Anybody want a little mutton? I can hear you going “Eeuuww!” all the way from here.
Once beloved by our English and Australian cousins, who had a lot of sheep around, mutton has all but died out in modern times. You’ll rarely if ever see it in the grocery store or on a restaurant menu. In an age of mild beef, chicken and pork, “the other white meat,” mutton has a bad reputation as strong, greasy and gamey meat.
Continue reading Ole Hickory Pit, old Western Kentucky tradition
I love El Tarasco’s St. Matthew’s property. I go there for lunch several times a month with my friend and business associate Jerry, and we’re never let down — when it comes to quality Mexican at a great price, it’s hard to beat. The chicken tacos are ridiculously good.
Continue reading Another reason to love El Tarasco
Drive in to Home Run Burgers & Fries on impulse, and you might initially assume that you’ve found your way to yet another franchised burger chain.
Continue reading Home Run Burgers slams a base hit
If you think of a Japanese restaurant, sushi may cross your mind, assuming you’re a reasonably adventurous diner. Not so adventurous? Then the fun of Japanese slice-and-dice chefs showing off their utensil-tossing techniques at hibachi tables may ring your gong.
Continue reading Mikato brings Japanese flair to old Napa River space
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LEO’s Eats with LouisvilleHotBytes.com
As soon as I read about 732 Social coming to East Market Street, I knew I was going to love it. It would be as urban as urban could get, chic and trendy yet “green” as grass, and it would spit in the face of the recession, boldly stepping out where a string of lovable but short-lived eateries have failed.
Here’s the scenario: Brothers Steven and Michael Ton of Basa join Chef Jayson Lewellyn, late of Jeff Ruby’s. They present quality fare – lots of small plates, and some large ones, too – that goes beyond mere fusion to blend the flavors of Europe, the Americas and Asia. They set it forth in the certifiably trendy Green Building, making adaptive reuse of well-worn barn wood and subtle tones, of course, to keep it close to the earth.
And, as the name suggests, they sought to build a consciously “social” environment, with tightly spaced tables and a community vibe that would encourage diners to converse with their neighbors and maybe even share bites or make new friends.
Continue reading Let’s get Social at 732 … What? I can’t hear you!
So you’re out with friends for a celebratory meal, or perhaps just a regular meal, and – even though the menu’s obviously in English – you’re stymied. Parts of it seem to be Greek to you, and I don’t mean the part that says “hummus.” Hmmm, you think. I wonder what’s in a Bordelaise sauce? At this point, some folks whip out their iPhones and Google like mad. But don’t isolate yourself from the table conversation to do research – after all, you’re there to enjoy the company of your companions. Ask your server!
Continue reading Hey – it’s your dinner!
White Castle is giving away free samples of its new pulled pork slider with a coupon during May. I am drawn like a moth to the flame!
The WC pulled pork slider isn’t awful, but it won’t win any major BBQ contests. Falling-apart pork; sweet, slight spice, tiny bun.
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LEO’s Eats with LouisvilleHotBytes.com
Does size matter? Some of the Metro’s tiniest restaurants rank among its most cozy and attractive. From this assertion I do not exclude New Albany’s iconic Little Chef, a 10-seat diner so small that it once wore wheels; or, for that matter, the trendy, crowded, noisy and compact new 732 Social on East Market Street, about which we’ll be telling you more anon.
This week, though, we turn to another Lilliputian favorite, Simply Thai, housed in the freestanding building at the corner of Wallace and Wilmington avenues in St. Matthews.
Succeeding a short-lived barbecue joint and a forgettable Chinese fast-food eatery, Simply Thai crams about eight tables into a small space, with a couple more patio tables out front.
Continue reading Tiny Simply Thai packs ’em in
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LEO’s Eats with LouisvilleHotBytes.com
The smiling gentleman forked a sizzling dish of bhaji in my direction. It sizzled gently, wafting wonderful aromas noseward: sweet, caramelized onion and an elusive mix of spices.
This is ethnic-foodie heaven: Omar Fast Food Restaurant, a new eatery featuring the fare of Pakistan, a South Asian nation that most of us have heretofore been more likely to encounter on the front page than on our dinner plate.
I took the plate hungrily.
“Ketchup?” the gent inquired, offering a fistful of red foil envelopes of Hunt’s finest.
Continue reading Ketchup, globalization and Pakistani fare
LouisvilleHotBytes.com
Not so long ago – well, back in the early ’80s – the only place in town to get sushi was a downtown diner, where a Japanese woman came in on Thursdays to produce a special sushi lunch for a small but ardent corps of cognoscenti.
A generation or so later, more than 20 eats emporia provide Japanese fare across the metro area, most of them boasting good to excellent sushi bars. You can even buy sushi boxes at local grocery stores.
Just about everybody in town, or every sushi lover anyway, has a favorite, and a roster of top spots (Kansai, Sake Blue, Raw Sushi Lounge, Jarfi’s Bistro and Z’s Fusion) showed off their wares last month at the annual Sushi in the City gala. The all-you-can-eat event and competition at the Henry Clay was for the benefit of the Family Scholar House of Louisville.
New restaurants carried off top honors, with a judging panel rating the entry from Z’s Fusion as Sushi of the Year. The audience, however, followed another favorite, voting the “People’s Choice” award to the city’s newest Japanese restaurant, Sake Blue.
Continue reading Sake Blue is on a roll – lots of rolls