I still mourn the 2010 departure of Red Pepper, Louisville’s best Chinese restaurant ever. As good as it was, Red Pepper owner Yuan Hua told me when it closed, the combination of a $5,000 monthly lease payment and a respected Sichuan chef who required fair payment for his skills, sent it on to restaurant Nirvana after a short, bright two-year tenure.
Quick! What’s the longest-lived Louisville restaurant that’s been in continuous business at its original location? I’m going to say Cottage Inn, where we, our parents, and maybe even our great-great grandparents have been enjoying hearty down-home country fare since 1929. Continue reading Cottage Inn going strong near century mark→
Thanks to HotBytes Forum member Mary Anne for contributing these photos from a recent soft opening event at Kaelin’s 80/20, soon to open as successor to the beloved Kaelin’s (“If you can’t stop, please wave”) on Newburg Road. Continue reading Kaelin’s 80/20 soft opening→
Certainly no one expected the monsoon-like rain storm and hail that smashed across Westport Road in February, dealing Artesano Vino Tapas y Mas a damaged roof and flooded dining room. The repair job took about two months, and the occasion for a reboot prompted a new look, some new dishes, and a new executive chef, Brian Curry, who came over from Napa River Grill to tweak the menu and oversee Artesano’s April reopening.
We dropped in the other night with a group of friends, and I’m delighted to report that the new Artesano is just as good as ever, maybe even a small step up the evolutionary ladder. Continue reading Artesano bounces back from spring flood→
I answered the phone at work the other day, and a guy from Yelp was on the line. He gave off sort of a greasy vibe, if you know what I mean. Continue reading A Yelp in the Wilderness→
It is so tempting to start with a joke about a restaurant named Naïve that I’m just going to resist temptation and not even go there. Seriously, the ethos behind the name of this charming new spot on the edge of Butchertown is so sweet that it deserves to stand on its own:
“We see the world as a place of hope,” Naïve’s owners write on the restaurant website. “Maybe that’s naive. But maybe it’s one of our greatest strengths. Because we’re not afraid to think big, with no preconceived notions. With a connection to what’s real, from the food we eat to the relationships we nourish.” Continue reading Naïve’s sustainable ethos yields delicious fare→
Three years ago two interesting new locally owned fast-casual eateries came to town, and I loved them both: Con Huevos set a new standard with its delicious, chef-driven Mexican breakfast and lunch. Joella’s first introduced us to Nashville-style hot chicken, a feisty genre that might remind you of Indi’s hot fried chicken but that’s really not the same.
Let’s tear down that wall, the imaginary one along Ninth Street that some people think separates our West End neighbors from the rest of us. I can’t think of a better time than Derby season to do it, and I’ve got a great destination in mind: Roof Top Grill, a friendly eatery that turns out some of the best Jamaican food around. Continue reading Discover the Jamaican joys of Roof Top Grill→
Derby Week is almost upon us! All over the city, chefs and restaurant managers are tweaking their menus, their training and their scheduling, anticipating the many Louisvillians and out-of-towners who will flood their establishments in the coming days. You and your guests can have successful Derby dining experiences in the River City during this whirlwind time if you follow a few simple guidelines. Continue reading Do’s and Don’ts of Derby dining→
I love labneh, the thick, tangy, strained-yogurt cheese of the Eastern Mediterranean. It was a treat to get a dab of labneh, dotted with pumpkin seeds, atop a risotto at Marketplace last week, but a bite only made me want more. So we headed over to the highly regarded Aladdin’s Cafe in New Albany the other day, where you can get the stuff in a sandwich or on a plate.
