Dixie’s family and friends gathered to honor her legacy. | Courtesy
I hear Dixie’s Elbow Room was a fun and lively place to hang out downtown in the 1960s and ’70s. Situated at 516 S. Fifth St., which is now unfortunately a parking lot, the unassuming little bar made big waves in Louisville in the early 1970s for not only hiring a female bartender — gasp! — but serving female patrons at the bar.
That’s right. Until 1972, women could not bartend or sit at the bar of any establishment in Louisville that served alcohol. The commonwealth had reinstated archaic, pre-Prohibition laws in the ’30s, and nobody had stepped up to challenge them.
Dixie’s historical marker sits at 516 S. Fifth St.
Until Dixie.
Dixie’s Elbow Room was owned by Dixie Sherman Demuth, a 5-foot-2 firecracker who comes from a long lineage of fellow pot-stirrers and Kentucky royalty known as the Samuels family — as in the Samuels who started Maker’s Mark and, before that, ran the T.W. Samuels & Son Distillery in Deatsville, Ky.
In 1968, she decided to challenge the outdated law and took out an ad in The Courier Journal to announce that her establishment welcomes women to the bar and hires female bartenders.
According to an article by Joseph Gerth of The CJ, Kentucky ABC officials raided the bar and fined her for the flagrant violation. From there, she fought the fine all the way to the Kentucky Court of Appeals, which was the highest court in the state at the time. Finally, in 1972, the court sided with Dixie, and the sexist statutes were thrown out.
On Monday, May 19, Dixie was honored with the city’s first historical marker in a new program championed by Mayor Craig Greenberg. In 2023, Dixie was inducted into the Kentucky Bourbon Hall of Fame, three years after she died at age 102.
“This marker highlights an interesting story from our past, and more than that, it highlights the important and powerful role that women have played and continue to play in our city,” said Mayor Greenberg at the ceremony. “Dixie fought all the way to the highest court in Kentucky to fight what she knew were unconstitutional laws.”
“Dixie didn’t think the law was fair, and she also didn’t think it was good business, especially when you’re trying to attract young men to your business,” said Bill Samuels Jr., chair emeritus of Maker’s Mark and a third cousin of Dixie’s, at the event. “After numerous run-ins with the law and a suspension of her liquor license, Dixie finally said enough was enough and sued on the grounds that the law was unconstitutional. I’m really excited and proud of my cousin, and today we’re memorializing a great lady.”
Peggy Noe Stevens raises a toast to Dixie, along with Dixie’s family and friends. | Photo by Sara Havens
Raise a Toast to Dixie
For me personally, since my moniker is The Bar Belle of Louisville, I owe much gratitude to Dixie and her fight for what was right. She is an inspiration, and she stepped up when others were afraid to. The fact that these archaic laws remained forcible long into the 1970s is a sad reality of our backwards government, but it’s people like Dixie Demuth who challenge “the way it’s always been done” mentality and carry Kentucky into the modern era.
Had I been in her shoes, I hope I would have had half her courage to buck the system and stand up for what’s right.
In my latest piece for Food & Dining Magazine, I dive into the many misconceptions about the beloved Mint Julep, and I implore my readers to respect the traditional Derbytime cocktail. They’re actually quite tasty when made correctly — which means not in bulk at Churchill Downs during the Derby.
Next time you’re at your favorite cocktail bar, ask them if they make a mean Mint Julep. If they say yes, give it a try. And if they say no, tell them goodbye.
Here’s an excerpt from my article, and the full piece can be read here.
“The Mint Julep, made of four simple ingredients (bourbon, sugar, ice and mint), should be as much of a Southern staple as sweet tea and backhanded compliments. There are so many ways to dress it up — add blackberries, powdered sugar or chocolate bitters, try brown sugar or even mix in molasses — but you mean girls and gents won’t give it a chance after experiencing dreadful versions of the cocktail in Derbies past. Yes, I agree Mint Juleps served at Churchill Downs weren’t great for many years, but now they’re better. The braces are off, the awkwardness of blended whiskey and sugar water is long gone, and it’s now in the capable hands of Old Forester.
So won’t you let the Mint Julep sit at your lunch table?
…
Did you know that because of the Mint Julep, we now have sturdy straws? In 1888, Civil War vet Marvin C. Stone was having a tough damn time trying to drink a Mint Julep through a grass straw, as they did back in the day, so he fashioned one out of thick paper that would stand up against the bourbon and ice. Isn’t that nice? The cocktail also gets a shout-out in several renowned novels from “Gone With the Wind” to “The Great Gatsby,” and The Clovers and Ray Charles sang about it all the way to the top of the charts with “One Mint Julep” in 1952 and 1961 respectively.“
—By Sara Havens, Food & Dining Magazine, Spring 2024
If after all of this you’re still not a fan, then just go back to your vodka soda and cauliflower pizza.
Fortuitous Union came about by accident. | Courtesy of Fortuitous Union
Note: This story was originally published by Insider Louisville on June 21, 2018.
If you would have talked to Turner Wathen on the day it happened, it would have been a completely different story — a story that involved one giant accident and the demise of a business, a dream, a passion.
But hope springs eternal, and after a night’s rest, Wathen revisited the scene of the accident and discovered, lo and behold, that his mistake “was pretty fucking good.”
More on that in a bit.
Business partners and entrepreneurs Wathen and Jordan Morris had a solid plan for their startup company, Rolling Fork Spirits. After years of discussing, researching, brainstorming, scrapping ideas and starting new ones, the two decided they wanted to create rums that bourbon aficionados could get behind.
Wathen comes from a lineage of Kentucky bourbon-makers, and Morris has been a fan of whiskey long before it became cool. Wathen lives in Louisville and works in sales, while Morris lives in Portland, Oregon, and works as a lawyer.
The two met at a party through an introduction by their wives, Wathen recalls, and ended up talking whiskey all night long. Both men had a desire to get into the spirits business, but neither had the deep pockets needed to open a distillery.
After researching and testing out a sorghum-based spirit, which did not end up being a commercially viable product, Wathen and Morris set their sights on rum.
“Our objective was to be rum evangelists out of Kentucky and do cool things to rum that we think bourbon- and whiskey-centric audiences would appreciate,” says Wathen.
Turner Wathen | Courtesy of Fortuitous Union
Since making their own rum would be too costly, the two began looking to source rum from places like Jamaica, the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. They soon stumbled upon a batch of 12-year-old rum from Trinidad that contained no sugar, no color and no additives — ingredients sometimes added to mass-produced rums.
“There’s a lot of really good spirits out there that we can access through our contacts that we think are deserving of consumers’ appreciation,” Wathen explains. “We’re not the first to do it, we’re not the last to do it. We just try to be transparent about it.”
It ended up being some of the last Trinidad rum to be sold in the United States, so Wathen and Morris knew they had a solid base product. The plan was to release a high-proof, triple-finished spirit that had been aged in three different barrels — bourbon, port and then sherry. The plan was in place, a name was chosen and a label was even in the works. And then, that dreaded day in July of 2017 …
With Morris in Portland, Wathen was supervising the finishing process at an area distillery and warehouse they contracted for storage and services. The rum had sat about seven months in used bourbon barrels, so it was time to move it into the port barrels.
Jordan Morris | Courtesy of Fortuitous Union
In order to do that, Wathen says, all the barrels had to be emptied into a stainless steel dump tank, and then the rum would be pumped into the port barrels from there.
What could go wrong?
“Well, we pulled a dump tank we did not know had 90 gallons of rye whiskey in it,” he admits. “So we dumped our rum into this dump tank, and all of a sudden it scaled 1,000 pounds over what it should have been. I’m sitting there freaking out. My partner is on the West Coast, so he didn’t even know yet.”
Wathen recalls the sudden silence that fell over the room and the pale, frightened look on everyone’s faces. He figured he had just flushed his business down the toilet, so he told everyone to go home. The rum surely was ruined by the five-year-old rye whiskey.
After explaining the situation to Morris and his wife and anyone else who would listen, Wathen decided to go back into the distillery the next day and clean up the mess. Perhaps something could be salvaged, he thought.
And then, he tasted it. Color returned to his face as his taste buds savored the intricate, balanced and delightful flavors coming from the rum/rye whiskey hybrid. A big smile appeared when he realized his company was not doomed. Although it wasn’t what they planned, it still fit the mold.
Thus, Fortuitous Union was born.
“If it had been vodka, we would have had failure. If it had been a younger bourbon or a corn-heavy mash bill, it probably wouldn’t have tasted that good,” says Wathen. “Ninety percent of what we do are accidents. We’re just dumb enough to put money into our accidents.”
Wathen and Morris quickly readjusted the plan for this new, unexpected product. They also sought opinions from local spirits experts like Larry Rice, co-owner of The Silver Dollar and The Pearl and also an investor in the company, and author Fred Minnick. In fact, it was Rice who helped come up with the name — Fortuitous Union — which fittingly abbreviates to FU.
Local graphic designer Bill Green already was working on a label for the triple-finished rum, so he put that on hold and started from scratch on this one.
And as the label and bottling came together, Wathen and Morris worked on finding a supplier.
Fortuitous Union now is available in Louisville and Chicago — two markets the guys want to tackle first. You can find it by the pour at The Pearl or on the shelf at Old Town Wine & Spirits in the Highlands and eventually more liquor stores as distribution expands. It retails for $65.
FU is more rum than whiskey, but when sipped, it displays those familiar spicy notes common in rye whiskeys or high-rye bourbons. At 103 proof, the finish tingles with heat, which is definitely not a characteristic of most rums.
And while it can certainly fare well a fine cocktail, we preferred to sip it neat and let those flavors — sweet and spice — mingle in our mouth.
But don’t take our word for it — in April, it won a silver medal at the annual San Francisco World Spirits Competition.
Wathen says there will most likely be other iterations of Fortuitous Union, but for now, they’re focusing on this product and also working on their original triple-finished concept, which they may call Rolling Fork Rum.
“We literally roll dice and hope it’s going to work, but also we spent a long time teaching ourselves how to partner with the right people — and we’ve gotten lucky,” he says. “It’s a lot of luck, a lot of risk, and there’s some vision in there between.”
This story was originally published by Insider Louisville on June 21, 2018.
The new Big Bar oozes neon in an awesome way! | Photo by Sara Havens
For the past four years, Big Bar owner Kevin Bryan has had to endure nonstop questioning about some wide open spaces next door. When is it going to open? What are you planning? Will there be more bathrooms? A dance floor? When is it going to open? When is it going to open? When is it going to open?
But first, some background: The little Highlands bar with the Big name is all but 500 square feet, and Bryan knew that when he opened his gay bar in 2012, the first of its kind on Bardstown Road that now boasts two more. He was content with 500 square feet, and the bar quickly found a groove in Louisville’s nightlife scene.
It was small, sure. But Bryan added some patio furniture and an extra urinal, and it worked. It got crowded most nights, but it worked.
Then, at the very end of 2018, Big Bar’s next-door neighbor The Wine Market closed, leaving a massive 2,000-square-foot space that actually shared a wall with the bar. Of course Bryan and his investors swooped in and scooped up the real estate. Bryan says he immediately started envisioning a grand extension of Big Bar, which would actually incorporate two floors.
People will finally stop asking: “When will it be done?” | Photo by Sara Havens
But projects, as we know, take time. And if a contractor says one year, you better plan for two. Throw a global pandemic into the mix and supply chain issues that ensued, and you have a valid explanation of why it has taken this long. Plus, Bryan wants to do things right. And he wants his community — everyone from neighbors and friends to his LGBTQ cohorts and regulars — to enjoy a space that is inclusive, fun, vibrant and even glows in the dark.
“Having more space means I can do so much more — more events, more mixers, more drag shows, more drinks and, yes, even more bathrooms,” Bryan says.
I stopped by the bigger bar the week before it was slated to open — Wednesday, May 4 — and Bryan showed off some cool new features. The massive two-level structure just oozes with neon, funk and sophistication. In fact, if you order a certain drink, it’ll come with a pair of 3-D glasses that you can use in one of the two new unisex bathrooms. The wallpaper literally comes to life.
There’s a large dance floor with a DJ booth perched up on the second floor. And lining the walls are pub tables and chairs where you can hang while you muster the courage to cut a rug. There’s also a new bar on the ground floor as well, along with the two bathrooms. And on the second floor, which overlooks the dance area, there’s a swanky lounge where you can chill with bigger groups, and even a small little four-top table hidden away in a private nook.
Bryan seemed excited but stressed with last-minute details that needed tending to.
“It’s been 10 years in the making, so I want it to be 100% from when the doors open,” he says.
Big Bar owner Kevin Bryan
One of the new features at the bar is the state-of-the-art Highball Machine that pumps out the fizziest soda water you’ve ever tasted. Plus, as Bryan said, there will be more of everything, including a bigger premium bourbon selection, new cocktails, more beer taps, more TVs, and even a handful of zero-proof cocktails.
Big Bar first opened its doors on May 1, 2012, and now, 10 years later just about to the exact day, it’s both growing and showing to the delight of its numerous regulars, including myself. Words can’t really do the space any justice, so be sure to stop in sometime to check it out after Wednesday.
And speaking of 10 years, Bryan says the bar’s official 10 Year Anniversary Celebration will be held the week of May 18-22, so get ready to throw down and dance the night away.
Big Bar is located at 1202 Bardstown Road, and it opens at 4 p.m. most days, 2 p.m. on Sundays.
Check out more before and after photos below:
The upstairs lounge areaThere are TWO unisex bathrooms!Check this out with your 3-D glasses!A little nook area upstairsA before shot: A lot of work had to be done.A before shot: It’s a mess!A before shot: It’s come a long way.
Bourbon & Benevolence from a few years back — it’s always a great time! | Photo by Drew Mackell (Mackell Photography)
December is the prime month to eat, drink, be merry and give back, and there’s no better way to do it than with an awesome bourbon event that gives back to the service industry.
Bourbon & Benevolence, which will be held Saturday, Dec. 11, from 6:30-9:30 p.m., is an annual event hosted by KOBBE (Kentucky’s Original Black Bourbon Enthusiasts), and each year they pick a different charity to raise funds for. This year it’s APRON, Inc., a local nonprofit that provides financial relief to professional food and beverage workers in the area who are experiencing financial distress due to illness, accident or emergency.
Basically, for three hours on Saturday, you get to sample bourbons from 11 different brands, enjoy food from several food trucks, bid on highly coveted bottles in a silent auction, smoke cigars in a fancy outdoor lounge, and also sip on wine, champagne or beer (if bourbon isn’t your thing — gasp!).
I’ve been to this event several times the last few years and it’s quickly become one of my favorite bourbon-centered events. Everyone is looking for a good time, whether you’re new the to spirit or an old coot like me, and appreciation for charity, bourbon, community and fellowship is felt throughout the room.
So which brands will be there, you ask? Check ’em out:
Michter’s
Russell’s Reserve
Maker’s Mark
Smooth Ambler from West Virginia
Bulleit Frontier Whiskey
Buzzard’s Roost
Ragged Branch
Rolling Fork Rum
Limestone Branch
Barrell Craft Spirits
Kentucky Peerless
&
“This year our focus is fully on fundraising,” says Jamar Mack, founder of KOBBE. “We’ve always prided ourselves on bringing people together, so we’re glad to get back to that.”
And speaking of raising funds, the silent auction is going to be insane, with a list that includes many “unicorn” bottles you only dream about owning.
These include big hitters like Old Forester Birthday Bourbon, a 19-year-old Willet Family Estate Single Barrel, Pappy, Weller, Stagg, Blanton’s, and even some vintage bottles.
Tickets to the event are $110, which includes the full tasting experience, access to the silent auction and everything mentioned above, as well as two tickets for the food trucks. A proof of COVID vaccination or negative 72-hour test is required. Bourbon & Benevolence will be held Dec. 11 at Mint on Mellwood, 1631 Mellwood Ave.
The Kitchen Table: Come as a friend, leave as family. | Photo by Sara Havens
For 18 long months, the James B. Beam Distilling Co. (aka Jim Beam Distillery) in Clermont, Ky., was closed to the public. The powers-that-be decided, in essence, that while the world dealt with the ensuing global pandemic, it would be best to shut down tours and renovate and expand the campus.
After all, this was part of Beam’s five-year expansion plan, which included constructing a new distillery (Fred B. Noe Craft Distillery); expanding and renovating the visitor center, which is now called The American Outpost; and adding a full-service restaurant and cocktail bar called The Kitchen Table; among other projects.
Turns out the Beam crew was quite productive in those 18 months, and now the distillery is open again for tours — as well as delicious meals and creative cocktails.
I recently visited The Kitchen Table as part of a media experience, and I can say — with all due respect to the other distilleries in Bourbon Country — that Beam has just one-upped every other distillery in Kentucky and beyond. The restaurant is not only approachable and welcoming, but it offers gorgeous views of the distillery grounds and spectacular cocktails that highlight each Beam brand — from Booker’s and Basil Hayden to Baker’s and Knob Creek.
The restaurant was inspired by the Noe family kitchen table, where generations of Beams have shared meals and, of course, lots bourbon! Beam partnered with QED Hospitality out of New Orleans on the project, and the food as well as the vibe of the place is Southern hospitality at its finest.
Here are a few things I was able to try, which are a great representation of the menu.
First Course
Jim Beam Highball — I love a refreshing highball, and this was top-notch!
Spiced Pork Rinds — Yum! Cajun-seasoned rinds were delish!
Venison Poppers — I don’t usually eat venison, but I did, and it was pretty tasty.
Pulled Pork Empanadas — One of my favorites of the day: The pulled pork was smoked on the premises.
Lamb Ribs — A savory treat, with fall-off-the-bone meat.
Second Course
Golden Hour — This cocktail was made with Basil Hayden, Aperol and fillet blanc, and it was light and crisp.
Hot Brown Pizza — Fun fact: The chefs use the same yeast for the pizza crust that is used in Jim Beam bourbon. This pizza is a best-seller so far.
Smoked Pork Pizza — My favorite pizza of the bunch!
Wild Mushroom Pizza — The smoked gouda on this one was a highlight.
Third Course
Smash — A cocktail made with Old Grand-Dad 114, lemon, mint and sugar. It was kind of hybrid of a mint julep and hot toddy, served cold over crushed ice.
Burger — Wow! This was my favorite of the day, a double-decker fried burger that tasted like a Frisch’s Big Boy back when Frisch’s used quality meat.
Smothered Catfish — I don’t usually eat fish, but I made myself try this because it looked like chicken tenders. It was pretty darn good! Fluffy and fried.
Smoked Trout — I hate to say it, but I passed on this dish because of, well, fish.
Dessert
Basil Hayden Caribbean Cask — A neat pour, tried and true.
Bourbon Balls —Can’t go wrong with these balls.
Spiced Apple — This as a treat: vanilla pudding with caramel, granola and baked apple pieces.
Chocolate Blackout Cake — Can I get a hell yeah!? This was my fav dessert because of the luscious hot fudge poured all over it, plus bourbon whipped cream and bourbon-soaked cherries.
As you can see, there’s a wide range of food here, and it’s all sourced locally (when possible). The table I sat at was patterned after a similar table in the Noe kitchen, and it’s reserved for VIPs, although you can request it when making reservations. Because everyone is a VIP at The Kitchen Table, right?! You better believe it.
And I also tried the Black Manhattan, which was made with Baker’s — one of my favorite Beam products.
Right now, The Kitchen Table is only open for lunch Wednesday through Sunday, and it’s recommended you just stop by and come on in. If you’re waiting for a tour or are killing time after a tour, it’s also recommended you sip on a cocktail or two from the oval-shaped center bar.
And lastly, I just love how the restaurant is all windows, showing the dazzling, serene sights of the distillery grounds. I could just sit there all day and look out onto the campus — as long as they kept my glass full, that is.
Here is a collection of photos from my experience. Enjoy!
Retail cocktail mixers can sometimes be tricky, and they’re just about always way too sticky. Sugary sweet concoctions of ingredients you probably already have in your kitchen, mixers are made to help you throw a bomb-ass party without having to play bartender.
Don’t get me wrong, I’ve found some great Old Fashioned mixers for when I just don’t feel like shakin’ my own bitters. So I get it. We want something easy, tasty and — this is a hard box to check — somewhat healthy/natural with not much sugar, right?
Enter Modica Superfood Cocktail Mix, a creation by two Louisville guys — Eric Wentworth and JD Mitchell — who like to drink cocktails but don’t want all that junk that comes in a store-bought sour mix, for example. Have you seen the ingredients list on those? That shit also gives me heartburn, so I say to hell with it!
Anyway, the guys met in business school and decided to combine their entrepreneur knowledge to launch better-tasting, better-for-you cocktails where not much effort was required by the consumer. And they did.
Here’s a better explanation from the website:
For three years, they experimented with ingredients until they found the perfect cocktail combinations. They said “yes!” to naturally-sourced ingredients, antioxidants and B-vitamins. And they passed on preservatives, tons of sugar and anything artificial. They wanted a fantastic cocktail (or two), and they didn’t want to feel guilty about it afterwards.
I was fortunate to try all three flavors at a recent backyard hoedown I hosted. I also shared them with my guests, and people couldn’t stop raving about them. Since I bend toward bourbon, my favorite is the Tart Cherry Old Fashioned, where literally all you have to do is add bourbon. I can handle that.
Ginger Julep, anyone? The recipe is on the website. | Courtesy of Modica
The other flavors offered are Turmeric Ginger Mule (just add vodka or bourbon) and Cucumber Aloe Margarita (just add tequila). Of course there are all kinds of cocktail recipes on the website as well, so take a gander or come up with your own creation.
Each bottle of Modica retails for about $13.99, and you can find them at more than 20 locations here in Louisville — including Kroger, Liquor Barn and Total Wine.
They’re looking to expand to Lexington next, and if people latch onto these like I have, you better believe global domination isn’t too far up the road.
Raise a toast to healthy drinks. I’ll get my superfoods wherever I can!
I have two suggestions for future flavors: a Tajin Bloody Mary or a Pineapple (or Mango) Jalapeño Margarita.
First thing’s first: It’s time for more Bar Bingo, this time featuring Valentine’s Day-themed cocktails at nine of your favorite local watering holes! If you don’t know what Bar Bingo is, read my post about it from early December.
The effort is once again put together by members of the Responsible Bar & Restaurant Coalition, and the goal is to collect a stamp from all nine places that are offering up two intriguing Valentine’s Day-themed drinks. Participating bars include:
Shopbar
Pints & Union
Gold Bar
Ostra
Zanzabar
The Limbo/Riot Café
Mag Bar
Meta
Outlook Inn
Once you collect all the stamps, you take a photo of your complete bingo card (which can be picked up at all nine bars) and text it in to Olivia Griffin, owner of The Limbo. You are then entered into a drawing for gift cards, booze and other fun prizes. All cocktails will be $10 or less.
I had a fun time completing my Bar Bingo in December, and it looks like this one will be fun as well, especially with drink names like Favorite Mistake (Gold Bar), Courtney Love (Ostra), Let That Man Go (Mag Bar), Emotionally Slutty (Limbo), Not in Love (Meta) and Champ “Pain” in My Ass (Zanzabar).
I believe the bingo cards will be collected through Feb. 28, so might as well start tonight!
Four Roses/Nanz & Kraft’s Flower Hour moves online
Each Valentine’s Day, Nanz & Kraft Florist in St. Matthews throws a big party with Four Roses featuring bourbon samples, appetizers (read: lots and lots of cheese and chocolate), a silent auction, jazz band and much more.
Won’t you be my Valentine?
This year, however, they’re taking that party online, sort of, since we can’t really gather, sip and gab like we used to.
The good news is the online auction component will still be happening in the shop, and you have from now until Feb. 13 to stop in and place your bids. Nana & Kraft is located at 141 Breckenridge Lane.
Items up for grabs include the 2020 Limited Edition Small Batch, the 130th Anniversary Limited Edition Small Batch, the Al Young 50th Anniversary Limited Edition Small Batch and more. Basically, I’d like any of those bottles mentioned, ESPECIALLY the Al Young 50th, so if you need a reason to bid, make it a gift for me!
I can wine and dine you for that bottle, including but not limited to day drinking at your bar of choice, an invitation to my Bourbon Bungalow for a one-of-a-kind tasting experience, or partaking in a pub crawl through the Highlands or Germantown — or neighborhood of your choice.
Anyway, there’s another special promotion going on with Nanz & Kraft, too, and it includes a Valentine bouquet featuring a dozen Heart Roses and a bottle of Four Roses Small Batch for $125. Proceeds from this go to the American Heart Association.
So I have something to admit, and I’m guessing you already know this. I haven’t been getting out as much as I’d like to, because I REALLY don’t want this nasty Corona-cock virus, especially when the vaccine is so close. I feel like I’m letting you down as the Bar Belle of Louisville, but that’s where I am.
The other day, however, armed with a mask and an appetite for discovering new places, I managed to get to two bars and a pizza place (later in the week).
I not only love tacos, I’m obsessed with tacos. I want to eat them every day. I want to bask in all their folded-up glory. I want to be a taco.
So naturally I figured I’d love this new restaurant and bar that opened recently in the former Panera Bread location in the Highlands, which used to be the world-renowned ear X-tacy before that. In fact, I never frequented that Panera Bread because I felt like it was spitting on the X-tacy legacy, but now that something local has moved back in, I’ve let that guilt go — and it has nothing to do with tacos being in the name, I swear.
Anyway, this place is awesome! It’s colorful, spaced out, friendly and quite delicious. And the tacos are fairly authentic — as in Mexican-style tacos, not the Americanized version that comes with mounds of cheese, lettuce and tomatoes.
I had one asada (steak) taco ($3.75) and one tinga taco ($3.50), which featured chicken, and both were tasty and flavorful. The asada was cooked to crispy perfection, with just onions and cilantro added to the meat. And the chicken on the tinga was juicy and flavorful as well, and it was more like pulled chicken than pieces or, well, chicken finger-style. Both were served on homemade corn tortillas (you can also ask for a flour).
Now, my girlfriend and I are regulars at El Mariachi in Lyndon, and while we loved these tacos and admired their authenticity, we still think Mariachi serves up slightly better tacos. This is no knock on I Love Tacos, because I’ll definitely be back for more.
My friend who joined us also ordered the queso dip ($4.99), and it was quite amazing, as most queso is. On my next visit, I’d like to try the nachos, and on my visit after that, I’d like to get a burrito.
So what did I drink, you ask? You think I would have started with that! Duh. I had Ernesto’s Passion Fruit Margarita ($5.99), the frozen version, because the menu stated it was a People’s Choice Champion in 2019. It was fabulously sweet but not overly sweet, and the passion fruit tang played well with the tequila.
On my next visit to the bar area, I’d like to try the sangria ($4.99) as well as the raspberry margarita ($5.99) and blueberry margarita ($5.99).
I see that there’s also a location in Jeffersontown, so if you’re out that way, give it a try!
If you like to drink with your four-legged friends, then this new Highlands dog bar is for you! And if you just want to be around dozens of dogs that are romping around a room for hours, then you’re welcome to perch at a table to watch (and drink).
The space used to be a car repair shop, so it’s big and airy and concrete from wall to wall, with garage door-styled windows and doors that’ll open up when it’s nice out.
Dogs!
There’s also a dog park out back, and the bar offers various membership options for this area.
The menu is fairly small, with just a handful of beer (craft and domestic), wine and cocktail options. But there’s also local coffee and cold brew served, so that’s a nice option if you want to bring your laptop and get some work done while your dog frolics around the joint.
I don’t want to paint the picture like it’s a wild, free-for-all dog party going on. There are actually “park rangers” armed with squirt guns and tin-can shakers patrolling the area to make sure all the mutts are behaving.
Plus, your dog has to be updated on all its shots before entering, and there are forms to fill out. But you filthy humans can come right in and partake in the festivities.
I’m a little late to the party on this one, but I blame the worldwide pandemic for that. This is Chicago-style pizza in the former space of the beloved Clifton’s Pizza, and it was nice to see that they actually cleaned and spruced things up!
Not only that, but the beer taps were clean and had to be new, because my Bud Light was ice cold, crisp and crazy delicious as I was stuffing my mouth with deep-dish pizza. Yes, I know Bud Light isn’t local, but sometimes I slide back into the tastes of my college days and partake in a guilty pleasure. Leave me alone!
Yum!!
Jake & Elwood’s only serves beer and wine, and since it’s a Chicago-themed place, there’s plenty of Old Style and 312 on tap as well, plus an assortment of cans and bottles.
But let’s get to the pizza! You can get either thin crust or deep-dish Chicago-style, and the toppings are all the usual suspects. The menu also includes hot dogs (another Chicago staple), french fries — loaded or naked — as well as appetizers and salads.
I had a 10-inch cheese deep-dish pie, and my friend had two slices of thin-crust. We both enjoyed what we ordered and had plenty to take home.
I just had one criticism, since I have actually eaten a Chicago-style pizza in Chicago, and it’s about the amount of cheese that was used — or lack thereof.
The pizza came out with 2- or 3-inch-thick crust, per usual, but the middle part should be so heaving in cheese that it’s almost like a lasagna. This was not — it was actually thinner (since I didn’t add any toppings) than my friend’s thin-crust pizza.
That didn’t stop me from eating it, of course. And next time I’ll just ask for extra cheese. The sauce is spot-on, and overall it was a fun dining experience. I’ll definitely be back for more beer, too.
As I have said many times, it’s imperative to support our local bars and restaurants during this COVID lockdown. Many places are hanging on by a thread, and they’re doing their best to come up with creative ways to get you cocktails to-go, create a warm, safe place on their patios, etc.
And new this week, 10 area bars and restaurants — all members of the Responsible Bar & Restaurant Coalition — are banning together to offer up a fun way for folks to grab a cocktail and possibly win some prizes. Louisville Bar Bingo begins this week and runs through December.
Basically, each week the same cocktail will be featured on special at each bar, and it can be ordered to-go or for outdoor drinking. You print out a bingo card by going to one of the bar’s social media pages, and then collect stamps for each drink consumed. (You can also pick up blank cards at each establishment.) You need 16 stamps by the end of the month to compete for a massive prize including local gift cards, speciality bottles and more.
Participating bars are:
Gold Bar (Butchertown)
The Limbo/Riot Cafe (Downtown)
Mag Bar (Old Louisville)
Meta (Downtown)
Noche Mexican BBQ (Highlands)
NoraeBar (NuLu)
The Merryweather (Germantown/Schnitzelburg)
ShopBar (Germantown/Schnitzelburg/Highlands-ish)
Ostra (Clifton)
Zanzabar (Germantown/Schnitzelburg)
“We have all made the commitment to do things right and follow the governor’s guidelines, but we are suffering because of it,” said Limbo Tiki Bar & Riot Cafe owner Olivia Griffin in a news release. “So we’re creating interesting and fun ways for the community to support us.”
Louisville Bar Bingo runs through December.
While some bars are following Uncle Andy’s rules to a T, others are completely ignoring them, ultimately putting people’s lives at risk for contracting COVID-19. We can’t be doing that.
“So many of us in the bar and restaurant industry are committed to supporting each other, so it makes sense to do something that drives traffic to all our establishments,” Griffin added.
Louisville Bar Bingo is also being supported by local businesses that have yet to open back up but still champion the cause. And big-name sponsors include Four Roses Bourbon and Plantation Rum.
Cocktails on the bingo card are holiday themed and will range from a hot toddy (this week) to a spiked cider and even a “frostbite colada” at the end of the month. Now that one has my name all over it!
Every bar will put its own creative spin on the libation, and you’ll be able to taste them side by side and pick your favorites.
Personally, I’m definitely interested in checking out the White Russian, Cookie Jello Shot and Frostbite Colada, so you better believe I’ll be screaming “BINGO!” way before you all.
