Ah, the farmers’ market! Fresh local peaches, tomatoes, corn, tons of produce! But a vegan fried egg wasn’t on my bingo card. Of course I had to try it.
Now, to clarify, pastured hens’ eggs stuffed into hefty burritos are a standard feature at the St. Matthews Farmers Market and many more of the metro’s two dozen-plus farmers’ markets.
But a vegan fried egg, sunnyside up with a bright yellow yolk looking up at us from its shiny white nest, all of it based entirely on plants without an animal-sourced molecule in sight? How can such a thing even be?
Don’t stop me if I’ve told you this before, but I’m not really a big fan of restaurant buffets. Oh, the all-you-can-eat part ccan be nice, but I fret a little about freshness, serving temperature, even sanitation. Do those glass “sneeze shields” even work?
One of the many memorable immigrant stories in Louisville culinary history wrapped up last month when Chef Anoosh Shariat concluded a 30-year career in local kitchens, retiring from his namesake Anoosh Bistro. Over a year earlier, Shariat had trimmed his workload by selling his other popular East End eatery, Noosh Nosh.
New management at both establishments was quick to assure a wary public that no major changes would be forthcoming at either of the restaurants, which are situated just across a parking lot from each other at Brownsboro Center.
When I get a restaurant meal, I look for a number of things whether I’m reviewing or not, but especially if I am.
• I like a sense of design and style that doesn’t get in the way of comfort.
• I like good service. Friendly is fine. Fawning is not. And competence matters.
• I like a menu that’s clear, informative and easy to read in dim light; that lets me know what a dish is like. Extra points for naming the sources of meats and produce.
• Most of all, I like good food. Isn’t that what a restaurant is for? And “like” turns to “love” if the food isn’t just good but shows off the chef’s creativity and bold experimentation.
I’m pretty sure I unleashed a small rant last autumn when the Delta variant was coming on, threatening to retreat into takeout dining until things blew over a bit.
I didn’t actually do that. I’m vaccinated, and now boosted too, so what, me worry?
If you still think the recent wave of faux meats made from plants is just a passing fad that won’t last, consider this: On Monday, KFC rolled out Beyond Meat’s new plant-based chicken nuggets for a short-term test at all 4,000 U.S. shops, boxed not in the traditional red but a tasteful environmental green. Continue reading When KFC gets faux chik’n, plant-based meat’s time has come→
It has been almost two years since a maintenance-related roof collapse abruptly closed four popular restaurants in the Gallerias at St. Matthews strip on Oechsli Avenue in St. Matthews.
The roof remains unrepaired, the building is up for sale, and litigation is pending. Under the added weight of the Covid-19 pandemic, each of the four eateries – Del Frisco’s, Havana Rumba, Charim Korean Restaurant, and Half Peach Bakery & Cafe – has struggled to deal with insurance and legal issues as they fought to recover and relocate. Continue reading We welcome Half Peach back after a rough spell→
I’m not vegan, although I can see the argument against industrially produced dairy products, and I don’t even like milk. It would be hard for me to give up favorites like artisanal cheeses, pastured eggs, and ice cream, though.
But that ice-cream thing may be changing. The other day I noticed a case at Graeter’s promoting its new line of Graeter’s-branded Perfect Indulgence Vegan ice cream, animal free and lactose free in assorted flavors at $7.99 for a pint. Continue reading We scream, do you scream, for ice not-cream?→
I had a pit beef barbecue sandwich the other day that was so good it made my head spin. And here’s the kicker: This sandwich was vegan, made entirely from vegetables without a trace of meat.
How can this be? This sandwich, so delicious that I can still taste it in my mind’s palate a couple of days later, came from V-Grits, not just one of my favorite vegan restaurants but one of my favorite restaurants … period. Continue reading V-Grits is head-spinning good, even if you’re not vegan→
Following on his success with vegan takes on popular fast-food dishes like the Farby, an Arby’s knockoff made without a molecule of meat, Morels Cafe’s proprietor Stanley Chase has now turned his attention to a seemingly even more impossible task.
Behold, Morels Vegan BBQ Smokehouse, where Chase is creating vegetarian barbecued pulled “pork” and meat-free sausages that one could easily mistake for the real thing. Chase says vegetarian barbecue is a new concept, with similar restaurants in only two other places in the U.S. that he knows of, both very popular on their home ground: Homegrown Smoker in Portland, Oregon, and Monk’s Vegan Smokehouse in Brooklyn. Continue reading Morels smokes serious ‘que … without meat→
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