my loueyville

Friday, October 30, 2009

Try it, you'll like it 2! Elk Creek Ghostly Whites

It's All Hallow's Eve eve and all through the house not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. Roommate is in bed watching a scary movie on his laptop. And thankfully, so far at least, the post-Ike renovation of Casa Lou has rendered it mouse-free (oh yes, like many other 103 year old Original Highlands houses, Casa Lou has had some critter problems). What's a girl to do but blog and tweet and catch up on emails...

A few weeks ago I chimed in on Elk Creek's Bone Dry Red, one of the three wines that Elk Creek was kind enough to send me for review (And that's your disclaimer, folks). That left me with the two Ghostly Whites: Sweet Mellow White and a 2007 Chardonnay. Both of which I dutifully enjoyed over the past week or so.

I'm not a big fan of white wine. I always order red when I'm out, no matter what I'm eating. I don't think I've ever bought a white wine for myself. But if there's white wine in the house, I will drink it-- it's unthinkable to let a perfectly good bottle molder on the rack, right? And certainly when a winery sends you a couple of bottles of white... gift horses, you know?

And it's silly that I have this embargo against white wines. Inevitably, I enjoy the gift bottles or left behind bottles that end up in my house.

And I very much enjoyed the Ghostly White Sweet Mellow White. In my last wine blog, I mentioned that Grandma Lou and I enjoy our sweet wines when we're together, and the Ghostly White Sweet Mellow White would be totally up her alley. In fact, I briefly considered sending her a couple bottles for Thanksgiving, but I realized that it might be a bit creepy to send a "Ghostly" wine to an 86 year old widow. But from first sip to last, I was totally blissed out with nostalgia thinking about her; so much so that I actually poured a glass and called her last week. So thanks, Elk Creek-- it was awesome of you to send me these wines and exponentially more awesome that one of the bottles made me pick up the phone and call my favorite person in the world.

What was nice about the Sweet Mellow White was that it wasn't TOO sweet. Some sweet wines give you a tummy ache and some sweet wines are only good for a glass or two at most. This one was a good drinking wine. I finished the bottle in two sittings and only gave up a half a glass to Roommate. I think the drinkablility of the wine is due to its really clean finish. There's no lingering sugary taste. I assumed that I would like the Bone Dry Red the best, but the Ghostly White Sweet Mellow White may have been my favorite.

Roommate liked the Chardonnay the best. I was a little more indifferent about that bottle. It was good, but I just don't think I'm a Chardonnay kind of gal. Roommate did some quality time in the wine country of Australia and sort of fancies himself a budding wine connoisseur, and I am not wont to dispute that: he definitely knows more about wine than I do. So I feel comfortable saying that although the Chardonnay wasn't my bag, per se, it's still very good. He's a red wine drinker and liked the Chardonnay best of all, so that says something.

Anyhoo... my first foray into wine reviewing has been a blast. I am tickled pink and purple that Elk Creek thought Loueyville.com was a door they could open. And I'm likewise tickled that what they sent me was really, really good wine. (They also sent a package of Pop Secret microwave popcorn. I can't decide if that was to keep the bottles from rattling together or if I was supposed to eat the popcorn while imbibing the wine... I didn't. Saving the popcorn for a Netflix night.)

Totally going to look for Elk Creek wines when I shop for wine from now on. The three Halloweenie bottles told me that they're consistently good-to-great. Mission accomplished, I think.

Big Monies at the Back Door Costume Contest and more...

Happy Halloween, Louisvillagers!

I always knew that the Back Door has a HUGE Halloween party every year-- I may have even been once or twice-- but I didn't know what the draw was. The draw is this: a $500 prize for best costume! Holy bar tab, Batman! And this year, I have an "in" with one of the celebrity judges. If I had known about the huge prize, I would have gone last year. I was a lock with my "Crazy Bald Britney Spears" costume. This year... not so much.

According to reliable sources, this weekend is the last weekend for both Carly Rae's and the Barret Bar. Sad news.

We're off to Carly Rae's-- for the first time-- in a few hours to hear the always-fantastic Tyrone Cotton play for a little while before we head off to see Chicago at the Kentucky Center.

Remember, Louisvillagers, "When you're good to Mama, Mama's good to you."

Monday, October 26, 2009

Bigfoot, Chicago, and Sushi: Monday Evening Randomness

Whether it's the sudden uptick in the temp today or the residual benefits of Roommate's fantastic homemade chili last night, I'm feeling darn near perky this Monday evening. I've been a bit laggy with my blogging of late; these past few weeks have been mild, but persistent, madness. I'm not saying that there's a light at the end of the tunnel (another surgery next month, for example), but... you know... I'll take what I can get.

Some random stuff for this (unfortunately cooling) Monday evening:

This weekend Chicago is at the Kentucky Center-- the musical, not the Peter Cetera-fronted pop/jazz fusion band-- and if you buy your tickets through this website: www.BroadwayAcrossAmerica.com/GroupSales and if you use the password: GildasClub, $5 for every ticket goes to Gilda's on Baxter.
Speaking of cancer stuff, last weekend's Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk raised upwards of $250,000. Some people have remarked on my absence from said walk this year... and the truth is, I've decided to give myself a year off from The Pink Stuff. Or, more specifically, as much time off as I need. Last year I Pinked it up real good, but always had to nurse myself back from shell shock after every event. I donated to support a friend, but I couldn't bear to join the walk this year.
On a lighter note: Last week's Fairdale Bigfoot column at Consuming Louisville was perhaps the funniest so far (definitely the randiest!). Check it out. And don't forget, you can email FBF with questions at fairdalebigfoot [at] gmail.com
The Twitter gods are saying that Raw on 4th shut down. I thought that was old news. Maybe not. I kind of liked the place-- especially their super cool wood wall. But all is well: Cafe Mimosa is open again and is rumored to be doing booming business. We ordered delivery last week... yummo. Nothing says comfort like eating sushi on the couch in your pjs while watching TiVo. And, as before, you can even order delivery online.
On a personal note: my Newfoundland & Labrador travel companion from last summer got engaged this weekend. On Facebook. As I watched in real time. It was a harrowing three minutes after I watched him post "[Name redacted]? Wanna get married?" But quick came the reply. Congrats, friend. I happily hand over all future Navigator responsibilities to your lovely wife-to-be. (If there's a better use for the new Facebook Live Feed, I've not heard it.)

Time for a little more homemade chili therapy. Have a wonderful week, Louisville.

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Barbara Kingsolver in Louisville

When I first got this email I thought, hey, it's been a while since I last read a book by Barbara Kingsolver. And then, as I read the email, I realized that there was a good reason: turns out, Kingsolver hasn't written a novel in a while. But she's got a new one coming out, The Lacuna, and not only can you buy it at a 15% discount at Carmichael's, but you also get a free ticket to a reading and book signing event on November 22.

Note to Carmichael's, though: The following email is a bit confusing. The event is free-- all you have to do is buy a book-- so how are you donating 10% of ticket sales to the Community Farm Alliance? Are there tickets available for sale, too?

Anyhoo, super exciting author event for Louisville. Unfortunately, I'll be recovering from surgery on the 22nd and won't be able to attend. But I look forward to reading Kingsolver's newest!

The email:

Carmichael's Bookstore and Bellarmine University are delighted to host Barbara Kingsolver for a reading and book signing for her first novel in nine years, The Lacuna. This event will be held at the Cralle Theater in the Wyatt Center for the Arts on Bellarmine's campus on Sunday, November 22nd beginning at 4 PM.

This is a ticketed event. Tickets are free with the purchase of any book by Barbara Kingsolver. To honor Barbara's commitment to local foods, Carmichael's is donating 10% of ticket proceeds to The Community Farm Alliance.

Stop in either store to pre-order a copy of The Lacuna at a 15% discount or to buy any of Barbara's previous books and get one free ticket per book purchased. Seating in the theater is general admission, however your lettered ticket will indicate your place in the signing line, so the earlier you get your ticket, the better. The Lacuna will be available on November 3rd.

Friday, October 16, 2009

Jazz Hands!

You'd think I'd be a big jazz fan, being from New Orleans and all... (Right, I'm not really from New Orleans. Don't get all picky on me, kids.) And truly, New Orleans style brass band jazz is, indeed, my favorite kind of music. (If you're ever in need of instant happiness in your ears, download something by the Soul Rebels Brass Band.) But jazz in general? It's not really my thing.

That's neither here nor there. Luckily there are some Louisvillagers over at the Louisville Jazz Society who more than make up for my lack of enthusiasm. Each week, I get a lovely listing of all the jazz-related events in our fair city. And who knew there were so many? Here's this weeks email:

Another Reason to Love Louisville: 21c = #1

The most interesting thing on Twitter last night wasn't the story of Falcon and his alien storm chasing Jiffy Pop balloon (we can joke because it turned out okay). I was so excited when @21cHotels tweeted that the 21c had just been named the #1 hotel in the United States by Conde Nast Traveler that I immediately retweeted and started spreading the news at the Back Door, where I was enjoying a post-Adventures of Power beer. (More on that later. Mini-review: Surprisingly sweet and funny!)

I've never stayed at the 21c and I haven't even seen any of the fancier rooms, but it remains one of my favorite places in Louisville and one of the many, many things that make me proud of this city. I love this quote in the Reuters article:

The presenter, New York City restaurateur Danny Meyer, noted,"When I stay
at 21c I feel coddled, transported, nurtured, nourished, stimulated,
rested, and above all, smart."

I'm a big fan of anyplace that makes me feel smart. So congrats, 21c! And thanks for tweeting to thank me for my enthusiasm-- that's classy.

Spread the word, Louisvillagers. This is concrete evidence that we are a world class city.

Reuters article: http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS112618+16-Oct-2009+PRN20091016

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Yeesh, Quite the Limited Run...

Turns out tonight is the last night you can see Adventures of Power at the Baxter. So you know where you'll be able to find me this evening. Since my last post about AoP, when I knew absolutely nothing about the film except that it was opening here and NYC, I've made a couple of interesting discoveries:

I discovered that the reason we got the film first was that it was produced by our very own Gill Holland of The Green Building fame. Well, that make sense, then.
And I discovered that Ari Gold, the writer, director, and star of the movie, is the same Ari Gold I went to college with.
And Ari Gold is the Ari Gold of the band The Honey Brothers, which features more people I went to college with.
And isn't it just strange that Adrian Grenier is in AoP and The Honey Brothers with a guy named Ari Gold and also stars in Entourage in which one of the main characters is Ari Gold?

Curious.

Anyway. Go see Adventures of Power. I will. We want to support independent films with Louisville connections.

Here are links to:

Ari Gold: http://www.arigoldfilms.com/index.html
Adventures of Power: http://www.adventuresofpower.com/
The Honey Brothers: http://www.thehoneybrothers.com/

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Loueyvillager Powers Activate! Form of: Hotel Toiletry Hoarders

Planting the seed of an idea:

Do you travel? Do you compulsively stash the free hotel toiletry items in your suitcase, sure that you'll need them some day? Do said toiletry items pile up in a shoebox in your linen closet? Are they collecting dust?

I spent the day volunteering at a local homeless shelter today. As could be expected, I was overwhelmed by the experience and came away wishing that there was some small way I could continue to help.

There is. A very small way.

Turns out, the shelter is always in need of small, travel-sized toiletry items to give to residents. Especially soap and shampoo. Seems like the bathroom of Casa Lou is always cluttered with these souvenirs of hotel stays; I end up pitching half of them in the waste bin.

So, my wheels are turning... I'm still working out the logistics. But if you read this blog, and you live in the Louisville area, I'm asking you to start hoarding your hotel toiletries. If you take a trip, scoop up those unused soaps and shampoos and lotions. In the next week or so, I'm thinking I'll officially announce the first Loueyville.com "do good" action. I'll keep you posted.

Try it, you'll like it! Elk Creek Vineyards' Bone Dry Red

Sorry for the radio silence, Loueyvillagers. Mama's had a complicated couple of weeks. Some good (business travel and... uh, well, business travel) and some bad (death and sickness and work-overload at Meatspace job). But things are leveling out now.

Luckily, things rarely ever get so bad that they can't be made at least a little better by a good glass of wine. And luckily x2, Elk Creek Vineyards sent me three bottles of wine this week. (that, kiddos, is my disclaimer) Luckily x3, the bottle I cracked open the other day, Bone Dry Red Cabernet Sauvignon, was (is-- I'm drinking the last of it right now) so yummy I would have gladly paid for it. So yummy, in fact, I just may go out and buy myself another bottle.

In my very limited experience, local wines have leaned toward the fruity side: super sweet and sugary. And that's not necessarily a bad thing. Grandma Lou-- bless her heart-- and I usually kill a whole bottle of Catawba whenever we're together, and that stuff is like dissolving a packet of Lick Em Sticks in a glass of Mountain Dew. Once, when I was living at a writer's retreat in Arkansas, I spent a month drinking gallon after gallon (yep, it came only by the gallon) of liquid cotton candy called Maiden's Blush (yep, typical writer). Loved it. Wish we could get it here.

But Bone Dry is a "big girl" wine. It's chocolate-y and coffee-y and complicated. And like other "big girl" wines, the flavor changes as it breathes and matures. It is dry, but I wouldn't say it's Bone dry. I don't like my wines too dry, and this one isn't. I had my first few glasses from the bottle two days ago, and two days later it's really just as good. It's sweet and warm, and at 13.8% alcohol, it'll make your cheeks blush after just a glass (or is that just me?). According to the website, Bone Dry retails for $19.99. Totally worth it.

I suppose you could be forgiven for assuming, at first glance, that Bone Dry is going to be a novelty beverage. It is, after all, a Halloween-themed wine. But it turns out that Elk Creek comes by it's Halloweeny-ness honestly; the owner of the vineyard, Curtis Sigretto, also founded Halloween Express, the #2 Halloween costume and accessory retailer in the country. This is someone who takes one of my favorite holidays pretty seriously. And that's reflected in the label art; it features a sufficiently creepy human skeleton. Sure, it telegraphs "Halloween," but it's also arty enough to grace the table at a classy Halloween dinner party. (Is there such a thing as a classy Halloween dinner party? If so, please invite me.)

I have two more bottles of Elk Creek wine to try out, so you'll get at least two more posts about this local vineyard from me. I'm very intrigued by Elk Creek Vineyards. They have a store in the Mall of St. Matthews (which I haven't been to yet). The vineyard also has an inn, which looks like the perfect fall weekend getaway. Now that my Meatspace job has settled down a bit, and I am almost over my nagging cold, I'm going to put a little time and effort into sussing out some more about Elk Creek. I'll report back.

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Traffic improves (somewhat) on Grinstead & Bardstown. Go to Mimosa!

Well, kids, I have had a perfectly crappy past few days. Received some rather horrifying news AND have been sick for four days. Not a happy time here in Loueyville.

That being said, there are two good pieces of news I wanted to share. Well, one good (or GREAT, if I were able to muster that kind of enthusiasm) piece of news and one step in the right direction.

The good news (GREAT. sigh. Just ain't feeling it today.): Cafe Mimosa is now OPEN for business. I have been very vocal about how much I have missed Cafe Mimosa. Just this weekend I was meowing about how very much I loved their egg rolls and fried rice. Welcome back, old friends. I hope you have the same delivery people. They were regulars at Casa Lou.

The step in the right direction: On Monday morning, I noticed that the traffic gods had seen fit to turn the left-bound lanes of Grinstead into left-turn only lanes at Bardstown Road. Bravo, that! I cross that intersection at least twice a day and curse its ridiculous traffic patterns. Why not just "good news"? Well, they're still allowing parking in the right-hand lanes. So you have to slalom around parked cars if you're going straight or turning right.

I would really like to believe that someone in the know will realize quite quickly what a boneheaded move that is.

I'm off to DC for the rest of the week. Catch you on the flip side, Louisville.

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

If it includes Mr. Mister, it must be cool

Last night at the Back Door, Roommate and I had a conversation with a disbelieving bar patron about how sometimes Louisville gets movies and movie premieres that other, bigger cities don't. And this afternoon, Roommate dumped this little tidbit in my inbox.

It turns out Louisville and NYC are the only cities where the movie Adventures of Power is opening next weekend-- right at our little ol' Baxter Avenue Theater. How cool is that? Not LA, not Miami. Louisville. Anyone know why? I can't profess to having heard anything about this movie, and I'm kind of a film blog geek.

The Wikipedias have this to say: “Adventures of Power” is a comedy about a mine-worker named Power whose love of drums and lack of musical skill has turned him into the ridiculed "air drummer" of his small town. But when Power's union-leader father calls a strike at the mine, Power discovers an underground subculture of air-drummers who just might hold the key to changing the world. Power's journey across America brings him face-to-face with his town's greatest enemy, and allows him to discover the beat within his own heart.

Sounds interesting. Way more interesting is the awesome cast line-up: Adrian Grenier, Michael McKean, and Jane Lynch (who's starting to really piss me off on Glee). WAY more interesting is the wackadoo soundtrack line-up: Rush , Mr. Mister , Judas Priest , Phil Collins , Dazz Band , Loverboy , Bow Wow Wow , Woodie Guthrie.

Who knows? No matter what, my thinking is you should go out and support the movie regardless, just to send the message to Hollywood that Louisville is a good place to open films.

And as they say on the big blogs, hat tip to Roommate for sending this juicy bit along. And if you know why Louisville was tapped for this opener, please let me know.

Tuesday Afternoon Randomness

I'm having yet again another "I'm feeling jazzed about Louisville" day. There's just so much good stuff going on these days, it's hard not to feel the jazz. Even when it's totally yucko outside like it is today.

First up: tomorrow is the last Waterfront Wednesday of the year. Sniffles. I am not familiar with any of the artists, Bell X1, the Workers, or Company of Thieves. But it's Waterfront Wednesday, so I will be there. I'll be there hoping that the Company of Thieves guy wears the hippo on his head again.
This is the final week to see Rocky Horror live. It's practically sold out, you know. And I've been hearing super good things about it. This Louisvillager is going to lose her Rocky virginity on Thursday night. There are still tickets left for Thursday night, so you could watch!
Thanks to Broken Sidewalk for bringing us information about the adorable art installation on East Market Street. I actually startled someone on a bicycle while walking toward Nulu Fest. I saw the crazy white doggie prancing around the window of the old Wayside building and exclaimed, "Holy crap!" (Yes I said "crap" not the other word.) Sorry, bike dude. If you haven't seen "Sniff" yet, go, go, go! He'll (she'll?) only be around til Oct 30. (I think there's a missed Halloween opportunity there. Couldn't they make the puppy go all Cujo on Halloween and scare the bejeezus out of people? Good times.)
This weekend is the Louisville International Film Festival. This is a very exciting event, chock full of new films you won't see anywhere else. (But not Adventures in Power) And like with the Labryinth seminar, if I didn't have a Meatspace job, I would TOTALLY shell out the $60 for the all day Friday and Saturday pass. It's a steal.

Brrr... do I really need to turn on the heat in September? Disappointing. Otherwise, Louisville, you're my hero.

David Bowie, Minotaurs, and Other Good Things Found in Labryinths

I love my Meatspace job. It's a calling. It truly is. And I am grateful, in this economy, to have a Meatspace job that pays my bills so I can fart around on the interwebs and keep up my blogging hobby.

That being said, there is so much cool shit to do out there! And I can't do a lot of it because I have be a responsible, professional, adult. And it makes me want to stomp my feet, throw a temper tantrum, and then pout for a while.

How cool is THIS?? The Louisville Seminary is holding a WEEK LONG seminar on Labryinths. Yes, my friends, I said a whole seminar on Labryinths. A week long seminar. On all kinds of Labryinthy goodness.

I'm so twitterpated about this idea that I am contemplating the irony of calling in sick with Swine Flu for that week and going to this seminar about sacred spaces. Check out the schedule below. ;I want networking time to discuss MY labryinth-making needs. I want to build a masking tape labryinth in fifteen minutes.

You know what the best part of this seminar is?? The whole week of Labryinthian madness costs a mere $150. And that's because we missed the September 26 "early bird" deadline. If we'd been early birds, we would have paid half that. Yeppers. All this for just $75.

Sigh. Another missed opportunity.

MON-WED, October 26-28—LABYRINTH SEMINAR

• The basics of sacred geometry and its application to labyrinths
• Classical and medieval labyrinth design principles
• Considerations for building permanent and temporary labyrinths
• How to build a masking tape labyrinth in 15 minutes
• Principles for making your own contemporary design
• Tips on how to get a labyrinth for your... (church, school, hospital)
• Networking time to discuss your labyrinth-making needs

THURS-FRI, October 29-30—BUILDING A CHARTRES STYLE LABYRINTH

Participants will join Robert Ferré in constructing a brick path Chartres style labyrinth on the grounds of Farmington Plantation in Louisville. This project will be a joint effort of Louisville Seminary's Biennial Labyrinth Conference, Historic Farmington Plantation, andSullivan University.

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Nulu Festival: Another Reason I Love Louisville

Today's revelation: I don't volunteer enough. Seriously, I have all kinds of time on my hands most weeks, and there's no reason on God's green earth I shouldn't be putting it to use to help good causes. So if you've got a good cause out there, and you need a warm body who's not so great at heavy lifting or cold-calling people, Lou's your gal.

Revelation #2: My "retail" skills are way too good. It's kind of scary. I was hocking tshirts and chatting up buyers like it was, well, my calling.

Well, this has been a weekend that makes you proud to be a Louisvillager. As I said in my last post, IdeaFestival represents the very best of Louisville and all the hopes that this Louisvillager has for the future of the city. And tonight I volunteered at the first Nulu Festival, working the t-shirt stand. (That's the t-shirt stand above, pre-monsoon.) And despite the fact that the torrential rains washed out the last two or so hours of the festival, I think I can safely say that Nulu Festival is probably the best new festival in the city.

Celebrating the "rebirth" of the downtown East Market district, the East Market Street Business Association joined forces with Leadership Louisville and the Bingham Fellows to create the Nulu Festival. The festival was supposed to last from 5-11p, but it was cut short by a storm around 9:15pm. The music line-up alone made it worth attending for the entire event (which I did). The evening opened with the cover band, the Generic Alternatives. They were mostly good. I especially appreciated their cover of REM's "Superman." They were followed by the fantastic Thomas A Minor and the Picket Line, a bluegrass band. The Instruction turned out to be the discovery of the evening-- they had an awesome sound, and I am definitely going to seek out their shows.

Once Ben Sollee took the stage, I had no fewer than a half dozen people stop by the tshirt booth and say, "Who IS this guy??" When I explained who he was, the most common response was, "And he's LOCAL? You're kidding me??" No joke, kids, Ben Sollee is a frigging local treasure. In fact, I am going to download his album from iTunes as soon as I am done blogging. Roommate and I agree that Sollee's set at Bonnaroo 2009 was one of the best shows of the festival. If I were, ahem, actually getting any action these days, I could easily see Sollee's music replacing (or supplementing) Leonard Cohen as my "favorite music to get busy to." (Is that TMI? Blame the Jim Beam.)

Sollee was a trooper and played through much of the downpour. Unfortunately the Festival was canceled once the winds picked up and started blowing tents around and Lucky Pineapple never got to play. Rumor had it that they had a HUGE act planned with more than a dozen instruments and, at least according to the rumor, a choir. Such a shame.

Nulu Festival featured yummo burgers and brats and chicken by White Oak and some great looking panini by Bodega (where I had lunch today-- why do I always forget that Bodega exists?? It's such a totally charming place! And man, they make a mean lobster bisque!). Wine by Felice Vineyards and BBC brews.

Speaking of brews, there's a new place opening up on Market-- a beer store, right by Toast. Apparently they're opening in a few weeks, but opened their doors for the Festival. I don't know anything about it yet, but as it involves beer I will be sure to find out ASAP.

Most of the other booths at the Festival focused on eco-friendly stuff. There was a booth for the proposed botanical gardens and for a park proposed for Market. I'd promised myself that during my next break from the t-shirt booth, I'd check those out more earnestly, but the rains cut short my evening.

Overall, the first 4.5 hrs of the Nulu Festival were an unmitigated success. Great tunes, great food, great drink, great crowds, and almost preternaturally great weather-- especially given the total sog that this week has been. I look forward to next year's festival and to volunteering again.

And again, if you need a volunteer, let me know. I am, sigh, especially good at selling t-shirts. (the Nulu Festival t-shirts were especially cute and very reasonably priced at $7)

Friday, September 25, 2009

IdeaFestival = Nerd Christmas

Dear Louisville,

I love you.

I know in the past week you've dumped so much rain on us that my undies are damp even before I put them on. I take some responsibility for that. I could close up the windows and turn on the AC and dry Casa Lou out. But it's been cool and lovely, despite the rain. And while every surface of my house feels like an energetic puppy dog came in and licked it, I just can't, in good conscience, dole out those hard earned dineros to LG&E.

And I know that in two months or maybe three, you and I will have serious issues. Once late fall/early winter rolls in, I will be gnashing my teeth, cursing your arctic damp cold, hating the fact that you are several states north of the tropics. I promise, when those days come about I will try to remember how much I love you now, right now, at this moment.

Because this week, I love you lots. Heaps. Tons. Because this week has been IdeaFestival 2009.

Thanks to my friend @mizhellion who could not use the all-access IdeaFest pass she won via Twitter, I have been able to partake in as many IdeaFestival events as my work schedule has allowed. Two years ago, I also had an all-access pass (last year I couldn't do any IdeaFest stuff because of chemo) and was likewise enamored. See my coverage of IdeaFestival 2006 here.

Louisville, IdeaFestival represents the best that you have to offer. In the three days that I've attended IdeaFestival events, I have heard again and again from out of town visitors how impressed they are with you. Despite the shitty weather. Despite the fact that some of the visitors are staying in crappy hotels.

Today was the first day I could nick out of work early and hit a couple of great lectures. I saw John McPherson, the creator of the Close to Home daily comic-- one of the few comics in the newspaper that are worth reading these days. I missed the first half of his presentation; by the time I got there he was reading readers' letters responding to some of his more controversial comics. Hilarious.

Then I got to see Paul Osterlund, a man who retired from Intel and then set his sights on social entrepreneurialism. He invested in a substance called Zeba, a starch-based material that kind of looks like Grape-Nuts that holds 500% its mass in water. While Zeba has many industrial and commercial uses, Osterlund is most interested in promoting its use in arid and struggling climates. Bury a teaspoon or less of Zeba in the ground when you plant a seed, and when rains come, it will soak up 500% of its mass in water and then feed that water to your plant during dry spells.

Osterlund gave each of his audience members 1 teaspoon of the stuff. Geek that I am, I rushed home and tried it out. I poured around 1/8 of a teaspoon in a saucer and then added a few squirts of water. By the time I'd gone to the bathroom and come out, the Zeba had overflowed the saucer. So I poured the saucer into a measuring cup and kept adding more water. Five hours later, I am still adding more water to that 1/8 teaspoon of Zeba. So far, it has successfully turned more than a cup of water into jelly.

Sorry, Louisville, I didn't mean to let my Mythbusters-esque geekdom take hold of this blog entry. I'm trying to celebrate YOU, my adopted hometown.

So, Louisville, I love you for so many reasons, but I love you tonight because tonight you hosted a sold-out crowd of folk who wanted to listen to Anthony Bourdain speak at the Kentucky Center. Sold out. And when Bourdain took the stage, before he even spoke a word you gave him a standing ovation.

My favorite quote of the night, Bourdain said: "Not giving a shit turned out to be a good business model."

Dear Louisville, I love you. I love you most when you are showcasing the cutting edge, when you are celebrating the radical, when you are highlighting the best we have to offer.

In a couple of months, we'll be at odds. Tonight, though, I love you Louisville.

xo
Lou

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Congrats!

A big congrats to our friend Michelle at www.consuminglouisville.com for being the Leo Readers' Choice Best Entertainment Blog in Louisville.

And we're just going to call Consuming Louisville the Best Local Website period, seeing that it came in second to Louisville Mojo.

Really? Best local website for what? Arranging late night booty calls? Am I wrong? Mojo fans, if you're out there, explain why it won Best Local Website. Educate me.

Other winners here: http://leoweekly.com/ae/readers-choice-09-winners

Monday, September 21, 2009

Louisvillagers on the Red Carpet!

Yeah, yeah, I love House too, but look who's standing right behind Cuddy at the Emmys! It's one of our favorite Kentucky Colonels, Kynt from the Amazing Race! And that mass of pink fluff behind him belongs to the other half of the "dating Goths," Vyxsin!

How the heck are you guys?

I have to admit, K & V dropped off my radar when they left Possibility City for Hollywood, but it's nice to see their star is still shining bright enough to light up this year's red carpet.

Good on you, kids! Look at him smile. He's clearly a Huddy supporter.

Ok, I'm really showing my pop culture knickers now.

Picture from www.ew.com

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Good News, Everyone! Scary Man now in Jail!

Every time I've gone downtown in the past couple of months, I've thought about Sunny the Pooch. If you've forgotten, back in July, in broad daylight, some degenerate pulled over to the side of the road on the Second Street Bridge and tossed Sunny the Pooch over the edge into the Ohio River. Sunny's attempted murder was witnessed by dozens of people both on the bridge and at Joe's Crab Shack. But some marvelous instance of serendipity, it just so happened that some Louisville firefighters were on a diving training session and were able to save the dog's life. A waitress from Joe's immediately adopted the pooch (at one point it was reported that the waitress was going to have to move out of her apartment because it didn't allow more than one dog and she already had a dog-- what ever happened to that story?)

Well, folks, the degenerate has a name. It is Damon Bledsoe. And according to WLKY: According to arrest records, Bledsoe told four people that he threw the dog off the bridge and also threatened to throw a witness' two kittens "in the sewer."

I, for one, could not be more pleased to know that Damon Bledsoe is behind bars. Second degree animal cruelty? What's the penalty for that? Please please please be huge and painful.

What kind of person chucks a pup off of a bridge? And then TELLS people about it? Thank you "four people" for turning this m.f. in!

Holy Moly: Grail at Baxter!!

You know how I love the Midnight Movies at the Baxter Avenue Theaters, but the September 26 Midnight Movie totally takes the cake: Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Heck yeah!

Q: What else floats?

A: Very small rocks.

Who's in?

http://www.myspace.com/midnightsatthebaxter

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Loueyville on Facebook

Why the heck not, eh?

There's a nifty little badge to the right, click it and be friends with Lou...

I mean, you're already friends with Lou, but now you can be Facebook Friends so she can tell you that she's getting ready to brush her teeth or that this episode of True Blood is really whack or share a quiz that says that the Muppet she most resembles is Beaker...

Good times.

Random Tuesday Randomness: Swayze, Kanye, Jugbands, and more

How about this weather, Louisvillagers? Can't beat it. It's hard to stay sad for too long when the weather is this beautiful. And Lou's been battling the blues this week:

First there was Sunday's season-ending loss for the Bats at Slugger Field. Thanks to our Bats for providing another amazing year of some of the best cheap fun to be had in Louisville. Those damn Durham Bulls. They're our Captain Hammer.
And now Swayze. Sigh. If you haven't seen him in Keeping Mum with Rowan Atkinson and Maggie Smith, rent it now.

On the positive side of things:

Hear Obama call Kanye a "jackass." Yeah, I know it was supposed to be off the record and all that, but I couldn't help but beam when I heard this. Especially considering my one degree of separation from the Taylor Swift scandal. Obama's probably going to catch crap for this, but I love it!
I came home from work today all fired up to make some beef stroganoff but not really wanting to head to the grocery store. And then I was reminded that it's two-for-one burger night at the Monkey Wrench. I always forget that the Tuesday deal at the Monkey Wrench is one of the best cheap eats deals in town. I'll hold off on the stroganoff.
Don't forget that this weekend is Arts in the Highlands-- September 19 & 20. The weather is supposed to be beautiful again.
You can make it a full weekend of festivals by hitting the Arts in the Highland on the 20th and enjoying America's Happiest Music at the Jug Band Jubilee on September 19.
Please, please tell me you're following the Fairdale Bigfoot on Twitter. And on Facebook. His new advice column will appear at Consuming Louisville soon. Email questions to fairdalebigfoot (at) gmail.com. Rumor has it, the Manbeast may run for mayor of Louisville. (no, I don't mean Uncle Mayor Jerry-- he's already said he won't run again).

Coming soon... NULU Festival, IdeaFestival... It's a good time to be a Loueyvillager.

Monday, September 14, 2009

Happy One Year Ikeversary!

One year and a few hours ago, this is what happened to Casa Lou:

The Upside of Kayne's Assishness...

... it will be a long time before anyone forgets Taylor Swift's win.

... Taylor Swift's acceptance speech is quoted verbatim ALL OVER the internet (and no one else's is).

And both of those facts are excellent news for Mr. Roman White, my dear friend who also happened to direct Taylor Swift's video.

Here, let me add that acceptance speech to my own little corner of the interwebs:

I would really like to thank Roman White, who directed the video, and Lucas Till for being in it... I would like to thank all the fans on Twitter and MySpace and everyone that came out to my shows this summer. And I would like to thank my little brother's high school for letting us shoot there.

Here's a link to the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AHzIq_n-DQ

(No, this has nothing to do with Louisville.)

Friday, September 11, 2009

Original Highlands Music & Art Festival: Why You Have To Go

A little while ago it dawned on me that I had stopped accumulating Rock Star crushes. Once upon a time it seemed like there was no end to the leather-panted, long-haired parade of front men and bassists (always those two, never guitarists or drummers) that peopled my wish list. There was even room to boot the occasional malefactor from the list when his bad boy behavior became... genuinely bad. (I'm thinking of you, Scott Weiland).

The fact that there are no new additions to my Rock Star crush list isn't really a head-scratcher. The names Jonas and Wentz and Meyer don't comfortably nestle with names like Springsteen, Vedder, Le Bon (c'mon, he was beautiful in the 80's!), Bono, and Capps.

Capps? you ask.

Oh yes, Louisvillagers. Grayson Capps. And he's coming to your Original Highland Art and Music Festival on Saturday. (Can you hear my heart pounding through the series of tubes?) I first fell in love with him and his country/blues/Southern rock when we both lived in New Orleans. He played Phoenix Hill last winter, but this is your chance to hear the man in his natural environment-- outside, on a beautiful (we hope) late summer's night, surrounded by beer.

If the marriage of the OH Arts & Music Festival and Grayson Capps were a Facebook status, I would "like" it a dozen times. You'll love this man. You'll love his music. You'll love his soul. And I'd bet good money he'll end up on your Rock Star Crush list too, no matter how you roll.

www.graysoncapps.com

http://ohnamusicandartfest09.weebly.com/music.html

PS. This year, the OH Music and Art Fest benefits Gilda's Club. That's actually a better reason why you have to go.

Crazy Train rolls into Louisville (we're a major hub)

Frankly, the oversized cut out of Jim Carey's Scrooge in the lobby of Baxter Avenue Theater freaks me the heck out. And I'm really not all that excited about the upcoming Disney's A Christmas Carol film. In my humble opinion, this story has been adapted on film SO many times in SO many ways-- so many good ways, in fact (the Fonz in An American Christmas Carol, anyone?). That being said, this adaptation is going to be a big deal (because Disney tells me so) and a little bit of its Hollywood flash and sizzle is heading to town this morning. From the press release:

<>"DISNEY'S A CHRISTMAS CAROL" Train Tour rolls into Louisville offering visitors an exclusive 3D sneak peek from the movie as well as a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the making of the movie—with artifacts and character designs housed in real train cars. The fun family event is totally free.

Sponsored by Hewlett Packard, the Train Tour will travel more than 16,000 miles and pass through 36 states. Amidst a winter wonderland with holiday décor and Christmas carolers, visitors will see footage from "Disney's A Christmas Carol" inside a 48-foot-wide, 2-story, inflatable 3-D theatre which will be erected in each city. Visitors can also check out the cutting-edge technology behind the film, as well as artifacts from the Charles Dickens Museum and interactive games. Radio Disney will invite kids to enter for a chance to become a Movie Surfer representing their hometown. Each Hometown Movie Surfer will get a chance to appear on Disney Channel by filming their very own Movie Surfer's segment! The whole experience is free.

Check it out at 1000 Broadway from this morning at 9am til Sunday at 4pm. Take the kiddies. Or not.

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

A Deal on the Nines for Us Non Beatles Fans

Yeah, yeah, yeah... the Beatles are great. Total visionaries. Trailblazers. I know.

Maybe Big Mama Lou played Rubber Soul on my nursery turntable one too many times... who knows? But today is just a cool date, not Beatles day, in Loueyville.

What today also is is a good day to start thinking about trying some new restaurants. Restaurant.com is offering 90% off of its $25.00 gift certificates for the next 99 hrs (that's til 9/13 for the math-challenged). So the $25.00 certificates cost one cold hard buck! I plugged in the area code 40204 and pulled up seven pages of restaurants offering the discounted certificates.

This sounds like a scam, but it's not. I've used the certificates at the old Artemesia and the North End. They have a ton of restrictions, so be sure to read the fine print. There's usually a minimum purchase ($35 or two entrees), it usually won't cover booze, and often a mandatory gratuity is tacked on. But at $1 a pop, you can afford to make a mistake or two. Just make sure you show the certificate to your server before you place your order.

I decided to use this opportunity to check out some places I've never been: Old Seelbach Bar, Vincenzo's, Bendoya, Oasis Sushi, the Coach Lamp, and the Riverbend Winery. I'm sure my check at any of these places will well surpass the minimum purchase, so it's probably not a bad deal for the restaurant. And surely if I find that I like one of these places, I'll be back to spend more money.

You need to enter the code NINETY when ordering.

Happy nines day!

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Too Disgusted to Write a Headline

I've been meaning to blog about local pizza icon John Schnatter's search for the 1971 Camaro that he sold to help save his dad's bar and to start Papa John's pizza. It's a cute story with a cute website and a sort of feel-good nostalgic message. And really, what were the odds that the car wasn't sold for scrap a decade ago, right?

Wrong. It actually turned out to be pretty easy to find the car. It had only been owned by two people since Schnatter. Schnatter bought the car for $250,000, as promised, and then threw a $25,000 fee to the previous owners as a "finder's fee." The car came home last week. You've got one happy pizza guy and two flush families. Nice. All's well and good in the world, right?

WRONG. What the heck??? How did this feel good story become so fraking.... fraked up?? First Owner-- the finder's fee woman-- is thinking about filing suit against Papa John for the entire $250,000. She's turning down the finder's fee. Turns out she tried to buy the car back from Second Owner when she found out about the contest... ugh... this story just makes me so mad. Read it yourself.

Friday, August 28, 2009

Scoot in the News

Barefoot and Progressive drew our attention to a New York Times article about scooter taxis that gave lots of great press to Louisville's own City Scoot. I know I've blogged about City Scoot before, but this article included several fun facts that I wasn't aware of:

Soon [Mark Roberts, founder of City Scoot] will introduce No Excuse for Drunk Driving, or NEDD, a nonprofit organization intended to take the success of his scooter program national.
[City Scoot] has delivered more than 50,000 consumers home safely since 2004.
The service is open seven nights a week, from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. The average cost of a ride home is about $20, though City Scoot has teamed up with local establishments, which help defer the cost, and with their help a ride could be as low as $9.
[City Scoot] works with Brown-Forman, the wine and liquor giant, which gives its 1,000 employees in Louisville free and anonymous access to CityScoot services... The company intends to work with NEDD in some fashion... Brown-Forman just completed a pilot program with Zingo [another scooter program] in Atlanta. (Bravo, Brown-Forman! sez me.)

Just a reminder: City Scoot's number is 502-566-6384. I have it programmed into my cell phone (though I have yet to use the service). You should too.

Rocky Live!

I have a shameful pop culture confession to make: I have never seen The Rocky Horror Picture Show. None of it. Or not more than the ten or fifteen continuous seconds that you sometimes see as clips on tv. I've heard a few songs from the soundtrack. I can sorta hum "Time Warp," and I know there's a dance associated with it, but I don't know the words or any of the moves. "Let's do the Time Warp Again! Let's do the Time Warp Agaaaaain....!! MMmmm mmmm blahhh blahh hm..."

Yep. Nope.

So... questions: Would it behoove me to try to see the movie before I go see Pandora Production's live stage show? Will I feel super out of touch if I go to the musical as a Rocky Horror virgin? Do I need to bring toilet paper and.... uh... bread?

Help a sister out, readers.

The Rocky Horror Show will be at the Henry Clay Building in the Bunbury Theater September 24-October 4 at 7:30pm. The Pandora Productions website doesn't have the actual schedule up yet, but usually their shows are Thursday night through Sunday night with maybe a matinee. I'm sure they'll add the actual dates/times soon.

PS: My other shameful pop culture confession: I've never seen Fast Times at Ridgemont High either. I know! Crazy, huh? And that's my last confession, I think. My pop culture soul is now clean. I feel like a better woman already.

Unseen Undead

Alas, this year will be the first year that I've missed the annual August 29 Zombie Attack since I moved to Louisville. But it's Roommate's and my shared birthday weekend (Aug 29/Aug 31), and he's in Erlanger with the Writers Retreat Workshop, so I'm heading thataways to hang with good writer friends.

But the Zombie Attack is always an awesome time, and at one point it sounded like the annual event (now in its 5th year) was dead dead (as opposed to undead dead), so I'm wicked happy it's still... um... alive and eating brains.

Zombies seem to be this year's Pirates here in Louisville. Of course, Pirates are still this year's Pirates too. (Make sure you mark Sep 19-- Talk like a Pirate Day-- on your calendar. More on that event soon!)

Sunday, August 23, 2009

"America's Happiest Music"

That's what the website for the Jug Band Jubilee says: "America's Happiest Music." And just reading that phrase makes me happy, so imagine what a whole day of jug bands from around the U.S and Japan (JAPAN?? I know... crazy, huh?) will do for your summer-is-over blahs.

The Jug Band Jubilee was started in 2005 by Rod Wenz, who passed away last year. This year's Jubilee is dedicated to him. It will be held at the Brown-Forman Amphitheater in Waterfront Park on September 19 from noon til 11p. It's free and food and drink will be sold-- no outside coolers, alcohol, or pets.

In conjunction with the event, the Jubilee pays homage to a jugband legend with the unveiling of a headstone at the previously unmarked grave of Earl McDonald, on Sep 18 at 2p at the Louisville Cemetery. On Saturday at noon, a historical marker celebrating Louisville as the birthplace of jugband music makes its debut on River Road.

Much more information available at: www.jugbandjubilee.org

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Wednesday Afternoon Randomness

So, yeah, kiddos... I forgot to mention that I am home. Back in the Ville. Home Sweet Home. And very glad to be here. Missed Casa Lou, missed Louisville, missed my friends, even missed Roommate a little. Although I must say, after traipsing around the relatively cool Northeast for the better part of the summer, it's too fraking hot here!

And I'm back at work. Both here at Loueyville and in Meatspace too. And while working on Loueyville is a pleasure, and it sure is good to have a Meatspace job in this economy, Big Girl work is for the birds. I used to think that if I had "too much free time" on my hands, I'd go bonkers; now I know that there ain't no such thing as "too much free time." Ladies of Leisure, I salute you. And if any of you loyal readers wants to pay me to travel, read books, write, and watch tv, I will take you up on that offer and make you damned proud. As Big Mama Lou is fond of saying, "You should have married rich." Yep.

So here's a little Wednesday afternoon/evening clearing house for you:

Is it wrong to say that you have a "girl crush" on someone you're friends with? I looked up "girl crush" on Urban Dictionary and it said: feelings of admiration and adoration which a girl has for another girl, without wanting to shag said girl. a nonsexual attraction, usually based on veneration at some level. Well, at the risk of sounding wonky, I have a girl crush on Michelle from Consuming Louisville. She's at it again, folks: planning cool and caring activities to benefit her fellow Louisvillagers, this time in the form of a bake sale to benefit our poor drowned LFPL. Come get your dessert on at Derby City Espresso next Wednesday, August 26 from 4p-8p. $1 from every drink sold will also benefit the LFPL. I would have offered to bake something, but I am pretty sure that no one would want to eat anything that came out of my kitchen. So, I'll just plan on spending some dough. (bah ha ha ha!)
And to round out an already awesome Wednesday evening, make sure you hit Waterfront Wednesday. I have heard super duper good things about the Great Lake Swimmers. Also performing will be Cracker-- who had a string of great songs a while ago-- and Will Hoge-- who I know nothing about, but who sure is cute!
It's Kentucky State Fair time! Just in case you forgot. Mama loves the fair. The fair is the best reminder that you actually DO live in Kentucky without having to leave Louisville. Am all over the free Wallflowers concert next Friday (8/28).
Alongside IKEA and Trader Joe's, I am adding the Gulu-Gulu Cafe to my list of things I wish were in Louisville. Gulu-Gulu isn't a chain; it's a bar/coffeeshop/restaurant in Salem, Massachussetts that I TOTALLY fell in love with. It's got very reasonable Proof-style food, a fantastic line-up of events and entertainment, a casual and quirky atmosphere... easily the most "Lou-ish" place I've come across outside of New Orleans. Seriously, take a buzz around the website and see if you don't get jealous of Witch City.
Big Mama Lou spends all of her time and energy during our visits asking me why I don't want to move back to the Northeast. I usually mumble something about loving Louisville and loving Casa Lou and not being able to AFFORD the Northeast. But today I decided that I can give her a definitive reason why there's no Northeast in my future-- one she can't argue with: Nobody in the Northeast serves sweet tea! What is wrong with those people? Tea that you've stirred sugar into ISN'T sweet tea. A total of more than 40 days in the North-- not a single sweet tea to be found. Damn Puritans.

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Art in the Highlands is the New Ursulines Art Fair

Earlier this year the Ursuline Sisters of Louisville announced that after 22 years the Ursulines Art Fair, which used to draw upwards of 35,000 people in September, was no longer. Enter the Louisville Collegiate School to pick up the art fair baton.

Art in the Highlands will be September 19 and 20 from 10am-5pm on the Louisville Collegiate campus. The event will feature 80 juried artists, including many who used to show at the Ursulines event.

According to the website:

Introducing this event to the community is a way for us to extend our arts education beyond our campus community. All proceeds from the event will support Collegiate students through tuition assistance and scholarships, technology, fine arts, athletics and professional development for faculty and staff.

A list of the artists and craftspeople is available here. This city is just silly for art fairs; here's hoping that this one is as successful as so many others have been!

Wizard of Oz in theaters: Nightmares in Hi-Def

When Lou was a wee lass, she had recurring nightmares about flying monkeys and melting witches. She also had a little friend named Jenny who held her plastic tape recorder against the TV speaker for an entire showing of the Wizard of Oz and used to play the tape in its entirety, commercials and all, during just about every play date she had with Lou. Jenny also had the full-on Dorothy get-up: gingham dress, apron, ruby slippers, basket with a stuffed Toto. I'll give you one guess who got stuck wearing Jenny's mom's oversized black sweatshirt and running around screeching, "I'll get you, my pretty!!"

To celebrate the 70 year anniversary of the release of the Wizard of Oz, theaters nationwide will be presenting the first ever showing of the movie in Hi-Def. Locally, both Tinseltown and Stonybrook will carry the one-night event on September 23 at 7pm.

You can order tickets online, if this is your kind of thing. Me? I think I'll probably skip it. I've been battling insomnia for around two months now and am pretty sure I don't need to bring flying monkeys into the fore of my consciousness right now.

PYRO Gallery Opening: Gatherings, Aug 21-Sep 26

Mixed media PYRO artist, Susan Harrison, will be joined by guest artists JD Schall, Waseem Touma and Annabelle Wilson in an exhibition featuring installations, paintings, and ceramics opening this Friday, August 21. The reception is from 5pm-9pm, and I have it on good word that there will be sangria available. It's always lovely to have a little sangria with your daily dose of culture. The exhibition runs through September 26, and if you can't catch the opening, there will be another reception during the Trolley Hop on September 4, also from 5pm-9pm.

According to the PYRO website:

Susan Harrison will exhibit a new mixed-media wall installation that juxtaposes precious etched copper with discarded waste materials and sentimental keepsakes. The materials she incorporates, such as inked plates and sculpted blocks, reflect her background experience in printmaking and sculpture. However, Harrison chooses to present these same materials in non-traditional ways: the inked plates remain unprinted and sculpted blocks remain two-dimensional wall paintings. Harrison hopes this installation inspires thinking about latent and realized potential, and the nature of order, dysfunction, memory, and attachment. This work is the result of her efforts to limit, re-order, use up, and transform years' worth of accumulated materials. She explains that she is turning the “bits and pieces, the junk and stuff” of her life into art.

Susan rocks, and her art is always surprising and thoughtful. Just another reason to check out great art downtown!

Pyro is at 624 West Main Street.

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Welcome to the Neighborhood Dragon King's Daughter!

Good food. Hot sake. Open late. Less than two blocks from my house. To say that I am pleased is an understatement.

Last week, Roommate and I finally got around to trying out the new Dragon King's Daughter, owned by the Maido folks and located in the former Karma Cafe. I can't tell you how nice it is to have a new restaurant option besides pub food that is open past 10p on this slab of Bardstown/Baxter.

Roommate's eyes were bigger than his stomach-- he wanted to order three entrees for the two of us-- but I reined him in, and we ordered a beef taco entree and the sashimi pizza. Both were good and reasonably priced. That being said, we both loved the taco (which our waiter served, unbidden, with their ginger dressing which made it even better), but we both had the same reaction to the much-lauded sashimi pizza. The sashimi is lovely and fresh and good, but the flatbread it was served on was too thick for my liking. When I want sushi/sashimi, I want something light and healthy-feeling. All that bread felt heavy to us, and we ended up eating the fish and veggies off the top of most of the crust. A cracker crust may have made the difference.

I can't say enough nice things about the staff. Our waiter was friendly and thoughtful and committed.

If I'm making a wishlist for Dragon King's Daughter, here's what's on it:
(1) Put your awesome sashimi pizza on a thinner crust
(2) Adopt Maido's brillant and unbeatable Happy Hour specials.
(3) Delivery??? Please, please, please!!

DKD's menu features appetizers, soups, salads, pizza (all Japanese inspired), tacos (likewise a Japanese fusion menu), and a few sushi rolls. They're open from 11a-midnight every day.

Love them!

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Desiring a Streetcar

Whenever I tell someone that I am a New Orleans transplant, inevitably that person says something along the lines of: "Wow, that must have been culture shock." And that inevitably leads to me spouting off all of the reasons why Louisville is kind of like New Orleans in a lot of subtle, but important (to me), ways. Great arts scene. Good music. Good food. Very neighborhood oriented. Walkable. Victorian architecture. Blue oasis in a sea of red. Wonderful bars (and late night closing). Not to mention the whole fleur-de-lis thing.

Today Broken Sidewalk features an article about a proposal for a Bardstown Road streetcar from the Douglas Loop to Baxter (and beyond!). And all I can say to that is: YES, PLEASE!

I miss a lot of stuff about New Orleans and on that list of myriad loves is the rattletrap sound of the streetcar clattering down St. Charles. It's a sound that became all the more significant to me (and I daresay all New Orleanians) after Katrina because it was silenced for so many months. I still remember the first day that I heard the streetcar resume its abbreviated route after all of the post-Katrina repairs. I cried. (Of course, EVERYTHING made me cry in the months after Katrina)

Not only does a streetcar make excellent sense for commuters and neighborhood consumers, but the St. Charles streetcar is one of New Orleans's biggest tourist attractions. In Louisville, too many convention-goers don't venture much further than Fourth Street Live, and Lord knows none of us want Mr. and Ms. Convention-Goer to return to their hometowns thinking THAT'S what Louisville has to offer. No more than your average New Orleanian wants tourists to go home thinking the French Quarter IS New Orleans. (Not that you can compare the two: historic national park vs. Cordish chain mall)

A Bardstown streetcar would bring tourists and conventioneers to the "real" Louisville and plunk them right down in the middle of a sea locally-owned businesses. That means dinner money spent at Ramsi's rather than TGIFridays. That means cocktail hour at Avalon and not the Hard Rock. That means a book for the plane ride home bought at Carmichael's and not at Borders.

I'll say it again: yes, please!

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Dragon King's Daughter Opens to at least One Rave Review

As of yesterday, there was still no sign out at the former Karma Cafe at 1126 Bardstown, but this weekend Dragon King's Daughter opened and began featuring their very diverse and interesting menu. According to @kycoffeeguy on Twitter, the service and food were both great at their opening reception. Follow his Twitter review and yummy pictures here.

Am so excited to give this place a shot. Wish I could find a web presence for them so I could check hours and whatnot, but despite the fact it's owned by the Maido folks, there's no mention of it on the Maido website.

In other Highlands restaurant opening and sushi news, Renbarger's Brewhaus opened this weekend and is now offering $5 bottles of wine and sake on Mondays. And sushi. Still haven't caught up on the lastest episode of "Southern Belles." My Tivo runneth over.

Anything's Possible!

I've long been an admirer of the aesthetics of the Possibility City website-- cute, quirky, not-too-hip-- kind of like Lou. And, truly, they were pretty nice about playing along when I had my little snit fit over their "Friends of Lou" campaign. So I'm wicked happy to report that during my prolonged hiatus, Possibility City added Loueyville to it's Blogs Around Town section.

Rock on, kids. Thanks heaps.

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Correction: Wet Willy's turned Dublin Cellar now Renbarger's "Southern Belles" Brewhaus

Silly me.

Turns out the newest incarnation of Wet Willy's-- Renbarger's Brewhaus, set to officially open this weekend-- is not (necessarily) a German-themed beer garden as I previously suggested. Metromix reports that that the Brewhaus is actually the baby of Russ Renbarger of "Southern Belles: Louisville" fame.

Russ is the womanizing "bad boy" who, as of last week's episode, finally hooked up with Hadley-- the one woman who might be able to put an end to his hound dog ways. No mention of the couple's current status in the Metromix articles, but it does pitch him as the most popular guy in Louisville based on his astronomical "friend" counts on Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter.

If Real Russ is anything like his SoapNet persona, he's a good fit for the Wet Willy's/Dublin Cellar enterprise which, in every incarnation, has been a bar with a great beer selection and a seriously meat-markety/sleezy vibe.

Do you think Real Russ can class up the joint?

Bats Boosting

As I mentioned yesterday, our Louisville Bats are trouncing their International League West competition-- 9.5 games ahead of second place. Tomorrow they start an eight day home run.

First up is Durham, who currently have exact same 51-39 record as the Bats. That's Thursday-Sunday. Next up on Monday is Buffalo, who are last in their league.

Don't forget to check the Bats' website for great promotions. For example, if you're a consumer of cellophane-wrapped cheese products, you can bring a a Kraft Singles Cheese Slices wrapper to the park and get two for one tickets on Tuesdays all season long.

Even without promotions, a Bats game is one of the bestest cheap funs in the city.

Friday night is $2 craft beer happy hour from 530-7pm with music by Squeezebot AND Friday night fireworks after the game. If the weather holds up, I know where I'll be Friday night. It's so nice to be behind a winning team. (Go Red Sox!)

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Bye Hiatus-- for now.

Hey kids, Mama's home! What did I miss?

Actually, Mama's been back in the Land of the Louisvillagers for a week now. But truth be told, I just wasn't ready to spring right out of my three-plus week long technology and communications exile. Having no cell/internet service in the wilds of Newfoundland just felt... good. Cracking open the old 'puter, figuring out why my cell phone wasn't recording messages, going through hundreds of spam emails... well, all that meant that I also had to pay bills, make doctor appointments, think about the waning days of summer. So instead, I embraced my inner slacker. Man, my inner slacker is hard core!

But, all good things must come to an end. And I've missed you, Louisville!

Newfoundland and Labrador were amazing; it's hard to believe (and heartening to know) that places like that still exist. Places where you can drive for hours and only see a handful of cars (and more moose). Places where you can literally drive to where the asphalt ends and know you are truly at the edge of the continent. Places where icebergs lollygag in harbors, hissing and fizzing and popping like a cube in your Jack and Coke. Places where people are committed to recycling, where people are unfailingly kind and polite, where people call you "ma love" as they take your highway toll or hand you a shot of Screech over the bar.

Damn nice place. Wouldn't want to live there. But damn nice place.

I'll get some pictures and more details about the trip online soon. In the meantime, seriously, what did I miss?

Here's a rundown of stuff I've missed, just off the top of my head. Sorry for the Old News, kids. It's new news to me.

Kaelin's is officially kaput. RIP. We've got us a new Irish Pub (or so it sounds) in its place.
Maybe said Irish Pub is merely keeping Louisville's Irish Pub numbers at a constant because Wet-Willy's-now-Dublin-Cellar will soon be something German. (I just don't get this place... this will be the location's third incarnation in as many years. What does it want to be?)
Nio's will soon be something Mexican-- and that's super welcome. Even though I'm not a big fan of Mexican food, this neighborhood is lacking non-Qdoba Mexican fare.
The Antique Mall is closing?? Shame that. I got a gorgeous kitchen table set there for a very reasonable price just a few months ago. And they only moved to the Broadway location a year ago.
J.Gumbos on Baxter closed. I wanted so much to love J.Gumbos, as a former New Orleanian. Cheap food. Huge servings. A good selection of Abita. But I just never had anything there that really tasted "like home." I should try other locations-- they're still up and running.
Karma Cafe will soon be something run by the Maido folks? I'm a huge, huge fan of Maido's awesome happy hour specials. Earlier this week, Roommate and I were heaping blessings upon Oishi Sushi for being reasonable, yummy, and not too far from home. But you don't get any less far from home for me than the Karma Cafe location. Keeping fingers crossed.
Speaking of keeping fingers crossed-- this week Roommate and I went all the way to the 'Burbs to find decently priced and yummy Chinese Food at Sesame. When, oh when, will the Highlands Chinese food vaccuum left by the burning of Cafe Mimosa be filled?? We got delivery from Mimosa at least once every two weeks. Best egg rolls and pork fried rice. Anybody have any news on Cafe Mimosa?

So, what else? Things I'm looking forward to:

Tonight's midnight showing of Harry Potter at the Baxter. Yes, I will giggle and squeal like a pre-teen girl. No, I will not be in costume.
Waterfront Wednesdays, July 29, with Josh Ritter.
If I weren't already doing Harry Potter tonight, I'd be all over Quill's movie night. They're showing Amelie at 7:30pm for all you folks who can't make the push to midnight. Hopefully turn out will be good, and they'll do more of these. (We inadvertantly went to Baxter Ave Wick's Monday movie night a little more than a months ago. Weird movie choices-- Weird Science and Animal House-- and way too loud AND no one there. Good idea, but there has to be a better way. Enter Quill's?)
Do you know how well our Bats are doing?? They're nine games ahead of the rest of their division!
July 21 SMC Louisville/Block5 Block Party on Main Street. Funnel cakes, everyone! Info here.

Okey doke, folks. This is me dipping my tootsies into the great ocean of Things to Do. Water's fine. I'll be sticking around.

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Hello, Hiatus: Off to Bonnaroo '09 and then Newfoundland, ho!

Well, Mama is mostly packed and ready to head out to her third consecutive Bonnaroo. I'll do my best to post from the festival-- probably more like glorified tweets than actual posts, seeing I'll be working on an iPod touch. But right after Bonnaroo, I take off for Newfoundland and Labrador, and while I'm there, I'm afraid Loueyville.com will fall silent til sometime in July.

We'll miss you! But it's a much needed and-- if I do say so myself-- much deserved vacation!

In the meantime, enjoy the Flyover Film Fest, Better than Ezra at 4th Street, Superman at the midnight Baxter movies, and all the other lovely things your city has to offer you in June.

Looking forward to getting back in touch when I get home!

Kisses,
Lou

Thursday, June 4, 2009

No Maker's Mark at O'Shea's Family of Pubs

Here at Loueyville HQ, we love our bourbon. In fact, when weighing moving to Louisville, we put bourbon in the "pro" column of our pro/con list.

This week Roommate, who is becoming a regular ol' investigative reporter for Loueyville.com (who can forget his crack correspondence with Magnolia Films?), got to the bottom... or well, the middle at least... of a Maker's Mark mystery.

We love our Maker's Mark. And last week we discovered that Flanagan's on Bardstown doesn't carry the bourbon. When we asked the bartender, we got a cryptic reply involving the Maker's Mark bar on Fourth Street Live.

Roommate took matters in his own hands and wrote the Maker's Mark folks: "I discovered something disturbing the other night. Several bars along Bardstown Rd in Louisville, several of my favorite hangouts in my neighborhood, aren't serving Maker's Mark. The bartenders told me it had something to do with the Maker's Mark bar/restaurant on the embarrassing 4th St Live complex. Surely this can't be. And yet, several very busy bars (much busier than Maker's on 4th St) are not serving Maker's Mark at the moment."

While the MM folks did not confirm nor deny the rumor that the O'Shea's/Flanagan's folks refusal to carry the bourbon had anything to do with 4th street, Emily Reid, the Maker's Mark Ambassador Coordinator, did offer this response:

"...Mr. O'Shea won't budge. At this point it's nothing personal, but he made up his mind not to serve Maker's - we extended the olive branch several times but you'll not find Maker's at Flannigan's, O'Shea's, or Brendan's in St Matthews. Good places to find it? Molly Malone's, Gerstle's and just about everywhere else :) FYI - Flannigan's has the best pizza in town. His ban on MM won't make me stop eating (or drinking) there ha ha!"

This doesn't clear up the mystery, exactly-- if you have a further scoop, send it along. But thanks to Roommate for following up on this rumor, and thanks to Ms. Reid for the scoop on Flanagan's pizza-- who knew? Would be nice to marry good bourbon with good pizza someday.

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Baxter Avenue Summer Midnight Movies

Just got back from seeing UP at Baxter Ave Theaters. Three out of the past four movies I've seen lately have been animated AND in 3-D. I'm still not 100% behind this whole 3-D thing; I hate the glasses. They itch behind my ears, and they fog up... when you cry.

UP is SAD, my people. SAD, sad, sad, very sad. The only thing sadder than sad old people are sad kids. UP has 'em both. Check and check.

I'm a s-u-c-k-e-r when it comes to sad kids' movies though.

I bawled in the middle of LILO and STITCH when Stitch is lost in the middle of the woods and lies down and cries, "I want my family!" in his wistful little hummy voice. At the beginning of the LION KING (surprisingly not when Dad bites it), I always, without fail, cry when they lift the baby Simba up and all the creatures bow. And I cried so hard during The MARCH OF THE PENGUINS that the little girl in front of me asked her mom if she thought "that lady was going to be okay."

Luckily, it looks like none of Baxter's Splodin' Summer Series of Midnight Movies are tear jerkers (because I get more weepy the more tired I am). Here's the schedule, kids:

June 13: Superman (1978)
June 27: Heavy Metal
July 4: Independence Day
July 11: Batman (1989)
August 8: Masters of the Universe
August 22: Grindhouse
August 29: North by Northwest

All great movies on the big screen-- none that get my knickers in a knot, though. Only Superman... and I'll be at Bonnaroo for that.

Just thought I'd share. A mediocre movie at midnight is better than no movie at midnight at all.