Category Archives: BY LOCATION

$$ Modest ($30-$50), A RESTAURANT LISTING..., Hurstbourne, Middletown, Jeffersontown, Outer East End, Pacific Rim, Thai

Don’t miss the boat (noodles) at Amazing Thai

By Robin Garr
LouisvilleHotBytes.com

Hey, everyone! I’ve got to tell you about this really good new Thai place. Open only since early in August, Amazing Thai is living up to its name with fare that’s earning rave reviews from happy diners.

But wait, you say: Didn’t you just review a new Thai eatery last time? Well, yeah! Take Thai on Factory Lane deserved some props too.  

But I’ll tell you now what I told you then: Thai cuisine is really good. I’ll dig into a plate full of that any chance I get, and if a third new one opens before the next issue, I’ll probably go there too.

Continue reading Don’t miss the boat (noodles) at Amazing Thai →
$$ Modest ($30-$50), A RESTAURANT LISTING..., Outer East End, Pacific Rim, Thai

Take Thai’s fine fare lands in the East End

By Robin Garr
LouisvilleHotBytes.com

I love food from around the world, and I intend to try as much it as I can, within reason. With a possible exception for aged, fermented Greenlandic shark. But ask me to name a favorite, and I’d be hard-pressed to single out just one.

That being said, Thai cuisine clicks off quite a few boxes for me. It’s colorful, aromatic, full of flavors that sing together in at least four-part harmony. Specifically, I’m thinking about the four flavors that Thai cooks seek to hold in balance in every dish: salty, sweet, sour and spicy. 

Continue reading Take Thai’s fine fare lands in the East End →
$ Budget (under $30), A RESTAURANT LISTING..., Downtown, NuLu and Butchertown, Mexican, Cuban, Caribbean, Northeast Metro, St. Matthews, Westport Village, and environs

Los Aztecas is just as good as ever

By Robin Garr
LouisvilleHotBytes.com

I confess to being a little surprised at first when Mary came home from lunch with a friend the other day raving about how good the food at Los Aztecas had been.

Why the surprise? To be honest, I rarely think much about the Mexican-run local chains like Los Aztecas and El Nopal anymore, and I realized with a jolt that there might be a hint of food snobbery about that.

Continue reading Los Aztecas is just as good as ever →
$$ Modest ($30-$50), A RESTAURANT LISTING..., African, Baxter, Bardstown, Highlands, Ethiopian, Hikes Point

Have it your way at Queen of Sheba

By Robin Garr
LouisvilleHotBytes.com

There’s a lot to love about the spicy, aromatic wonders of Ethiopian food, and I’ll tell you right now that I love it. But Ethiopian cuisine makes some folks nervous.

Why is that? Here’s why: Walk in to an excellent Ethiopian restaurant like Louisville’s Queen of Sheba without a prior introduction to this ancient East African cuisine, and you’ll see surprising things.

Continue reading Have it your way at Queen of Sheba →
$$ Modest ($30-$50), A RESTAURANT LISTING..., Baxter, Bardstown, Highlands, Breakfast and lunch spots, sandwich spots

Good Belly brings us good deli, and we’re glad

By Robin Garr
LouisvilleHotBytes.com

Food-loving Louisville folks often complain that our city just can’t get a genuine, New York Jewish deli like Shapiro’s in Indianapolis, or for that matter like Katz’s or Sarge’s or the late, touristy Carnegie Deli in actual New York.

I have never quite gotten this. We have excellent Louisville-style delis here where you can get a pastrami or corned beef on rye that gives New York a run for its money. 

But nope, that doesn’t seem to satisfy the deli-hungry crowd. “That’s not autheeeennnntic, they cry. 

Continue reading Good Belly brings us good deli, and we’re glad →
$$$ Upscale ( $50 - $80), A RESTAURANT LISTING..., Baxter, Bardstown, Highlands, Commentary, Italian (and Pizza)

Wheated brings great pizza and a taste of Flatbush

By Robin Garr
LouisvilleHotBytes.com

You wouldn’t expect Brooklyn’s Flatbush neighborhood to have a deep resonance with Louisville, but that erroneous conclusion overlooks the importance of Harold Henry “Pee Wee” Reese. 

Continue reading Wheated brings great pizza and a taste of Flatbush →
$$ Modest ($30-$50), A RESTAURANT LISTING..., Pacific Rim, St. Matthews, Westport Village, and environs

It’s hard to go wrong at Namnam Cafe

By Robin Garr
LouisvilleHotBytes.com

I really like little Namnam Cafe in St. Matthews, but to be honest, the last time I was there it wasn’t easy to concentrate my full attention on the fare.

What was the problem? That was in mid-March of 2020, just days before Gov. Andy Beshear ordered Kentucky restaurants and bars closed to indoor dining. 

Continue reading It’s hard to go wrong at Namnam Cafe →
$$$$ Luxury ($80 and up), A RESTAURANT LISTING..., Bistros, Black-owned, Farm-to-table, Frankfort Ave., Clifton, Crescent Hill, Pacific Rim

Our critic oohs and aahs over Enso

By Robin Garr
LouisvilleHotBytes.com

When a rising young chef at a popular new restaurant earns a James Beard Award nomination as an “emerging chef,” then steps up to serve as executive chef at another exciting new eatery, what would you expect?

When we’re talking about Chef Lawrence Weeks, who garnered the Beard nomination at North of Bourbon in Germantown, and spread his wings to hold down the same role at Enso in Clifton, I would expect great things.

Continue reading Our critic oohs and aahs over Enso →
$$ Modest ($30-$50), A RESTAURANT LISTING..., Breakfast and lunch spots, sandwich spots, Brunch, Farm-to-table, Northeast Metro

Haymarket lures us with farm-to-table BLT

By Robin Garr
LouisvilleHotBytes.com

Every now and then I’ll see an email or social-media ad that inspires immediate action. The new iPhone is available! Two-for-one sale on Häagen-Dazs! And, just the other day, “Tomato season has returned, and so has the beloved Haymarket BLT!”

Continue reading Haymarket lures us with farm-to-table BLT →
$$$ Upscale ( $50 - $80), A RESTAURANT LISTING..., Bistros, Farm-to-table, Germantown, Italian (and Pizza)

Perso gets the small things and the big things right

By Robin Garr
LouisvilleHotBytes.com

One of the first things I noticed when I took my seat at a table in Perso was the high quality of the table itself: Burnished wood, smooth as silk, it reminded me of the work of Shaker artisans.

Then I unrolled the black cloth napkin and noticed something unusual about the quality stainless flatware: Every surface was mirror-shiny, without a single dishwasher spot in sight, almost as if each piece had been wiped clean by hand before service.

And speaking of service, that was great too: Friendly but not smarmy, attentive but not bothersome, there when we needed them, good with eye contact and a smile.

So what, you say? How about the food?

Continue reading Perso gets the small things and the big things right →