In a world as wild and wacky and wonderful as the one we live in, I’m reluctant to declare anything the only one of its kind. But the Last Supper painting in Chef Darren Ferguson’s newish SuperChefs in St. Matthews comes mighty close. Continue reading SuperChefs look up for inspiration, get down with fine food
Category Archives: Breakfast and lunch spots, sandwich spots
Pay what you can or pay it forward at The Table
Everything about The Table seemed so cool! Its lovely adaptive reuse of a sturdy 19th century warehouse building, comfortable and cozy, making fine use of exposed brick, rough-hewn wooden tables, attractive art and bright flowers. The lunch menu that isn’t overly long, but it was full of intriguing goodies that makes thoughtful use of fresh, locally produced ingredients. And the room crowded with happy people, filling the space with laughter and smiles. Continue reading Pay what you can or pay it forward at The Table
America. The Diner. Funky, fun and open almost 24 hours
Today let us celebrate the noble hamburger, an iconic confection that’s easier to eat than it is to research.
Aka “hamburg steak,” this ubiquitous ground-meat patty on a bun has been known by that name only since around the 1890s, the usually reliable Online Etymology Dictionary tells us. The hamburger’s historic connection to Hamburg, Germany, is also asserted but unproven, but that’s not important right now.
Continue reading America. The Diner. Funky, fun and open almost 24 hours
We mentor a budding food writer at Toonerville Deli
In this food-loving city full of food-fascinated folks, there must be a thousand food bloggers, freelancers and journalists. My friend Dana is one, and she does it well. So I was truly honored when Dana asked if I’d help mentor her 12-year-old cousin, Amber, visiting from Michigan, who wants to be a food writer, too.
How could I say no? Continue reading We mentor a budding food writer at Toonerville Deli
Epic Sammich Co. is not Rumplings, but it’ll do
For a too-short, brilliant seven months, the glory that was Rumplings blazed like a comet soaring across the sky of Louisville’s dining scene.
Then, just like that, one night in early June, Rumplings went dark, accompanied by a chorus of wails from despairing fans.
Okay. I admit it. That’s kind of dramatic. But dammit, that’s how I felt, and judging from the anguished voices I heard, I don’t think I was alone.
Continue reading Epic Sammich Co. is not Rumplings, but it’ll do
Lolly, Lolly, Lolly, get your donuts here
What warms an icy winter morning better than a hot, freshly made donut? Are you with me? Then you’ll want to Schoolhouse Rock right over to LowBrow across from Kroger, where a charming little donut shop run by a friendly Cambodian immigrant family recently opened in the tiny building that recently housed Chicago Gyros.
If you can’t wait to get them home or scarf them in your car, you can settle right down at either of two cozy tables. Go. You’ll be glad.
Clifton Donuts
2317 Brownsboro Road
749-6806
We Get Our Deli on at Stevens & Stevens
Mary took a bite of her sandwich – no easy task considering its oversize girth. She chewed gently, looked thoughtful, then firmly opined: “This is almost too much meat.”
Yes, this is one of those things that no one said, ever … until someone said it.
And it betrayed a basic failure to comprehend the simple reality of delicatessen tradition: “Too much meat,” meaning “generously, gloriously piled high,” is just what delis do.
Continue reading We Get Our Deli on at Stevens & Stevens
Eggs Over Frankfort Rings Diner-Style Breakfast Bell
Frankfort Avenue – or just plain “The Avenue,” as its neighborhood business association likes to call it – has come a mighty long way in the generation since the late, lamented Deitrich’s started serving creative cuisine in an upscale environment in the old Crescent Theater, a place that at the time had seen considerably better days.
Continue reading Eggs Over Frankfort Rings Diner-Style Breakfast Bell
Napa River Grill’s Sunday brunch is eggs-actly delicious
Today, let us consider the incredible egg: a gift of nature that’s supremely edible when we handle it right, but when it’s raw or overcooked, not so much.
You see, eggs coagulate, a process the American Egg Board explains as “the denaturation of protein, which is when proteins lose their native, water-soluble structure and become insoluble. … The change of state — from liquid to solid or semi-solid, known as coagulation or gelation — results when the egg protein structure is altered from its native form by whipping or heating, or both.”
Yeah, right, OK, so what? Well, as it happens, this process can be both a blessing and a curse for those who love eggs and the chefs who cook them. Continue reading Napa River Grill’s Sunday brunch is eggs-actly delicious
Cheddar Box? Cheddar Box, Too
My friend Tom has been in Louisville for a few months now, and he knows his way around pretty well. But he got a little confused when we got together for lunch the other day at Cheddar Box Too.
Tom said his GPS wasn’t offering much help, but when he wheeled into the Chenoweth Square shopping center from the east, rolled past Majid’s and Paul’s and then spotted my car parked right under a sign that read “Cheddar Box,” he figured he was there. Not quite, Tom. But close. Continue reading Cheddar Box? Cheddar Box, Too