LouisvilleHotBytes.com

Located in the back of Ditto’s Grill on Bardstown Road, Stevens & Stevens has built a loyal following the old-fashioned way, providing quality fare at reasonable prices. Photos by Robin Garr.

Let’s start right out by admitting that I’ve lived in New York City off and on, had plenty of exposure to the NYC deli phenomenon, and don’t really get it.

In a metropolis known as one of the world’s great cities for fine dining, how exactly did such a genre evolve? Heavy, fatty, overpriced food, served by rude waiters whose shtick seems to be insulting the customers … and the customers love it?

It’s no surprise to me that authentic New York deli has never gained much traction in Louisville.

But make a few small changes to accommodate to the local culture, and deli can thrive in the Derby City. As evidence I cite Stevens & Stevens, a lovable eatery that certainly qualifies as a deli … but a deli with a difference. Read the rest of this entry »

Jason’s Deli, a relatively new arrival, is attracting big crowds to the East End suburbs.

If Stevens & Stevens is the ultimate Louisville urban deli, a relatively new arrival, Jason’s Deli, is attracting big crowds to the East End suburbs. This 20-year-old national chain originated in Tucson, Ariz., a mighty long way from the Big Apple, but they’re obviously doing something right: There’s almost always a crowd, but the lines move fast, and I’ve never had a problem finding a table.
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Word of mouth has quickly built a good reputation for Oishii Sushi in the Highlands, and it’s drawing crowds with its friendly, outgoing sushi chefs and wide selection of sushi treats like these. Photos by Robin Garr.

A few weeks ago, I had occasion to nosh my way through Sushi In The City, a sociable fundraising event at which a random selection of local sushi bars (and a few other eateries) provided samples of their wares.

The experience was so tasty that it left me craving even more of the stuff, so in recent weeks, I’ve made it my business to check out a couple more recent arrivals on the metro sushi scene.

Some people are still a bit wary of sushi - the concept of eating raw fish does take some getting used to. But as I said in the previous report, 125 million Japanese can’t all be wrong, and enough of us have acquired the taste to support more than 20 good sushi restaurants around town.

Two more have arrived recently: Oishii Sushi in the Highlands opened last month and Hanabi Sushi & Japanese Cuisine in Prospect around the end of the year. A third arrival, Hiko A Mon in Westport Village, opened just last week, and I’ll take my chopsticks and get out there, too, one day soon.
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We’re great fans of the Louisville Bats and thoroughly smitten by Slugger Field, but we’ve found ballpark food service consistently disappointing on Centerplate’s watch. Photo by Robin Garr.

Centerplate Inc., the South Carolina-based arena and ballpark catering company, has been getting a rough ride lately, with the New York Yankees dumping the company as Yankee Stadium concessionaire after a 40-year ride, and its shares plunging on Wall Street in the wake of blows ranging from financial bad news to a discrimination lawsuit by a Yankees’ bartender.

But Centerplate still rides high in the Derby City, where it not only sells us our hot dogs, peanuts and Cracker Jack in Slugger Field and Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium but is slated to be concessionaire in the controversial downtown sports arena, and also recently emerged as operator of the new Wolfgang Puck Express, an upscale fast-food emporium in downtown’s Kentucky International Convention Center.

Does New York know something that Louisville is missing? Read the rest of this entry »

The fare at Taco Bueno is a lot like Taco Bell’s, with similar faux Mexican dishes. Photo by Robin Garr.

We’re seeing something like that again this month as the iconic Taco Bueno chain arrives in the metro, luring lines of supplicants to form around its small new building in Jeffersonville.
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Chef Michael Crouch of Bourbons Bistro offers thoughtful, creative dishes that may be rooted in down-home Ohio Valley flavors but travel around the world for inspiration. Photo by Robin Garr.

We did an odd thing at Bourbons Bistro the other night. You might expect a place named after Kentucky’s native nectar to feature steak, potatoes and red wine, but we ended up with a delicious selection of seafood and vegetarian dishes.

That’s the delicious secret (although it’s not much of a secret) at Bourbons Bistro: Bourbon has outgrown its reputation as the potent, old-style liquor that your Old Grand-dad used to sip and has moved into the modern era. Bourbons Bistro, arguably bourbon whiskey’s No. 1 temple in the metro, provides fare to match, with Chef Michael Crouch turning out thoughtful, creative dishes that may be rooted in down-home Ohio Valley flavors but travel around the world for inspiration.
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Industry Standard
With Columnist Marsha Lynch

This week it’s my pleasure to introduce an old friend from LouisvilleHotBytes.com and the local restaurant community. Marsha Lynch, the pastry chef at Café Lou Lou, is a culinary graduate of Sullivan University and has worked at Louisville independent restaurants, including Limestone, Jack Fry’s, Jarfi’s and L&N Wine Bar and Bistro.

From time to time, Marsha will step up to join me on this pulpit with a new column, “Industry Standard,” subtitled “Insider info for those who dine out,” a hearty menu of tips and tidbits aimed at offering the dining public a fresh view of the restaurant business from an insider’s perspective.
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BJ’s: a 30-year-old Southern California chain, has expanded to Louisville with the launch of a large and very well capitalized brewhouse at Oxmoor Center. Photos by Robin Garr.

Inquire about the American Pale Ale (aka “APA”) at Louisville’s BBC Tap Room, and you’ll get a virtual education in this classic American beer style: Made with Special Pale, Caramunich, Flaked Barley, and Special B malts and bittered with Centennial and Willamette hops, it’s a rich, copper colored ale with a full-bodied bitter hops flavor supported by generous amounts of malt.

Ask the same question about the APA at the new BJ’s Restaurant and Brewhouse in Oxmoor, and you may hear something like what a friendly server told me: “It’s a light beer. Well, one of our lighter beers.” She paused, then grinned conspiratorially. “They train us not to tell people it’s ‘bitter’.”
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Ann’s by the River in Jeffersonville lives up to its tag line: “Home-cooked food like Grandma used to prepare for Sunday dinner.” LEO photos by Ben Schneider.

Winter is dragging its feet as it slouches on into springtime, and the closing years of the Bush economy are scaring us all as they slouch toward the dustbin of history. We’ve seen some sad restaurant closings (worst case: The lamentable loss of The Jazz Factory), and we fear that other Louisville Originals and Louisville original restaurants and nightspots might not be doing as well as we could wish.

As Derby season nears and brings smiles back to the metro landscape, we’ll be coming forth with some strong buy recommendations for local dining - and supporting the local businesses that provide it.

Today, let’s talk comfort … affordable comfort … Read the rest of this entry »

LEO’s Eats with LouisvilleHotBytes

Back over on the Louisville side, we were feeling the need for a little affordable comfort, too. I keep talking about hitting The Grape Leaf, a popular Clifton spot, for dinner, but until I get around to that, lunch seemed like a mighty good idea. Grape Leaf is generally crowded at noon, and service is sociable, friendly but not particularly quick. No matter, if you’re not in a hurry. The Middle Eastern food is worth the wait.
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The only remaining location of a once thriving chain, Ollie’s Trolley is always crowded come lunchtime. LEO Photo by Ben Schneider.

The humble burger: It’s a mainstay of the American diet. Most people appreciate a great burger. So where can you go to get something better than the normal fast food offerings from Rally McHardee King and the rest of their brethren? What are the “destination” places that we will go out of our way to, just to get a burger fix we can’t get anywhere else?

Louisville does have independent burger joints still hanging on and doing what they do best. Several are located in and around Old Louisville. What makes these places so good? How do they compare with each other?
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You will often hear the term “Louisville’s restaurant community.” There’s no better way to describe the atmosphere that existed on March 9 at Dean Corbett’s “An American Place.”

“When we walked in the door, we were greeted by a woman from Sysco. And then, just a few minutes later, a server brought us a glass of wine — her jacket said ‘Rivue,’ ” said LouisvilleHotBytes forum member Jay Mazzoni, who attended the $150-a-plate event with his wife Karen. “It was that way all evening,” he went on. People from many different restaurants, the area’s top chefs — competitors on any other night — working together to create an evening of dining unparalleled in recent Louisville foodie history.
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