Category Archives: Commentary

Robin Garr’s musings about food and restaurant matters that don’t fit neatly into the “review” category.

Commentary

Feed Louisville: Chefs fighting houselessness

By Robin Garr
LouisvilleHotBytes.com

Early in 2020, Chef Rhona Bowles Kamar was trying to figure out what she wanted to do in life. Recently divorced, and out of the job she’d done as co-owner and chef at Ramsi’s Cafe on the World for 25 years, she was doing some catering and wondering what to do next.

Then came Covid-19. Restaurants were closed, the catering business cratered, and in a random encounter she met Donny Greene, a local activist who works in solidarity with Louisville’s houseless community. Continue reading Feed Louisville: Chefs fighting houselessness →

Commentary

A smile and a word can bridge the language gap

By Robin Garr
LouisvilleHotBytes.com

¡Bueños días! Nihao! Konnichiwa! Bonjou! Xin Chào! Annyeonghaseyo! ? káàsán!

And there you have it! A simple, multilingual glossary to help bridge the language gap – let’s not call it a barrier – when you take your seat and greet the server at, respectively, a Latinx, Chinese, Japanese, Haitian, Chinese, Korean, or Nigerian restaurant.

There’s nothing quite like greeting a person in their own language to get your encounter off on the right foot, even if you don’t have much of a common language. Continue reading A smile and a word can bridge the language gap →

Commentary

Dining solo: No fear, no shame, just do it

By Robin Garr
LouisvilleHotBytes.com

Years ago, after I left the newly corporate Courier-Journal, I went to work for a national non-profit based in New York City. It was a fascinating job that took me all around the country, visiting and reporting on creative grassroots organizations in all 50 states.

It was fun, stressful at times, and at the end of just about every day filled with meeting, chatting with, and interviewing grassroots heroes, I was ready for some quiet time alone … and a good dinner with only my thoughts or a good book for company. Continue reading Dining solo: No fear, no shame, just do it →

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 →

Commentary, Seafood & Water's Edge

Quoth The Raven, “Gimme more fish!”

By Robin Garr
LouisvilleHotBytes.com

It’s fish fry season in Louisville again! We’re back in that season of Lent when you don’t have to be Catholic to go gaga over Friday fish fries at dozens of local parishes … and a couple of Episcopal churches, too.

Now, for the record, all year is fish-fry season in this river city. Perhaps owing to a substantial rush of German, Irish, Italian, and Lebanese Catholic immigrants during the 19th century, when the L&N railroad would rush fish and oysters up from the Gulf in ice-filled boxcars, Louisville is crazy for seafood all year ‘round.

But that fishy history doesn’t deter us from piling on another layer of culinary excitement when those Friday Lenten fries return. If you’d like to track down a favorite church fish fry, or discover what’s available near you, here are a few handy sources: Continue reading Quoth The Raven, “Gimme more fish!” →

Commentary

Happy, cozy, magical, gemütlich: Why we love those special eateries

By Robin Garr
LouisvilleHotBytes.com

I love it when one of my columns sparks a conversation about a similar-but-different idea. Consider my comment in last week’s review:

“What do I like so much about Con Huevos? As simply as I can explain it, it’s a happy place.”

That seems simple enough. It’s concise, but hardly a quote for the ages. But those few words prompted more response than just about anything else I’ve said recently. Continue reading Happy, cozy, magical, gemütlich: Why we love those special eateries →

Commentary

Our critic shares a few secrets of the food writers

By Robin Garr
LouisvilleHotBytes.com

While I was power-walking a mile the other morning, I plugged in The Daily podcast from The New York Times and realized to my delight that they were interviewing one of my favorite food critics: The Times’ Pete Wells.

All right! That put a little more bounce in my step. I really like Pete Wells, and if I don’t exactly model my writing chops on Pete, I do like his work. I enjoyed hearing him chatting with The Daily’s host, Michael Barbaro, about his craft as a food writer, his love of food, and how everything changed when the pandemic hit New York City.

I thought about this, and I thought, “Hmmm.” I’m no Pete Wells. I don’t have Pete’s budget, and I’m arguably not as funny. Still, in the context of that interview, I had a thought: Why not share a few things you might not know about my approach to restaurant writing in Louisville? Continue reading Our critic shares a few secrets of the food writers →

Commentary

C- c- changes … all around our dining scene

By Robin Garr
LouisvilleHotBytes.com

We lament a lot about all the restaurants we love that have closed during the pandemic. Heck, we lament a lot about all the restaurants we love that have closed before that, probably all the way back to the days when Louisville was just a growing river port town.

But we all know that the pandemic has made things worse. The loss of Decca, Harvest and Rye changed the face of the Nulu district forever. No, those spaces won’t stand vacant for long. But the look and feel of the neighborhood is changing, and that involves more than just new names on the signs out front. Continue reading C- c- changes … all around our dining scene →

Commentary

Complaints: Who’s got ‘em? Just about everyone

By Robin Garr
LouisvilleHotBytes.com

If you felt a little annoyed about something going wrong during a recent restaurant dining experience and wanted to shout a complaint, you’re not alone. My recent 40-minute wait for a glass of water left me feeling crabby, for sure. Order one thing, get something different. Spotting wildlife on plates, tables, or buffets. And then there was my friend who got a mouthful of twist-tie in her fettuccine alfredo. Or another friend’s Band-aid on a breadstick. Ick. And so it goes.

Indeed, negative online reviews for U.S. businesses jumped by 3 percent between April 2022 and the end of the year, the industry journal Nation’s Restaurant News reported. Restaurants and bars saw the biggest upticks in negative reviews, followed by construction, education and hobbies and crafts. Continue reading Complaints: Who’s got ‘em? Just about everyone →

Commentary

Another year, lots more great dishes

By Robin Garr
LouisvilleHotBytes.com

When The New York Times recently listed its 50 favorite restaurants around the nation for 2022, I was a little sad to notice that they didn’t even give Louisville a mention. Our neighbors in Nashville got two top-table mentions, but we were left with our hands empty, standing by the road in the gathering darkness, softly sniffling.

But the lack of big-city appreciation does not signify that there’s nothing good here. Our restaurants may not have impressed The New York Times, but quite a few specific dishes from places I’ve reviewed this year sure impressed me. Let’s do a quick review. If you like the sound of these delights, you may still be able to get most of them, either currently or when they come back into seasonal rotation.

First, though, what exactly does it take for a dish to impress me? Continue reading Another year, lots more great dishes →