When I think of Louisville, Kentucky, Colonel Sanders’ chicken comes to mind first. I’m not sure that’s a good thing. The chicken has become decidedly subpar over the years and I wonder if the secret recipe involves letting it sit on warmers for hours on end. If the good colonel (who’s honored with a bust at his Louisville grave site) knew about the quality of his creation, he’d have a fit. But I’m sure there’s a lot more to Kentucky’s largest city than chicken, and last weekend I gave myself one night to find out.
The Good, Cheap Food and Drink In Louisville
According to NBC News, Cubans are the fastest growing minority group in Louisville. Who would have thunk it? So naturally I went looking for real Cuban food. I found El Sabor de Cuba (7200 Preston Highway) in an otherwise nondescript part of town. Having visited Cuba, I could tell El Sabor’s food was the real deal. Our first waitress didn’t speak English and the in-house karaoke band was way too loud. That’s authenticity. As for our second waitress, we asked what beer they served, and she said “Two Equis.” I’d say translating “dos” is going above and beyond and also hilarious, though my wife Amber would want more credit for her elementary knowledge of Spanish. Anyhow, the portions were huge, so we shared a plate of ropa vieja, which ran us $11.
We also had some pork tacos with pickled onions and radishes from Mayan Street Food, a food truck located in the back of Gravely Brewing (514 Baxter Avenue). After 15 years in San Diego, I’ll never get used to taco price inflation ($8 for two tacos), but the taste was up there, if not better, than anything I’ve had in So Cal or Baja California. As my friends in Daygo would say, “Those tacos were LEGIT, bro!” By the way, Gravely Brewing serves a pretty damn good stout.
Our last full meal was at Southern Express Soul Food (418 West Oak Street). Full disclosure: Southern Express is not well-kept. The restaurant is in a rough part of town. How rough? The dollar store across the street has security. Which goes to say, don’t let Louisville’s revitalization fool you, as it masks the poverty surrounding it. It is still a gritty city. BUT! The food at Southern Express was almost as good as my mom’s, and every item was only $1 each. The fish is made to order (perch, maybe?), and everything else tasted fresh, including the collard greens. Two plates of food and a can of Sprite totaled just $8.
We tried to go bourbon tasting at the Jim Beam Urban Stillhouse, but they refused to serve us. They’re open to 9 p.m. and we arrived at 8:08 p.m., apparently eight minutes after their last tasting. They didn’t seem too enthusiastic about even acknowledging us in the first place. Oh well…
From there we found Taste Fine Wines and Bourbon. We shared three tastings for $20, and they even threw in a free tasting of Cassius Clay Straight Bourbon Whiskey (named after the abolitionist), namesake of Muhammad Ali and our second son, Ca$$ius. The owner and staffer provided a beginner’s lesson on bourbon. What I mainly took away from the experience is an appreciation for sipping bourbon, which I intend to do much more frequently from here on out.
