$ Budget (under $20), Mexican, Cuban, Caribbean, St. Matthews, Westport Village, and environs

MexA Taco deliciously satisfies our Mexican-food crave

If you haven’t been watching Padma Lakshmi’s new series, Taste the Nation, on Hulu, you really should start. The host of Bravo’s popular Top Chef moves to something completely different with this series that focuses on food culture in America through the eyes and taste buds of immigrant communities.

In Episode 1, “Burritos on the Border,” she covered restaurants and tortillas and immigration and politics in El Paso, Texas, and its neighbor Juarez, Mexico. The program was fascinating, and it made me crave tacos so hard that we headed straight for MexA Steak Tacos the very next day. Continue reading MexA Taco deliciously satisfies our Mexican-food crave →

$$ Modest ($20-$40), Downtown, NuLu and Butchertown, Italian (and Pizza)

bar Vetti lands in its new space

I hate moving. I can’t imagine that anybody would really like the sorting, culling, boxing, shifting, trucking and heavy lifting that comes with a move. Now imagine moving during a pandemic, with masks and serious social distancing in a play, and you’ll have some idea what it must have been like for bar Vetti last month. Continue reading bar Vetti lands in its new space →

BBQ, Burgers, Steaks & Down-Home, Commentary, LEO's Eats

Secrets of the burger chefs

Some days you feel like a burger. Some days you feel like a steak. But let’s make one thing perfectly clear: This is not a matter of better and best. The simple, honest burger in no way takes second place to the faux nobility of the tenderloin, rib eye, strip, or porterhouse. Sometimes, when you’re in a certain mood, nothing but a burger will do.

Feeling like a burger and having a burger on your plate can be two different things, though. Do you get out and buy dinner, or do you make your own? There’s a lot to be said for making your own: You save costs, and you control the ingredients, the preparation, the heat, the toppings, even the decision whether to add a slice or two of cheese.

But how do you make your burger as good as it can be? To find out, we asked for advice from a half-dozen local burger experts, restaurant chefs who’ve earned the people’s ovation and fame forever for the quality of their grilled ground-beef patties. Continue reading Secrets of the burger chefs →

$ Budget (under $20), Soul Food, West End

We support a black-owned business with a great meal at LuCretia’s

Support Black-owned restaurants, and other Black-owned businesses, too! You’ve heard me yell this for quite a while. Every time I head west of Ninth Street for a good meal and a friendly welcome, I urge you to do the same. Erasing that imaginary, unnecessary wall that cuts off Louisville’s West End from the rest of Louisville is the important and right thing to do. Continue reading We support a black-owned business with a great meal at LuCretia’s →

Commentary

Our directory of Black-owned restaurants in Louisville

This is our preliminary list of as many Black-owned restaurants as we could find in Louisville. Please give them your support!

The list is compiled from our own records, bolstered by lists assembled by social-media friends. You should be able to quickly find more information by searching the restaurant names on Facebook or your favorite search engine; in coming days we’ll also work to provide links and additional information.

Please let us know if you would like to suggest corrections, additions or deletions. Continue reading Our directory of Black-owned restaurants in Louisville →

Commentary

A moment of silence for restaurants closed by the pandemic

It’s been almost two months since Gov. Andy Beshear ordered Kentucky restaurants closed to sit-down dining in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic, and even with the partial reopening of restaurants at 33 percent indoor capacity (moving up to 50 percent on June 22), the restaurant scene looks very different than it did before the pandemic. Continue reading A moment of silence for restaurants closed by the pandemic →

Louisville's top spot for talk and reviews from the food and restaurant scene