Dec 05 2013
Some restaurant locations seem absolutely cursed! Take the former location on 4th street that housed Red Star (closed), then Mozzaria (closed), then Quatro (closed), and opening soon the Brazilian steakhouse Brazeiros Churrascaria. Or the former Fox and Hound by the Oxmoor Mall (closed), turned Champps (closed), turned who knows what?
Two popular restauranteurs are taking a stab at notorious locations bringing more Mexican goodies to Louisville.
The first is El Taco Luchador (loo-cha-door), which means fighter! I got a chance to chat with Caesar Anaya, General Manager of Guaca Mole, who filled me in with the details. This Mexican Taqueria (ta-keh-ree-ah), meaning taco shop, comes from owners Yaniel, Fernando, and Christina Martinez behind Guaca Mole and Mussel & Burger Bar. The restaurant at 938 Baxter Avenue is opening the last week of December, says Caesar, and will start serving only for dinner and remain open late on the weekends. Michelle from Consuming Louisville wrote it best when she said if anybody can break the curse of the former Ed Lee’s dumpling shop (closed), 14K cupcakes (closed), and Lil Cheezers (closed), it’s the Martinez group!
Caesar said the menu concept will be similar to Guaca Mole, featuring chicken mole tacos, carnitas (literally “little meats”) and carne asada, grilled corn on the cob (elote callejero), tortas (sandwiches), Baja fish tacos, chicken tinga, as well as mole fries with queso fresco. The restaurant itself is small, seating around 50 people, with bright greens and purples shining from their freshly painted porch.
Will this fighter have what it takes to break the curse? They hope so, and so does Wild Rita’s, opening in the former location of publicly tongue-lashed Mozz, a restaurant that did the dine-and-dash on 445 East Market Street. This comes from the Wildly successful folks of Wild Eggs with a focus on Mexican flavors and tequila featuring over 100 different types to try. Chef Tony Efstratiadis has a menu with artisanal tacos made with house-roasted, rotisserie-spit meats to ceviche, hand-made tamales and wood-fired chili rellanos, enchiladas and Mexican pizza, with prices ranging from $3 to $20.
The the 140-seat restaurant is due to open by January.
Dec 02 2013
Having grown up an alto 2 in choir purely for the love and singing and not for my own singing voice, I’m a bit geeky when it comes to musicals. Especially Sister Act who has some of my FAVORITE songs. To celebrate the musical playing in Louisville at The Kentucky Center January 7-12, the Bourbon and Broadway event was created at St. Charles Exchange to celebrate the love of both food and the arts!
Here is the release:
PNC Broadway in Louisville and Four Roses Bourbon to host Bourbon and Broadway four course dinner at St Charles Exchange (113 S 7th Street) inspired by SISTER ACT The Musical and Four Roses Bourbon. The dinner will begin at 6:30 pm on Monday, December 2 and the cost is $55 per person (plus tax and gratuity). Everyone dining will have an opportunity to enter to win two tickets to the opening night performance of SISTER ACT The Musical and meet representatives from Four Roses Bourbon and PNC Broadway in Louisville. For reservations, call 502-618-1917 or go to www.stcharlesexchange.com.
Check out the lovely music montage below to get you excited for the show:
Nov 21 2013
Mark your calendars for Wednesday, December 4th for the 17th Annual Dine Out for Life in Louisville. Last year 53 cities and 3,253 restaurants raised $4.27 million to support those who are affected or have HIV/AIDS. In 2012, Louisvillians raised $80,000 for the House of Ruth, a nonprofit that offers housing and support services with a holistic focus on individuals who are HIV-positive, as well as their family members who count on them for financial and emotional support.
Katrina Hutchins, the Director of Development for House of Ruth, says their goal this year is to pass the $100,000 mark. “Most people think that Dine Out for Life is just a dinner event, but we want to push people to dine out all day long for breakfast, lunch, dinner, ice cream, or even a drink afterwards at Chill Bar,” says Katrina.
In Louisville there are 43 restaurant participating in 2013, (see the event poster below), with 25% of their total proceeds that day being donated to the charity.
When you dine at any participating restaurant in Louisville you will see table tents marking the occasion, event posters, and be greeted by a Dining Out for Life Ambassador to answer questions about the charity and explain how the event works. This ambassador is also registering every diner who participates to win a week long vacation getaway in Mexico. If you are unable to participate that day, you can also donate online at www.houseofruth.net.
Nov 14 2013
Atlantic No. 5 a bistro style, fast-casual restaurant on 605 W. Main Street, is open and ready for business. From the folks who brought us Rye, this tiny soup, sandwich, and salad joint was named after the 1920’s silver domed lunch boxes that came in different models, one being Atantic No. 5. To pay homage to the name when you enter the restaurant you are greeted with 70s and 80s style lunch boxes decorating the wall. The menu is small, but tasty, check it out:
Open Monday to Friday: 8AM – 6PM and Saturday: 10AM – 2PM.
What type of lunch box did you rock as a child?
Nov 07 2013
There are some cool perks about writing a food blog like going to restaurant openings, talking on the radio, or getting press releases about food events before they hit the general public. One of the negatives? Folks coming up to me and asking where they should go to dinner. Seems innocent enough right? Until the conversation goes like this:
“Hey Megabites, thinking about taking the wife out tonight, where should I go?”
“I really like La Coop, have you checked that out?” I’d say.
“Naaaah, something less expensive,” they’d say.
“How about Mussel and Burger Bar? They’ve got great burgers,” says me.
“No, I’m in the mood for something lighter,” they’d retort.
It continues on for 10 minutes just like that. Well no more! From now on I’ll point them to an outstanding and FREE foodie phone app called Local View. Local View is free on Android and iPhone and focuses on restaurants in Louisville and Bowling Green. Created by Bowling Green natives Eric Littleton, Jay Brown, and Jon Matar, this app has a goal in mind not only to reveal great local foodie spots but to also give you free restaurants deals, similar to Groupon or Living Social, but without having to pay for the deal. Check out the interface:
Currently there are 34 deals on the app right now like:
- Get a Free Taco! Celebrate Fiesta Time at Salsarita’s!
- Experience VINCENZO’s! Save $25 when you spend $50
- $5 off $20 at BBC
As mentioned the deals you can get are free, instead of having to buy the coupon and wait 24 hours like the typical daily deal models, and then the merchants pay a small percentage to LocalView when you redeem a deal at their business. The app also pulls a ton of information from online event calendars, Yelp, and Open Table, then geotargets your location and to show you every restaurant in the area with their online reviews, menu, hours, events, and the phone number.
Like trivia? A couple of swipes on the app and boom every trivia is listed within a radius. Looking for a happy hour? This app will tell you the prices and happy hour times of restaurants close to you. Or if you want your stomach to do the deciding, there is a food porn picture section called “Feast Your Eyes” where you can upload your pictures or view great dishes. When you click on the meal the exact location it came from pops up.
Business First reported that about 60 restaurants have signed up for the app. With folks flocking to these deals I’m sure there will be plenty more restaurants joining soon!
|
|
![bookmark](http://www.megabiteslouisville.com/wp-content/plugins/share-and-follow/images/blank.gif" height=){kind=small}
