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/421959
LOUISVILLE MAGAZINE 12.14 77 f you've got an envie, or craving, for Creole (and we must — see page 68), head to Debbie's Diner in Clifton, next to Nancy's Bagel Grounds but set back from Frankfort Avenue. You're thinking: But isn't that the original J. Gumbo's? Right. Debbie's operates inside J. Gumbo's on weekend mornings (8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays, an hour later on Sundays). Located in an old dairy, this small shack with a screened- in front porch looks as if it were uprooted straight from the Louisiana bayou. Billy Fox Jr., a 48-year-old retired jockey, created J. Gumbo's (the J stands for jockey) in 2005 and now oversees franchis- ing. (His sister, Tammy, was also a jockey.) Bill Sr., who owned a Louisiana stable until the mid-1990s, says he, too, was a jockey a "long, long time ago." After Bill Sr.'s racing operation closed, he moved to Louisville to assist with the Frankfort Av- enue J. Gumbo's, which he manages with 59-year-old Debbie Maritato. She serves up Cajun breakfast: eggs Pontchartrain (English mufns and poached eggs, topped with shrimp étoufée). On the menu, eggs Benedict goes by "Breaux Bridge Bene- dict." Bill Sr. makes beignets for tables to share. Te more traditional platter of two eggs, potatoes, toast and any side costs $3. "Diner-style prices," Maritato says. Born in Cincinnati and raised in Flor- ida, Maritato has been in the restaurant business for 42 years, 20 as a cook in delis and breakfast diners. She met Bill Sr. while working as a restaurant manager in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He persuaded her to go on a date with him and eventually to move to Louisville seven years ago. "And I love it up here!" Maritato says, with a sort of joie de vivre. "Te people here are so much nicer." Te space is cozy, with 10 tables inside (decorated with maps of Louisiana) and seven on the porch. Te old tile walls are left over from the dairy, and the cash register now sits where the cows used to stand. Maritato likes to call herself the "dairy queen." Bill Sr. and Maritato recently returned from cooking at a fundraiser as part of the Sweet Dough Pie Festival in Grand Coteau, Louisiana, where the Fox family has roots. "I've been going to Louisiana for the last 10 years," Maritato says. "We go down to see Bill's family and to have a good time." Bill Sr. and his son passed on the family's recipes to Maritato. "Bill and his son taught me a lot about cooking Cajun," she says. I Look for Swig at upcoming drink festivals and tasting events. For advertising information, email advertising@loumag.com or call 625-0100, ext. 32