Category Archives: BY LOCATION

$$ Modest ($30-$50), Chinese, LEO's Eats, Northeast Metro

New urbanism, same old Chinese in Norton Commons

There we were, Mary and I, sitting and chatting as we waited for our apps in the comfortably cozy confines of Tea Station Chinese Bistro. We sipped Tsing Tao beers and gazed out at the main drag of Norton Commons, the new subdivision with the old-time look, trying to figure out why this village somehow feels both appealing and a little creepy all at the same time.

Norton Commons was Louisville’s first large venture into the “New Urbanism” (or at least the first since St. James Court was developed in 1887). Hey, New Urbanism is cool! Something new, made to look old, compact and walkable, retro in style, quaint but, um, “safe.”

So what’s not to like?
Continue reading New urbanism, same old Chinese in Norton Commons →

$$ Modest ($30-$50), Hurstbourne, Middletown, Jeffersontown, LEO's Eats, Mexican, Cuban, Caribbean, Outer East End, QuickBytes, Southern Indiana

On the Mexican road again …

“On the road again” … “En la carretera nuevamente …” Hmm. Willie Nelson’s classic ballad doesn’t translate very well, rhythmically speaking. You just can’t make the syllables fit the notes. But that’s not important right now. What’s important right now is Mexican food, because it’s filling and spicy and delicious.

I like Mexican food, and I like languages, and I’ve still got a lot to learn about both things. But there’s always room for more learning, both in the food department and the linguistic department. Like most Americans — er, Norteamericanos, that is — my language skills are weak.

“Eureka,” I said, an exclamation that works in English, Spanish and Greek. “Why don’t I go eat at some Mexican restaurants? I can practice my Spanish on the servers!”
Continue reading On the Mexican road again … →

$$$ Upscale ( $50 - $80), Baxter, Bardstown, Highlands, LEO's Eats, New and noteworthy

With Roux my English major’s heart is laden

“With rue my heart is laden,
for golden friends I had,
For many a rose-lipt maiden
And many a lightfoot lad.”

There! It’s not often that an English major actually gets to bring the fruits of his seldom-used bachelor’s degree into the real world. So how, I ask, could I possibly resist dragging the poet A.E. Housman into a “Roux/rue” pun to celebrate our first visit to Roux, a hot newish spot on Bardstown Road?
Continue reading With Roux my English major’s heart is laden →

$$ Modest ($30-$50), Baxter, Bardstown, Highlands, Outer East End, Pacific Rim

We experience India at Shandaar and Kashmir

India! To Western eyes, it is one of the most exotic of lands. India seems very far away, and yet it is strangely familiar in ways that draw us in. In your mind’s eye, think about the Taj Mahal in moonlight: Those shimmering white marble domes look like nothing you’d ever expect to see in Louisville, yet its strangely compelling beauty transcends time and space.
Continue reading We experience India at Shandaar and Kashmir →

$$$$ Luxury ($80 and up), Frankfort Ave., Clifton, Crescent Hill, LEO's Eats, New and noteworthy, White tablecloth, deluxe

Our critic can’t hate on Mesh in spite of himself

First, let’s get one thing perfectly clear: No matter how much I think I might dislike a place, I bring an open mind to the dinner table.

Sometimes this isn’t easy. Even if a restaurateur has responded to a review with veiled death threats or even mere front-yard TPing, it’s the critic’s job to swallow that bile and return someday, prepared to deal out judgment that’s honest and fair.

It’s a good thing, too, because I had a load of baggage in tow — much of it not particularly fair, but hey — when our friends Kathy and Rick joined Mary and me for a recent dinner at Mesh.
Continue reading Our critic can’t hate on Mesh in spite of himself →

$$ Modest ($30-$50), BBQ, Burgers & Down-Home, Downtown, NuLu and Butchertown, LEO's Eats, QuickBytes

We lock eyes with the bison and the bison wins at Feast BBQ NuLu

“Hey, let’s go over to the new Feast BBQ in NuLu and get some delicious brisket!”

A slice of gently smoked, tender brisket sounded good, or at least it did until I settled down at a long table in the back of the room and glanced up. There on the wall was a buffalo head, mounted like a game trophy. Was he real or fake? I’m not sure, but he looked pretty real to me. His fur was kind of scruffy, but his black glass eyes were soulful. They seemed to look right into my heart.

“Um, maybe not the brisket.”
Continue reading We lock eyes with the bison and the bison wins at Feast BBQ NuLu →

$$ Modest ($30-$50), BBQ, Burgers & Down-Home, Downtown, NuLu and Butchertown, LEO's Eats, Pubs, Brew Pubs, GastroPubs

Buy me some peanuts, Cracker Jack and pork belly on a stick

We live in the era of gourmet-style ballpark food. New York Mets fans can dine on sushi or summon a $17 lobster roll while they take in a game at Citi Field. San Francisco Giants fans also have sushi options and a wondrous array of other good things at AT&T Park. (Unlimited anytime minutes are extra.)
Continue reading Buy me some peanuts, Cracker Jack and pork belly on a stick →

$$ Modest ($30-$50), BBQ, Burgers & Down-Home, LEO's Eats, St. Matthews, Westport Village, and environs

Our critic goes Southern fried at Goose Creek Diner

There’s something about Goose Creek Diner that brings out the city boy in me, and not in a good way.

Don’t get me wrong: I really like this place, and I had an excellent meal there with a bunch of friends the other night. But it’s an odd mix – a self-proclaimed “diner” that serves Southern-style fare, and I bring some baggage to this concept that has to be unpacked before I can settle down and, well, dine.
Continue reading Our critic goes Southern fried at Goose Creek Diner →

$$ Modest ($30-$50), Frankfort Ave., Clifton, Crescent Hill, LEO's Eats, Mexican, Cuban, Caribbean, New and noteworthy

We celebrate Cuba at TropiCuba

After 50 years of nutty national policy toward Cuba, our president, giving the finger to a recalcitrant congress, has shifted foreign-policy gears, reaching out to our island neighbor just south of Florida, demonstrating to our joy that Obama’s just another name for nothing left to lose.
Continue reading We celebrate Cuba at TropiCuba →

$$ Modest ($30-$50), $$$ Upscale ( $50 - $80), Baxter, Bardstown, Highlands, Bistros, Commentary, LEO's Eats, Outer East End, Pacific Rim

Something old, something new

Let’s touch down for a couple of quick hits on the metro dining scene this week. Uptown Café has been a Bardstown Road landmark for 20 years, serving always reliable fare in a friendly setting that keeps bringing people back for more.

Shandaar Indian is so new that its well-crafted Facebook page still has that new-page smell. So far out in the East End that it feels closer to downtown Shelbyville than downtown Louisville, it proved to be well worth the trek.
Continue reading Something old, something new →