Category Archives: QuickBytes

Short, conversational mini-reviews that report on new sightings, updates on previously reviewed restaurants or other restaurant reports that may not fit the full-scale review format.

$ Budget (under $30), Bistros, Commentary, Downtown, NuLu and Butchertown, Frankfort Ave., Clifton, Crescent Hill, New and noteworthy, QuickBytes

Who put these foodie sugar plums in my stocking?

New happenings at Caffe Classico and The Comfy Cow

With visions of sugar plums dancing in our heads, and neither a kerchief nor a stocking cap in sight, a long winter’s nap has been the furthest thing from Mamma’s, er, Mary’s and my heads as the holiday season draws near.

We’re obligate foodies, we’re ready for eats, and we see no conflict between celebrating Christmas the old-fashioned way, with joyous services on Christmas morning, followed by a late lunch, making the trek over the creek and through the woods to Vietnam Kitchen. It’s a perennial favorite among the many Asian eateries that remain open on Christmas Day.
Continue reading Who put these foodie sugar plums in my stocking? →

$ Budget (under $30), Commentary, Downtown, NuLu and Butchertown, Frankfort Ave., Clifton, Crescent Hill, QuickBytes, World Food

Irish Rover’s hearty fare warms a winter night

smoked salmon and potato gratin

The leaves on our big, old magnolia tree were rattling eerily, and the skies were a dismal gray. The icy wind cut through my parka as if it were a throwback baseball shirt.

The first day of winter may not arrive until Monday morning, but it already feels a lot like winter around here, and last week I had a powerful lust for comfort food in a cozy setting. I posted queries on the LouisvilleHotBytes Forum and my Facebook page and found lots of friends with similar hankerings. These foodie buddies quickly racked up a score of good ideas.
Continue reading Irish Rover’s hearty fare warms a winter night →

$ Budget (under $30), Commentary, Downtown, NuLu and Butchertown, Frankfort Ave., Clifton, Crescent Hill, QuickBytes, Southern Indiana, World Food

One gyros, two gyros, many gyros

gyros sandwich

LEO’s Eats with LouisvilleHotBytes
(REVIEWED: A.J.’s Gyro Café; It’s All Greek To Me)

Let’s get one thing clear: The Greek word “gyros” is a singular noun. Like other similar Greek words that occasionally appear in English — kudos, logos, ethos — you don’t delete the final “s” if you’re having only one. A “gyro” is a kind of helicopter.

The menu at a new Greek-style eatery in Southern Indiana provides us a clear, simple overview: “Gyros is singular.”
Continue reading One gyros, two gyros, many gyros →

$ Budget (under $30), Commentary, Downtown, NuLu and Butchertown, New and noteworthy, Pacific Rim, QuickBytes, Southern Indiana

TanThai sets new standard in Thai food

Ginger chicken with green beans

Foodies, food lovers and food geeks who’ve been around town for a while will recall the happy shock that comes with the discovery of an ethnic spot that stands out from the pack: A new arrival with food preparation and style that hint at something special going on in the kitchen.

So it was with Vietnam Kitchen, almost a generation ago now, around the same time as the Mayan Gypsy truck went land-based with its first bricks-and-mortar location. More recently, we’ve seen it with Saffron’s for Iranian and Red Pepper for hardcore authentic Chinese.

In each case, the food, the mood and the service — but especially the food — signal that this place is, well, different.

Now welcome another ethnic standout, TanThai Cuisine of Thailand. Continue reading TanThai sets new standard in Thai food →

$ Budget (under $30), BBQ, Burgers & Down-Home, Commentary, Frankfort Ave., Clifton, Crescent Hill, Hurstbourne, Middletown, Jeffersontown, QuickBytes

Burgers, dogs and cones, oh my!

Five Guys dog and burger

LEO’s Eats with LouisvilleHotBytes
(Five Guys, Home Run, Conez and Coneyz)
EDITOR’S NOTE: Conez and Coneys is now closed.
For all the talk of market indicators and the rebounding Dow and yada yada yada, you and I know there’s still a recession going on. And so, apparently, do a lot of Louisville’s restaurateurs.

I’ve reported recently on the ways some of the city’s top-tier eateries are responding to tightened consumer spending with menu-price reductions. Small-plates restaurants, always popular, are on the rise.

And, in a time when the economy and other things that go bump in the night look scary, many of us crave cheap, hearty and, yes, fatty comfort food. New spots that specialize in economical edibles such as hamburgers and hot dogs are springing up all over.
Continue reading Burgers, dogs and cones, oh my! →

$ Budget (under $30), BBQ, Burgers & Down-Home, Commentary, QuickBytes, South End

Ole Hickory Pit, old Western Kentucky tradition

Ribs at Ole Hickory Pit

Anybody want a little mutton? I can hear you going “Eeuuww!” all the way from here.

Once beloved by our English and Australian cousins, who had a lot of sheep around, mutton has all but died out in modern times. You’ll rarely if ever see it in the grocery store or on a restaurant menu. In an age of mild beef, chicken and pork, “the other white meat,” mutton has a bad reputation as strong, greasy and gamey meat.
Continue reading Ole Hickory Pit, old Western Kentucky tradition →

$ Budget (under $30), Commentary, Guest columnist, Mexican, Cuban, Caribbean, QuickBytes, St. Matthews, Westport Village, and environs

Another reason to love El Tarasco

I love El Tarasco’s St. Matthew’s property. I go there for lunch several times a month with my friend and business associate Jerry, and we’re never let down — when it comes to quality Mexican at a great price, it’s hard to beat. The chicken tacos are ridiculously good.
Continue reading Another reason to love El Tarasco →

$ Budget (under $30), BBQ, Burgers & Down-Home, Commentary, Downtown, NuLu and Butchertown, QuickBytes, South End, Southern Indiana, World Food

Road trip ramble

Burger Boy
The new and improved Burger Boy. LEO photo by Ron Jasin

LEO’s Eats with LouisvilleHotBytes
(Burger Boy, A.J.’s Coffee ‘n’ Cream, Polly’s Freeze, Mike Linnig’s)

“Road trip!”

With the possible exception of “smog alert,” no two words say summer better.

For the inveterate foodie, no road trip would be complete without stopping to sample roadfood, a concept that the writers Jane and Michael Stern made famous, defining it as “memorable local eateries along the highways and back roads of America.”

With summer finally blazing at its peak, we’ve done some road time lately, visiting a few old friends on the highways around Louisville, and discovering a bright new face on a roadfood-style inner-city eatery that has lifted itself from a dive into an inviting diner. Let’s start there.
Continue reading Road trip ramble →