Louisville Magazine

DEC 2015

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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LOUISVILLE MAGAZINE 12.15 77 NIBBLES CABINET KITCHEN OVERHEARD WALL ON THE UP FED Joe Banet owns Funked and Fermented Kimchi Lab in Butchertown. What did you eat for breakfast today? "A Quills latte and a trail- mix granola bar." What did you eat for dinner last night? "Pizza — meatballs, banana peppers, pineapple and basil." What's in your freezer right now? "Curry pumpkin sherbet from Louisville Cream." Where are you a regular? "Morris' Deli. Reuben on pumpernickel, add smoked turkey." A local restaurant people would be surprised to know you've never tried? "Jack Fry's." What Louisville dish have you eaten more than any other? "The chocolate-chip cookie from Please and Thank You. A close second: pork-belly sliders from the Holy Grale." What closed Louisville restaurant do you miss the most? "Pho Binh Minh had the best banh mi sandwiches, and the pho was great as well." What's always in your refrigerator? "Kimchi, naturally." Favorite cereal? "Strawberry Frosted Mini-Wheats." Go open your refrigerator. What's the frst thing you see? "A chunk of Parmesan cheese." If you were a vegetable, what would you be? "A turnip. So much potential and yet so underappreciated." If you were a fruit, what would you be? "An apple. What fruit is more versatile than an apple?" A kitchen tool you couldn't live without? "A Japanese mandoline." Favorite snack? "Potato chips, especially salt-and-vinegar kettle chips." What dish do you make at home most often? "Some type of ramen concoction." Last drink you had? "Rhinegeist IPA." First drink you ever had? "Pepsi and coconut rum at a party my sister was having. I was 12 or 13. That drink was horrible. Completely horrible." Best-bang-for-your-buck bar? "The Back Door for mixed drinks. Nachbar or Big Al's Beeritaville for cheap canned beer. Big Al's also has the best fried bologna sandwich." The one thing any home bar is incomplete without? "A good bottle of bourbon." What cures your hangover? "Food. Whatever it is, there better be a fried egg on top." Your biggest drinking pet peeve? "Those who refer to sparkling wine as champagne." What makes a good drinking buddy? "Someone who can shoot bourbon without finching." Help me understand. An age-old transaction — feeding customers — has evolved into the abstract, an object of thought, a construct of ill-defned particulars: the "concept." A buzzword. An addiction? An echo chamber? Search the Louisville Hot Bytes forum and 109 pages of results pop up for the word "concept." It has replaced that most basic descriptor: "restaurant." A collection of recent local headlines: Tony Palombino bringing new hot-chicken concept to Frankfort Avenue; Mexican breakfast concept Con Huevos to open in March in Crescent Hill; Staggers brothers opening…a second concept in November. Chef John Varanese recently announced two concepts under one roof — one Southern, the other small plates. Do other businesses, be it hair salons or gift shops, identify their permutations as concepts? Can we swap out "concept" for "theme"? Nay. No one dares conjure corny images of Hard Rock burgers or Jimmy Buffet's tropical slop. Is Pizza Hut's crust lined with 28 mini-hot dogs a concept? Or does the word only apply to the grand and worthy? Is there something profound and theoretical I'm missing? I leave you with this: a 2015 LEO Weekly feature about chef Dustin Staggers and his team used the word "concept" 15 times, four more than the word the English language intended: "restaurant." A sampling: "If he spent too much time sleeping, he might miss out on another concept." "Rumplings…served its last bowl of noodles June 6 with the promise of a new 'smash' concept coming soon to the same location. Ten Tables is a pop-up concept of sorts that offers fne dining…." Oh, and Staggers bought a food truck. But has no set — wait for it — concept. — AM "Do you guys give out recipes for your dishes?" — customer at La Que (1019 Bardstown Road) "Kids ask to sit by the mermaid," says Frank Yang, owner of Bardstown Road mainstay Ditto's Grill. The mermaid, who carries a tray of burgers, fries and a drink, has a sea of stars tangled in her strawberry-blond curls. Why hang a mermaid on the wall right through the front door? "I wanted something that was very fuid and organic," Yang says. Illustration by Kendall Regan Tray ($75) and casserole dish ($75) in graffti pattern — Louisville Stoneware

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