Category Archives: A RESTAURANT LISTING…

$$ Modest ($30-$50), A RESTAURANT LISTING..., Charcuterie, Farm-to-table, Frankfort Ave., Clifton, Crescent Hill

We go for the big cheese, and charcuterie too, at Harvey’s

By Robin Garr
LouisvilleHotBytes.com

Charcuterie. Not long ago, most of us weren’t even sure how to pronounce it. Now, says the National Restaurant Association, “Charcuterie makes the cut for 2023. A Top 3 hot menu trend and No. 1 in appetizers … charcuterie is a rising star on menus.”

Indeed, charcuterie is showing up in restaurants all over town. You can get a board on the menu at Red Hog, North of Bourbon, Mussel & Burger Bar, Monnik Beer Co., where the $21 charcuterie plate features local meats and cheeses … did I mention that charcuterie is trending? We’re even getting shops that specialize in charcuterie: Board and You in New Albany will fashion you a board to go, and so will Cultured – Cheese and Charcuterie Bar in Butchertown. Not to mention Harvey’s in Clifton, a newish spot that I’ve been meaning to check out since it opened at the end of February, when it moved into this storefront in the Clifton Lofts condo building from its former stand in the Logan Street Market. Continue reading We go for the big cheese, and charcuterie too, at Harvey’s →

$$$ Upscale ( $50 - $80), Bistros, Black-owned, Breakfast and lunch spots, sandwich spots, Brunch, Hurstbourne, Middletown, Jeffersontown

The early bird gets the table at House of Marigold

By Robin Garr
LouisvilleHotBytes.com

“Nobody goes there anymore. It’s too crowded.” Yogi Berra may or may not have said that, and if he did, he was talking about Ruggeri’s, an iconic Italian restaurant on The Hill in St. Louis.

But Yogi might as well have been talking about The House of Marigold, a stylish new restaurant out Shelbyville Road. This breakfast-and-lunch spot opened late in March and got so popular, so fast, that it took me until now to find a way to beat the crowds and get in. Continue reading The early bird gets the table at House of Marigold →

$$$ Upscale ( $50 - $80), Downtown, NuLu and Butchertown, Farm-to-table, Healthy fare, Vegetarian/Vegan

Creative Naive scores high on our critic’s criteria

By Robin Garr
LouisvilleHotBytes.com

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.

A recent visit to Naive Kitchen + Bar in Butchertown ticked off every one of those boxes, cementing its place among my local favorites. Continue reading Creative Naive scores high on our critic’s criteria →

$$ Modest ($30-$50), Italian (and Pizza), Northeast Metro, Outer East End

We pick a plate of pickle pizza at Craft House

By Robin Garr
LouisvilleHotBytes.com

I’m sure I’ve confessed this before: I’m a pizza snob. I learned pizza in New. York City, with graduate studies in Italy, and I want my pizza authentic, artisanal, and made according to tradition. Pineapple pizza? Harrumph! I’m not even comfortable with jalapeños or broccoli on my pie.

But then I spotted a pickle pizza with Pop’s Pepper Patch Spicy Habagardil pickles on top. Hey, now! A strange yet irresistible call lured me out to Craft House Pizza’s new shop on Hurstbourne Parkway. I need this in my life! Continue reading We pick a plate of pickle pizza at Craft House →

$$$$ Luxury ($80 and up), Bistros, White tablecloth, deluxe

Anoosh Bistro delights as always

By Robin Garr
LouisvilleHotBytes.com

Between the budget impact of the pandemic and the time most of us spent hiding in our houses, I haven’t been to many fancy, upscale restaurants lately.

Did I say “Lately”? Let’s say I might have had one, maybe two, pricey dinners out since March 2020! I imagine a lot of you are in a similar place.

But sooner or later, it’s time to dine. And so, to celebrate my birthday last month, we dressed up and headed out to Anoosh Bistro. Continue reading Anoosh Bistro delights as always →

$$ Modest ($30-$50), Hurstbourne, Middletown, Jeffersontown, Mexican, Cuban, Caribbean, Outer East End

We anticipate Taco Week at Gustavo’s

By Robin Garr
LouisvilleHotBytes.com

I hope everyone enjoyed Louisville Taco Week last week and ate your fill. There’s a lot to like about a promotion that brings you tacos for $2.50 a plate at close to 20 local Mexican-style eateries!

I had big plans, but peaked too soon. All the advance advertising gave me such a powerful taco crave that I rushed out to Gustavo’s Mexican Grill and ate my fill a week before the event.

It was worth it.
Continue reading We anticipate Taco Week at Gustavo’s →

$$ Modest ($30-$50), Hurstbourne, Middletown, Jeffersontown, Indian

Is this Paradise? Indian buffet is back

By Robin Garr
LouisvilleHotBytes.com

Remember back before Covid when restaurant buffets were commonplace? Lots of people love a buffet meal, and why not? You get abundant choice, all you can eat, and there’s no wait for a server and chef to do their work before you can pitch in.

That’s a lot to like, but a lot of people are wary of the buffet, and with good reason. Continue reading Is this Paradise? Indian buffet is back →

$$ Modest ($30-$50), Bistros, Frankfort Ave., Clifton, Crescent Hill, Pubs, Brew Pubs, GastroPubs

Every day is St. Patrick’s Day at The Irish Rover

By Robin Garr
LouisvilleHotBytes.com

Every year on St. Patrick’s Day, Louisville’s Irish Rover famously holds a humongous party, featuring an oversize tent that covers most of the parking lot, live Irish music, and plenty of great Irish food and gallons of dark Irish beer.

It’s fun, I’m told. But I’ve never been. Big, noisy crowds guzzling draft beer outdoors on a brisk March day, even with the comfort of a tent loaded with toasty heaters, is just not my style.

But catching up with The Rover for lunch the day after St. Patrick’s, enjoying the warm and cozy Irish pub comfort of The Rover’s historic Frankfort Avenue building on a more normal day? Priceless. Continue reading Every day is St. Patrick’s Day at The Irish Rover →

$$ Modest ($30-$50), BBQ, Burgers & Down-Home, Frankfort Ave., Clifton, Crescent Hill

Meat or no meat: The Smokery has you covered

By Robin Garr
LouisvilleHotBytes.com

A vegan walked into a barbecue joint. What’s the punchline?

Actually, there’s no punchline. I’m not a vegan myself. But I can see the ethos: The commercial agriculture that’s necessary to have everyone eating tasty animals is bad for the environment. It’s bad for our health. And it’s pretty obviously bad for the animals who have to be killed for our gustatory enjoyment.

For reasons such as these, growing numbers of people have gone vegan, vegetarian, or flexitarian recently, and that’s why I always try to include at least one meat-free dish in each review.

This can be a challenge, though, when I visit a new barbecue joint. Like this week, when I followed the delicious scent of hickory smoke to The Smokery, a new eatery in a small building on Frankfort Avenue in Clifton. Continue reading Meat or no meat: The Smokery has you covered →

Commentary, Pacific Rim

Streaming and dining: Korean drama imparts a crave

By Robin Garr
LouisvilleHotBytes.com

I had never envisioned myself as a fan of South Korean K-dramas, but that was before a Netflix promotion drew me into the fictional life of Extraordinary Attorney Woo.

Now I’m almost through binging this sweet, sometimes challenging drama about the brilliant 20-something Korean attorney Woo Young-woo (played by Park Eun-bin), who, as Netflix explains it, “faces challenges in the courtroom and beyond as a newbie at a top law firm in Seoul and a woman on the autism spectrum.”

Before long I had added a Korean module to my Duolingo routine so I could learn characters in hangul, the Korean alphabet. And most of all, I found myself deeply craving the only food item that Young-woo enjoys: Kimbap. Continue reading Streaming and dining: Korean drama imparts a crave →