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.
Even amid our town’s evolution toward ethnic diversity over the past generation, the stretch of Bardstown Road in Buechel stands out. Within a few steps of Six Mile Lane, you’ll find an Asian market run by a Korean family, a European market run by a Russian family and a string of Bosnian businesses, including a restaurant-market and a bakery.
Recently joining the mix is Petra Mediterranean, a family-run spot that offers the cuisines of the eastern Mediterranean and southwest Asia, with accents from the proprietors’ homeland, Jordan. Continue reading A taste of Jordan at Petra Mediterranean→
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→
Poutine. Pronounce it “Poo-teen,” as the Canadian French do. Say it in a cardiologist’s office and hear the alarms go off. Utter it in a restaurant in Montreal, and you’ll be delivered a bowl of classic Quebeçois blue-collar fare.
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→
Local historians argue to this day about whether the Harrods Creek community (“Harrod’s” Creek before the U.S. Postal Service deleted the nation’s apostrophes) takes its name from Capt. William Harrod, one of Louisville’s first settlers in 1779, or James Harrod, the pioneer explorer who founded a fort at what is now Harrodsburg, Ky., in 1774. Continue reading J. Harrod’s — comfy dining in Prospect→
Nearly 20 years after its opening as a pioneer on the Frankfort Avenue restaurant row, the Irish Rover has settled in to its neighborhood setting so comfortably that it feels as if it’s been there as long as the 150-year-old brick building it inhabits. While it’s as authentically Irish as a pub in Limerick, maybe, or Killarney, the Rover makes a perfect fit in Clifton. With its dark but cozy bar and its sunny, lace-curtained dining rooms, it’s almost two pubs in one, both as Irish as can be. Continue reading Irish Rover’s winter menu offers seasonal comfort→
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→
PHOTO: Ron JasinWhether you identify as a wine geek or a lofty connoisseur, if you fancy the fruit of the vine, chances are you’re already a fan of L&N Wine Bar and Bistro.
Its massive Cruvinet wine unit, the largest made, dispenses wines from 54 well-chosen bottles; an additional wine list raises options to 100 or more. You can order by the bottle, by the 6-ounce glass, or — best of all for the hobbyist — in 2-ounce tastes to line up into a flight.
But what if you’re not a wine connoisseur? Is there anything here for you?
Well, if you’re open to learning about wine, the abundant selection and affordable tastes — not to mention the guidance of savvy staff — can make your learning experience easy. Tastes start as low as $2.25, not for jug wine or blushy white zin, but offbeat options like Argentine Bonarda or a Grenache blend from Catalayud in Spain.
Don’t like wine? Enjoy an artisan beer or a cocktail. Even teetotalers can feel at home here: The well-fashioned American bistro fare goes very well with coffee, tea or Louisville pure tap.
Time flies when you’re having wine, and it’s hard to believe it’s been more than seven years now since L&N opened in its historic brick building — once a farmhouse — in the distinctly urban precinct where Butchertown meets Clifton.
Our friend Cynthia came through town the other day. She’s a wine geek and so are we, so L&N was the obvious destination. Just like that we were ensconced in comfortable seats at a good-size table in front of a fireplace, with wine glasses and appetizers lined up before us.
We noshed through crispy flatbread topped with Capriole cheese and fresh arugula ($8), deviled eggs kicked up with Fiedler Farm bacon, smoked paprika, cornichons and radish shoots ($6), cream-puffy gnocchi with mushrooms and butternut squash ($16), a juicy house-smoked pork chop perched on creamy mashed potatoes and topped with a sweet-tart compote of apples and mission figs ($22), and the always reliable L&N Burger, one of the best around ($11). A well-made crème brûlée and a scoop of house-made ice cream rounded off a memorable meal.
Dinner for three, including about 10 tastes of wines from around the world, came to a reasonable $114.75, plus a $25 tip. The share for two would have been around $70, plus tip.
