By Robin Garr
LouisvilleHotBytes.com
Not that many years ago, we didn’t have many Hispanic neighbors around Louisville, and the puny quality of our Mexican restaurant scene reflected that deficit. But times have surely changed!
Continue reading Friend’s Fusion offers fine Peruvian fare with a smileBy Robin Garr
LouisvilleHotBytes.com
Just about every successful restaurateur worked hard to achieve that dream, but for some of our immigrant neighbors, that’s only half of the story.
Consider, if you will, an Iranian-born chef who learned Italian cooking at Vincenzo’s, then with his Afghanistan-migrant wife bounced from the upscale Italian eatery to a popular Italian food truck and restaurant that has now expanded into Louisville’s first Afghan eatery: Bellissimo.
Continue reading Bellissimo brings Afghan pride to the tableBy 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 ThaiBy Robin Garr
LouisvilleHotBytes.com
I have this funny reaction to Indian food: The minute I start thinking about it, I want to go get some.
The only issue is where to go! Louisville is currently blessed with enough good Indian eateries that I’d be hard pressed to declare one of them the local G.O.A.T. It would be like trying to pick this year’s Derby winner without a photo!
But I’ll say this for sure: Clay Oven in Middletown is a strong contender for the prize.
Continue reading Clay Oven inspires an Indian food craveBy Robin Garr
LouisvilleHotBytes.com
Here’s a good way to start a noisy debate among Louisville food lovers: Ask for opinions on where to get the best bagel in town. Want to kick it up another notch? Ask you can even get a bialy hereabouts.
What’s a bialy? See what I mean? A lot of us have so little exposure to this rarely seen cousin to the bagel that we’re not even sure what it is.
More about that shortly. First, though, let’s put our hands together and welcome our town’s latest bagel shop: Born2Bagel, which opened last autumn in a Middletown shopping-strip storefront at the corner of Shelbyville Road and Blankenbaker Parkway.
Continue reading Born2Bagel and lox and bialys, oh my!By Robin Garr
LouisvilleHotBytes.com
I try not to miss much when it comes to developments in local restaurants. It happened this month, though, when I finally got to Sankalp Louisville for what proved to be one of the best Indian meals ever.
Where has this place been all my life? Or to be more specific, why was I so clueless about this large, stylish Indian eatery that had announced its opening in an Instagram post almost exactly 18 months ago?
Continue reading We love Sankalp Indian, once we found itBy Robin Garr
LouisvilleHotBytes.com
I’m not great at small talk, but I love chaat. Okay, I can hear the chorus of boos from here. I’ll just show myself out.
Seriously, though, the Indian street food delight known as chaat appeals to me, so much so that a search on the word in the Louisville HotBytes archives brought up references at a dozen different local Indian eateries. I’ve eaten plenty of chaat, and I’ve spent plenty of words trying to describe it. Continue reading We chaat it up at Shreeji Indian
By Robin Garr
LouisvilleHotBytes.com
“Nobody goes there anymore. It’s too crowded.” Yogi Berra may or may not have said that, and if he did, he was talking about Ruggeri’s, an iconic Italian restaurant on The Hill in St. Louis.
But Yogi might as well have been talking about The House of Marigold, a stylish new restaurant out Shelbyville Road. This breakfast-and-lunch spot opened late in March and got so popular, so fast, that it took me until now to find a way to beat the crowds and get in. Continue reading The early bird gets the table at House of Marigold
By Robin Garr
LouisvilleHotBytes.com
I hope everyone enjoyed Louisville Taco Week last week and ate your fill. There’s a lot to like about a promotion that brings you tacos for $2.50 a plate at close to 20 local Mexican-style eateries!
I had big plans, but peaked too soon. All the advance advertising gave me such a powerful taco crave that I rushed out to Gustavo’s Mexican Grill and ate my fill a week before the event.
It was worth it.
Continue reading We anticipate Taco Week at Gustavo’s
By Robin Garr
LouisvilleHotBytes.com
Remember back before Covid when restaurant buffets were commonplace? Lots of people love a buffet meal, and why not? You get abundant choice, all you can eat, and there’s no wait for a server and chef to do their work before you can pitch in.
That’s a lot to like, but a lot of people are wary of the buffet, and with good reason. Continue reading Is this Paradise? Indian buffet is back
