$$ Modest ($30-$50), Brunch, Frankfort Ave., Clifton, Crescent Hill, LEO's Eats

Fork & Barrel’s brunch soothes and satisfies

There is something indulgent about brunch that we don’t often experience at even a lavish dinner. It’s not necessarily a matter of gluttony: I’d rather choose from a selection of chef-created morning and midday dishes rather than dive into a gigantic buffet spread under plastic hoods known as sneeze guards. Ick.

No, the joy of brunch has something to do with comfort food – breakfast for lunch – elevated by culinary touches that we aren’t likely to replicate at home. Continue reading Fork & Barrel’s brunch soothes and satisfies →

$$ Modest ($30-$50), LEO's Eats, Pubs, Brew Pubs, GastroPubs, St. Matthews, Westport Village, and environs, World Food

Around the world on a plate at Diamond Street Grub

I’m generally a bit skittish about restaurants that offer a mix of different world cuisines that extend well beyond the chef’s personal DNA. How can one chef master so many culinary arts?

So I wasn’t sure what to expect when Diamond Street Grub & Hops came to town last summer: Its international menu draws randomly from the street-food traditions of an edible United Nations. Continue reading Around the world on a plate at Diamond Street Grub →

$ Budget (under $30), BBQ, Burgers & Down-Home, LEO's Eats, Mexican, Cuban, Caribbean, Soul Food, West End

Galan’s offers a tasty oasis in a West End food desert

Many of Louisville’s West End neighborhoods are defined as food deserts, places where low-income neighbors don’t have easy access to supermarkets. But Carlos Galan is trying to do something about that.

Galan, who came to Louisville from Florida five years ago with his wife, Kim, saw potential in the West End, and he is taking practical steps to bring food to the Market Street neighborhood where Russell meets Portland. Continue reading Galan’s offers a tasty oasis in a West End food desert →

$$$ Upscale ( $50 - $80), Baxter, Bardstown, Highlands, LEO's Eats, Mexican, Cuban, Caribbean, New and noteworthy

Noche, the church of Mexican BBQ

The tall gray stone sanctuary of Calvary Lutheran Church was approaching its 90th anniversary when its congregation, aging and declining in numbers, regretfully decided to pack it in. “Emptying the building. Sad work,” the Rev. Austin Newberry wrote in February 2016 in the final post on Calvary’s Facebook page.

But now the lofty nave is filled with a new kind of spirit as Noche Mexican BBQ, opened early in August, settles in. Continue reading Noche, the church of Mexican BBQ →

$$ Modest ($30-$50), Hurstbourne, Middletown, Jeffersontown, Indian, LEO's Eats, Vegetarian/Vegan

What’s a bhaji pav? Honest Indian’s new delights

Way back in 1975, when hardly anyone around here knew what street food was, Vijay Agrawal took his first steps toward culinary success when he added bhaji pav – a popular Mumbai veggie curry dish served with white rolls – to the selection of his outdoor chaat (snack) cart in downtown Ahmedabad, India’s fifth-largest city.

People loved it, and before long Agrawal opened his first sit-down restaurant. He called it “Honest,” and the food was honest, and before long he had shops all over Ahmedabad, then all across India, prompting jokes about “The Indian McDonald’s.” Continue reading What’s a bhaji pav? Honest Indian’s new delights →

Louisville's top spot for talk and reviews from the food and restaurant scene