Nine chaplains walked into a bar … which sounds like the lead-in to a really bad joke. It’s a true story, though. I’ve been hanging out with hospital chaplains this summer, and when a bunch of us wanted to find an affordable, decent lunch in relaxing surroundings after a long morning meeting in the East End, Austin’s emerged as a convenient and decent dining option. Continue reading Nine out of nine chaplains say yes to Austin’s
Brunch at the Bristol: The Tradition Endures
Brunch … again? Well, sure! Why not? Brunch, after all, is perhaps the most civilized of meals, a lavish repast shared with friends or family in the low-pressure environment of a favorite setting.
And when better than on those lazy, hazy days of summer Sunday afternoons. Or, now that I think of it, even summer mornings, now that Louisville has joined our Southern Indiana neighbors in permitting the sale of adult beverages with your Sunday meal beginning as early as 10 a.m. Continue reading Brunch at the Bristol: The Tradition Endures
Kentucky’s nectar and fine fare lift Bourbons Bistro
With apologies to Bulwer-Lytton, it really was a dark and stormy night. Rain pounded down. Thunder rolled and lightning flashed — and smartphones throughout the dim room flashed red, pink and green, too, as diners nervously checked the weather radar.
Suddenly a rumbling, clanking roar rang out! It sounded just like a freight train! A tornado? Well, no. It really was the sound of a freight train. This is a thing that just happens when you’re dining out along Frankfort Avenue. Continue reading Kentucky’s nectar and fine fare lift Bourbons Bistro
Treat your servers well
In my previous column, I wrote about the bizzaro owners of Amy’s Baking Company in Scottsdale, Ariz. — a couple so weirdly paranoid and self-absorbed, so invested in their own bad behavior, they have totally skewed the spectrum of guest abuse forever. And then I was introduced via the Internet to the creature that is Taylor Chapman.
Continue reading Treat your servers well
Sunday brunch tough choice at Captain’s Quarters
Ahh, Captain’s Quarters! From its striking ski-lodge-style wood and glass building to the decks that ramble over its scenic riverfront slope just up the Ohio at Harrods Creek, within skyline’s view of downtown Louisville, what’s not to like? Continue reading Sunday brunch tough choice at Captain’s Quarters
Equus evolves, but its character stays intact
Few of us are eager to admit we’re getting older. Every now and then, though, some sudden recognition of time’s passing steps up and smacks us in the face with a solid reality check.
Take Equus, for example: A local destination restaurant that opened just a few years ago. Well, OK, OK, it opened in 1985, but who’s counting? Not me, that’s for sure. In some ways, after all, Equus never seems to change very much.
Continue reading Equus evolves, but its character stays intact
Don’t expect ‘authentic,’ but the apps satisfy at PF Chang’s
I love Chinese food, and I’ve loved it since I was a little boy, when the only places you could get it in Louisville were the old Hoe Kow — then at Bowman Field, gone for years — and the sibling eateries House of Chen in Shively and Oriental House in St. Matthews. Only the last remains, and Grandma and Grandpa would probably recognize only part of its 21st century menu.
After all, back in those days when the Beatles and the Stones and Dylan were new, so was Chinese food. Well, not to the Chinese, who’ve been eating it for millennia, but certainly to folks in Louisville who were suspicious. Continue reading Don’t expect ‘authentic,’ but the apps satisfy at PF Chang’s
Westport Road adds pitas and tortillas to the traditional whitebread
My friend Anne and I wanted to catch a quick lunch close to the office the other day, so we wheeled down the way just a mile or two and cut into a gritty little strip center with a Mexican grocery and taqueria on one end and an Iranian grocery and shawarma shop on the other.
Downtown? Nope! This little center of international good eats sits on the south side of suburban Westport Road about halfway between Westport Village and Springhurst, but its culinary offerings differ mightily from the modern delights of the more traditional suburban centers. Continue reading Westport Road adds pitas and tortillas to the traditional whitebread
Coals Brings The Heat To Make A Fine Pizza
If you grew up eating pizza in Louisville – or for that matter just about anywhere in the U.S. outside, possibly, the urban Northeast – you may be excused for believing that pizza is all about the toppings. Sausage, pepperoni, mushrooms, onions, bacon and pineapple and even anchovies, oh, my: Pile ’em high! And don’t forget to dollop on the sweet, sweet tomato sauce and a lake of molten, stringy cheese. Continue reading Coals Brings The Heat To Make A Fine Pizza
Zen and the art of oh-no-they-didn’t
Last week, I read with interest multiple media accounts of the saga of Amy’s Baking Company, a restaurant in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Amy’s is the latest of a long list of ailing restaurants to throw itself into the arms of the producers of “Kitchen Nightmares.” “KN” stars ubiquitous Chef Gordon Ramsay, who famously swoops in to tell you what you’re doing wrong. Nearly every episode follows the same formula; Ramsay is disgusted by your cooking, disgusted by your slovenly ways, and put off by your dated décor.
Continue reading Zen and the art of oh-no-they-didn’t