Category Archives: BY PRICE FOR TWO

$ Budget (under $30), Hurstbourne, Middletown, Jeffersontown, Mexican, Cuban, Caribbean, QuickBytes

That’s not a gordita. This is a gordita

Turbo-charged BLT
Las Gorditas’ fresh fare includes two tacos, carnitas and lengua, and a gordita.

LEO’s Eats with LouisvilleHotBytes.com

In Mexico City, a sprawling metropolis of 20 million souls, you’ll find a taco stand on just about every corner.

In Louisville, not so much.

But the good news, as Louisville’s small but thriving Latino community grows, is that it’s now possible to enjoy a Mexico City-style experience at a taco wagon or two around town.

One of the best, a relatively recent arrival, rolls into the parking lot at Eastland Shopping Center (where Buechel meets Fern Creek on Bardstown Road) just about every weekend evening.
Continue reading That’s not a gordita. This is a gordita →

$ Budget (under $30), Seafood & Water's Edge, Southern Indiana

Why did the foodie cross the river?

Market Street Fish House
Market Street Fish House in New Albany. Photo by Robin Garr.

LEO’s Eats with LouisvilleHotBytes.com

I went across the Ohio to New Albany last week and had me a big old batch of fried oysters, and they were fine, even though the month of May doesn’t have an “R” in it.

Happily, the old wisdom about avoiding oysters from the end of Aprrrril through the first of Septemberrrr has pretty much been repealed, allowing aficionados of the tasty bivalve to enjoy them year-round.

What’s the story? The old R Rule stemmed from two issues, one related to health and the other to enjoyment.
Continue reading Why did the foodie cross the river? →

$ Budget (under $30), BBQ, Burgers & Down-Home, Frankfort Ave., Clifton, Crescent Hill

Turbo-charged BLT at KY BBQ Co

Turbo-charged BLT
Kentucky Bar-B-Cue’s BLT sandwich. Photo by Robin Garr.

Bearing in mind Columnist Marsha Lynch’s dissertation last week on selecting the special menu item at local indie eateries, I took her advice and tried a truly offbeat special last week at Kentucky Bar-B-Cue Co.

This relatively new outfit, located in the drafty, homey old Clifton saloon that used to house Café Lou Lou, now sports a new coat of red interior paint and a gallery of beer signs. It’s the latest home of the smoked-meat establishment formerly known as Bourbon Brothers BBQ.
Continue reading Turbo-charged BLT at KY BBQ Co →

$ Budget (under $30), BBQ, Burgers & Down-Home, Downtown, NuLu and Butchertown

Something special at the Cottage Inn

Cottage Inn

Serving up simple, affordable down-home fare since 1929, the Cottage Inn is one of Louisville’s oldest eateries in continuous operation. It trails Mazzoni’s (1884); but unlike the peripatetic home of the rolled oyster, which has moved repeatedly and only settled down in its new Middletown quarters this year, the Cottage Inn has remained in its original home. Kaelin’s didn’t come along until 1934, and I’m having a hard time thinking of another contender.
Continue reading Something special at the Cottage Inn →

$ Budget (under $30), Baxter, Bardstown, Highlands, BBQ, Burgers & Down-Home

Deli belly

Stevens & Stevens
Located in the back of Ditto’s Grill on Bardstown Road, Stevens & Stevens has built a loyal following the old-fashioned way, providing quality fare at reasonable prices. Photos by Robin Garr.

LEO’s Eats with LouisvilleHotBytes.com

Let’s start right out by admitting that I’ve lived in New York City off and on, had plenty of exposure to the NYC deli phenomenon, and don’t really get it.

In a metropolis known as one of the world’s great cities for fine dining, how exactly did such a genre evolve? Heavy, fatty, overpriced food, served by rude waiters whose shtick seems to be insulting the customers … and the customers love it?

It’s no surprise to me that authentic New York deli has never gained much traction in Louisville.

But make a few small changes to accommodate to the local culture, and deli can thrive in the Derby City. As evidence I cite Stevens & Stevens, a lovable eatery that certainly qualifies as a deli … but a deli with a difference. Continue reading Deli belly →

$ Budget (under $30), BBQ, Burgers & Down-Home, Hurstbourne, Middletown, Jeffersontown

Deli in the ‘burbs

Jason's Deli
Jason’s Deli, a relatively new arrival, is attracting big crowds to the East End suburbs.

LEO’s Eats with LouisvilleHotBytes.com

If Stevens & Stevens is the ultimate Louisville urban deli, a relatively new arrival, Jason’s Deli, is attracting big crowds to the East End suburbs. This 20-year-old national chain originated in Tucson, Ariz., a mighty long way from the Big Apple, but they’re obviously doing something right: There’s almost always a crowd, but the lines move fast, and I’ve never had a problem finding a table.
Continue reading Deli in the ‘burbs →

$$$ Upscale ( $50 - $80), Baxter, Bardstown, Highlands, Commentary, Pacific Rim, St. Matthews, Westport Village, and environs

Sushi is good in the neighborhood

Oishii Sushi
Word of mouth has quickly built a good reputation for Oishii Sushi in the Highlands, and it’s drawing crowds with its friendly, outgoing sushi chefs and wide selection of sushi treats like these. Photos by Robin Garr.

LEO’s Eats with LouisvilleHotBytes.com

A few weeks ago, I had occasion to nosh my way through Sushi In The City, a sociable fundraising event at which a random selection of local sushi bars (and a few other eateries) provided samples of their wares.

The experience was so tasty that it left me craving even more of the stuff, so in recent weeks, I’ve made it my business to check out a couple more recent arrivals on the metro sushi scene.

Some people are still a bit wary of sushi – the concept of eating raw fish does take some getting used to. But as I said in the previous report, 125 million Japanese can’t all be wrong, and enough of us have acquired the taste to support more than 20 good sushi restaurants around town.

Two more have arrived recently: Oishii Sushi in the Highlands opened last month and Hanabi Sushi & Japanese Cuisine in Prospect around the end of the year. A third arrival, Hiko A Mon in Westport Village, opened just last week, and I’ll take my chopsticks and get out there, too, one day soon.
Continue reading Sushi is good in the neighborhood →

$$ Modest ($30-$50), BBQ, Burgers & Down-Home, Downtown, NuLu and Butchertown

The Yankees’ loss is our … hey!

Slugger Field
We’re great fans of the Louisville Bats and thoroughly smitten by Slugger Field, but we’ve found ballpark food service consistently disappointing on Centerplate’s watch. Photo by Robin Garr.

LEO’s Eats with LouisvilleHotBytes.com

Centerplate Inc., the South Carolina-based arena and ballpark catering company, has been getting a rough ride lately, with the New York Yankees dumping the company as Yankee Stadium concessionaire after a 40-year ride, and its shares plunging on Wall Street in the wake of blows ranging from financial bad news to a discrimination lawsuit by a Yankees’ bartender.

But Centerplate still rides high in the Derby City, where it not only sells us our hot dogs, peanuts and Cracker Jack in Slugger Field and Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium but is slated to be concessionaire in the controversial downtown sports arena, and also recently emerged as operator of the new Wolfgang Puck Express, an upscale fast-food emporium in downtown’s Kentucky International Convention Center.

Does New York know something that Louisville is missing? Continue reading The Yankees’ loss is our … hey! →

$ Budget (under $30), Mexican, Cuban, Caribbean, Southern Indiana

¿Taco? ¡Bueno!

Taco Bueno
The fare at Taco Bueno is a lot like Taco Bell’s, with similar faux Mexican dishes. Photo by Robin Garr.

Remember last year, when the return of the old Taco Tico chain brought traffic jams to Southwestern. Jefferson County as crowds of pilgrims trooped out Lower Hunters Trace in search of a nostalgic lunch?

We’re seeing something like that again this month as the iconic Taco Bueno chain arrives in the metro, luring lines of supplicants to form around its small new building in Jeffersonville.
Continue reading ¿Taco? ¡Bueno! →

$$$ Upscale ( $50 - $80), Bistros, Frankfort Ave., Clifton, Crescent Hill

Meeting John Barleycorn at Bourbons Bistro

Bourbons Bistro
Chef Michael Crouch of Bourbons Bistro offers thoughtful, creative dishes that may be rooted in down-home Ohio Valley flavors but travel around the world for inspiration. Photo by Robin Garr.

LEO’s Eats with LouisvilleHotBytes.com

We did an odd thing at Bourbons Bistro the other night. You might expect a place named after Kentucky’s native nectar to feature steak, potatoes and red wine, but we ended up with a delicious selection of seafood and vegetarian dishes.

That’s the delicious secret (although it’s not much of a secret) at Bourbons Bistro: Bourbon has outgrown its reputation as the potent, old-style liquor that your Old Grand-dad used to sip and has moved into the modern era. Bourbons Bistro, arguably bourbon whiskey’s No. 1 temple in the metro, provides fare to match, with Chef Michael Crouch turning out thoughtful, creative dishes that may be rooted in down-home Ohio Valley flavors but travel around the world for inspiration.
Continue reading Meeting John Barleycorn at Bourbons Bistro →