Louisville suggestions?

I'm heading to Louisville KY for a few days at the end of this month and was interested in people's suggestions. Primarily looking for the not-fancy type places, as I'm on a budget for the trip. Definitely going to try to catch a Waffle House.

thanks in advance

I lived in Louisville for four years, recently....these were some of my favorites that are not expensive but pretty damn good:

1. Lynn's - It's southern food with a twist. My favorite is the fried chicken salad with green apples, cajun spiced pecans and a nice apple cider vinagarette. Also, the BLT is awesome and the cheese grits. Oh and the onion rings and you have to dip them in there ranch dressing. Oh I miss this place.

2. Cafe Lou Lou - It's a mix of Louisiana and Louisville foods. A little bit of cajun and a little bit of southern. Nice place, they have daily specials, including pizzas and really good salads, pastas, etc. I would recommend anything, they do a nice job.

3. Havana Rumba - Cuban food and it's better than anything that I have had in Chicago. Family owned/operated from Cuba, original recipes, very good. I say this with love, I am from Florida and have had a hard time finding really good cuban food here.

*Edited to add the onion rings

I like Louisville but found myself generally underwhelmed by the food options. Lynn's is nice and unique and certainly worth a visit.

The best thing I consumed in Louisville that I couldn't get in Chicago, besides bourbon, was Graeter's Ice Cream:



2204 Bardstown Rd, Louisville
(502) 451-0044
(A couple other locations, I think)

A search for the word "Louisville" will reveal a couple threads with other suggestions.

Best,
Michael

thank you!

I'll try to have a report when I get back

If you're looking for something unique to Louisville, I'd put a Hot Brown on your list. If your budget prohibits getting one at the source (The Brown Hotel), they are served all over town at less expensive places.

If you like beer, I'd try the Bluegrass Brewing Company. http://www.bbcbrew.com/

It's a pretty decent microbrewery and the food is not that bad either.

From the Brown Hotel website www.brownhotel.com

Wednesday, October 22, 2008: Brown Hotel 85th Birthday Hot Brown Celebration at J. Graham’s Café

Help the Brown Hotel celebration it’s 85th Birthday with a Hot Brown extravaganza. Petite Hot Brown cups will be available “to go” for 85 cents by the lower entrance of the hotel from noon-1 p.m (the price of the Hot Brown in the 1920's). Additionally guests can dine in J. Graham’s Café and enjoy the Hot Brown for 85 cents plus a $15 donation, with proceeds benefiting the Kentucky Humane Society in memory of Mr. Brown’s long time companion and rescued poodle Woozem. The price of the meal includes the Original Hot Brown, Salad Bar, Derby Pie and Beverage from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Reservations can be made by calling 502-583-1234, extension 7225

One of my favorite places of all time is Bardstown Road, in the Bonnycastle neighborhood. There's a whole slew of indigeneous places, from Za's Pizza (Louisville style, an excellent pie, with lots and lots of brews available) to Mark's Feed (local bbq--pretty good 'q, with an excellent sauce), tapas, Serbian grill, etc., plus several excellent music/instrument stores, a first-rate wine store, and lots more very diverse retail. It's just a great place to wander, totally home-grown and authentic.

Geo

Had a great meal at india palace in louisville last week. the food was great, but i finished my meal all by myself in a room that could probably sit 100. i hope they make it.

meat samosas had flavorful filling and had a fresh, flaky crust.

chicken biryani was requested spicy and came out just that, really hit the spot.

keema naan, solid as any i've had.

if you're in l'ville and in the mood for indian, i highly reccomend the palace.

India Palace
9424 Shellbyville Road
Louisville, KY 40222

I went to school in Louisville and can second the recomendation for Havana Rumba on Shelbyville Road.

I would also add what I have found to be the best Vietnam cuisine. Vietnam Kitchen on Old 3rd street in a strip mall.

Order the K-8 with pork and get ready for the ride of your life.

Good eating

I just got back from a weekend in Kentucky spent bourbon tasting between Louisville and Lexington. I'll write up my impressions of Lexington in the Lexington-thread.

Our first meal was at the well documented Proof on Main. I started off with a flight of single barrel bourbons from Buffalo Trace. It was really a treat to taste these side by side to get a sense of the subtle differences between them. Their bourbon selection is absolutely top notch (they were also offering a Pappy flight, 12, 15, 20).

It was getting a little late so we decided to stick to appetizers. Everything was fresh and skillfully prepared. Truly no misses on the table. The octopus had terrific texture, chewy with plenty of char and a nice hint of sweetness. The buffalo marrow bones were huge and deeply flavorful, very buttery. Also I really liked the roasted beet salad that was served with exceptionally fresh pistachios and a delicate smoked vinaigrette. It was an impressive meal top to bottom.

Before we left Louisville we grabbed a quick bite at Vietnam Kitchen. It's located in what appears to be a Vietnamese enclave since there were a handful of Vietnamese restaurants and markets in the area. It was mid-afternoon yet the place was 90% full. Service was efficient and attentive and the food was pretty good.

We started with Banh Xeo and Banh Beo.

Pictured: Banh Beo


Pictured: Banh Xeo


The banh beo were spongy and slimy but were drowned in too much of that sweet vinegar sauce. The banh xeo was more chewy than crispy and had significantly more coconut flavor than I've seen in the past. Also it wasn't served with the big plate of herbs I'm accustomed to seeing, which I think the dish would have benefited from.

The entrees were an eggplant chive stir fry with beef and a shrimp, peanut vermicelli. The eggplant pieces were large and spongy but delicate and well fried. The flavor of the dish was good but the beef was tough and overcooked. The vermicelli was run of the mill. The sauce came on the side which was good, but the ratio of toppings to noodles was too low. I ate too many full bites of pure noodle.

Overall nothing was bad, but it just didn't reach the same level as many of the great Vietnamese meals I've enjoyed in Chicago. My dad, who had never eaten Vietnamese food before was impressed and enjoyed the meal. I was more lukewarm. Still it's near the airport, quick and cheap. Those criteria make it a viable option if that's what you need.

One place I've eaten at a number of times, and quite enjoyably, is the Thai Siam. It's in a big shopping center on Bardstown Rd. It's been a while since I ate there, but I've just checked with a pal and he says that they're still right on target. It's a very pleasant resto, as well.

Geo

Thai Siam
3002 Bardstown Rd.
(502) 458-6871

I'm originally from Louisville--my hometown--and there are only two things, IMHO, to get excited about regarding the food. First is Vietnamese food--Louisville has a rather large Vietnamese population, and the food in these restaurants is usually quite excellent. Actually, that's the only reason to get excited. Proof on Main, though not warranting excitable anticipation, is pretty good.

I've enjoyed lynn's

The three restaurants I've enjoyed the most in Louisville this year are:

1. 732 Social. Similar in many ways to the Hopleaf. It's on Market St., on the fringes of downtown. I had a steak, my wife a scallop dish, and we shared the mac 'n cheese made with rock shrimp. We may also have shared an order of pommes frites, but I forget. We had a couple beers that we'd never heard of before that were quite enjoyable, and finished with a cheese plate that we were glad to have ordered. I can vouch for the quality and preparation of the food, except for the cheese plate which is something I have almost no expertise in. It's a neat little spot, looks even like the back dining room of the Hopleaf. Service was nice. We showed up on a very slow night, and they made us feel appreciated as two of their few customers that evening. Apparently it's usually pretty busy. It was a great meal. The steak got tastier as it went on. That rock shrimp mac 'n cheese could've been a meal by itself.

2. Dragon King's Daughter. An asian fusion joint over on Bardstown Road in the HIghlands. We've been there a few times. They have asian style tacos and pizza, plus sushi. They've got an afternoon and late night happy hour. Small, but decent beer selection. They do a couple different beer floats, of which I've had one. Even missing the happy hour, the prices are more than reasonable. From the sushi selection, the Mantis Roll and the There Went Drew Roll were both solid. From the tacos, there were kimchi beef and an asian bbq beef tacos that were delicious, and a ginger salmon (or something like that) taco that a tablemate really enjoyed. We had one of the pizza, but even glancing at their menu, I can't remember which one, but it was perfectly fine. I think of all their different categories of food, the tacos were the highlight, the sushi came in a close second, and the pizza firmly in third (though I should add that despite its bronze medal, we'll likely get a pizza again there). I was told by one of my tablemates that the owner of this place also owns a Japanese restaurant over on Frankfort Avenue, which is highly thought of, including by myself.

3. The secret Indian place. My buddy has got me addicted to this Indian joint with a pretty extensive menu and an excellent buffet over on Bardstown Road, way way South in this grubby strip mall. There's some cryptic reason it's supposed to be a secret amongst our group of friends, but that doesn't apply to LTH. Actually, I'm having a hard time finding it with google. I'll add another post later.

I've got some photos of food from Dragon King's Daughter, which I can add later, too, if there's any interest.

Geo wrote:One of my favorite places of all time is Bardstown Road, in the Bonnycastle neighborhood.

In a Feb 2010 post on Chowhound, LauraGrace wrote:Two... no three... of my favorite Kentucky foods can be found at the Bardstown Rd. farmers' market.
1. Smoked catfish omelet. Sounds weird, tastes CRAZY good. Made to order with all manner of other local produce. I know it's not a "specialty" or anything, but it's made with 100% Kentucky ingredients (ok, maybe the oil they grease the pans with isn't local).

2. Ham biscuits. See texavi's comments on country ham. It's the American South equivalent of paper-thin jamon iberico, but on BISCUITS. 

3. Tomato pie! Juicy, ripe tomatoes in a flaky crust. I can just picture someone facing a bushel basket full of tomatoes one hot July wondering what the dickens they were going to do with them all...

This turned out to be an excellent recommendation. The Bardstown Road farmers market isn't huge but it has good variety, with a nice mix of produce and prepared food.

The smoked catfish omelet is indeed excellent—and all those veggies were most welcome after the overwhelming richness of a Hot Brown the day before.





The omelet must contain at least a dozen ingredients yet didn't seem too busy. The pungent fish is clearly present but balanced by all the fresh ingredients. The folks who run this stand will be opening a restaurant soon (I believe the name will be Harvest and it's scheduled for early next year). I'd be more than willing to give it a try.

Alas, there were no ham biscuits to be found.

The tomato pie people were there but tomato season had just ended. Instead, for autumn, they were offering Hubbard squash pie.





I enjoyed this slice but not surprisingly it's quite similar to pumpkin pie.

We were able to pick up some apple and pear varieties I'd never seen before. Nice way to spend a Saturday morning.

Bardstown Road Farmers' Market
1722 Bardstown Rd
Louisville KY
Sat 8am-noon (final market of 2010 is Dec 18; check website for winter market info)

Had a fantastic meal at 732 Social on Thursday night.

The charcuterie isn't going to be competing with the Publican anytime soon, but it was excellent. Capicola, country ham and duck prosciutto were favorites. Both steak au poivre and steak frites were cooked perfectly. The au poivre had terrific spice. 5-layer cake (three red velvet, two carrot) rolled in crushed peanut butter cups was ridiculous(ly good).

Very good wine/cocktail list and knowledgeable bartenders (makes sense, given that we were directed here by a prominent Chicago bartender).

732 Social
732 East Market Street
Louisville, KY 40202
(502) 583-6882

kl1191 wrote:Had a fantastic meal at 732 Social on Thursday night.

The charcuterie isn't going to be competing with the Publican anytime soon, but it was excellent. Capicola, country ham and duck prosciutto were favorites. Both steak au poivre and steak frites were cooked perfectly. The au poivre had terrific spice. 5-layer cake (three red velvet, two carrot) rolled in crushed peanut butter cups was ridiculous(ly good).

Very good wine/cocktail list and knowledgeable bartenders (makes sense, given that we were directed here by a prominent Chicago bartender).

732 Social
732 East Market Street
Louisville, KY 40202
(502) 583-6882

I had dinner at Jack Fry's Friday night, and my wife and I really enjoyed it. We were talking to someone at the bar before dinner and he was raving about 732 Social, we'll definitely have to check it out next time.

I'm surprised Jack Fry's hasn't gotten any love here before. Prose poems have been written re Proof on Main, but I liked Jack Fry's much better. Old school joint. Even though it's white tablecloth and fairly hefty tariff, it's got a lively energy to it. Crowd was a mix of very elegant, Old Louisville types draped in pearls all the way to 20-somethings in cargo shorts and sweaters. Atmosphere reminded me of Galatoire's, definitely a see and be seen place.


Louisville has quite the vibrant foodie scene. Although local sourcing has become a cliche' around the country, they turn it up to 11 here. Which is remarkable for a city this size. Nearby Cincinnati and Indianapolis are much bigger metro areas, but their restaurant culture doesn't begin to approach what's going on in Louisville. And even though Jack Fry's has been around forever and gone through multiple ownership changes, they are really on top of their game re the quality of local sourcing and expert preparation. It's in the Highland's neighborhood on Bardstown Road.

We started by splitting the shrimp and grits. I asked them to toss a few fried oysters on there for me, and they were happy to oblige so you gotta love that. Shrimp and grits were delicious, true corn flavor came right through and the oysters were superb. My wife had the beet salad, which was excellent - some of the most flavorful beets I've ever tasted. They're known for their warm brie salad, which I ordered. I thought it was just ok, pretty much a lump of melted brie on top of some lightly dressed greens. My wife had the chicken fermier, which is brined and roasted, and served with truffled brussel sprouts (amazing) and bacony lentils - outstanding dish. I had the veal tenderloin medallions, which came with roasted fingerlings and carrots. Really enjoyed that, but the chicken was better. Very compact menu but with good variety, it's obviously their intent is to nail every dish that comes out of the kitchen and they did.

Went to the Bardstown Road farmers market, and I've got a load of produce that I need to start cooking tonite. Not the largest market, but a good mix of vendors and a good variety of produce. Breakfast Saturday was at Wild Eggs on Dutchman. Pretty non-descript neighborhood, on a retail strip near the medical center. Half hour wait already at 9:30 on a Saturday morning, but you get coffee gratis which is a nice touch. I had the wild mushroom/roasted garlic/goat cheese scramble, which was unbelievably good. I've never seen this combination in a breakfast dish, but it really worked. Potatoes were perfect, crunchy and browned in clarified butter. And they just throw in a muffin, which is probably the best muffin I've ever had.


Interesting food city, now that I'm in Indianapolis I'll have to get down there much more often.

btw we stayed at the Seelbach. Don't bother drinking at the bar, my wife had a whiskey sour and they made it from sour mix. C'mon, in this day and age at a hotel like this are you kidding? I'll be staying at the Brown next time.

Finally made it to 732 Social this weekend. Took a cab from the Brown Hotel, and the driver was just a regular guy white dude in his fifties. He had very strong and confident opinions on the local dining scene, kind of gave us a meh on 732 Social telling us the buzz has died down and that we could eat much better for the same price elsewhere in town. He rattled off a few places but I didn't really take much note of it - I'm not in the habit of taking a cabbie's opinion as gospel when it comes to eating.

The restaurant has one of those annoying "no reservations" policies, and we arrived Friday night at 7pm expecting the worst re the wait. But place was not even half full. Hipster waiter took our drink order, I chose the "Church and Steeple" which is their variant on a rye Manhattan. Menu described it with apricot syrup, so I specifically asked to take it easy on the syrup and don't make it so sweet. So of course if comes back cloying. A good cocktail and still drinkable but I definitely would have preferred it drier as requested.

We ordered a serrano and country ham from their charcuterie section to go with the cocktails. Both were good, but it demonstrated how crucial carving skill is with high end hams. We'd just had some magnificently sliced jamon's a few weeks ago at Curate in Asheville, NC, carved by a chef who'd spent time in El Bulli's kitchen. The Curate jamons almost melted on your tongue without any chewing necessary, the hams here were sliced thicker so you end up gnawing on it for awhile and it loses something - the devil is in the details:


After our first course was served our waiter comes over and announces that he's being sent home because they don't have enough customers, and he introduced us to our new server. Odd way of handling the situation, but if I were him I'd also be somewhat peeved. See you restrauteurs, that's what you get for sticking with your "we're too cool for reservations" policy - paranoid customers and snarky staff. Regardless, our new server was great and we had no problem with the service.

Everything on their small plate menu looked good to us, so we ended up making a meal of the beet salad, mac 'n cheese, beef tartare, collard greens and tots n' cracklins. Big winners were the mac n' cheese and tots, both were excellent. Collard greens were tough and surprisingly bland, beef tartare was from a pretty rich cut of beef (wagyu maybe?) not really an improvement over the traditional leaner cuts used for this dish.


Good wine list, liked the malbec that our new server suggested. We split a German chocolate cake for dessert, was ok but a little dry like it'd been sitting around for at least a day. All in all it was a good meal and decent value, but our cabbie nailed it - we could've chose better for dinner if we're just in town for one night.

We took a breakfast included package at the Brown, which was served in their ground level Graham Cafe. Won't need to bother with that again, nice room but I could've had the same meal at any Sheraton south of the Mason-Dixon. Cheese grits were some blah out of the box grits with some cold shredded cheddar tossed on top. Vigorous stirring still couldn't melt that stuff. My wife's sausage links were tough little devils, the waiter must have grabbed a few from the buffet steam table bin on the way over to the table. Cool hotel, but don't need to eat there again.

Finished up at the Bardstown Rd farmers market and grabbed some great produce. Gotta love a town where a blue-haired granny with a fanny pack grills the farmer for 5 minutes re growing methods/pest control before forking over her $2 for a bunch of beets. I just find it interesting how this city, of all places, has just been completely invested with a foodie culture from top to bottom. Why Louisville? Who knows, but I really enjoy coming here.

I've got about 50 hrs in Louisville during Derby weekend.

Food musts?
Any non Churchill viewing options(debating on whether tickets are worth it)
Activities?
Sites?

Up until recently I didn't know Louisville existed - kidding, but you get the idea...

I highly reccomend checking out http://www.louisvillehotbytes.com for information on Louisville restaurants. Be warned that Derby weekend is the busiest weekend of the year for Louisville restaurants, and that making reservations as early as possible is a must.

Places I would personally reccomend:

Harvest Restaurant for locally sourced farm-to-table.
Bourbon's Bistro for a comprehensive selection of its namesake tipple and tasty foodstuffs.
Basa for modern Vietnamese.
Garage Bar for wood fired pizza, oysters and the ham bar.
Palermo Viejo for great Argentinean and the best steaks in town.

Ex-Louisvillian myself and agree with the list above entirely, great recommendations. A couple of other places I love when I go back are below.

Lilly's - seasonal and local fare
Cafe Classico - cozy setting, simple, but well executed food
Blue Dog bakery (on thurs-sat night they open as Red Hog tapas) - really well executed tapas in one of Louisville's best bakeries.
Village Anchor - out on the east end of town in Anchorage, nice upscale neighborhood restaurant
Napa River Grill - excellent wine list, solid upscale American food.

Enjoy Derby, in my opinion the best place to watch is at Churchill, if costs are an issue try going to the Oaks on the day before, most locals go that day anyway. Prices have definitely risen for this day as well, but more reasonable than Derby. On Derby day you could try tickets in the infield bleachers, slightly less expensive but still away from the debauchery in the actual infield.

In terms of other activities, I enjoy all of Louisville's parks, Cherokee and Waterfront park are two nicer ones. Highly recommend a tour of Wofford reserve or Buffalo Trace distilleries, about an hour outside of Louisville, one of prettiest areas in the country in my opinion. For kids, the Louisville Slugger Museum seems to go over well. Art galleries on Frankfort avenue are nice, they do a trolly hop once a month, but not sure on timing in relation to derby week.

There's a brew pub on Bardstown Rd--can't remember the name--that has the best Kölsch I've had outside Köln. Food's pretty good IIRC.

Geo

Maybe Cumberland brew is what you are thinking of.

On my last trip to Louisville, I really enjoyed the Mayan Cafe, in the NuLu neighborhood. Very interesting menu by a chef originally from the Yucatan that does farm to table quite well. I don't have a tremendous amount of knowledge about the foods of the Yucatan, but to me it compared very favorably to board favorite Xni-Pec.

The pork mole was a standout dish (was more of an amarillo mole than a mole negro, but it went well with the smoked pork). The Tok-sel beans were very interesting (lima beans that were really good, who knew?) and I hadn't tried anything like them before. I also had the seafood bisque which had very large amounts of crab and was very rich. There are also a lot of art galleries in the area, wish I would have had more time to check things out.

The Mayan Cafe
813 E. Market St.
Louisville, KY 40206

502-566-0651

http://themayancafe.com

Took the board's common wisdom and brought the JeffB horde to Lynn's. Nice place. Great country ham and biscuits, swell staff, shockingly bad grits.

Louisville's too northerly in both culture and geography to put out good grits...

Geo
PS. But it sounds like the horde did well otherwise! There's some *fine* country ham available in KY, fer shure.

My wife and I took an ad hoc road trip to Louisville last weekend. We enjoyed the trip...here's where we went in order of most favorite to least.

610 Magnolia

This is a small restaurant owned and operated by Chef Edward Lee. They are only open 3 days a week so reservations are tough. Fortunately they had a cancellation the day we were travelling. They offer a 3 course ($55) or 4 course ($65) prix-fixe menus with choices for each course. We chose the 4 course menu and really loved most of what we received. I think Blackbird would be a good Chicago comparison of the cuisine. The atmosphere is much more laid back and spread out than Blackbird however (cheesy music though). Based upon my last-minute research, I believe this is the best restaurant in the area. It is a tremendous value compared with what it would cost in Chicago too. Good wine list.

Here's the menu I selected:

Seared Ahi Tuna / Soft Poached Mirada Oysters / Oyster Mushrooms / Chili Lime Puree / Spoonbill Caviar
Beef Carpaccio / Shaved Foie Gras / Grateful Greens / Nigella Seeds / Shallots / Capers / Mustard Oil
Elk and Lamb Duo: Elk Loin w Elk and Lamb Sausage / Farrotto / Pearl Onion / Kale / Turnip / Huckleberry
S’mores: Chocolate Mousse w Chocolate Fluid Gel / Graham Cracker / Marshmallow / Powdered Campfire Smoke

610 Magnolia Ave
Louisville, KY 40208
502.636.0783
http://610magnolia.com


Meat

Meat is a serious cocktail bar located in the butchertown district of Louisville. If you like Violet Hour, Barrelhouse Flat or Scofflaw, you should check this place out. They do not serve food, however. They spin some tunes after 10 pm, so you may want to arrive earlier if you're looking for a more laid back experience.

They have a menu of about 30 cocktails including several from other bars around the country (The Sicilian Dragon from Barrelhouse was one that was featured).

Meat
1076 East Washington St
Louisville, KY 40206
502.354.3212
http://meatinlouisville.com


The Silver Dollar

The Silver Dollar is co-owned by Michael Rubel who used to work at The Violet Hour & Big Star. He's put together a honky-tonk restaurant featuring whiskey, cocktails and great Southern (Southwest) food. The food, decor and cocktail program reminded me of The Carriage House. We had brunch, but didn't have any cocktails. I would definitely check this place out for dinner if I were to return for a more lengthier visit. Solid choice.

The Silver Dollar
1761 Frankfort Avenue
Louisville, KY 40206
502.259.9540
http://www.whiskeybythedrink.com


Holy Grale

This beer and food only establishment is located in a former church. They have about 20 rare beers on tap and a good selection of them by the bottle. We asked to do the blind tasting which consists of 5 five ounce pours. You are given the draft menu which contains the descriptions of the 20 possible beers and are supposed to identify the 5 beers you are given. This seemed easier than it was as I was only able to guess 2 correctly. I only had a chance to try one of their food items, a beer cheese pretzel. The pretzel bread was very soft and tasty. The rest of the menu looked promising. I would check this place out if you are into rare beers.

The Holy Grale
1034 Bardstown Road
Louisville, KY 40204
http://holygralelouisville.com


Louisville Beer Store

I think this place is owned by the same people that operate the Holy Grale. Very good selection of hard to find beers. You can drink them in the store or take them to go. They also have a few on tap. Check it out if you are looking to add to your collection.

Louisville Beer Store
746 East Market Street
Louisville, KY 40202
http://louisvillebeerstore.com


I didn't make it to Sergio's world beers, but I heard they have a more extensive collection.

Sergio's World Beers
1605 Story Avenue
Louisville, KY 40206
(502) 618-2337
http://sergiosworldbeers.com


Rye

We had dinner at this The Bristol-like establishment. The food wasn't as promising as their menu read. This was the one disappointing meal we had on the trip. I'd skip this place next time and would consider a couple we didn't have a chance to visit, such as Decca or Harvest.

Rye
900 East Market Street
Louisville, KY 40206
(502) 749-6200
http://ryeonmarket.com

Sadly, Lynn's Paradise Cafe closed abruptly Saturday, January 12. While many outstanding places exist, Lynn's was very important in developing the Louisville culinary landscape and giving it some national exposure.