the road | the food | a new direction
Think of a Southern state known for fried chicken. Yep, we thought of Kentucky as well, for the same wrong reason. Truth is, Kentucky DOES have excellent fried bird, despite the stuff that sends the good Colonel spinning six feet under. Want first-hand proof? Come to Fort Mitchell on a Monday or Tuesday for family style fried chicken dinner as served by the Greyhound Tavern. Continue reading
We both enjoy bourbon more than the average casual drinker, but we are not geeks about the corn whiskey. We currently have, sitting in our liquor cabinet, bottles of Jim Beam, an artisan bourbon called Angel’s Envy, and a blue corn bourbon which we picked up at the distillery in New Mexico. We usually have a bottle of Maker’s Mark around the house as well. We even have some wretched tasting “white dog,” made in New York, which is clear, unaged corn whiskey. Sounds like we’re really drinkers, doesn’t it, but those bottles will last years. Continue reading
Evan Rouse began brewing beer in the family garage at the age of 16, creating a product he was not yet legally permitted to consume. His skills improved, his reputation spread, he gained experience in the local microbreweries and, eventually, in 2015, he opened Braxton, using a garage theme in homage to his teenage hobby. Continue reading
The beer at Hofbräuhaus was a real blast from the past for us. Most of you are probably too young to remember the days before microbrewing. Believe it or not, there was once a pretty simple choice for budding beer drinkers: standard American bland lagers or, if you wanted something with flavor, imports, usually from Germany. Those German beers, like Beck’s and Lowenbrau, were good, but when microbrewing became a thing in America, we all left them in the dust for the fresher local beers, brewed in hundreds of different styles. Continue reading
Have you ever eaten a hoe cake (often spelled as one word, hoecake)? It’s an old-time Southern U.S. specialty. Folks from up north, around Rhode Island, may know them better by the name jonnycakes, but yes, they are essentially the same thing: dried flint corn is ground and mixed with boiling water and salt to form a thick batter, from which corn pancakes are made. Some people like to give them some breeding by enriching the batter with things like wheat flour, eggs, and sugar but if you really want to enjoy them at their corn-focused best, stick with the basic version. They are a rugged taste of a rugged time in America’s past. Continue reading
Times have changed! Here’s how we began a story about Harlan’s Poke Sallet Festival a decade ago: “Think you make the best poke sallet in Harlan County? Want to pit yourself against Kentucky’s finest poke sallet cooks? Want to know what poke sallet is? Then attend the Poke Sallet Festival in Harlan, Kentucky this week. . . . Poke sallet meals will be available at Jac’s Coffee Shop, Mary’s Country Store, and the Coal Miners Cafe.” Those days (and those three restaurants) are long one. We see no mention of a poke sallet cooking contest on the festival website either. Today, poke sallet serves as more of a regional mascot than an edible at the festival, which focuses on fun and games and entertainment. Continue reading
The 70th annual Strawberry Festival in Adairville, Kentucky began Saturday, and continues through next Saturday (March 21st 2016). Rides, crafts, and performances by local talent begin today, with live music, crafts, vendors, rides, and the opening of the Strawberry Shoppe (homemade strawberry ice cream, strawberry shortcake!) to follow tomorrow. Continue reading
Super-hot-spiced fried chicken has been percolating along quietly in Nashville, TN for, oh, about 80 years. Through the decades the fiery bird received little national attention nor, for that matter, all that much local attention. Suddenly, within the last two or three years, the yardbird has flown the coop and is nesting in spots like New York City, Lexington, KY, and Birmingham, AL. Why now? Or, more to the point, what took so long? All it takes is a taste for a lifelong love affair. We know; we’re addicts as well. Continue reading
It had been a while since we’d heard the rumors about the potential sale and reopening of Louisville, KY’s Lynn’s Paradise Cafe, which will be closed for three years come next month. But talk is picking up again. Is it for real this time? Listen to the phone conversation the Courier-Journal had with Lynn Winter. She sounds as flighty as ever, and hints left and right about either selling the place or reopening it herself, but she doesn’t sound certain about any of it. The Courier-Journal’s reporter in the accompanying story notes that her claim that she’s legally unable to discuss the restaurant’s status is often an indication that a sale is impending. We’ll see.
As Thanksgiving approaches each year, foodie articles begin to pop up bemoaning the so-called flavorless turkey accompanied by starchy and sweet dull sides. We cry Scrooge (or whoever the embodiment of Thanksgiving humbuggery is)! We love the sides and we adore the flavor of the bird — and make no mistake about it, turkey HAS flavor, although it may take an unjaded palate to appreciate it. Label us unjaded, because we don’t limit our turkey feasting to the fourth Thursday of November. And neither, apparently, does Larry Olmsted, as evidenced by his survey, for USA Today, of eateries across America that do right by the bird all year round. Continue reading
What began in 1946 as the Homecoming, a 4th of July weekend festival for soldiers returning home from World War II, in 1950 was transformed into the peacetime Blackberry Festival in Carlisle, Kentucky (the blackberry became the official state fruit of Kentucky in 2004). Celebrated on Carlisle’s courthouse lawn, the festival features rides, games, a Blackberry Queen, plenty of live music (there’ll be gospel Wednesday night), a Thursday night parade, and fireworks on Friday night. Continue reading
Times have changed! Here’s how we began a story about Harlan’s Poke Sallet Festival a decade ago: “Think you make the best poke sallet in Harlan County? Want to pit yourself against Kentucky’s finest poke sallet cooks? Want to know what poke sallet is? Then attend the Poke Sallet Festival in Harlan, Kentucky this week. . . . Poke sallet meals will be available at Jac’s Coffee Shop, Mary’s Country Store, and the Coal Miners Cafe.” Those days (and those three restaurants) are long one. We see no mention of the poke sallet cooking contest on the festival website either. Today, poke sallet serves as more of a regional mascot than an edible at the festival, which focuses on fun and games and entertainment. Continue reading
The 69th annual Strawberry Festival in Adairville, Kentucky began yesterday, and continues through next Saturday (March 16th 2015). The Little Miss Pageant and the Senior Miss Pageant will take place Tuesday. Rides, crafts, and karaoke begin this Thursday, with live music, a pet show, a kiddie parade, and the opening of the Strawberry Shoppe (homemade strawberry ice cream, strawberry shortcake!) to follow on Friday. Continue reading
The list is presented by Travel + Leisure, and chosen by their readers, as the best “food snob” cities but it doesn’t appear that any sort of pretentiousness is part of the equation. These seem more to be the 20 cities for people whose primary travel activity is eating, and that includes us. The list begins at #20 with Seattle. Louisville, at #16, gets recognition for the Hot Brown sandwich invented at The Brown Hotel. #15 New Orleans (#15! Wow!) topped the survey for fine dining, like Brennan’s, and sandwiches, such as the great ones served at Parkway Bakery. NYC is #10 and Cleveland (!) is seventh. Best food city in the U.S.? Houston!
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