Louisville Magazine is Louisville's city magazine, covering Louisville people, lifestyles, politics, sports, restaurants, entertainment and homes. Includes a monthly calendar of events.
Issue link: https://loumag.epubxp.com/i/138735
choice Josh Merideth, Original Makers Club Editor's Best free event. On a Thursday night. In a parking lot. Rye's Back Porch Series Look at their feet. Nike high-tops in fluorescent colors. Polished black wingtips. Saddle shoes. Boat shoes. Strappy sandals. Those colorful canvas slip-ons known simply as "Toms." Chucks. Heels as tall as yardsticks. Toddler-sized Spider-Man sneakers with Velcro straps. "Businessmen, AfricanAmericans, whites. Eclectic crowd," says Michael Trager-Kusman, owner of Rye on Market Street. The crowd shows up at Rye on the third Thursday of the month, from May through September, when the restaurant erects a small stage at one end of its parking lot, a food tent at the other. "We're paying for the parking lot," Trager-Kusman says. "Why not create a concert venue?" Last year was the first for these Back Porch Sessions, and the 23 String Band played each one, with guests such as My Morning Jacket drummer Patrick Hallahan and pop cellist Ben Sollee. This year, Rye is changing up the headliner each month. In July, Discount Guns will unleash their bluesy uppercuts. The wish list? Trager-Kusman mentions MMJ frontman Jim James. "And that folk artist. I'm blanking on his name," he says. Will Oldham? "Yeah, Will Oldham," he says. (The title of this award is a bit gimmicky, sure, but other great Thursday events do exist. Another favorite: At noon on the first Thursday of each month, Metro Hall hosts concerts in its rotunda.) This past May, Rye's chef was outside selling barbecue pulled-pork sandwiches with coleslaw for five bucks, homemade potato salad for $3. (Eight dollars for dinner at Rye? Steal.) The local musicians — the bands the Pass and the Debauchees, rapper Jalin Roze — mingled with the people before nonchalantly taking the stage for their sets. "When Rye opened, one of our major goals was attracting a diverse crowd," Trager-Kusman says. "I had a vision: A group of people at the bar, like what you'd see in New York City. And it's really a struggle to achieve that in Louisville. But this is a step in the right direction." — Josh Moss Best New Restaurant La Coop 732 E. Market St. Readers' choice Mix together quintessential French cuisine, heirloom vegetables, and down-home kitchen sensibilities from a family-taught chef. Set to simmer in the hottest restaurant district in town. And garnish with a whole lotta love for the city. "Louisville's a gem," says Rhode Island transplant and former Oakroom chef Bobby Benjamin, 33, (in photo), who began his culinary training at age 13 with relatives who loved cooking and is now executive chef at La Coop Bistro à Vins. His recipe for success seems unorthodox, but the result is classic French fare par excellence (steak frites, escargot) with Southern touches all Benjamin's own (red oak lettuce tossed with bourbon-candied pecans, d'Anjou pears, and blue cheese ice cream), or what Benjamin calls "fast food for people who love food." The popularity of this cozy NuLu spot tells us he's doing something right. "I try to give the bistro the integrity it deserves," Benjamin says. "But, hey — we're in Kentucky, and I love Southern food." Let them eat cake and pecan pie, we say. — Shea Jennings 52 LOUISVILLE MAGAZINE 7.13