Category Archives: Mexican, Cuban, Caribbean

$ Budget (under $30), Downtown, NuLu and Butchertown, Mexican, Cuban, Caribbean, underSlideshowEntries, Voice-Tribune review, World Food

Kick (re)start Taco Punk? Sure, why not?

Taco Punk is just over a year old now in February 2013, and I am mighty happy to see it pass that first birthday, the make-or-break point that conventional wisdom sets as a marker of success in the restaurant business. 

Some observers might have doubted that owner-chef Gabe Sowder’s amiable NuLu storefront would reach this point, as it has faced more wacky challenges in its first 12 months than I’ve seen in quite a few years on the eats beat.
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$ Budget (under $30), A RESTAURANT LISTING..., Frankfort Ave., Clifton, Crescent Hill, Mexican, Cuban, Caribbean, underSlideshowEntries

Ramiro’s Cantina backs curb appeal with decent Mexican chow

Before we break to the food, let’s devote a moment or two to the appreciation of modern American folk art. Seriously, now, work with me on this. Visualize, if you will, Edward Hopper’s 1942 painting “Nighthawks,” three anonymous figures and a short-order cook seen through the plate-glass windows of a spartan diner on an empty city street very late at night.
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$ Budget (under $30), Downtown, NuLu and Butchertown, Mexican, Cuban, Caribbean, underSlideshowEntries, World Food

Taco Punk un-punk’d

A brief social media hurricane surrounded Taco Punk recently after the unofficial campus newspaper, The Louisville Cardinal, ran a sharply critical review that, among other things, found the hip NuLu hangout guilty of such high crimes as allowing a pricey Porsche to park out front, fostering gentrification and, it seemed, being imperialist 1-percenter piglets. In my Feb. 22 review, I had found it guilty of only misdemeanors: slacker service and fragile tortillas.

In the aftermath of the imperfect media storm, I decided to give them another shot, and I’m pleased to report that both issues are now well under control. Service was quick, competent and smiling, and my fresh corn tortilla was solid enough to bear its load of black beans, cheese and salsa with savoir faire. Let’s raise that rating to a thumbs-up 88. (Taco Punk, 736 E. Market St., 584-8226, tacopunk.com.)

$$ Modest ($30-$50), Hurstbourne, Middletown, Jeffersontown, LEO's Eats, Mexican, Cuban, Caribbean, New and noteworthy, underSlideshowEntries

Great Guac, great Mole, and more at Guaca Mole

Some guacamole walked into a bar, and the bartender said, “Hey! There’s a restaurant named after you.” “What? There’s a restaurant named Wilbur?”

Well, no. And my career as a stand-up comedian should probably end right there. After all, guacamole is nothing to joke about, or at least not much. And if you think guacamole is just some boring green stuff that you use as a dip at cheap Mexican restaurants, you might want to re-think that, too.
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$ Budget (under $30), $$ Modest ($30-$50), Bistros, Breakfast and lunch spots, sandwich spots, Mexican, Cuban, Caribbean, Outside the city, underSlideshowEntries

Bardstown: epicenter of bourbon and good eats

If you’re sitting in a friendly diner working on a stack of blueberry pancakes, and you suddenly realize the bar at the back of the room offers selected tastings of small-batch and single-barrel bourbons with tasting sheets to record your impressions, you have almost certainly found your way to Bardstown, Ky. Continue reading Bardstown: epicenter of bourbon and good eats →

$ Budget (under $30), Frankfort Ave., Clifton, Crescent Hill, Mexican, Cuban, Caribbean, underSlideshowEntries

A world of Mexican delights at El Mundo

You’ll find a lot of different kinds of Mexican eateries around town. “Mexican” dining experiences run the gamut from tacquerias so authentic that you’ll need to bring a Spanish-English dictionary (or at least a smile and a plan to point out what you want) to, well, Taco Bell, which barely qualifies as Mexican at all.
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$ Budget (under $30), Mexican, Cuban, Caribbean, St. Matthews, Westport Village, and environs, underSlideshowEntries

Chuy’s says “¡Hola, Amigo!” to Louisville

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 →

$ Budget (under $30), Commentary, Mexican, Cuban, Caribbean, St. Matthews, Westport Village, and environs

Let’s break our fast at Zapata’s Corner

breakfast pate
Zapata’s Huevos con Chorizos

LEO’s Eats with LouisvilleHotBytes

How about a little desayuno? Barring the Saturday bowl of menudo at the local taqueria, the regrettable closing of Bueños Dias Café in Jeffersonville left the area bereft of a really good Mexican breakfast … until the happy arrival of Zapata’s Corner in Middletown, refilling the space left vacant by the brief final incarnation of Mazzoni’s with a happy, colorful Latino vibe.
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$$ Modest ($30-$50), Baxter, Bardstown, Highlands, Commentary, Guest columnist, Mexican, Cuban, Caribbean, New and noteworthy

Tequila Factory manufactures fine Mexican chow

Tequila Factory

(CLOSED)

Thank goodness it’s not another faux Irish pub.

Tequila Factory Bar and Grill is the latest tenant in the revolving-door location at 917 Baxter Ave., the former home of @tmosphere, Bazo’s and two or three iterations of Nio’s, among other short-lived concepts.
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$ Budget (under $30), Commentary, Guest columnist, Mexican, Cuban, Caribbean, QuickBytes, St. Matthews, Westport Village, and environs

Another reason to love El Tarasco

I love El Tarasco’s St. Matthew’s property. I go there for lunch several times a month with my friend and business associate Jerry, and we’re never let down — when it comes to quality Mexican at a great price, it’s hard to beat. The chicken tacos are ridiculously good.
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