Louisville Magazine

MAR 2014

Louisville Magazine is Louisville's city magazine, covering Louisville people, lifestyles, politics, sports, restaurants, entertainment and homes. Includes a monthly calendar of events.

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9 6 LOUISVILLE MAGAZINE 3.14 Photos by Lynn Hafele food bits drink Muddled History 1 ounce fve-year-old Plantation Rum 1 ounce Gran Classico Bitter 1 orange peel 4 ounces Weihenstephaner Korbinian doppelbock Express the orange peel in a mixing glass. Add rum and Gran Classico. Fill mixing glass three-quarters full with ice and stir. Strain into a snifter or beer tulip glass. Add the beer and stir gently. Chris Wilkins, 28, a bartender at Proof on Main, created the hoops-inspired Dr. Dunkenstein, a nickname for University of Louisville great Darrell Griffth back in the day. ÒThe beer has a sweetness to it, and the drink has an overall even keel. The drink is trying to fnd a harmony, like the UK-U of L rivalry does in the state,Ó Wilkins says. ÒI think this would be really easy to make for a bunch of people. You could get several drinks out of one beer. I would drink this around the house with friends while watching March Madness when there are often four games in a row.Ó Dr. Dunkenstein Te wood-paneled room in Lisa's Oak Street Lounge vibrates as the Appalachian screaming sensation Globsters (one person) screeches into a tiny microphone. He fings sweat from his hipster haircut into the faces of his loyal followers as they shout his provocative lyrics back at him. He bounces around the crowd and rubs his chest, adorned in a shiny atomic bomb T-shirt. I was disappointed, because I was told he only performs in women's underwear. I plug my ears and jog down a ramp toward the bar to seek refuge. Lisa Dolson is leaning on the counter, shaking her head slowly. "You picked the wrong night for music," she says. I order a $3 gin-and-tonic and hang my coat on a neighboring stool. Dolson sets a plastic cup of ice on the bar and gives me a generous pour. "Tis is the last straw," she says as she stabs the ice. Te middle-aged Louisville native has run the bar for 11 years. Not far from the border of Germantown and the Highlands, Lisa's sits just before a deep curve in the road, causing careful drivers heading east to slow down. Te street display features vintage neon beer signs framed in weathered brick and ornamented with plastic tables scattered across the sidewalk. An overturned chair adds a suggestive touch, as if it's winking at those who bypass its invitation for a pricey cocktail on Bardstown Road. I hop down from my stool to join my friends in the poolroom, where retro teal chairs line a lavender wall and a rusty meat-slicing machine pouts, unplugged, in the corner. A silent boom box sits above a small stovetop oven. It reminds me of the unfnished basement we all knew in high school, where towers of forgotten household items protect us from drinking in an ordinary space. Eventually I return to my barstool, where Dolson is fnishing her late-night meal of sausage pizza and salad. "Same thing?" she asks. I nod as my eyes fall on the shelves behind her. Statues, trinkets, power tools and framed inspirational quotes form a chaotic village above ice buckets and bottles of liquor. "What's that?" I ask, pointing to a both voluptuous and headless stone woman. "Tat's a fertility statue," Dolson says. "My regulars rub it when they're trying to get pregnant." She explains the signifcance of her other treasures, elaborating on her favorite quotes and fondly describing her regulars, some of whom she hasn't seen in a while. "When the economy is bad," she says, "people just drink at home." Germantown has changed dramatically during Dolson's years as both a neighborhood resident and a business owner, and she accepts the challenge of roping in the new crowd. "I've been here 11 years," she says, "and I'm fnally making some changes." She describes the future she sees, stretching out her hands to look through a frame she constructs with her fngers. She plans to host karaoke nights, dance parties, trivia contests and live music. I wish her good luck as I sip melted ice from the last straw. — Wesley Bacon Lisa's Oak Street Lounge 1004 E. Oak St. 84-120 BACK.indd 96 2/20/14 12:21 PM

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