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.

Commentary, QuickBytes

Stalking the Dairy Dozen

Eat'n'Blog
Illustration by Gina Moeller

LEO’s Eat ‘n’ Blog with Louisville HotBytes
(A dozen ice-cream delights, and we beef it up at Palermo Viejo)

When summer comes and the days turn us into overheated crankpots (pun intended), says Eat ‘N’ Blog correspondent ANDREA ESSENPREIS, she knows what to do: “We need to go out for ice cream. The simple act of sharing a scoop brings back memories of laughter, sticky chins and endless possibilities – which flavor will it be tonight? Cup or cone? Sundae or scoop?”

With Independence Day coming up and July designated as National Ice Cream month, it seemed only right to take on a simple but decidedly appealing challenge: Present a creamy, ice-cold and delicious overview of many things sweet and frozen in the Metro (and a few delights beyond the city limits). Essenpreis was delighted to volunteer for the duty, and I had no qualms about pulling a share of the load. Off we went, in quest of ice cream, and in no particular order, we now present … the Dairy Dozen.
Continue reading Stalking the Dairy Dozen →

Commentary, New and noteworthy, QuickBytes

La Rosita: A second bouquet

La Rosita

For some time now, since a growing number of Latino immigrants has joined the tide of diversity that adds a healthy variety of ethnic accents to our region, it has become necessary for serious lovers of South-of-the-Border cuisine to subdivide this dining niche into categories.

No longer can we define “Mexican” in terms of Tumbleweed and Chi-Chi’s; not when we can choose among a delicious array of Latino eateries that range across the stylistic spectrum from upscale sit-down dining rooms to lovable “hole-in-the-wall” taquerias where English-speaking monophones are welcome but may be well advised to bring along a Spanish dictionary.

Now something new and delicious has been added: Just over the bridge in New Albany, Israel and Lidia Landin, the proud owners of La Rosita on Charlestown Road, one of the newest and best of the taquerias, have opened a second location in the Southern Indiana suburb. This one’s no mere taqueria, though. Call it “crossover” or “breakout” Mexican, it brings the Landins’ fully authentic (and delicious) native cuisine out of the taqueria category and presents it, in fluent if slightly accented English, in the bistro-style setting of a prettily renovated New Albany building that once housed a 19th century general store.

Continue reading La Rosita: A second bouquet →

New and noteworthy, QuickBytes

Tube steak extraordinaire

Zap's

I have a new favorite steak house. That’s tube steak, I mean, a.k.a. the humble hot dog. For perfection in the art of the dog, you just can’t beat Zap’s Gourmet Hotdogs, 423 W. Muhammad Ali Blvd., (502) 587-0251.

This delightful new downtown lunch spot specializes in this simple fare, and does so with a flair that has made it a midday attraction for growing hordes of downtown workers, along with a few gourmands like me who can’t resist making the trek in from Crescent Hill and other places to catch a Zapernak Dog and a mound of the world’s crispiest homemade potato chips.

Housed in the storefront quarters in the old Molee Building that briefly was home to Chutnee’s, a short-lived Indian buffet, Zap’s management has pretty much got the curry scent out of the fixtures. Continue reading Tube steak extraordinaire →

New and noteworthy, QuickBytes

Saffron’s, Part Deux

Saffron's

Springing back into action after way too long a break (forced by the demands of my WineLoversPage.com website and wine-related travel to Portugal early in the holiday season), I resume this journal with excellent news for local fanciers of good things to eat: Saffron’s, veteran restaurateur Majid Ghavami’s classy Persian spot that I rank among the city’s best places to dine, is about to open a second downtown location.

Saffron’s Buffet will open soon in the space at 558 S. Fifth St., just north of Chestnut Street, that had housed Manoosh’s until the latter put up the shutters last autumn. (It was originally scheduled for opening in January, but significant renovation needs have prompted some delay. Watch this space for more news.)

Saffron’s Buffet will feature many of Saffron’s popular Persian dishes, styled for buffet service and priced to enjoy at $7.95 for all you can eat. Continue reading Saffron’s, Part Deux →

QuickBytes

The deep, dark secret of Danish

Danish Express

Here’s one of those dark secrets that culinary experts usually speak of only in muted tones: You know the classic Danish pastry, the delight of pastry lovers and brunch fanciers for nearly two centuries? Listen close, I’m going to whisper: It isn’t really Danish. It’s Viennese.

Depending on which story you prefer, it’s either a matter of corporate spying (Danish Royal baker Christian Ludvig Olsen “borrowed” the recipe from an Austrian baker he met in Germany in 1834 and brought it home), or of management union-busting (the Danish King summoned “replacement workers” from Vienna when his bakers went out on strike, and the strike-breakers brought the secret of this tasty delight along).

Either way, the Danes have made this succulent pastry their own, and you’d be hard-pressed to find a better model in the Old Country today than you can have right here in the Derby City at Danish Express, (102½ Cannons Lane, [502] 895-2863).
Continue reading The deep, dark secret of Danish →

New and noteworthy, QuickBytes

A bouquet for La Rosita

La Rosita

Again today I forge into Southern Indiana, following where a fellow foodie has led. This time I’m indebted to LEO’s erudite Marty Rosen for the published pointer to La Rosita Taqueria (2535 Charlestown Road in New Albany, [812] 948-0401), which jumps into a dead heat with, Rosticeria Luna (5213B Preston Highway, [502] 962-8898), as my favorite 100 percent authentic Mexican eatery in town.
Continue reading A bouquet for La Rosita →

New and noteworthy, QuickBytes

A.J.’s coffee, cream and gyros

A.J's

I have to give the credit to Lisa Hornung of Gannett’s Velocity weekly for blazing the trail to this funny little roadside spot in rural Southern Indiana with its sign that proudly proclaims “4,081 GYROS SOLD” (as of Oct. 18, 2005), but I headed on over to A.J.’s Coffee ‘n’ Cream as soon as I found out about it, and the short journey led to a memorable lunch.

Just a couple of miles from the landmark Polly’s Freeze (in fact, it’s at the same I-64 exit, going the other way), A.J’s bears a marked resemblance to Polly’s. It’s a small, free-standing white cottage just large enough to hold a kitchen and a couple of people working inside, with hand-written menus plastered all across the sides and front of the building. Walk up, call your order through the screen window, and hang around. Continue reading A.J.’s coffee, cream and gyros →

QuickBytes

Westport General Store

Westport General Store

Look, don’t make the same stupid mistake that I did. For months I’ve been putting off an evening trip out to Westport General Store for no particularly good reason. “It’s too far,” I whined. “It’s way out in the country. Takes forever to get there.”

Yesterday afternoon, as we drew toward the close of one of those achingly beautiful early-autumn days with blue October skies as brilliant as a sapphire and foliage popping against it like a postcard with colors too bright to be real, we finally packed the car with provisions for a long trip and hit the road to Westport. Huh. It’s just 20 miles out US42 from the Watterson, a 25-minute trip out one of the most scenic highways in the region … and that’s before the leaves start to turn.

Less than a half-hour. One-sixth of the time you’d have to wait for a table at P.F. Chang’s on a Saturday night. And when we got there, we found a cozy spot in a pleasant setting, where proprietors Will and Laura Crawford and their crew provide a comfortably sophisticated bill of fare that would in no way be out of place in the fanciest bistro on Bardstown Road or Frankfort Avenue.
Continue reading Westport General Store →

QuickBytes

Breakfast!

Logos

Sometimes it seems like there’s no better way to start a long, lazy Saturday than a hearty breakfast. And when I talk about breakfast, I don’t mean brunch. Eggs, bacon and toast, not your quiche and salad bar. A steaming cup of strong coffee works for me, save the Champagne and the bloody Mary for later in the day, thanks.

I’ve been enjoying dining out for breakfast quite a bit lately, discovering a number of recent restaurant arrivals that either specialize in breakfast or at least make it a serious part of their bill of fare. Let’s celebrate this sunny Saturday with a quick look at a half-dozen of them.

I have to confess that I was a little shy at first about checking out Logos Coffee House (2250 Frankfort Ave, [502] 897-2272), pictured above.
Continue reading Breakfast! →

QuickBytes

Fine burgers: Kaelin’s and Primo

Cheeseburger

The humble cheeseburger quietly celebrated a landmark anniversary this year as Kaelin’s declared Wednesday, Oct. 12, the 70th anniversary of the day that restaurant founder Carl Kaelin allegedly had the bright idea of draping a slice of cheese atop a sizzling grilled burger, and a great new sandwich was born. (For a long time I doubted this story, figuring such a simple idea surely must have occurred to someone centuries earlier; but extensive Web searching suggests that Kaelin’s claim is true.)

By happy coincidence, I dropped by Kaelin’s that day to meet some buddies for lunch, not realizing that it was a red-letter day. In honor of its birthday, the cheeseburger platter was on sale for just $5.95, two bucks off its regular price. Naturally I ordered one, with onion “straws” and a cup of Kaelin’s chili on the side.
Continue reading Fine burgers: Kaelin’s and Primo →