steve, Author at Steve Coomes

Spicy brew: Against the Grain’s first chef-inspired beer bears pepper and bay leaves

September 26, 2012 by steve Leave a Comment

(Editor’s note: This post was updated at 10 a.m. on July 26. Chef Levon Wallace at Proof on Main was incorrectly identified.)

The upstart brewers at Against the Grain can’t seem to keep things simple, won’t settle for churning out old gold lagers just to the pay the bills. As if brewing—no, creating—six unique flavors monthly wasn’t hard enough, they’re now working with local chefs to brew beers bearing a culinary edge.

This first, dubbed Bay and Pepper Your Bretts (a play on the phrase “spay and neuter your pets” that also references its use of brettanomyces, a yeast that delivers a sour note to beer), is now on tap and is the product of a collaboration between ATG’s brewers and Josh Lehman, chef at Holy Grale. Not only does Lehman work at one of the town’s premier beer restaurants, he was the first chef at Bank Street Brewhouse when it opened in 2009.

On the Road: Alabama Shakespeare Festival showcases terrific Korean ‘cooking event’

September 26, 2012 by steve Leave a Comment

MONTGOMERY, Ala.—As ticket takers at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival nudged the crowd of some 300 ticketholders to their seats one recent evening, they promised the show, Nanta, “a cooking event,” would begin at 7:30.

It was a lie, but not a mean one, a southern one—a partial story light on facts. The setup ensured everyone would sit down for a round of homage-paying to the person whose company has sponsored many of the plays held here, one of the nation’s top regarded Shakespearean playhouses.

In an instant, cocktail sales collapsed, triggering the quick chugging of half-consumed drinks.

Inside the theater, some swells already were lined up across the stage to pour praise onto Young Deuk Lim, president and CEO of Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama. Upon coming here in 2002, the Korean company forged a civic partnership with the city by helping fund the arts, particularly plays performed at ASF.

Anthony Lamas to begin hosting hands-on, high-end cooking classes at Seviche

September 26, 2012 by steve Leave a Comment

Sevichechef-owner Anthony Lamas is planning to offer small group, hands-on cooking classes that will include subjects such as whole hog butchery, salsa and seviche preparation, and whole fish cookery.

Each class includes dinner, and custom packages are also available for those who have a specific culinary interest.

Classes start at $95 per person and are suitable for groups of five to 20 people, according to a news release.

“I hope that the class series will be a great resource for people who like to cook with local ingredients,” Lamas stated in the release. “We have had a lot of interest in particular from people who want to know how to break down a whole animal, so I think that will be one of our most popular classes.

“We will work with local farmers to source the pigs, and participants will bring home several pounds of meat for their own use.”

Always funny and entertaining, ChefboyarDean radio show to get serious tonight

September 26, 2012 by steve Leave a Comment

It’s been four months since restaurateur Dean Corbett launched the ChefBoyarDean Show, which airs every Thursday from 7-8 p.m. on 1080 AM WKJK.

Except for a few missed Thursdays (if you can believe if, UK’s national championship run pre-empted the show several times, plus Corbett’s duties of running Equus & Jack’s Lounge andCorbett’s: An American Place during Derby Week kept him off the air), Corbett has hosted some of the town’s top chefs, restaurateurs, dining critics, brewers and newcomers to the scene.

Long story short, those shows have been funny, fast paced and informative and chockfull of insider info hard to find at any media outlet, even ours.

Henry’s Place already drawing a crowd that includes other restaurateurs

September 26, 2012 by steve Leave a Comment

“Do you know a guy named Michael, um, Gristini, I think?” asked Charles Reed, chef and partner at Henry’s Place, the upscale-casual restaurant opened last month in the old Mike Best’s Meat shop on Rudy Lane.

“You mean Michael Grisanti,” I clarify, adding, “He’s one of the guys who deserves much of the credit for starting the modern restaurant scene here.”

“Oh, cool, because he really liked our food,” Reed said. “He said my pork chop was better than the one at Jack Fry’s. I took that as good.”

You are correct, Mr. Reed. Any time the man whose restaurant, the venerable Casa Grisanti, closed in 1991, says one of your dishes is better than a creation of Jack Fry’s chef Shawn Ward, that’s saying something. Even if you don’t know who he is.

Baxter Station’s Andrew Hutto says he’s down, but not selling out yet

September 26, 2012 by steve Leave a Comment

Andrew Hutto is tired, worn down by the stress, the hours, the headaches and hassles of the restaurant business, the only work he’s known for the past three decades.

The owner of Baxter Station Bar and Grill, Hutto heated up the Louisville HotBytes forum recently when he said he would soon put the 23-year-old Irish Hill business and its property up for sale.

His reasons: He’s tired of chasing trends, tired of battling in a restaurant marketplace with more seats than willing customers to occupy them, tired of watching dollars—be they civic or private —go to hot areas of town, such as NuLu, rather than into communities where Old Guard restaurateurs would like to see some investment, tired of seeing local government officials court out-of-town companies while not returning his calls.

Lights Out Dinner spotlights the fun of eating blindfolded

September 26, 2012 by steve Leave a Comment

Maybe I’m spoiled with all the great dining choices in Louisville, the wide variety of cuisines, the myriad twists on tastes and techniques that turn mere meals into events.

Perhaps I’m a bit jaded after all this time.

But why can’t dining be more fun here — anywhere — like it was last week at the Lights Out Dinner at Mayan Café?

No bull: Seviche’s El Bulli ‘dinner and a movie’ experience proves outstanding

September 26, 2012 by steve Leave a Comment

I am a social diner.

I crave cross-table interaction and I love the background noise of a busy restaurant. Few things twist the tedium tally upward like dining without companions or, worse, eating alone in front of a TV.

So I had my doubts about how well Seviche’s “dinner and a movie” night in late July would work … how 11 courses could be enjoyed visually when illuminated only by the flickering light of the video, “El Bulli: Cooking in Progress” … how a team of servers could introduce and remove courses without, well, blocking my view of the show and creating distracting racket … and how my ADD brain could focus appreciatively and simultaneously on both film and food.

Majid’s hosting Eight Beer Fantasy meal pairing Sunday, Jan. 29

January 11, 2012 by steve Leave a Comment

Majid’s, 3930 Chenoweth Lane, is hosting and Eight Beer Fantasy pairing with food at the restaurant on Sunday, Jan. 29 from 2:30 pm. to about 4:30 p.m. According to bar manager Stephen Dennison, the event is about beverage education. And along with a similar Whiskey Roulette event he conducted recently and future monthly beverage […]

Varanese showcasing biodynamic wines at Grgich Hills Estate dinners, Jan. 18-19

January 10, 2012 by steve Leave a Comment

Biodynamic wines from Grgich Hills Estate will flow for two nights at Varanese, where a pair of six-course dinners will be offered on Jan. 18 and Jan. 19. Grgich vineyard manager David Bos will be the guest speaker for each evening and talk about the work, the virtues and pleasurably drinkable rewards of biodynamic winemaking. […]

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