Bourbon cheese, buttered yeast buns stuffed with pork belly, skewers stacked with marinated meats and veggies. Quills is about to be known for more than its coffee. The chain of shops has been serving caffeinated delights throughout the city since 2007 and in May added a fourth area location, on Main Street in NuLu. Operating in a renovated 19th-century firehouse, Quills Firehouse has a full kitchen, plus craft beer and natural wines. “The evening menu is supposed to be a snack-y kind of beer menu,” food program manager Jimmy Mai says. The three skewer options reflect Mai’s Vietnamese background and are perfect salty bites to share among friends with a round of beers. The Blacksmith Beef is marinated in a tamari-based sauce, with a shot of Quills’ Blacksmith espresso adding a bittersweet element to the saltiness. The chicken is soaked in a marinade of honey, citrus and fish sauce. “If you go to any Vietnamese cookout, you’re going to get that kind of chicken,” Mai says. The veggie skewer has Portobello mushrooms, zucchini, onions and peppers tossed in sesame oil and spices. All the skewers come with heaping portions of pickled red onions and green beans alongside triangles of cornbread waffles drizzled with sorghum.
This originally appeared in the October 2017 issue of Louisville Magazine. To subscribe to Louisville Magazine, click here. To find us on newsstands, click here.
Cover Photo: Quills' skewers. // Katie Molck
