I spent nearly a week in Louisville, KY for a work trip. I’m glad I did because to be honest, I don’t know if I’d ever have thought to visit outside of work. I’d like to credit my appreciation of College Football and the recent success of the Louisville Cardinals with my ability to properly pronounce ‘Louisville‘. Even though the city is mostly known for being the home of Churchill Downs and the Kentucky Derby, I was more excited to experience the other primary driver of tourism to the area: Bourbon.
Unfortunately, most of the distilleries I wished to visit were at least an hour away. Due to our work schedule, it made it impossible to visit any of the major tourist attractions in town. So I engaged in tourism the best way I know how: eating a metric ton of southern food and drinking lots of Whiskey.
Like many other mid-sized major American cities I have visited, certain neighborhoods are gentrifying at a rapid pace that makes certain parts of town feel just like any other city; Apartment buildings featuring surface level retail shops and hip bars adorned with distressed wood, white subway tiles, and Edison lightbulbs. At one point, while enjoying some delicious fried chicken (turns out, when you eat fried chicken in Louisville, it’s all technically Kentucky Fried Chicken) at The Eagle with some colleagues, we almost forgot we weren’t in Portland. The reality check came with the actual check, as the thing that struck me the most about my trip is just how inexpensive everything is in Kentucky, or rather, how expensive everything in Portland is in contrast. We used that to our advantage and drank and dined quite well on our trip. Whenever I travel, I try to find a few places that are unique to my destination. Here’s a few places we visited during our time in the Bluegrass State:
The Silver Dollar
While we didn’t get to try out Brunch at this place, which it’s apparently highly regarded for, I can assure you that the dinner offerings are worth the trip. Featuring southern staples mixed with California classics, The Silver Dollar offered something for everyone in our group to enjoy. We started with a round of Prohibition Era Old Fashioneds and the best Fried Okra and Pickles I have ever had. As this was the first meal we had since we landed, I wasn’t feeling quite ready to assault my body with any more fried southern food, especially since I had some ill-advised Popeye’s Chicken in the Dallas Airport earlier that day. I opted for the Roasted Beet & Pear Salad, which is definitely not their signature item, but should not be missed. My colleagues opted for the Fried Catfish and the Vegetarian Sloppy Joe which all looked and smelled amazing.
Hilltop Tavern
After enjoying your time at The Silver Dollar, if you’re not already in a Southern food coma, saunter across the street to Hilltop Tavern, which was described by our waiter at the aforementioned Silver Dollar as “Like a place the group from Friends would meet up, but a little divier”. Impressive selection of Beer on tap, stiff pours on Cocktails, and decent pub food offerings paired nicely with friendly patrons and staff. I was pumped to find an arcade cabinet running a multi select game system so I played some Street Fighter 3: 3rd Strike while enjoying a cocktail, while my colleagues enjoyed Football on the large projector. Bonus points for the SNES Classic hooked up behind the bar as I was able to backseat game while the locals enjoyed Donkey Kong Country. It’s not every day you get to share your knowledge of the B-A-R-R-A-L code with someone.
Fun Fact: The bars are open until 4:00am in Louisville.
The Back Door
Winner of the ‘Place other Bartenders go to drink’ award, The Back Door is a special kind of dive bar where the Bartenders brag about how long they’ve been working there with every drink they serve. The Back Door is great for people watching whether it be the local regulars or the countless hand painted portraits of current and former patrons that adorn the walls. Excellent place for a markedly stiff drink and good conversation, if you can find the place; It’s called The Back Door for a reason
The Eagle
Sure, I definitely labeled this place as the poster boy for Generic Southern Restaurants in my opening paragraph, but the food here is anything but. Served family-style, entrees and sides are perfect for sharing with friends. The Eagle has the honor of serving the best Fried Chicken and Biscuits I’ve had in the South; After spending a week in North Carolina last year, I consider that to be some pretty effusive praise. The Eagle features a lovely outside patio with a fireplace that we were able to enjoy with some cocktails while we waited for our table. Of all the Old Fashioneds I enjoyed while I was in the Bourbon Capital of the World, this one was my favorite.
White Castle
Ok. I’m not proud of this, but I have a passion for trying region-specific fast food. I’ve never even seen a White Castle in my life until this trip. My girlfriend grew up eating White Castle as a child in North Carolina and insisted we give it a shot. I ordered a number of sliders and chicken sandwiches and while I’m glad I went here for novelty purposes, I regretted this decision almost immediately. I’ve checked White Castle off my list and now I’ll never go again.
Doc Crow’s
Our last night in Louisville, we picked Doc Crow’s to cap off our trip and boy, I’m glad we did because little did we know, we saved the best for last. The incredible menu at Doc Crow’s is full of Ribs, Brisket, Catfish, Oysters and Po-Boys galore. But after much deliberation and advice from our server, I opted for the most Southern sounding option on the menu: Fried Pork Chops, covered in Sausage Gravy and served over Mashed Potatoes; I’m exhausted simply typing that out. Fortunately, right around the corner from the Restaurant is a very long bridge crossing the Ohio River, so we walked off our meal, crossed over into Indiana just to say we did, and then took a Lyft back to Kentucky like the lazy jerks we are.
I’m glad to be back home, but I wish I had more time to explore Louisville outside of just restaurants. I really wanted to check out Hammerheads, The Louisville Slugger Museum, and the Buffalo Trace Distillery, but I guess I will have to save that for next time if work permits. Now excuse me while I avoid fried food and whiskey like the plague for the foreseeable future.
P.S. I literally bumped into Weird Al Yankovic in the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport and it was awesome.
ｓｃｏｔｔｓｃｒｉｖｅｎ 