$$$$ Luxury ($80 and up), Bistros, Commentary, LEO's Eats, Northeast Metro, Outer East End

Meet the new Pine Room, something like the old Pine Room

Spring was in the air on the morning of March 10, 1977, when the Harrods Creek Volunteer Fire Department rolled out to an alarm at the old Pine Room restaurant on Upper River Road. A fire that began in the beloved restaurant’s kitchen quickly involved the rest of the building.

Before fire fighters could contain it, the building was gutted by fire, smoke and water. The restaurant, a local landmark since the 1940s, closed forever. In its heyday it had been a popular destination, known for its friendly saloon atmosphere, comfort food, and lounge pianist named Mable who kept a candle burning atop her grand piano.

Now, 40-some years later, the Pine Room is back, or something a lot like it, anyway. Continue reading Meet the new Pine Room, something like the old Pine Room →

$$ Modest ($30-$50), Baxter, Bardstown, Highlands, BBQ, Burgers & Down-Home, Commentary, LEO's Eats, Pubs, Brew Pubs, GastroPubs

Free-range chicken adds value at The Eagle

The Eagle landed in Louisville two years ago this month, fourth shop in a Cincinnati-based mini-chain. I have to confess that I didn’t pay much attention at first. But then I found out that The Eagle isn’t just another Highlands bar. Its fried chicken is also a big thing. It’s not your industrially fried chicken, either. It is, according to the firm’s website, “cage free, free roaming, all natural chicken.”

This is a big deal to me. I’d much rather enjoy cage-free birds if I can. Continue reading Free-range chicken adds value at The Eagle →

$$ Modest ($30-$50), Healthy fare, Southern Indiana, Vegetarian/Vegan

We eat healthy fare and the hell with it at CoreLife Eatery

“I say it’s spinach, and I say the hell with it.” This iconic New Yorker cartoon established a simple truth that was as valid when it was published in 1928 as it remains in 2018: For most of us, food that is good for us doesn’t appeal to our taste buds.

“Hold my beer,” responds CoreLife Eatery, a two-year-old, small but growing national restaurant chain that just landed in the metro amid the sprawl of Clarksville’s Veterans Parkway two months ago. Continue reading We eat healthy fare and the hell with it at CoreLife Eatery →

$ Budget (under $30), Coffee Shops & Desserts, Downtown, NuLu and Butchertown, LEO's Eats, QuickBytes

Ehrler’s is back, and it’s good

Nothing goes much better to rid your palate of the sad and mournful taste of raw kale than a scoop of delicious, creamy ice cream, and the serious shot of bourbon in Ehrler’s bourbon pecan fudge ($3.60 for a kiddie cup big enough for two kiddies) did the trick for me. Continue reading Ehrler’s is back, and it’s good →

Industry Standard, Marsha Lynch

Order Like a Pro

I know – you’re wondering if I’m really getting ready to school you on how to order food at a restaurant. This is a task nearly everyone does dozens (if not hundreds) of times a year. There’s no one special trick that will vault you over other diners to an extra level of respect from a restaurant’s staff, but I can offer a few pointers that might get you a higher standard of service when you’re dining out. Continue reading Order Like a Pro →

$$ Modest ($30-$50), Baxter, Bardstown, Highlands, LEO's Eats, Pacific Rim, World Food

Ramen Inochi offers a fine, warming noodle bowl

Thoughts upon dining at the amiable new Ramen Inochi, latest in the city’s growing circle of Asian soup eateries: If you’re ever in the mood to start a foodie fight, ask your friends whether ramen or pho is better. I tried this on Facebook and Twitter the other day and had three dozen arguments going by lunch.

But you don’t have to be a social media troll to love these traditional Asian soups, and Louisville clearly knows this. In the past few years we’ve seen a mini-tsunami of restaurants that specialize in these memorable soups.

So what’s the difference between ramen and pho, anyway? Continue reading Ramen Inochi offers a fine, warming noodle bowl →

$$ Modest ($30-$50), Breakfast and lunch spots, sandwich spots, Frankfort Ave., Clifton, Crescent Hill, LEO's Eats, Steakhouse

Brunch at Le Moo starts our day right

Le Moo just celebrated its third anniversary – its grand opening happened on Sept. 19, 2015 – and if it’s not your favorite steakhouse by now, it surely makes that grade with a lot of people. Ask for the best steak in town, and Le Moo will certainly be in the conversation along with a handful of other popular local and high-end corporate eateries.

What’s more, within six months of its opening, Food Network declared this Lexington Road landmark not merely Louisville’s best, but one of the 28 best spots for steak all across the nation. You could look it up.

But we’re not here to talk about steak dinners today. Continue reading Brunch at Le Moo starts our day right →

$$ Modest ($30-$50), LEO's Eats, Pacific Rim, Southern Indiana, World Food

Mai’s Thai still delivers the flavor

Some of you young’uns may not believe this, but there was a time, not all that long ago, when there was not a single Thai restaurant in the Louisville area. We might have read about the stuff, or even, if we were lucky, tasted it in trips to more sophisticated cities or to the Far East. Continue reading Mai’s Thai still delivers the flavor →

$ Budget (under $30), Breakfast and lunch spots, sandwich spots, Frankfort Ave., Clifton, Crescent Hill, LEO's Eats

A biscuit makes a meal at lovable Boujie Biscuit

Today let us consider the noble biscuit. An all-American delicacy with its roots in the South, this flaky, layered treat may be made with milk, buttermilk, or even cream. Some are made with lard, some with butter, but it’s always elevated with some form of fat worked gently into flour and leavened with baking powder. 

Biscuits may be flaky or crumbly, feathery or light, but softness always defines a good biscuit. Tough, gummy texture does not. A biscuit is almost always delicious.

Want a delicious biscuit? Welcome to Boujie Biscuit, where the massive, butter-streaked, square buttermilk biscuits meet all the criteria of excellent traditional Southern biscuits. Continue reading A biscuit makes a meal at lovable Boujie Biscuit →

Industry Standard, Marsha Lynch

Talk Like a Line Cook Day

September 19 was “Talk Like a Pirate Day” – one of those internet-created faux holidays everyone loves to talk about on social media and at the water cooler. (Do people in offices really gather around a water cooler anymore? I picture them alone at their desks hunched over their $5 pumpkin-spiced Life Water, scrolling through Instagram on their phones.)

Having worked in restaurants for many years, I can usually spot a line cook in the wild at 40 paces or less, even if they’ve eschewed their every day uniform for civvies. Continue reading Talk Like a Line Cook Day →

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