If you haven’t heard of Groupon it’s time you learn, as each day you wait to check it out is a day you miss out on a great deal!  Its trademark in success is by collective buying power, and now’s your chance to get in on it.

Last Ale Club meeting
Rich O's
3312 Plaza Dr., New Albany, IN
Dec. 19, 5-7 p.m.
Seasonal and winter brews will be featured at the Louisville Ale Club's last meeting of the year. Check the event's Facebook page for more info.

Hambonus fans move out
Various locations
Dec. 18-19
Old friend Hambone will be melting skulls citywide this weekend with shows

3 in 1 with Fire on the Hop
Kaviar Forge & Gallery
1718 Frankfort Ave.
July 31, 6 p.m. with the fire-breathing performances at 7 and 8 p.m.

It’s not often I sit down in a restaurant and have an entire menu to pore over. I stopped eating meat other than fish about eight years ago and have spent the time since studying restaurant menus searching for a pasta or salad I can order without the chicken. A waitress once commented most unhelpfully, “That’s an awful expensive salad if you don’t get the meat!”

The St. Vincent de Paul Conference of St. Raphael the Archangel Catholic Church invites you to attend a fundraiser to benefit our work with the needy in our community. On Monday, April 20, 2009, from 11am – midnight, 100% of the proceeds from lunch, dinner and beverages at O’Sheas Irish Pub, Flanagan’s Ale House and Brendan’s Restaurant and Pub will be donated to the Society of St. Vincent de Paul.
 
WHEN: Monday, April 20, 2009, from 11am to midnight
 
WHERE: 3 Louisville locations
* O’Sheas Irish Pub, 956 Baxter Ave., 589-7373

The Louisville Originals are committed to preserving a culinary sense of place. The Louisville Originals welcomes the following new members: 60 West Bistro & Martini Bar, Seviche (Goose Creek Rd.), Varanese, and The Sweet Tooth. New members are eligible to join every six months. The full list of members can be found on the Louisville Originals web site at www.louisvilleoriginals.com.

by Michelle Jones
michelle@louisville.com

As if there weren’t already enough reasons to love our local Farmers’ Market now we’ve got another one. Not only can we hit the markets to buy fresh, local food, now we can watch and learn from some of our community’s best chefs preparing meals made from the same farmers’ market ingredients we’re buying.

By Steve Hacker 

Porcini has been well-liked since it opened in 1992 and receives consistent mention as one of the city’s most popular Italian restaurants — a place where you might run into Rick Pitino and you’ll probably meet a few of your friends. On each of my three recent visits (where I indeed knew some of the patrons), it drew an animated crowd. And while I certainly saw some things that showed why Porcini is popular, I experienced a few more that made me wonder if the popularity can be sustained.