Foodies citywide are abuzz with Anthony Bourdain’s impending visit to speak at the Idea Fest. Some of us may even daydream about where we’d take The Anthony Bourdain to eat. (ok, so count me in.) A Facebook group some 1500 strong sprung up a while back in hopes of luring Bourdain’s Travel Channel show “No Reservations” to Louisville.
Those of us who live and eat here know and appreciate just what a foodie town we have – one that can seem underappreciated from the outside. A little acclaim from Bourdain, while it would only confirm what we know here, could tell the rest of the world what they’re missing. Since hearing he’s coming to town, I’ve been asking myself the same question Marty Rosen did in a recent Velocity piece and that many other folks are wondering – where should Anthony eat?
We have an embarrassment of riches -– the choice is hard because how do you eliminate every great place to eat but one? So I’ll think about the kind of place I have -- or would -- take out-of-town friends or family to. (And no, that doesn’t mean Lynn’s, sorry guys. You had me until you dropped the vegetarian biscuits and gravy and were suddenly on every food and travel writer’s one-stop list for Louisville.)
So how about Vietnam Kitchen? I think Bourdain could appreciate the location between a Laundromat and a women’s health center –- not to mention the cheap, fantastic food. I’d recommend mock duck, but I don’t want to be mocked for not eating real duck (though I’m not entirely convinced sometimes that it isn’t, in fact, actually duck).
Then there’s either Havana Rumba or Mojito. Both wedged into non-descript strip malls, they immediately transport you out of their suburban parking lots into a world full of lust-worthy sweet potato fries and write-home-good Cuban and Spanish cuisine. I’d walk across town for the smoked honey at Mojito.
But in the end it may just come down to Lolita’s Taco though. Tiny, cheap, known only to a handful of long-time regulars, and serving up freshly-made avocado burritos good enough for you, me and our friend Anthony. I’ll see you there.
