I’ve liked Simply Thai ever since it opened in 2006. Since the beginning I have ranked it high among the city’s Thai eateries for food quality and presentation of standard Thai dishes – plus a short but appealing selection of Japanese delights and sushi.
But I didn’t go to Simply Thai very often, frankly because its popularity swamped its tiny quarters in a one-room hut at Wallace and Wilmington avenues. With maybe eight small tables crammed into a space meant for six, and a line of hungry diners elbowing through the middle of the crowd in search of take-outs, Simply Thai’s ambience fell simply short of simply comfortable.
If you like seafood and fish, dine in a city that’s close to the water. This seems like good advice, but for reasons lost to history, Louisville has always been an exception to this rule.
The city is, and has been, crazy for seafood – particularly fried mild white fish – and we reportedly rank second only to Boston in cod consumed per capita, even though we must look hundreds of miles farther than the muddy Ohio for our source of supply. Continue reading The Fishery satisfies in Lent and all year ‘round→
Mary’s dish towered on her plate, an architectural construction of mashed potatoes, beef tenderloin, Cabrales blue cheese and a nest of sweet potato curls, piled high and reaching for the sky.
My entrée lay flat enough to slide under the door, a long, oval flatbread topped with shredded duck, goat cheese and green herbs.
Back in the early ’90s, I had occasion to visit Austin a couple of times on what was then my day job, and got to know and like the capital city of Texas and home of the Lone Star’s state university.
Austin was a good-size town, busy and fun, not only loaded with the innovative non-profit groups that had brought me there but blessed with a noteworthy music scene, the world’s first Whole Foods Market, and maybe best of all, dozens of eateries serving some of the best Tex-Mex food I had ever tasted. Continue reading Chuy’s says “¡Hola, Amigo!” to Louisville→
The demise of Flabby’s Schnitzelburg in July 2010, following on the heels of its sibling eatery, Mazzoni’s, which failed in the autumn of 2008 at the ripe old age of 124, seemed to spell the death of a great Louisville culinary tradition — the “rolled” oyster. Continue reading This rolled oyster hits a Home Run→
So, what kind of restaurant is this new Majid’s St. Matthews? Is it Iranian? Yes. Mediterranean? Sure. Is it American? That, too. Majid’s is affordable, but you can go pricey. It’s a great bar, and it’s a classy dining room. It’s casually dressy and upscale casual. In short, it comes about as close to being all things to all people as a restaurant can. Continue reading Have it your way at Majid’s St. Matthews→
Nearly three millennia past, before the glory that was Greece or the grandeur that was Rome, the emperor Cyrus the Great presided over the Persian Empire, extending from Eastern Europe through Southwestern Asia to northern India in the greatest empire that the world to that time had known.
Fast forward 2,700 years to modern Louisville and say hello to Majid’s, now open in St. Matthews with a new restaurant that shows considerable promise in its blend of the flavors of modern America and all the nations that made up Cyrus’s empire. Continue reading Majid’s draws early applause in St. Matthews→
A few weeks ago my brother, Matt, was in town visiting from his home and work in Lima, Peru, and I figured it would make sense to take him with his fluent Spanish to an ethnic restaurant where we could put his language skills to work.
So off we went to La Colombiana, a fairly new eatery in Lyndon that features, as the name suggests, the cuisine of Colombia, a Latino nation on the north end of South America.
As it turned out, no special language skills were needed: The charming and competent service at La Colombiana speaks English perfectly. But my brother and our server still had a great time chatting in Español, and Mary, Matt and I enjoyed an exceptional, affordable dinner for three. Continue reading La Colombiana offers a different South of the Border cuisine→
A pizza from DiOrio'sSt. Matthews has enjoyed a pub or two all the way back to Gilman’s Corner in the city’s pioneer days, a happy custom that continued in our parents (and even our grandparents’) time with homey saloons like Dutch’s, Maier’s and Gerstle’s providing community while slaking the public thirst. Continue reading DiOrio’s joins St. Matthews’ growing Pizza Town→
I’ve long been a fan of Moby Dick. The local mini-chain with the cartoon whale logo may look fast-foodish, but they’ve been frying quality cod for nearly 45 years, and they know how to do it right. But the news of a recent addition at the Moby Dick in St. Matthews (4848 Shelbyville Road, near Whole Foods) made my head snap back. Fried chicken? Continue reading A thigh and a wing for Captain Ahab?→
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