center bound? Dine at BBC first
Say what you will about the Yum Center – and I say it looks like the offspring of an unnatural union between a toaster oven and an ink-jet copier – you have to give it credit for helping foster a boom in good places to eat in its Main Street neighborhood. Like Bluegrass Brewing Company. And other good places, too, but BBC, I’m looking at you right now. Continue reading Yum Center bound? Dine at BBC first
Cozy lunches at Old Louisville Tavern and bar Vetti warm our icy bones
Well, 2018 sure came in with a “Brrrr!” The temperature didn’t rise above freezing for a week, and relief took its sweet time coming. When the air makes my face hurt, my instinct is to keep the doors shut and hole up at home with the thermostat cranked up to high.
When hunger and cabin fever set in, though, and the urge to get out in the world becomes irresistible, I can hardly think of a better cold-weather destination than the friendly confines of a cozy bar and grill that takes its commitment to good food as seriously as its beverages. Continue reading Cozy lunches at Old Louisville Tavern and bar Vetti warm our icy bones
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
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
Dining at Harvest is like eating at a farmers’ market
Who doesn’t like to spend a summer Saturday morning browsing a farmers’ market, loading up on fresh veggies, enjoying a breakfast burrito or a barbecue sandwich, listening to music and running into friends? That’s what I love about Harvest Restaurant: It’s like a big farmers’ market that’s open all year, with air-conditioning and table service! Continue reading Dining at Harvest is like eating at a farmers’ market
Quality and attention kick Butchertown Pizza Hall up a notch
Haters gotta hate, but the pizza just keeps on coming. Some of my friends, for reasons that aren’t entirely clear to me, go into a slow burn when another pizzeria opens in town. They sneer as they predict its imminent demise in an overloaded market. There are too many of them, they gripe. It just doesn’t make good business sense, they judge.
I have heard no such whining about Butchertown Pizza Hall. Continue reading Quality and attention kick Butchertown Pizza Hall up a notch