G is for...

A friend of mine invited me to join her dinner group, which meets monthly at different local restaurants. Each month is assigned a letter of the alphabet, so this month is G for Gumbo A-Go Go (aka J.Gumbos). I love this place! I ate it a lot while I was pregnant, although the spicy food didn't really help speed things along in the end... It's pretty inexpensive, easy carryout, and altogether delicious. Shelby and I used to eat there often, but I think he got tired of it - now he says he hates it. My favorite is the Bumblebee Stew, which is a middle-of-the-road hot, but still is borderline too hot for me. Any hotter and I couldn't handle it.

Other restaurants we've been to since I joined the group: E is for Egg Roll Machine (one of 3 restaurants at Cafe Mimosa), and F is for Flanagan's (great for beer lovers!). Yum!

Me, in the kitchen - yikes!

I saw the preview for the Julie/Julia movie due out this summer. If you haven't heard of the movie, basically a lady sets out to make every recipe from a Julia Child cookbook. Something I maybe should consider...

Tomorrow night I'm having my friend Jamie and her 5 year old son over for dinner. I'm getting a little nervous about hosting the meal because I'm not so great in the kitchen. Inexperienced, let's say. In my defense, I make a mean grilled cheese, and I'm pretty good with ground beef, particularly in a pasta-and-meat-sauce capacity. But inviting someone over for a grilled cheese sounds like a disappointment to ruin your week, and Jamie's son will only eat chicken... (Ah, the mysteries of children.) So tonight's agenda looks filled with a quick scan of recipes that I have never made, are difficult to botch, and will satisfy those with food allergies and picky eaters alike. Say a prayer and wish me luck!

The Red Pepper Deli

Yesterday for lunch I had the last PBJ of my life. (I hope.) It was totally unappetizing - I choked it down out of pure desperation. We're out of sandwich meat, so I declined to pack a lunch today and went out with Shelby for some grub. Our options are fairly limited near the office, and we already had Dairy Queen this week. I saw a new place the other day that seemed really busy around lunch time, so we decided to try it out. The Red Pepper Deli did not disappoint! The sandwiches were tasty, the service very pleasant - all for a very reasonable price. Glad to have found a new, local eatery!

Never eat at a C

Every restaurant here has a rating, given to the establishment by the Health Department. It's a handy guide, placed on an 8.5X11 sheet of paper visible from the parking lot. Going back to Virginia, I miss knowing what the Health Department would rate some of my favorite spots. I believe the ratings are based similarly to a grading scale: 100-93 is an A, 92-85 is a B, etc. Typically, you see mostly As, at least where I want to eat, anyway. Occasionally, I'll find a B, and make the decision about whether I REALLY want to stay there or not.

I've only eaten at a C once. My mom and I stopped into Chic-fil-a on a Saturday morning for a quick breakfast, and they had gotten a C. You could tell all of the employees were a little down. They had written an explanation of why they received the C and posted it next to the rating so people could understand why such a delicious eatery had such a poor rating. Apparently they had a leaky sink or something in the kitchen and the problem had been fixed immediately. They have since regained their A status.

But what about other restaurants that are satisfied with their Cs? I have never seen a D, and hope that the Health Dept would just shut them down if things got that bad. One C-rated restaurant seemed perfectly content with their status, and incorporated the letter into fan support for UofL: the GO CARDS! message in their windows took advanage of the C they already had. Saved on red ink I guess. I don't know the name of this restaurant, but I will NEVER eat there. Guaranteed.

Photo from www.terrymeiners.com. Notice also that there are people eating directly behind the sign, like they didn't notice!

Dying to dine

I desperately want to go to dinner HERE.  How fun!  I've been meaning to ride a train somewhere, and I'm always looking for food these days, so it's the perfect combo.

If I went for lunch, I would get:

My Old Kentucky Prime Rib Sandwich (Slow-roasted, thinly sliced prime rib of beef, stacked on a hoagie roll, topped with sauteed onions.  Accompanied with au'jus and a baked potato.)

If I went for dinner, I would get:

Roast Loin of Pork (Seasoned Pork Loin roasted to perfection served with a bourbon mango glaze.  White rice and our over roasted vegetables accompany this generous portion of boneless pork loin.)

No dessert in either case.

Note:  These are not my first choices, but are my only choices because every other entree is made with cheese.  In a perfect world (where I could/would eat cheese), I would get the lunch Kentucky Hot Brown or the dinner Parmesan Crusted Tilapia.  And of course dessert would be the Derby Pie.  YUM.

Hamburglar strikes again

So - FIVE GUYS BURGERS AND FRIES has made its way to Kentuckiana!!!!

That's right - New Albany, IN hosts the delicious burger spot that was once a Virginia trip treat. This new location has been confirmed by the Five Guys website and unknowing KY friends who raved about a "new burger place." Slowly, Virginia is moving west! Now if only we could get a Bodo's...

Louisville dining does not equal Applebees

I found another blog that references a love for Louisville. The blogger visited on a business trip with his wife and "fell madly in love with the city." I was interested in his opinion until I read that he ate at Applebees and used this dining experience as material for his "I love Louisville" post. You can go to Applebees anywhere!! Why not try a Louisville Original? Or Sapporo for sushi, Jack Fry's for upscale, El Tarasco for mexican. Sure, he liked the new burger at Applebees, but he should have gone to the BBC, where he could have had his choice between beef OR bison (from a local farm) and completed the meal with a delicious Louisville beer. He already loves Louisville, but he doesn't know how good it actually is! Come back for another round, Mister. You'll be more impressed if you actually experience all that Louisville has to offer!