Get your Pecha on TONIGHT

After a relaxing weekend off with my buddies I’m back in Louisville and ready and raring to go!  The first stop tonight is to go to my very first (their 7th) PechaKucha at the Metro Hall from 8p-10p.

Are you a rookie cookie like me? Here’s a little bit more about the event and why it has such a crazy name:

PechaKucha Night was devised in Tokyo in February 2003 as an event for young designers to meet, network, and show their work in public.  PechaKucha Night Louisville events are organized by the Urban Design Studio, Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest, 21c Museum and the Central Kentucky Chapter of the AIA. The goal of the events are to offer a public venue for people to meet and share their work and ideas in a relaxed social atmosphere. With the presentations being limited to 20 slides at 20 seconds per slide, even those of us with a bit of stage fright can muster up the courage to get up, beer in hand and get people excited about something that excites you.

With 469 participating cities around the world the presentations aren’t just about designing anymore.  A 5-year old in another city once did her presentation on the art she created in class.  Because often things most interesting to you make the best presentations!

(For those wondering PechaKucka means chit chat, or ペチャクチャ in Japanese). Can’t pronounce it? Try this!

Celebrate your city and her interesting citizens tonight.  527 West Jefferson Street. 8p-10p.

Backing the Grind

Have you heard the latest food truck news? I almost had a heart attack when I saw this:

Not my beloved Lil Cheezers! After several tweets with concerned citizens the owner said:

The business issues are mostly weather and financially based. The new ordinances have nothing to do with it. It’s just not producing the revenue it should in the winter months. In the summer it rocks. I will try to get back out as soon as I can.  I am releasing a brick and mortar business plan that would incorporate the truck tethering out daily. We will see what happens there.

A piece of why the Louisville culinary scene is so great is the food trucks.  These local business owners produce the goods that deserved to be backed and supported! I’m wishing the very best for Lil Cheezers.  Which made me all the more determined to support emerging food trucks, like new gourmet burger truck Grind.

Grind is from the minds of bloggers Liz & Jesse who you may recognize from frequent posts on Louisville’s Urban Spoon. Grind has a goal of opening this spring.  They’ll be serving up gourmet burgers with local ingredients, Bluegrass Beef and a gourmet vegetarian option as well. Here’s video of their progress.

Besides the creepy voice over (hah just teasing) Grind looks to produce really good stuff.  Support the idea of a gourmet burger on wheels? Then head to Kick Starter to help Liz & Jesse complete their truck.  Let’s keep these Louisville food trucks rolling! I’ll see you at their grand opening.

Feast BBQ

I’m excited to announce the opening of what should be an amazing BBQ joint here in the Louisville metro, Feast BBQ! Feast BBQ is currently neck-deep in renovation at 116 West Main Street in downtown New Albany, hoping to be open for service this Spring 2012.  This restaurant is the brainchild of Chef Ryan Rogers who used to work at some of my favorite joints like the Oakroom and Anchorage Café.  So you know his food will be on point!  If you look at the the history of the building Feast BBQ is moving into you will certainly appreciate the after photo:

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While Chef Rogers admits that the opening of the new restaurant will be labor intensive, he believes the results are worth the effort. He says:

At Feast we will take the time needed to treat the BBQ with the utmost care and attention.  The menu will include traditional BBQ such as pulled pork, baby back ribs, brisket, & chicken along with house-made sides, and a variety of appetizers and desserts.

It is amazing to see downtown New Albany blooming with great new restaurants! Feast BBQ will keep me posted with menu and cocktail updates so I’ll be bringing you all the details. Congrats Feast!

Big time bites!

The past couple of days were a whirlwind of events! I jokingly asked everyone I dined with if they took the calories out of their food because I must have hit record highs.  I’m assuming that once you hit a specific number of calories per day your body can no longer absorb anymore so for most dishes I was in the clear.  On Saturday I made the journey to Bridgeville Delaware for the Apple-Scrapple Festival.

Describing scrapple is like describing a hot dog...gross. Made popular in the Mid-Atlantic it's a combination of pork trimmings, cornmeal, flour and spices. Scrapple is often served with ketchup or syrup with breakfast foods or as a sandwich. Scrapple is essentially a gray brick of meat- but oh so tasty.

The festival, which celebrates all things apples (candied, dumpling, pies, fritters, etc.) and all things scrapple, was named the continents top 100 events of the year!  This event typically hosts 30,000 people and incorporates live entertainment, tons of food booths and a fair atmosphere.

I'm in my glory next to a food truck eating a scrapple sandwich on wonderbread with cheese.

My next delicious bite came from the Taste of Louisville event on Monday night.  This flapper filled evening was a lot of fun, highlights being the outdoor beer garden, The Oak Room’s pumpkin and bison sausage soup, and my all time favorite dish served up from executive Chef Paul Sant from the Crowne Plaza by the Louisville Airport.

With my hair rolled up tight with a beautiful feather headpiece, I was roaring to eat!

Chef Paul’s mouth-watering dish was a pan seared duck breast, served over vanilla sweet potatoes and drizzled with a Kentucky Proud bourbon sorghum.  It was so good I ate it twice (which is clearly against the rules at a tasting).  I’m hoping it is on their menu because I want some more!

Last night I visited the Rivue, a restaurant atop the Galt House which gives a gorgeous 360 view of parts of downtown and the river on a slow spinning circular platform.  The room was dressed swanky and the food matched as well.  We dined on wedge salads (fresh lettuce from Grateful Greens) with blue cheese crumbles and a curious pile of bacon dust seasoning! I then dove into a massive NY Strip that I’m guessing was 12+ ounces, topped with white cheddar and pimento, port wine sauce, and coupled with parsley potatoes.  We topped off the evening with a trio of desserts (my favorite being a tower of chocolate sour dough cake) plus a delightful stop from the candy cart allowing us to sample sea salt chocolate truffles, sour cherrys, champagne gummy drops and peanut brittle.  It was a long dinner with many courses that felt truly special!

Just a super romantic dinner at the Rivue with my friends and I. Happy birthday Cat! (center)

So much goodness in so little time.  A couple of situps and I’ll be back in action!