Category Archives: Commentary

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

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 →

Commentary

Listen up, Santa! Put this on your restaurant list!

By Robin Garr
LouisvilleHotBytes.com

Here’s a funny thing about Louisville and all of us who love our city’s vibrant restaurant scene: We love things the way they are … and we complain about all the ways it could be better.

“We need a Greek restaurant,” we yell. “And a French sidewalk cafe! And where is our real Jewish-style deli!?”

The chant goes on, and to be honest, there’s probably more justification for our wailing than ever. As we go into the third year of the Covid-19 pandemic, the losses to our scene have been brutal. Continue reading Listen up, Santa! Put this on your restaurant list! →

Commentary

Can pizza be (gasp) bad for us? Yes and no.

By Robin Garr
LouisvilleHotBytes.com

We dived into Louisville Pizza Week with abandon and enjoyed more than a dozen tasty pies at local pizzerias. Then it was Thanksgiving, and we loaded up on turkey and all the traditional trimmings. So how are you feeling right now, Bubba?

What’s more, the holidays, that lazy, hazy time of good things to eat in joyous excess, are full upon us for the next few weeks.

So here’s the question: Is it even possible to eat well, dine out often – including plenty of pizza – and maintain our health and reasonable weight? Continue reading Can pizza be (gasp) bad for us? Yes and no. →

Commentary

We sample some old favorites that never go wrong

Looking for a nice, casual place where we could settle in with our laptops and get some work done over lunch, my friends Amy and Susan and I found our way to Heart and Soy.

I was expecting good cheap eats. I was delighted to find something more: A delicious old favorite that tickled my taste buds with memories of times past: Quang’s traditional yellow noodles ($11.50).

Why the nostalgia? Continue reading We sample some old favorites that never go wrong →

Commentary

Oriental House returns, just as good as ever

By Robin Garr
LouisvilleHotBytes.com

When Oriental House posted the news of its reopening on social media earlier this month, it made me so happy that I wanted to “Like” it twice!

“We just want to thank everybody for the patience, love, and support throughout this journey,” the owners wrote. “This will be our first time opening our dining rooms to the public since the pandemic, so please continue to stay patient with us! Takeout will still be available as well.”

This was huge for me. I’ve been a fan of Chinese cuisine since, well, most of my life. Continue reading Oriental House returns, just as good as ever →

Commentary

As winter nears, restaurant stress is about more than Covid

By Robin Garr
LouisvilleHotBytes.com

Here comes another winter, the third since the global pandemic started early in 2020, and – talking mostly about the restaurant, food and drink scene here – where in the heck are we?

For a lot of us, things are feeling pretty good. Sure, quite a few of us have at least one Covid encounter for ourselves or a friend or loved one to spin tales about, But things are looking better now, right? Continue reading As winter nears, restaurant stress is about more than Covid →