Part restaurant, part brewery, part smokehouse, Against the Grain stepped up to fill the void left at Louisville Slugger Field when Browning’s closed. Several rotating varieties of beer are brewed on the premises, and the menu aims to please carnivores and vegetarians with selections like beer-can chicken, pan-seared duck, and tempeh pulled pork.
The pre- and post-arena event dining selection expands. The Troll Pub offers everything game-goers expect like burgers, pizza and chicken wings, plus a few unique items like “hog wings”— bone-in pork tips — and the “troll leg”— a smoked turkey leg.
This Indian restaurant’s seven page menu seems daunting, but well-written explanations accompany each dish. If you still can’t decide, try the thali — a sampler plate which can be made with meat or vegetarian. The daily lunch buffet is also a good introduction to Indian cuisine.
With a variety of loose-leaf teas not easily found elsewhere around town, this sister restaurant to Zen Garden also features a vegetarian menu based in Zen philosophy that pleases vegetarians and omnivores alike.
This small, intimate restaurant is an offshoot of Wiltshire Pantry, a local catering company. Plan to be surprised by the menu, as it changes weekly. One sure thing, though: It always includes a meat, chicken, seafood, and vegetarian selection.
Chicago grub in Louisville’s suburban East End? Sounds like a culinary stretch for authentic Windy City fare, but Lonnie’s native-son owners have the formula down pat, with some of the best sausages and hot dogs this side of Wrigley Field.
Chef Trew Quackenbush is the mastermind behind the world’s most creative selections of grilled cheese, soups and salads. All soups and salad dressings are homemade and the meat is roasted there.
Louisville’s only coal-fired oven makes pizza crust thin and crisp. Coals offers carefully composed 12-inch pies, one to try is the Highlands pizza which is topped with Dream Catcher Farm bacon, fresh mozzarella, cherry tomatoes and arugula.
Bearno’s has long made a top-notch pie, but the stromboli sandwich, lasagna and spaghetti are also tempting. Topping lovers, try the huge Super Bearno’s Special pizza.
