[This is one of my favorite videos to watch to cheer me up. Don't be scared off by the French name - it doesn't require French to understand. The title says "Have you ever seen ballerinas in training?" Used to show this to my FR101 students, they loved it.]
My friends, Megabites Louisville is coming to an end. (Kind of…) Some of us have moved away, some of us are no longer blogging, but one of us will continue on…
Megabites Louisville has been a fabulously fun blog all about food in town. But now, we’re transitioning from food-centered posts to posts all about food, drinks, fun, festivals, events, and more! Ever make lists of restaurants you want to eat at or cool things to do in Louisville or close enough for a day trip? SO DO WE. So Amelia created LouisvilleToDo.com.
LouisvilleToDo.com is a blog talking about things to do in Louisville, things to eat, things to drink, and general Louisville awesomeness. Not only will I be posting weekly a list of things to do and see around town that week, but I’ll be posting my thoughts and coverage of local festivals, events, restaurants, cafes, breweries, distilleries, and more!
Anyone else bummed there wasn’t a Game of Thrones episode this past week? I am for sure.
Sooooo it’s almost June. I just got back from a lovely couple of days in Hilton Head, SC full of sun, sand, and seafood! But I’m lovin’ being back in town and ready to think about the month coming up! So, I’m making myself a list all of the different food/drink/fun events coming up and giving y’all a chance to hit up some of the great June events Louisville has to offer this upcoming month! I’ll do my best to put them in chronological order?
Summer means ICE CREAM.
Fest of Ale and WINE – May 31, 2014 ( I KNOW ITS NOT JUNE, BUT ITS ALMOST…RIGHT? GUYS?)
Fest of Ale is this fabulous thing that Keg Liquors in Clarksville, IN is doing to benefit WHAS Crusade for Children. There will be 100+ Breweries, 7 Craft Beer Distributors, 8 Fine Wine Distributors, over 250 craft and import beers, wine, food, charity raffle and more! I love going to fests especially when they benefit things like Crusade for Children! Want to help out kids and drink some fabulous beer at the same time? Get your tickets and more info HERE!
Who doesn’t love a summer baseball game? (Well, I guess maybe some people. But I mean, at least there’s food there.) The Bats games are excellent date nights, family nights, or just cheap nights out! They have all kinds of different discounts like $1 Hot Dog and Soda nights (I think on Tuesdays?) or $1 beer nights! They have all kinds of things for kids to do at the games like running the bases some nights and the playground area! Plus, Kizito cookies. I’ll be headed out June 1 to kick off summer with the folks I work with
Louisville Hooch Tour - Wednesday, Thursday, and Sunday throughout the summer from 1pm-4pm
I love Louisville and I love city tours, so this sounds PERFECT. You know those architecture tours like the Frank Lloyd Wright tour in Chicago? Well Louisville does tours a lil better and this one is all about what makes the Derby City unique! It’s put on by Mint Julep Tours, who always do a fabulous job hosting tours and groups of folks, and this particular tour gives you a chance to see Vendome Copper and Brass – one of two places in THE WORLD that make copper distillers. The Hooch tour is also sure to highlight the Falls of the Ohio, Whiskey Row, the Cast Iron District, NuLu, the Louisville Slugger Museum, Museum Row featuring the Muhammad Ali Center, various Victorian Homes in Old Louisville and Waterfront Park. Interested in the tour? BUY TICKETS HERE
Image courtesy of Mint Julep Tours – Secrets of Louisville Chefs LIVE!
First off, I LOVE THIS SHOW. Second, YOU CAN BE ON TV. Don’t you want to be on TV? I know I always do. The next taping is June 7, 2014 and tickets include BEING ON TV, a champagne cocktail meet-and-greet with the hosts and producers, and after the show – you get to taste all of the food!
Have y’all been to the Big Four Bridge yet? I know the Indiana side FINALLY opened so now you can walk from Kentucky over to Indiana and even back again if you want! Well, the folks at CASA of the River Region and Chase Bank are having their 2nd Annual Bourbon by the Bridge to benefit CASA. Casa supports and promotes court-appointed, volunteer advocacy for abused and neglected children so that they can thrive safe, permanent homes. There will be cocktails and tastings from Heaven Hill Distilleries, Brown-Forman, Maker’s Mark, Four Roses, Jefferson’s (Castle Brands), and Angel’s Envy with hors d’œuvres from the Catering Company! So get your tickets here, come get drunk by the walking bridge, and help kids!
Against the Grain Brewery and Louisville Underground Science bring you Beer with a Scientist! – a monthly series “to inform and educate the public on diverse scientific topics.” This upcoming talk will address the question “They’re catchy; so how can we combat virus infection with nanotechnology?” The presentation will be led by University of Louisville’s Dr. Jill M. Steinbach, Ph.D. The Leo recently did a review on the series that you can read here. Admission is free and Against the Grain has KILLER food and drinks – is there a reason NOT to go? I don’t think so.
The Ice House’s own sommelier, Erica Schnell, is hosting a monthly wine seminar and tasting! At $20 a person or $90 for the full six-course package, this kind of wine-learnin is something I think us Louisvillian’s will like. Not only will Erica describe and interact with the wine tastings, she’s also going to show a variety of sampling techniques! And I’ll be there to help with all of that French pronunciation stuff. Call 502.589.4700 for tickets – space is limited, so hurry!
Now THIS is an event I’ve been trying to go to since I was a wee lil babe. (slash as soon as I could read and understand food is FABULOUS….so like 10?) It’s a way to try ALL of the Frankfort Ave. restaurants on my to-eat list and help out the Clifton Center continue it’s effort to become one of the region’s premier cultural institutions. Participants include Porcini, Varanese, Bistro 1860, Volare, and Bourbon’s Bistro, as well as high quality casual favorites such as North End Café, Irish Rover, Gary’s on Spring, Silver Dollar, Coal’s Artisan Pizza, Homemade Ice Cream & Pie Kitchen, Crave Café, Boombozz Pizza, the Comfy Cow, Vint, and Heine Brothers Coffee. Buy your tickets here!
Their poster is pretty gorgeous, no?
Also, a friendly reminder that FATHER’S DAY is coming up! Sunday, June 15th!! We’ll have a Father’s Day Eating Guide in a week or so!
OTHER NOTEWORTHY EVENTS/THINGS TO DO IN LOUISVILLE JUNE 2014:
Single Barrel Bourbon Tasting Event – June 6,2014 [For reservations call (502) 456-0980]
Brown-Forman and Yew Gardens Farm to Table Dinner – June 22, 2014 MORE INFO HERE
Ready for July??
ON THE HORIZON – What’s coming up, Louisville?
Coming up in JULY we’re excited for the Best of Louisville! Proceeds from the Best of Louisville benefit the Kentucky Southeast Indiana Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. You can see the flyer below and find out more info/buy tickets here! We’ll have more info to come about the event in July
The dinner started with Bourbon Braised Pork Belly Pickled Blackberries, Arugula Crema, Sorghum Gastrique.
This meal was expertly put together. The dish began very sweet and developed into a smoky southern dream. The pork belly was so soft that it melted in my mouth with hardly any chewing effort. It was fatty and delicious. The arugula crema added a slightly earthy sweetness balancing out the sorghum gastrique and its dark, bitter sweetness. The two sauces, when eaten with the pork belly, created a starter more like a dessert than a savory appetizer and really set a tone for the rest of the meal. The blackberries were rich in flavor and starkly different than a standard blackberry. Pickling them brought forth these dark notes not unlike tones in a red wine. The blackberries were a pleasant surprise to me and took the overall sweetness of the dish down a notch – almost like a palate cleanser.
Pork belly and pickled blackberries? YES PLEASE.
The entréeprepared for us was a Bourbon Bung Smoked Tenderloin, Cannellini-Mustard Greens & Bacon Hash, Watermelon Radish, and Bordelaise.
Almost definitely, this was the softest, juiciest tenderloin I’ve ever had. The Bourbon “Bung” is the stopper that keeps bourbon in it’s barrel before it gets bottled (not the bung you might have initially thought of that’s an unmentionable part of the animal…) Yellow Poplar is usually used to make a bung due to it’s expansion properties when it gets wet. The bung was shredded and then soaked in a cherry mixture before being dried and used to smoke the tenderloin. The level of attention that was brought to the tenderloin alone was noteworthy and with accompanying mustard greens, bacon hash with watermelon radishes created a dish that felt like I was eating a traditional meal made right from any Kentucky farm. This felt like home. Cigar smoke was in the air and the hot kick from Angel’s Envy made this entrée all the more charming. I was lost in how well planned each dish was and how perfectly paired the atmosphere seemed to be.
Dat entrée tho…
Finally, although I was almost completely stuffed, we finished the meal with a Bourbon Pecan Chocolate Cheesecake topped with Bourbon Sauce, Chèvre Ice Cream, and Berry Compote. The chèvre ice cream had the complex, slightly bitter flavor associated with goat’s milk and goat cheese only noticeable for a second before melding wonderfully with the Bourbon and chocolate of the cheesecake. The ice cream had a very light flavor and seemed to almost tone down the rich, yet mindblowingly good cheesecake. Finally, I’d like to give a nod to the berry-compote and all of the berries incorporated in this sensational, smoky, southern, summer dinner.
When we heard that the Science Center was starting an annual series with the same name as our blog, we obviously needed to go. I mean, why wouldn’t Megabites Louisville go to megaBITE?
Amelia’s anxious for food!
As the Kentucky Science Center says, “The idea for the event stemmed from the development of our annual Adult Series – a series of several adults-only events at the Science Center focused on various themes. Last October, the Science Center kicked off its 2nd Adult Series with exBEERiment, which marked the first of three events including diSEXtion, which explored the science of sex in February, and now megaBITE. The 3rd annual exBEERiment is set to kick off the next Adult Series in late October of this year.We brainstormed several ideas for the name megaBITE – including graviTASTE and many others! We landed on megaBITE because we felt it best expressed our dual themes of science and food.”
Kentucky Science Center lobby – ain’t it pretty?
I love learning about food and I love knowing the science behind things – not to mention the chance to go to the Science Center without any kids running around! This event was fabulous from start to finish. As soon as you walked in, Fox Hollow Farms was passing out samples of their homegrown popcorn right in front of the area where the two chefs were setting up for the Cooking Showdown! And it was nicely categorized into courses, with dessert at the third floor so as to encourage walking the stairs before consuming sugary delicacies!
Our guide to where all da food at!
The first floor was designed to be for appetizers and had a nice sampling of Jerk Chicken shooters (with mango salsa and mango bbq sauce – but of course, I had to decline those toppings although it was DAMN good plain) from the Seelbach and guacamole with chips from Mayan Café.
Jerk Chicken Shooter with Mango Salsa and BBQ
The second floor was designated as the floor for main courses. The Bristol was serving up the most incredible candied bacon I’ve tasted yet. Tumbleweed was there passing out chips and guac with chips and salsa. And then Stone Cross Farms setup the coolest station I’ve seen – a bratwurst station where the brats were made fresh! They were cutting up the meat, putting it through the grinder, mixing it with delicious spices, putting it into sausage link holder things (whatever they use to encapsulate the meaty filling for brats), and then frying up the fresh brats and serving them! Hands down the best brat I’ve had and the presentation was pretty bad ass.
Fryin’ up brats, baby!
There were a few desserts that snuck onto the second floor, too. There was nitrogen-frozen ice cream that looked to me to be made simply from heavy whipping cream and vanilla. It was perfectly creamy and kind of chunky – like homemade ice cream. Plus, they had “honey caviar” on grahams right next door to the ice cream station, all prepping you for the delicious brats that was in the adjacent room.
NOM honey caviar
The third floor was the dessert floor…. and it was definitely my favorite floor. Bake My Day had a beautifully designed display to showoff how pretty their cakes are. Their samples were tiny cupcake bites that were inspired by Derby Pie (but I’m not going to lie…were totally better than Derby Pie!) Cellar Door Chocolates had four different and equally amazing chocolates to try and the Oakroom had a cocktail-based desert that almost looked too fancy to eat! (But of course, I tried to eat as many of them as I could get away with…)
pretty AND delicious
The cook-off, however, was definitely the highlight of megaBITE. Two local farms – Fox Hollow Farms and Stone Cross Farms – chose chefs to use their respective farm-grown meats to try and win the 1st annual megaBITE competition. Fox Hollow chose a chef from Holy Grale and Stone Cross had a chef from Wiltshire Pantry. They each cooked up some amazing looking food and easily convinced me I need to do all in my power to judge the next one. In the end, Holy Grale and Fox Hollow Farms won the culinary battle and got to temporary-tattoo their logo on the foreheads of the Stone Cross gang
The judges in a heated debate over who’d be crowned the winner!
I’ve been getting some requests for BEFORE-HAND notice of the events we are going to (as opposed to just posts after the events – who would have thought to do such a thing?) so I wanted to tell you all about the packed week/weekend we have ahead of us! And that way I might actually get to see some of y’all out and about!
Amelia (Me) = READY FOR THE WEEKEND, BAYBAY
First things first, tonight Megabites is going to megaBITE at the Science Center! Tonight from 6-10pm the Kentucky Science Center will be exploring the science behind food, sampling local and eclectic bites, and a chance to romp around a KID-FREE science center! Now, I’ve got nothing against kids. In fact, I love ‘em. But when I hear the words “cash bar” + “science center” + “kids-free” I have a feeling it’s going to be a pretty good night. Tickets are $20 for non-members and $15 for members – register and get more info here!
megaBITE info
Then, Monday we’ll be hitting up one of my FAV restaurants in town – Bourbons Bistro – for their Kentucky-lovin “Bourbon thru Bluegrass” event! Hickory Vaught, a Louisville Bluegrass musician, and Bernie Lubbers, the Whiskey Professor, will present a 75 minute performance that will, “stimulate all your senses. You will see, hear, smell, feel, and taste the history of America’s native spirit. Drink it all in at Bourbons Bistro. It’s like a Ken Burns documentary on Bourbon brought to life,” according to the event site. Needless to say, we’re VERY excited for this one.
MMMM Bourbon….
Thursday of next week – May 22 – we have the opportunity to go to a wonderful charitable event at Harvest. Local charity, WaterStep, is hosting a “farm to table” dinner complete with cocktail reception and dinner! There will be a live auction to benefit WaterStep that features items like an Old 502 Winery gift basket and a Four Roses gift basket! Mayor Greg Fischer says this about the event: “This event is an excellent way to enjoy Kentucky foods and bourbon while helping one of our city’s most unique charities.” Tickets are $100 with proceeds going to WaterStep. The Farm to Table dinner at Harvest Restaurant is sponsored by Four Roses Bourbon and Old 502 Winery. Get reservations at 502-568-6342.
WaterStep is FABULOUS – image from http://waterstep.org/current-projects/ (Check them out!!)
Image from http://drewestate.com/category/media/photo/
We hope to see some of y’all out and about this weekend and upcoming week! If you want us to visit your event, restaurant, food truck, café, or kitchen just drop us a line here!
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