Marty's Restaurant

I'm off to Milwaukee to visit one of my besties, and to see Eddie Izzard one night, and Steve Martin and Martin Short the next night. Talk about a gut-busting laughfest!!

Then there was the gut-busting food. This little ditty, The Cowboy Breakfast, was courtesy of Marty's Restaurant and Fiesta Hall in Waterford. I know it's my kind of place when the lady at the upscale consignment shop almost apologized for "the diner" in town. I am responsible for the egg/bacon/sausage face, and it was fun to get back to my food-as-whimsy days. That's cinnamon-swirl French toast and the lower edge of the plate, in case you are wondering, to provide the carb balance. And, Marty's had the most-delicious horchata I've had outside Los Angeles! I gulped at least three glasses down, it was soooo good!

We didn't check out the Fiesta Hall side of the restaurant, but there was a full breakfast buffet - even more variety than my Cowboy plate! - available. Put it on the list for next time!

Click here for their website.

Zaharakos in Columbus, IN

Wow, if Fair Oaks Pharmacy, Museum of Making Music, and maybe Griffith Park's merry-go-round ever merged together, then they would be CLOSE to being what Zaharakos Ice Cream Parlor/Museum already is!

This is the amazing marble counter with stained glass and vintage soda fountain features. And the fountains still work!! Zaharakos dates to 1900, so think of all the tasty treats served over this counter.

I went up to Columbus for the Scottish Festival. I did some research and Zaharakos was the place to visit after the piping, sheep herding, and caber tossing excitement for some old-school ice cream fun. Boy, did it deliver!!

But first, I laid a base with the Gom Sandwich, a classic sloppy joe but on grilled bread, and warm kettle chips. YUMM!!

THEN I could enjoy this fabulous root beer float, with the root beer from the soda fountain! Can you feel the giddiness I was feeling?!

But we're just getting started! Zaharakos also has a collection of mechanical music. Think player piano, but this was a player BANJO, with tamborine and triangle!! So cool!! This little boy is bopping to my quarter-activated music. Other people pulled out coins to keep the music going, too. It was delightful!

There were four of five of these machines, alternating with non-utilized soda fountains. Sooo cool!!

Columbus is straight up I-65, and 90 or so minutes away. Totally worth it to take a trip back in time!

Click here for Zaharakos' website.

8th Street Pizza

This week's favorite pizza is from 8th Street Pizza in New Albany! Not only is the pizza delish, but they follow the pay-what-you-can methodology of The Table (see July 18 post) and support the local community. They are a self-described "boutique pizza shop and ministry" and all proceeds go to rent, utilities and programming. Hours are irregular for now: Wednesday 4p-8p; Thursday 11a-2-; and Friday 11a-8p. It's worth it to swing by on these limited hours!

Click here for their website.

Parkette Drive-In

I'm in Lexington today making sales calls with two attractions partners. We had a fancy-pants lunch at Dudley's downtown (no pix due to attempted professionalism at the meeting with a local colleague), and now it's time to take a breather. We needed an afternoon treat before making the final stops, and Parkette Drive-In was an awesome detour! This is their 60-year-old neon sign, with the carhop on top delivering someone's delicious food, with a row of cars along the top. It is worthy of a return trip just to see it all lit up at night!

Parkette is totally old-school, with pull-in spots where you eat in your car, and carhops still bring you a tray of food. Inside, there's a soda fountain counter with booths, and more tables in what looks like a converted garage space. They had to pull down the roll-up doors due to the rain while we were there.

And this is my Hot Fudge Brownie, with a warm brownie base, ice cream, hot fudge, whipped cream, and a cherry. Wow, and are you catching the googly Formica pattern? I need more detours like this!

Click here for the Parkette's website.

The Table

Doing good, while eating good, is a great thing! This humble watermelon salad and BLT are tasty dishes from The Table in Portland, just west of downtown Louisville. Not only is the food delicious, but they have a surprising "pay what you can" policy. Pay the menu price, pay what you can afford, pay with your time, or leave some extra to pay it forward.

I snagged this from their website for the formal explanation: "The Table is a non-profit, social entrepreneurship that serves locally grown, fresh food and operates under a pay-what-you-can model. We value a place where everyone is welcome, and we provide creative payment solutions for all." How cool is that?!

Currently, they are only open for weekday lunch, so plan accordingly. I look forward to working my way through the menu. Everything that came out of the kitchen looked amazing. Who wants to join me?!

Click here for their website.

Los Aztecas

Today I have a hankering for some old-school Mexican food with just the basics: beans, rice, chips, chicken, cheese, and sauce. Los Aztecas on Main Street in Louisville certainly delivered!

This is their Chilaquiles Mexicano with corn tortillas, chunks of chicken, their special sauce and coated with melted cheese. It's an "all hands on deck" kind of dish, because you are definitely eating this with your fingers - nacho style! And the hot queso, fresh chips, and chunky salsa sure hit the spot.

Who wants to meet me for round #2?!

Click here for their website.

Jailhouse Pizza

Introducing my new favorite pizza: The Electric Chair from Jailhouse Pizza in Brandenburg, Kentucky!

This hot little number has a lot going for it, and it even comes with a warning to "Eat at your own risk!" Ingredients are pepperoni, sausage, jalapeno peppers, hot sauce, their specialty Death Row sauce, and mozzarella. YUM!!

Oh, it was spicy hot, with my lips and tongue BURNING, but it was definitely worth the brief discomfort. Delicious pizza served up in a historic jailhouse was the order of the day. What's not to love about that? I can also recommend the White Flag pizza, with ricotta spread, mozzarella, spinach and garlic. We did give it up for that one, plus a sausage/pepperoni, and the chicken/bacon/ranch. Wow!!

Jailhouse Pizza was an actual jailhouse from 1906 to the mid 1970s. Hank Williams, Sr. chalked up a night or two there.

Our party was too big to fit inside the cell for our food, but that would be a cool experience for another time.

Roam around the spaces to see the historic details. This was the show stopper - the drop-away floor where prisoners were hung. It is now covered by plexi, but my skin did crawl a bit. They say the space is haunted, which is totally understandable.

The bottom of the drop-away floor, in case you were wondering how real they kept the place. Go see it for yourself!!

Jailhouse Pizza's address is 125 Main Street, Brandenburg, KY. Phone is 270-422-2664. Click here for their website.