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“Alley Cat Cafe Has No Cats, Only Great Cheap Eats” Recommended: “A hot roast beef sandwich ($9.49 on the regular menu, $7.99 on the half-and-half special) piled several evenly-sliced pieces of warm roast beef with crisply seared dark-brown edges and a single slice of melted provolone on a standard hoagie roll. A small tub of salty beef bouillon came alongside for optional dipping.” Photo by Robin Garr
“Barn 8 Delivers Culinary Treats In A Delightful Farm Setting” Recommended: “We started with a shared heirloom tomato tartine appetizer ($14), a daily special too attractive to resist. This seasonal chef’s whim started with a thick slice of house-made sourdough drizzled with olive oil and painted with intensely garlicky Lebanese-style toum sauce, then loaded with perfectly ripe, dark reddish-purple tomato wedges garnished with tiny basil, mint and beet-leaf microgreens. It was just about perfect, and a shake of salt on the tomatoes added the final touch.” Photo by Robin Garr Robin Garr
“Big Bad Breakfast Delivers A Bountiful Meal In Former Lynn’s Paradise Cafe Spot” Recommended: “The Huevos Rancheros grit bowl ($13.50) caught my eye. Two perfectly football-shaped soft eggs showed some serious poaching skills from the kitchen. They were built into a fancy preparation that hinted at the flavors of Mexico with a spiciness that didn’t whack your taste buds with hellish fire.” Photo by Carolyn Brown
“We Enjoy The Chicken And The Egg At Chik’n & Mi” Recommended: “A subtly flavored palette to display your choice of sauces, Chik’n & Mi’s Laotian spiced fried chicken is so crisply fried that the skin cracks pleasantly when you bite down.” Photo by Robin Garr
“Bavarian-Inspired Common Haus Hall, A Great New Arrival” Recommended: “Schnitzel — a classic dish of Germany, Austria and Switzerland — is a slab of meat pounded tender and cloaked in a bound fried coating. Common Haus makes a splendid version using pork with six sauce options, all $16.50. Our Jaeger (“hunter”) style schnitzel had been pounded to about 1/3-inch thick, but it was huge. Served on quality brötchen (small bread), the schnitzel was three times as big as the bun. The well-made breading boosted the flavor with a piquant sweet-sour note. A dollop of Jaeger sauce, a rich brown onion and mushroom gravy with a rich flavor married well with the schnitzel.” Photo by Robin Garr
“Find A Trip To Jamaica In A Takeout Box From Louisville’s Eden & Kissi” 3914 Bardstown Road Recommended: “The wings were huge, charred dark brown with black spots, and had lots of meat. We chose the smoky option and got a blast of char and smoke before biting through the crisp skin to reveal perfectly cooked tender but not dry meat.” Photo by Robin Garr Photos by Robin Garr
“Goodfellas Slings Proper New York City-Style Pizza On Baxter Avenue” Recommended: “A slice adorned with strips of green pepper and purple onion caught my eye, and I didn’t have any complaints about its flavor either. In proper New York City style, these slices are long and flexible, making it easy to fold your slice and walk away.” Photo by Robin Garr Photos by Robin Garr
“The Local Landmark Hauck’s Corner Returns: Some Thoughts On The New Menu” Recommended: “Who ever heard of a taco built with vegan soy-rizo and potatoes ($11.95)? Not me! I had to try this strange fusion, though, and I wasn’t sorry. The chewy crinkle-cut fries were a bit odd, but the fiery crumbled meatless chorizo was excellent, and garnishes of avocado cream, chipotle aioli and pickled red onions kicked it up another notch. Two tacos were wrapped in doubled corn tortillas that had been fried to a crisp, chewy texture.” Photo by Robin Garr
“For The COVID Safe, Head To Heart & Soy For Toothsome Vietnamese Takeout” Recommended: “Sunny bright yellow Singapore noodles ($9.90) breathed a gently spicy, almost smoky aroma that signaled the presence of turmeric and curry flavors. It was pleasantly hot enough to get your taste buds’ attention but not at all fiery. Plenty of thin, tender rice noodles were matched with strips of carrot and onion and pressed, marinated and fried tofu, all cut into long, thin strips, plus chopped cabbage and scallions to complete a flavor symphony.” Photo by Robin Garr
“Biryani Is A Spicy Hot Specialty With 35 Variations At Middletown’s Hyderabad House” Recommended: “I must have seen a dozen biryanis of various forms being rushed to tables. It really is the specialty here, especially on weekends. They all look similar: A mountain of tricolored basmati — plain white, turmeric yellow and saffron orange — piled on a square white porcelain plate, with a few small purple eggplants peeking out the top, with several more layered inside, and a fiery hot-sweet sauce poured over. Strips of raw red onion and lots of chopped cilantro were strewn on top, with a single lime wedge in the corner.” Photo by Robin Garr Photos by Robin Garr
“For A Pizza Baked In Louisville History, Head To Impellizzeri’s” Recommended: “A 10-inch veggie pizza ($14.99), one of Bennie’s originals, was excellent. It was well imagined and carefully executed, with nine veggies – mushrooms, onions, roasted red peppers, green peppers, banana peppers, oven-roasted tomatoes, baby spinach, kalamata and green olives. The veggies worked and played nicely together in texture and flavor. They were piled almost all the way to the edge of its half-inch crust, atop appropriately scanty, tangy tomato sauce and appropriately generous stretchy mozzarella.” Photo by Robin Garr Photos by Robin Garr
“For A Top-Notch Sichuanese Meal, Go To Jasmine” Recommended: “Another characteristic Sichuanese dish is mapo tofu ($10.99), a dish that purportedly originated in Chengdu, Sichuan, in the 19th century and got its name — literally “pock-marked grandmother’s tofu” — from the restaurateur’s wrinkled face and the similar dots of red chile flakes and black beans against snow-white tofu. That description fits Jasmine’s version, which cloaked about 16 inch-square cubes of tender silken tofu in a glossy, cornstarch-thickened sauce scented with Sichuan pepper and loaded with spicy chiles, tiny black beans and strips of green onion.” Photo by Robin Garr Robin Garr
“A Craving for Enchiladas Lures us to La Cocina De Mamá in Louisville’s East End” Recommended: “A yen for chocolate got in the way and I summoned the mole enchiladas, choosing the cheese enchilada option; it’s also available with pork, chicken or beef. The thick wave of red chile and dark chocolate sauce that flowed over my three small cheese enchiladas enhanced their flavor, as did the generous pile of grated cotija cheese that formed a snowdrift on top. The rolled tortillas hidden within were tender and light, easy to cut through and pick up a sample of all the flavors in every bite. The mole was distinctly sweet, almost as if it were made with semisweet chocolate rather than the traditional bitter chocolate, but I had no complaints.” Photo by Robin Garr Photos by Robin Garr
“Please, Sir, May I Have Smør? And A Maya Bagel Too?” Recommended: “The bagel with cream cheese ($4.50) was excellent. A fine onion bagel was generously spread with soft cheese, and that simple approach was plenty to make me happy.” Photo by Robin Garr
“The Creativity Shines At Louisville Sandwich Shop – Melt 502” Recommended: “Finally, the godmother, the LaBelle [not pictured.] The ground beef that made up the bulk of the filling was seasoned and provided little resistance to the bite; it almost seemed to melt. But its tenderness didn’t mean weakness. It held together after a bite rather than its ingredients tumbling out onto the bar. Accentuated by sweet caramelized onions — not simply grilled, as some might expect — the melt would’ve been worthy of an encore. As I sat back in my seat, I wondered how often customers came in prepared to have dessert.” Photo by Jon Larmee
“MozzaPi’s Pizza Remains Near And Dear To My Heart” Recommended: “I made a healthy choice with MozzaPi’s spinach and ricotta pizza ($14). A beautiful crust, golden and covered with leopard spots from the oven, was coated with just enough spicy, fresh-made tomato sauce and red-pepper flakes, topped with a thick blanket of fresh baby spinach, and finished with rounds of mozzarella and creamy ricotta cheese. The spinach didn’t wilt, so it was almost like a spinach salad pizza with cheese. ” Photo by Robin Garr
“Oriental House Returns… And Is Just As Good As Ever” Recommended: “One of our favorite dishes here is a simple but memorable plate of roasted duck with steamed rice. A sizable duck thigh quarter had been coated with hoisin sauce and anise-scented five-spice and roasted to a dark mahogany color, then chopped crosswise into chunks. They were served with a bit of lettuce that had been quickly softened in duck broth, with a generous scoop of medium-grain white rice. The skin was roasted and firm, not crackling crisp, with a thick layer of juicy fat cloaking rich, succulent, tender dark duck meat.” Photo by Robin Garr
“Pizza Lupo Is Tops… And That’s Not All” Recommended: “[The funghi pizza] was one of the best pizzas I’ve met recently. […] The mushrooms — oyster mushrooms, I believe — were earthy, in a good way, and sang the melody line of this culinary chorus. The combination of cheeses worked nicely, too, making a thick and much more fascinating topping than just plain mozzarella. Tiny amber puddles of olive oil and a few crinkly crisp basil leaves added subtle complexity.” Photo by Robin Garr
“Señora Arepa Serves Delicious Venezuelan Street Food In Louisville” Recommended: “I meant to order the caprezolana salad ($12.99) but got the less pricey caprezolana arepa ($9.99) instead. Fine by me! More arepa, less veggies. It’s a Venezuelan take on the classic Italian caprese salad, with the traditional tomatoes (a fresh slice and some roasted cherry tomatoes, too), cheese (creamy Venezuelan queso de mano), pesto in lieu of fresh basil, as well as romaine and arugula. All this stuffed into a crispy, subtly corn-flavored arepa made it more than a mouthful.” Photo by Robin Garr
Review: “Louisville’s Mediterranean Restaurants Aren’t The Same. This One Brings Lebanese Flavor To The City” Recommended: “I’m always up for baba ghanooj, and this place does it right, fire-roasting eggplant before mashing it with tahini, lemon and olive oil. The version here is chopped and mashed but not blended smooth, with tender pitas on the side.” Photo by Robin Garr
“We Pit Burger Vs. Burger At Shady Lane Cafe In Louisville” Recommended: “The Brownsboro Burger features a 1/3-pound patty, cooked to your order, served on a good bun — light, yet substantial and slightly sweet. Ordered dressed, it comes with fresh leaf lettuce, decent-for-the-season tomato, red onion and cheddar or other cheese of your choice for the 50 cent charge.” Photo by Robin Garr Photos by Robin Garr
Please, Sir, May I Have Smør? And A Maya Bagel Too? Recommended: “A hazel-knot ($4) pastry was scented with cardamom, a spice that’s hard to describe but easy to recognize if you think of it as “the way Danish pastries smell.” This delicious item was fresh from the oven, soft and tender, layered with chopped hazelnuts and little pockets of dark chocolate, finished on top with a hazelnut-sugar streusel. Washed with egg and baked, it comes out a beautiful dark golden-brown.” Photo by Robin Garr
“Tandoori Fusion Offers Artistic Indian Creations” Recommended: “Goat biryani, a feature on the summer specials menu, offers a huge quantity of rice and minced goat meat so spicy that even heat level “1” sets your face on fire. In a good way.” Photo by Robin Garr
Vietnam Kitchen Is Staying Open And Staying The Same Recommended: “A Vietnamese crepe (VA17 Banh xeo chay, $9.25) was a larger starter, big enough to be a light entree. It looks like a giant omelet folded over sizzling ingredients, but dairy – save for condensed milk in a can – is rare in Vietnamese. This egg look-alike is fashioned from rice flour and coconut milk, tinted yellow with turmeric. Puffed up and browned in the wok, it makes a great wrapper for crisp bean sprouts, tender grilled onions and cubes of soft tofu. It’s also available as A17 Banh Xeo ($9.50) with shrimp taking over from the tofu.” Photo by Robin Garr
“VinBun Is About To Make Louisville A Big Fan Of The Iconic Vietnamese Dish Bún”? Recommended: “An appetizer order of salt and pepper tofu ($7) revealed that there is a master of tofu — and, perhaps, a master of frying — in VinBun’s kitchen. A half-dozen three-bite-size blocks of tofu, fried a beautiful light gold, came on a pretty blue plate with a mini-salad of quick-pickled, shredded carrot and radish garnish and a cilantro leaf alongside. It looked good and tasted good enough to turn tofu haters into fans. Creamy soft tofu, steaming hot, was encased in a paper-thin, deliciously crunchy crust seasoned with just the right amount of salt and pepper.” Photo by Robin Garr
“New Virtue Bar & Lounge on Brownsboro Offers Sneaky Good Wings, Catfish and More” Recommended: “I got an order of six, and the aroma of the fiery red-orange wings immediately tickled my nostrils, preparing me for what was to come. I examined the wing sauce and noticed red pepper flakes and even pepper seeds, along with black pepper. I dove in, and yes, they were hot, but mostly they were popping with flavor. And the best part was that, while they were only medium-sized wings, they were cooked crispy, plenty juicy inside and obviously fresh, quality chicken. Thirty minutes later, my lips were still burning.” Photo by Kevin Gibson

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