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.
Thomas Jefferson said it best: Government should “make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, thus building a wall of separation between Church & State.” This great American tradition, enshrined in the Constitution, would seem to protect us from governmental intrusion in such deeply personal matters as, for example, enjoying an adult beverage with brunch on Sundays.
If you think the Balkans are bad for bloody border warfare, just try to find a space in the maze of parking lots behind the busy storefronts of downtown St. Matthews. Warring posters warn of dire consequences if pilgrims bound for Mellow Mushroom, for example, or Plehn’s bakery, dare to park in St. Matthews Station’s parking lot. Or vice versa. Continue reading Tasty new fare at Meridian Cafe, but tricky parking remains→
Chipotle is here at last. Let the congregation say “Whoopee!” The 20-year-old Denver-based fast-food chain built about 1,400 units in 43 states (including a few properties in Lexington and about 30 in Greater Cincinnati) before one finally opened in downtown Louisville last month. (March 2013) Continue reading Louisville finally gets a Chipotle. W00t!→
I wouldn’t want to say that I’m an incurable fanboy, but I can’t deny that I’ve spent more than a few long days lining up at Oxmoor Center, eagerly waiting my turn to be among the first to grab the latest and greatest iDevice from the Apple store.
And better yet, if hunger pangs strike after a few hours of inching ever so slowly forward in the quest for your iThing, you can always make a quick food run to Yang Kee Noodle, bribing your neighbors to save your spot by promising them a delivery of steaming pad thai, sizzling egg rolls or an oversize cup of hot-and-sour soup. Continue reading Yang Kee Noodle came to town 10 years ago, and we’re glad→
When DiOrio’s pizza first settled into the former home of Karem’s Meats in St. Matthews, it already seemed that this booming nightspot zone was attracting more pizzerias than it could reasonably handle … and that was before Coal’s or Mellow Mushroom came to town. Continue reading DiOrio’s earns its place on Pizza Row→
Fried scrod on rye at Fish-Fry House.When the Fish-Fry House opened in the Highlands last year, it generated a lot of excitement among local fried-fish lovers (who, of course, are legion), but not entirely for the right reasons. People emailed, they called, they stopped me on the street to pronounce the good news: “The Fishery has opened a branch in the Highlands!” Actually, not so much. In fact, when this purveyor of fried fish and other fried things changed its name from Blue Lagoon about a year ago, it hoisted a logo that looks an awful lot like The Fishery’s: Same fat serif font, same big F at the start and big Y at the end; the only difference is a little “-f” replacing The Fishery’s little “e” in the middle of the word. Drive out Bardstown just past Kroger and check it out. Chances are it will fool you, too.
In fact, the tenuous connection reportedly goes back to an old franchise agreement for a different location. The similar sign was not exactly welcomed by the original Fishery folks, or so I’m told.
But the argument has apparently abated, as the sign still stands. Live and let live. It takes plenty of fish to satisfy all the fish lovers in this fish-happy town, anyway, and that goes double when it’s Lent, the season when a lot of believers, in the spirit of sacrifice, switch over from delicious red meat to delicious fried white fish during the 40 days before Easter.
You don’t have to believe a thing beyond “I believe I’ll have me a fish sandwich” to enjoy the goodies here, though; and I’ll testify that Shahram Pouranfour (who also operates Sharom’s Fishery Station on Outer Loop) is a master of breading and frying. In a recent visit, we didn’t taste a fried item that wasn’t crisp, golden-brown and delicious. The offbeat venue only adds to Fish-Fry’s curb appeal: It’s located in the ‘20s-era gasoline service station that was lovingly renovated for restaurant use by the late, lamented Diamond Station.
The menu, as noted, depends substantially on frying, with fried Boston scrod, chicken, shrimp, chicken livers, oysters, salmon croquettes; even fried alligator tail and fried shark bites, along with a few tasty non-fried items such as oven-baked scrod, on a family-friendly menu topping out at $12.95 (for a fried oyster platter with choice of two sides). The bar is currently shut down, a sign on the door announcing that wine, beer and liquor won’t be available “until further notice.”
We made do with iced tea and filled up on a well-made fried scrod on rye ($6.50), an oversize rolled oyster ($5.75) that resembled a giant hush puppy with tiny fresh oysters baked in, and sides of outstanding fried green tomatoes, standard-issue green beans and, reflecting Pouranfour’s Persian heritage, Iranian-style dilled rice.
Our fried lunch for two, filling enough to set aside any plan for a serious dinner that evening, came to $27.78, plus a $6 tip.
“Downtown” St. Matthews has come a long way, from the generation when it was best known for dark bars populated by portly gentlemen drinking cold beer, to the modern era that finds it chockablock with hipster bars populated by trendy young folks wearing skinny jeans and drinking specialty cocktails. I won’t even open the door to a discussion about whether this trend is beneficial or regrettable, although I’ll suggest that this opinion lies largely in the eye of the beholder. Continue reading “It takes real bocconcini”: Mellow Mushroom takes on the locals→
Every now and then you’ll encounter an idea so simple, yet so brilliant, that you’ll suck in your breath and think, “Wow! I wish I had thought of that!” And when such a bright idea concerns breakfast, it’s hard to see how things could get any better than that.
So say hello to SuperChefs Breakfast, and a big tip of the old fedora to innovators Darnell Ferguson and Ryan Bryson, who came up with a creative way to jump from an award-winning culinary-school career to running their own restaurant, without all the capital expenses and costs and deal-making that such an entrepreneurial effort usually requires. Continue reading SuperChefs Builds Memorable Breakfast→
Sometimes a little knowledge is not so much a dangerous thing as just a boring thing. When I learned that a new restaurant called Zoë’s Kitchen had arrived in the autumn of 2012 in the reconstructed space that long had held Stan’s Fish Sandwich, for instance, my wandering mind immediately wandered down a narrow space that holds my limited knowledge of Biblical Greek.
“Zoe,” I thought. “That means ‘life,’ in ancient Greek, or more specifically spiritual life, as opposed to ‘Bios,’ biological life. What a cool name for a restaurant!”
Here’s bad news for Baby Boomers (and a cautionary note for the rest of you): As we get older, we can’t get away with eating as much as we used to. Our metabolism slows over time, and chances are our lifestyle slows down, too. Continue reading Counting Calories And Loving It At Heart & Soy→
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