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→
This time of year, I hear people musing about how restaurant employees must welcome the holidays, since many restaurants are closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day. I try to chuckle politely rather than sarcastically, but it’s a challenge. Continue reading Happy Holidays, restaurant workers→
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.
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→
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→
“Why are Louisvillians so utterly opposed to waiting for a table?”
A manager at an ultra-hot Louisville eatery recently posed this question on our local foodie forum, LouisvilleHotBytes.com. I love it when a column topic plops directly into my lap. Continue reading Waiting to inhale→
Eiderdown’s Kentucky Country Ham Sandwich. LEO photo by Ron Jasin.Edelweiss, Edelweiss,
Every morning you greet me …
No, wait, dammit! Rewind! I meant “Eiderdown,” sorry. Edelweiss is an Alpine flower, small and white. Eiderdown is soft, warm down from the breast feathers of the female eider duck, which famously plucks down from her chest to line her nest and keep her eggs and infant duckies safe and warm. Continue reading Double down in Germantown at Eiderdown→
Who doesn’t know Danny Mac? If you follow local social media, you’ve surely run into this guy, who’s been selling a lot of pizza and authentic Philly-style cheesesteaks out of a storefront on Clarks Lane. Continue reading Danny Mac rocks it in new quarters→
Rootie’s Sports Bar on Westport Road doesn’t look like anything special — just another sports bar, with lots of TVs and a few pool tables.
But owner Marty Stein knows a thing or two about the classic Buffalo wing. He and the original Rootie’s location hail from Buffalo. He’s been making Buffalo wings for more than 30 years, having bounced from upstate New York to South Florida and now to Louisville, with stops on “The Today Show” and “Regis and Kathie Lee” along the way. Continue reading Rootie’s wings are the real deal. Really.→
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