Americans have long formed a ready market for new things made to look old. From suburban tracts full of “colonials” to the Ethan Allen furniture company, we love the feeling of historical things around us, as long as we don’t have to live with sketchy wiring, noisy heating systems and plumbing that requires frequent professional assistance.
But now and then something that was old becomes new again and it works just right. I submit in evidence St. Charles Exchange, the lovely, appealing dining room and watering hole that appeared last spring in one of the oldest buildings on West Main Street. Continue reading Old-school comfort and fine dining at St. Charles Exchange→
“Born in a log cabin.” In not-so-distant American history, this status – a symbol of humble, honest origins, was just about mandatory for those who wanted to run for president.
It’s likely that seven of America’s chief executives, and possibly as many as 10 drew their first breath in a rustic log abode. Which ones? Cabin-born prexies certainly included Abraham Lincoln, whose birthplace is now a National Historical Park in Hodgenville, Ky. Zachary Taylor, born in a log cabin in Virginia, grew up in Louisville in decidedly more elegant quarters at Locust Grove.
Others, some subject to debate among historians, included Andrew Jackson, Millard Fillmore, Franklin Pierce, James Buchanan, Andrew Johnson, Ulysses S. Grant, James Garfield and Chester A. Arthur.
And then there’s John E’s Restaurant & Lounge. It never ran for president, although if it ever did, there are surely hungry folks in Louisville who would consider voting for it. But it was indisputably born in a log cabin, and what’s more, no mere rude shack of felled trees but a log structure of significant historic worth, now designated a Kentucky Landmark.
It was the home of the Hikes family, descendants of the pioneer Louisville settler George Hikes, who received land grants in Kentucky for his Revolutionary War service. The existing four-room, two-story structure that still forms the core of John E’s was built around 1851 on the site of an earlier house. Hikes Lane and the Hikes Point neighborhood still keep the family’s historic name alive.
The building has been a popular restaurant for half a century – originally Bill Boland’s, and since the 1980s John E’s. The space has been expanded substantially, including four dining rooms, a bar and a fully enclosed Patio Room, but I still like best the small dining room that reveals parts of the original cabin. Much of the walls are covered with large, antique-print wallpaper, but the original logs still show through in places, as does the beamed ceiling.
John E’s dinner menu offers standard American fare, with emphasis on steakhouse delights. It begins at $9 (for beef or veggie burgers) and $19 (for several items including chicken breast dishes, Boston scrod, or a full pound of pork chops). Most main course are under $30, with a hefty two-pound T-bone priced at $38 if you eat it all by yourself, or $45 divided for two.
My brother and sister were in town, so we got together with them, a cousin and an aunt for a big country-style dinner, and I can’t say we had a thing we didn’t enjoy. We started with a shared app, a big plate of green chili won tons ($7), which were a lot like the Bristol’s. I won’t speculate who had the idea first, but John E’s presents a good version.
A burger ($9) did its job well, juicy and hot, dressed with a slice of melted cheddar (50 cents extra) and the traditional lettuce, tomato and mayo. The rib eye pepper steak ($28) was a splendid piece of this flavorful cut, cooked medium-rare as ordered. It was crusted in so much coarsely cracked black pepper that it almost seemed hot, but it was tender and the flavors worked well. A stuffed twice-baked potato ($2) was first-rate, and there were no complaints about a standard, fresh house salad.
With glasses of California Apothic red ($8) and Gaston Argentine Malbec ($7.50), our share of dinner came to $64.66 for two, plus a $14 tip for friendly, attentive service.
For a while there, the restaurant space at the back corner of Chenoweth Square became something of a joke among local foodies. The spacious facility had enjoyed restaurant success over 20 years or so as the culinary home of the original Rick’s, Indigo and later Rick’s Ferrari Grille. Continue reading Majid’s looks as if it’s here to stay→
It didn’t seem obvious at the time, but looking back on it now, it’s clear that Louisville’s affection for gourmet-style and ethnic food skyrocketed when the first wave of Baby Boomers grew up. It must have been the middle 1970s when we suddenly realized that it wasn’t necessary to keep all our food from touching on the plate, and that there were more exciting things to eat than Mom’s steak and potatoes and tunafish casserole. Continue reading Szechwan, Sichuan, hot or mild, Jasmine is fine→
I know this is hard to believe, but a couple of generations back, when our parents and even our grandparents were young, a road trip took some planning. There were no Interstate highways and nothing like McDonald’s, Wendy’s or Burger King. What was a hungry traveler to do in those days of winding two-lane highways and no familiar burger logos glowing in the distance? As it happens, though it may have taken longer to get to your destination, but our forbears arguably enjoyed a finer, tastier and better quality of road food in those days gone by. Continue reading Road food road trip in Southern Indiana!→
Chow down with four-star chefs as they step out of their kitchens and fire up the grills for Home of the Innocents: It’s the 7th annual Big Ol’ Backyard BBQ! The grills will be smokin’ Saturday, Aug. 25, in the park-like backyard at the Home of the Innocents, 1100 E. Market St. in Louisville. Roll up your sleeves and tuck in your napkin. Get ready to enjoy a buffet of savory barbeque, gourmet side dishes, and desserts galore. This one-of-a-kind, family-friendly event brings together some of Louisville’s top chefs, including Host Chef Laurent Geroli (The Brown Hotel); Chef Anthony Lusiak (Eddie Merlot’s) and Chef Dallas McGarity (Marketplace Restaurant at Theatre Square). In addition to the scrumptious food, this fun event will feature live music by The Remedy, hayrides, inflatables, cornhole games, face painting, art and crafts, a full children’s playground (with a climbing wall), and more! This special fundraising event provides fun for the entire family, with 100 percent of the proceeds benefiting the children at the Home. (Did you know that 88 cents of every donation dollar goes directly to helping the kids?)
Tickets are $50 per person; $30 for students, seniors, military, police, fire and EMS workers; and FREE for kids 12 and under. Groups and families may reserve tables for eight for $350. To order tickets, call (502) 596-1025 or visit www.bigbackyardbbq.com
Mark your calendar now so you won’t miss this one: The Food Literacy Project’s annual Field-to-Fork Dinner will be 7 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 14, at Marketplace Restaurant at Theatre Square. A battery of the city’s top chefs will be paired with local farmers to take advantage of the autumn harvest bounty, creating an elegant five-course dinner featuring fresh locavore meats and produce. Advance tickets, $85 per person, will go on sale in September. (Watch this space for details and a link.) Your support helps Food Literacy Project connect Louisville’s young people to healthy, sustainable food. For more about Food Literacy Project, visit foodliteracyproject.org.
Who doesn’t like eating locally grown food? It’s fresh, it’s healthy, it’s more or less off the industrial agri-business grid, and maybe best of all, it tastes really, really good.
Dining “locavore” is trendy, too, if being in on the hippest big thing is important to you.
What’s my favorite season? Don’t ask me to choose between summer, winter, spring or fall. Baseball, football, basketball, it doesn’t matter much to me. But talk about fresh peach season, and you’ve grabbed my attention in a serious way. Continue reading ’tis the season for the perfect peach (ice cream)→
I know this may seem an odd thing to say about an eatery in New Albany, but it’s true: A visit to Louis Le Français comes surprisingly close to dining in France.