Commentary

G3 – A Great Bite at CarlyRae’s

(By Michael Tierney. Republished with permission from G3 Illustrated)

When I was little, my favorite family member was my Aunt Mooie. Her real name was Mildred; nobody ever really talked about how she got the nickname. Anyway, she was like the small town version of Auntie Mame, but instead of Martini’s and progressive education, Aunt Mooie was all Rice Crispy Treats and vacation bible school. For me, she was a rare and exotic breed of hostess who treasured her guests and poured love and care into every meal she put on her table – from her pea salad to fresh fruit cobblers – she made every guest feel like her most special one.

So this month we discovered Carly Rae’s, a place that is as warm and inviting as the comfort food it serves.
Continue reading G3 – A Great Bite at CarlyRae’s →

$ Budget (under $30), BBQ, Burgers & Down-Home, Downtown, NuLu and Butchertown, Frankfort Ave., Clifton, Crescent Hill

Right on ‘cue: three great spots for ribs

F.A.B.D. ribs
The ribs at Frankfort Avenue Beer Depot (F.A.B.D.) are possibly the best yet Photos by Robin Garr.

LEO’s Eat ‘n’ Blog with Louisville HotBytes
(Rite Way, Smoketown USA, F.A.B.D.)

Speak of barbecue, and many of us will visualize a rural scene: A tarpaper shack, well off the interstates out in blue-highway country, sporting a washing machine on the front porch and a primer-coated car sitting up on blocks in the front yard. Out back, a black iron drum smoker wafts up seductive scents of sweet hickory smoke and gently roasting pork. And then our mouths commence to watering.

In fact, nowhere is it written that proper barbecue requires a road trip. Rural though its roots may be, many a master of ‘cue – or his grandparents – has come to the city, where those aromatic smokers now stand proudly behind trim shotgun houses or sturdy brick storefronts, with nary a washing machine or wheelless ’39 Ford in sight.
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$ Budget (under $30), Baxter, Bardstown, Highlands, Downtown, NuLu and Butchertown, Italian (and Pizza)

Hey mambo, mangia Italiano!

Melillo's spaghetti
Le Gallo Rosso’s lasagne is as big as a brick, with hearty layers of pasta, ground pork and veal, well-fashioned tomato sauce and cheese. Photos by Robin Garr.

LEO’s Eat ‘n’ Blog with Louisville HotBytes
(Le Gallo Rosso, Melillo’s)

If you’ve been around the Louisville dining scene long enough to remember back when the old landmark Casa Grisanti was still a pizzeria, you know that long before there was trendy “Northern Italian” we had spaghetti with meatballs and plenty of spicy red tomato sauce. Extra credit for red-checked tablecloths, plastic grapevines and wicker-wrapped Chianti bottles recycled as candle holders.

To get technical about it, “Northern Italian” isn’t really authentic Italian so much as a somewhat idealized American rendition of popular dishes from all over Italy. The genre gained traction during the 1970s as a lighter, more upscale reaction to the hearty tomato-sauce Italian that had gone before.

In fact, the red-sauce genre is arguably more honest, drawing its inspiration from the heritage of Southern Italy – Calabria and Sicily – filtered through New York, New Jersey and the Northeast by immigrants in the Ellis Island era.
Continue reading Hey mambo, mangia Italiano! →

$ Budget (under $30), Baxter, Bardstown, Highlands, World Food

Zen and the art of vegetarian dining

Big Salad
Big Salad: City Café’s Jim Henry used to make this big salad for himself, but his customers at the Mid-City Mall location convinced him to add it to the menu. It’s a vegetarian meal in itself. Photos by Robin Garr.

LEO’s Eat ‘n’ Blog with Louisville HotBytes
(City Café, Zen Garden, Shiraz)

I’m a carnivore, an obligate carnivore. I like meat and find it hard to imagine life without beefsteaks, pork chops, poultry or fish on my plate.

And yet … and yet … when I wax philosophical, I can see some strong arguments for vegetarianism.

I can see it when I think about eating for health and nutrition; and I can see it when I remember reading “Diet for a Small Planet” back in the day, and learning just how many resources are spent on getting a steak to my table.
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$ Budget (under $30), Baxter, Bardstown, Highlands, Italian (and Pizza)

Pizza with a New York accent at Hero’s

Pizza at Hero's
Thin and foldable, NYC-style, a cheese slice and a pepperoni slice from Hero’s in Jeffersontown. Photos by Robin Garr

(Voice-Tribune, May 10, 2007)
Pizza has become an all-American food since immigrants from Southern Italy brought it over to the United States in Ellis Island days, and particularly since its popularity exploded nationwide after World War II.

What was originally a simple way for Italian peasant families to get rid of leftovers has become a national passion, with variations that range from New York City’s thin, portable pizza by the slice to Chicago’s deep-dish, casserole-style pie, and on to some of Wolfgang Puck’s far-out California creations. Salmon and caviar pizza with creme fraiche, anyone?
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$$$ Upscale ( $50 - $80), Bistros, Frankfort Ave., Clifton, Crescent Hill

54 bottles of wine on the wall …

Lamb pops
L&N Wine Bar and Bistro’s “lamb pops,” four bite-sized lamb chops over large Israeli couscous. It’s an appetizer that’s substantial enough to serve as a light main course. Photos by Robin Garr.

LEO’s Eat ‘n’ Blog with Louisville HotBytes

I’ve been predisposed to like L&N Wine Bar and Bistro ever since it opened. I’m a wine geek, and the owners are wine geeks. With its majestic wall of wine, a 54-bottle Cruvinet wine-storage facility and dispenser that’s the largest made, it boasts a wine program that’s second to none.

More than 100 wines are available for tasting, from as little as $2.50 for 2-ounce “taste” of several value-priced items to $60 for a bottle of more upscale wine. Connoisseurs may also choose from a short daily list of higher-end wines on the Cruvinet, or peruse the book-length cellar list.

But you don’t have to be a wine geek to enjoy this place: Continue reading 54 bottles of wine on the wall … →

$ Budget (under $30), BBQ, Burgers & Down-Home, Downtown, NuLu and Butchertown

Slugger Field fare is no picnic

Brats on the grill
There’s lots of food options at Slugger Field, including these brats and colorful grilled peppers. Photos by Robin Garr.

LEO’s Eat ‘n’ Blog with Louisville HotBytes
(Slugger Field, Derby weekend dining tips)

Not only is it Derby Week, but the Louisville Bats’ season is under way at Slugger Field, so even sports fans who have been sweating out the long months until the Cards and Cats are back in play have little to complain about.

But food lovers who enjoy a good dinner to go with the baseball game are pretty much out of luck at Slugger Field, where concession quality has dropped off a long way from the splendid fare that the memorable A. Ray Smith provided when he brought the old Redbirds to town at the Fairgrounds’ Cardinal Stadium back in the early ’80s.
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$$$ Upscale ( $50 - $80), Bistros, Frankfort Ave., Clifton, Crescent Hill

Psst! Try this Derby Daily Double

Shaking beef
Basa Modern Vietnamese’s Shaking Beef, a dish made famous by San Francisco’s Slanted Door. Photos by Robin Garr.

LEO’s Eat ‘n’ Blog with Louisville HotBytes
(Basa Modern Vietnamese, Mojito)

Derby is big in Louisville, not just for racing but for restaurants, too. If you don’t have reservations already for the popular spots, you’re pretty much out of luck unless you’re willing to take a place in line.

Restaurateurs rush to get new eateries open for Derby frenzy, scheduling grand openings to catch the Derby tide. Last year it was Proof on Main, Nio’s and the short-lived Danielle’s. In 2005 we got Blu in the Marriott, 316 Ormsby and that wacky Fourth Street Live.

This year two sophisticated new eateries with ethnic flavors form a winning daily double: Basa Modern Vietnamese in Crescent Hill is named after a Vietnamese fish. Mojito in Holiday Manor is named for a Cuban libation. Both spots are welcome additions, already generating a noisy buzz. You can put them both into an exacta box: They’re sure winners.
Continue reading Psst! Try this Derby Daily Double →

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