Commentary

A smile and a word can bridge the language gap

By Robin Garr
LouisvilleHotBytes.com

¡Bueños días! Nihao! Konnichiwa! Bonjou! Xin Chào! Annyeonghaseyo! ? káàsán!

And there you have it! A simple, multilingual glossary to help bridge the language gap – let’s not call it a barrier – when you take your seat and greet the server at, respectively, a Latinx, Chinese, Japanese, Haitian, Chinese, Korean, or Nigerian restaurant.

There’s nothing quite like greeting a person in their own language to get your encounter off on the right foot, even if you don’t have much of a common language. Continue reading A smile and a word can bridge the language gap →

$$ Modest ($30-$50), Bistros, Frankfort Ave., Clifton, Crescent Hill, Pubs, Brew Pubs, GastroPubs

Every day is St. Patrick’s Day at The Irish Rover

By Robin Garr
LouisvilleHotBytes.com

Every year on St. Patrick’s Day, Louisville’s Irish Rover famously holds a humongous party, featuring an oversize tent that covers most of the parking lot, live Irish music, and plenty of great Irish food and gallons of dark Irish beer.

It’s fun, I’m told. But I’ve never been. Big, noisy crowds guzzling draft beer outdoors on a brisk March day, even with the comfort of a tent loaded with toasty heaters, is just not my style.

But catching up with The Rover for lunch the day after St. Patrick’s, enjoying the warm and cozy Irish pub comfort of The Rover’s historic Frankfort Avenue building on a more normal day? Priceless. Continue reading Every day is St. Patrick’s Day at The Irish Rover →

Commentary

Dining solo: No fear, no shame, just do it

By Robin Garr
LouisvilleHotBytes.com

Years ago, after I left the newly corporate Courier-Journal, I went to work for a national non-profit based in New York City. It was a fascinating job that took me all around the country, visiting and reporting on creative grassroots organizations in all 50 states.

It was fun, stressful at times, and at the end of just about every day filled with meeting, chatting with, and interviewing grassroots heroes, I was ready for some quiet time alone … and a good dinner with only my thoughts or a good book for company. Continue reading Dining solo: No fear, no shame, just do it →

$$ Modest ($30-$50), BBQ, Burgers & Down-Home, Frankfort Ave., Clifton, Crescent Hill

Meat or no meat: The Smokery has you covered

By Robin Garr
LouisvilleHotBytes.com

A vegan walked into a barbecue joint. What’s the punchline?

Actually, there’s no punchline. I’m not a vegan myself. But I can see the ethos: The commercial agriculture that’s necessary to have everyone eating tasty animals is bad for the environment. It’s bad for our health. And it’s pretty obviously bad for the animals who have to be killed for our gustatory enjoyment.

For reasons such as these, growing numbers of people have gone vegan, vegetarian, or flexitarian recently, and that’s why I always try to include at least one meat-free dish in each review.

This can be a challenge, though, when I visit a new barbecue joint. Like this week, when I followed the delicious scent of hickory smoke to The Smokery, a new eatery in a small building on Frankfort Avenue in Clifton. Continue reading Meat or no meat: The Smokery has you covered →

Commentary, Pacific Rim

Streaming and dining: Korean drama imparts a crave

By Robin Garr
LouisvilleHotBytes.com

I had never envisioned myself as a fan of South Korean K-dramas, but that was before a Netflix promotion drew me into the fictional life of Extraordinary Attorney Woo.

Now I’m almost through binging this sweet, sometimes challenging drama about the brilliant 20-something Korean attorney Woo Young-woo (played by Park Eun-bin), who, as Netflix explains it, “faces challenges in the courtroom and beyond as a newbie at a top law firm in Seoul and a woman on the autism spectrum.”

Before long I had added a Korean module to my Duolingo routine so I could learn characters in hangul, the Korean alphabet. And most of all, I found myself deeply craving the only food item that Young-woo enjoys: Kimbap. Continue reading Streaming and dining: Korean drama imparts a crave →

Commentary, Seafood & Water's Edge

Quoth The Raven, “Gimme more fish!”

By Robin Garr
LouisvilleHotBytes.com

It’s fish fry season in Louisville again! We’re back in that season of Lent when you don’t have to be Catholic to go gaga over Friday fish fries at dozens of local parishes … and a couple of Episcopal churches, too.

Now, for the record, all year is fish-fry season in this river city. Perhaps owing to a substantial rush of German, Irish, Italian, and Lebanese Catholic immigrants during the 19th century, when the L&N railroad would rush fish and oysters up from the Gulf in ice-filled boxcars, Louisville is crazy for seafood all year ‘round.

But that fishy history doesn’t deter us from piling on another layer of culinary excitement when those Friday Lenten fries return. If you’d like to track down a favorite church fish fry, or discover what’s available near you, here are a few handy sources: Continue reading Quoth The Raven, “Gimme more fish!” →

Commentary

Happy, cozy, magical, gemütlich: Why we love those special eateries

By Robin Garr
LouisvilleHotBytes.com

I love it when one of my columns sparks a conversation about a similar-but-different idea. Consider my comment in last week’s review:

“What do I like so much about Con Huevos? As simply as I can explain it, it’s a happy place.”

That seems simple enough. It’s concise, but hardly a quote for the ages. But those few words prompted more response than just about anything else I’ve said recently. Continue reading Happy, cozy, magical, gemütlich: Why we love those special eateries →

$$ Modest ($30-$50), Breakfast and lunch spots, sandwich spots, Brunch, Downtown, NuLu and Butchertown, Frankfort Ave., Clifton, Crescent Hill, Mexican, Cuban, Caribbean, Northeast Metro

Con Huevos, a favorite for breakfast or lunch

By Robin Garr
LouisvilleHotBytes.com

Don’t stop me if I’ve told you this before, but breakfast is one of my favorite meals of the day, and I’m happy to enjoy it for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

What’s more, Con Huevos is one of my favorite places for breakfast, although to my occasional sorrow, it’s open only for breakfast and lunch. If I want it for dinner, I have to get by with takeouts picked up earlier in the day. Continue reading Con Huevos, a favorite for breakfast or lunch →

Commentary

Our critic shares a few secrets of the food writers

By Robin Garr
LouisvilleHotBytes.com

While I was power-walking a mile the other morning, I plugged in The Daily podcast from The New York Times and realized to my delight that they were interviewing one of my favorite food critics: The Times’ Pete Wells.

All right! That put a little more bounce in my step. I really like Pete Wells, and if I don’t exactly model my writing chops on Pete, I do like his work. I enjoyed hearing him chatting with The Daily’s host, Michael Barbaro, about his craft as a food writer, his love of food, and how everything changed when the pandemic hit New York City.

I thought about this, and I thought, “Hmmm.” I’m no Pete Wells. I don’t have Pete’s budget, and I’m arguably not as funny. Still, in the context of that interview, I had a thought: Why not share a few things you might not know about my approach to restaurant writing in Louisville? Continue reading Our critic shares a few secrets of the food writers →

$ Budget (under $30), Mexican, Cuban, Caribbean, Northeast Metro, Outer East End, Taquerias

El Mariachi, a favorite, moves and grows

By Robin Garr
LouisvilleHotBytes.com

If I’m going to go out for Mexican food, I’d really rather find my way to a taqueria or other small eatery run by immigrant neighbors. Someplace where the food is the real thing, where I need to be prepared to order in my awkward Spanish or by pointing at an item in the menu with a smile.

Someplace, in other words, like El Mariachi Restaurante Mexicano. This East End eatery, more than just a taqueria, has long been one of my favorite local spots for Mexican fare thanks to the quality of its food, the breadth of its menu, and its colorful, happy-making decor.

Not long ago, running an errand out Lagrange Road, I noticed to my surprise that things have changed. Continue reading El Mariachi, a favorite, moves and grows →

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