Category Archives: BY PRICE FOR TWO

$ Budget (under $30), St. Matthews, Westport Village, and environs, underSlideshowEntries, World Food

La Colombiana offers a different South of the Border cuisine

arepas
Arepas at La Colombiana

A few weeks ago my brother, Matt, was in town visiting from his home and work in Lima, Peru, and I figured it would make sense to take him with his fluent Spanish to an ethnic restaurant where we could put his language skills to work.

So off we went to La Colombiana, a fairly new eatery in Lyndon that features, as the name suggests, the cuisine of Colombia, a Latino nation on the north end of South America.

As it turned out, no special language skills were needed: The charming and competent service at La Colombiana speaks English perfectly. But my brother and our server still had a great time chatting in Español, and Mary, Matt and I enjoyed an exceptional, affordable dinner for three.
Continue reading La Colombiana offers a different South of the Border cuisine →

$$$$ Luxury ($80 and up), Downtown, NuLu and Butchertown, underSlideshowEntries, White tablecloth, deluxe

Dining like an ‘Iron Chef’ judge at 610 Magnolia

By Robin Garr
LouisvilleHotBytes.com

I’ve always been a big fan of “Iron Chef,” both the Japanese original and the American imitation it spawned.

Some find its campy concept over the top, with the wacky über-rich Chairman in his Kitchen Stadium yelling “Allez Cuisine!” in bad French, but just about every foodie I know can see past the yuks to the serious competitive restaurant-chef cookery.

After an hour of an intense, timed cooking competition, in which the competitors make the best use of the week’s secret ingredient, comes the best part of the show: when the chefs bring their finished dishes forward to a panel of judges, a group that on the original show invariably included a food critic plus such skilled experts as a movie starlet, perhaps a Japanese athlete, sometimes a member of the Japanese parliament.

How I wished I could have been up there at the table sampling all those amazing, creative dishes.

So when Chef Edward Lee of Louisville’s 610 Magnolia turned up on “Iron Chef America” last month, taking on Iron Chef Jose Garces in an offal battle featuring “tongue and cheek,” and Lee won, I realized I could get a similar effect right here at home by presenting myself for a dinner of Lee’s inspired cooking. Continue reading Dining like an ‘Iron Chef’ judge at 610 Magnolia →

$$ Modest ($30-$50), Baxter, Bardstown, Highlands, Commentary, Pacific Rim, underSlideshowEntries

Wild Ginger fills Metro’s space with sushi, Asian fusion

If you get out to the Pacific Northwest at all, you’re probably familiar with Wild Ginger, the regional restaurant phenomenon that has captured Seattle foodies’ attention with its Southeast Asian fusion cuisine.

And if you do, your eyes may have popped wide open when the signs advertising a new spot called Wild Ginger went up on the former Café Metro’s doors in the autumn of 2010. Could it be?

Well … no. Continue reading Wild Ginger fills Metro’s space with sushi, Asian fusion →

$ Budget (under $30), Italian (and Pizza), St. Matthews, Westport Village, and environs, underSlideshowEntries

DiOrio’s joins St. Matthews’ growing Pizza Town

pizza
A pizza from DiOrio's
St. Matthews has enjoyed a pub or two all the way back to Gilman’s Corner in the city’s pioneer days, a happy custom that continued in our parents (and even our grandparents’) time with homey saloons like Dutch’s, Maier’s and Gerstle’s providing community while slaking the public thirst.
Continue reading DiOrio’s joins St. Matthews’ growing Pizza Town →

$ Budget (under $30), Commentary, Seafood & Water's Edge, St. Matthews, Westport Village, and environs, underSlideshowEntries

A thigh and a wing for Captain Ahab?

I’ve long been a fan of Moby Dick. The local mini-chain with the cartoon whale logo may look fast-foodish, but they’ve been frying quality cod for nearly 45 years, and they know how to do it right. But the news of a recent addition at the Moby Dick in St. Matthews (4848 Shelbyville Road, near Whole Foods) made my head snap back. Fried chicken?
Continue reading A thigh and a wing for Captain Ahab? →

$ Budget (under $30), Breakfast and lunch spots, sandwich spots, Commentary, Guest columnist, Northeast Metro, underSlideshowEntries

Verbena could make Grandpa proud

burritos

Verbena Café is one of those places that always seems to smell like home. For Mike Cortino, the smell is likely a reminder of much more.

Mike and his wife, Laurie, opened Verbena in Norton Commons this past autumn. They based Verbena’s fare on dishes served in restaurants founded by Mike’s grandfather and operated by his family back in the 1960s in Chicago. Verbena specializes in omelets, crepes, pancakes, waffles and eggs Benedict, and offers sandwiches, entrées and salads for the lunch crowd.
Continue reading Verbena could make Grandpa proud →

$$ Modest ($30-$50), Bistros, Downtown, NuLu and Butchertown, underSlideshowEntries

Meeting mozzarella again for the first time at Mozz

Burrata Caprese at Mozz
Burrata Caprese at Mozz. Photo: Ron Jasin

If your idea of mozzarella is bland shreds in a plastic bag from the supermarket, or pale, stringy cheese pulling away from the top of your pizza like bubble gum, you’ll want to reset your expectations before dining at Mozz.

This new, upscale and trendy Italian eatery landed this month in the Cobalt Building that once housed Primo. The name means “mozzarella,” and mozz’ is what they do.

We’re talking real, fresh mozzarella, like fior di Latte (“flower of the milk”), cheese that’s delicate, sweet and silken, made in-house with fresh, hormone-free milk from locavore cows; a far cry from the Styrofoam stuff in the supermarket bag.
Continue reading Meeting mozzarella again for the first time at Mozz →

$ Budget (under $30), Commentary, Hurstbourne, Middletown, Jeffersontown, Pacific Rim, underSlideshowEntries

We celebrate Diwali and diversity at Bombay Grill

One of the biggest and best changes I’ve seen in our town over a Baby Boomer’s lifetime in Louisville has been the surprising ethnic and cultural diversity that has blossomed here over a generation. As outgoing Mayor Jerry Abramson likes to point out, more than half of our city’s population growth nowadays takes the form of new residents arriving from other countries. Youngsters in Jefferson County public schools speak more than 80 different languages at home, and Buddhists, Muslims and Hindus, among others, gather peacefully in their own places of worship.

It’s quite a change for a city that as recently as the ’60s boasted two Chinese restaurants and a “Mexican” eatery that specialized in greasy chili.
Continue reading We celebrate Diwali and diversity at Bombay Grill →

$ Budget (under $30), Baxter, Bardstown, Highlands, Coffee Shops & Desserts, Commentary, Germantown, Southern Indiana, underSlideshowEntries

In search of the city’s best doughnuts

Donuts at Nord's

Who doesn’t like doughnuts? There’s something comforting about these fried spheres of goodness with a hole in the middle, and most doughnut lovers have strong opinions on the subject.

Louisville boasts many local bakeries and doughnut joints. But not all doughnuts (or, if you prefer, “donuts”) are created equal, so I set out to try a random sample of five locals to see how they compared.
Continue reading In search of the city’s best doughnuts →

$ Budget (under $30), BBQ, Burgers & Down-Home, Breakfast and lunch spots, sandwich spots, Commentary, St. Matthews, Westport Village, and environs, underSlideshowEntries

For a good country-fried steak, go to Goose Creek Diner

country fried steak
Country fried steak at Goose Creek Diner

I wouldn’t want to say that my food preferences are those of a city boy, but let’s put it this way: In years of dining at my parents’ table, I never realized grits were served with breakfast until I ran into this odd practice elsewhere. And I was a fully grown adult before my first encounter with country-fried steak.
Continue reading For a good country-fried steak, go to Goose Creek Diner →