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.

Indianapolis Museum of Art

I'm roadtripping to Indy today to experience the Indianapolis Museum of Art, and I LOVED everything about IMA!!

I'll start with the awesome gardens. Twenty-six acres of plants including these Dr. Seuss-ish purple balls. I will have outdoor space in my new place, so I am paying attention to the floral opportunities.

And, in one greenhouse, Drawn to Pink? or Drawn to Green?, Orange?, Purple?, Blue?, White?, and Yellow? sections will entice a run to the garden center for foliage. I am leaning to pollinator plants, so I definitely want some color.

And I love this high/low color spill!

And the best gift of all is a late-season gorgeous iris! I will definitely have some of those planted for next year.

Inside the Museum, there was also the terrific Audubon: Drawn to Nature exhibition. I lucked out and tagged along with a docent tour and found out some amazing things.

I didn't know the Audubon prints were a subscription service, and I certainly didn't know the process.

The six steps are 1) observation and collection specimens, 2) pinning into position, 3) drawing and painting, 4) engraving or turning watercolors into prints, 5) hand coloring of prints, and 6) distribution. Each stage had examples and explanations.

Audubon: Drawn to Nature closes July 30, then the images go back to the private collector, per the docent. This is one of the nuggets I heard during the tour. There are no plans to travel the exhibition, so see it while you can!

And I couldn't sign off without posting a pic of Robert Indiana's LOVE sculpture in the Museum's lobby. What a great trip, indeed!

Click here for IMA's website.

Wild Rita's

It's my third day of working a fan festival at Louisville Slugger Field. I've already dabbled my way through the grilled sausages and Graeter's ice cream (granted, no complaints with either!), and I'm craving something different. Wild Rita's at the Residence Inn on Market scored!

This is the Taco Plate with Mexican rice. I went with Carnitas and Pescado Frito varieties from the six available. But, the most delicious dish was the Street Corn with queso fresca, spiced crema, and cilantro. YUM!! Street Corn is currently on my Favorite Things list, and this was a superb version.

Wild Rita's was a great space with bright colors and lots of cool blown glass. You know I'm not a drinker, but, if I was, this would be a great place to do it!

Click here for Wild Rita's website.

Ann's by the River

Have you ever needed a visual to fully encapsulate what a "carb load" means? This delicious tray of food from Ann's by the River in Jeffersonville should do the trick!

Ann's is a classic diner, with trays and the rail to slide it along while making your choices. They are known for their rotating specials with four or more hot entrees, fresh vegetables and salads, and a smorgasbord of desserts daily. Wowza!! I got the fried chicken with two sides - greens and mac and cheese - and HAD to try to white bean soup with Johnny corn cake. Oh, and the lemon meringue pie was a no brainer.

I'm happy to say that no food was wasted on this venture, as I packed up half to take back to work with me. Two times the tastiness at Ann's!

Ann's is open for lunch and dinner Monday to Friday. Plan accordingly for the carb crash and need for a nap afterward!

Click here for Ann's website.

Frankfort Roadtrip: The Old Bus Station and Kentucky Fudge Company

Day two of sales calls, and this time we're heading East. Today's food and snackies had a shared historic theme.

The Olde Bus Station Restaurant in Harrodsburg was a formerly a Greyhound Bus Station. The lunch counter was original to the Greyhound setup, and the you can imagine the buses pulling up where the covered deck is now.

This is the Titan Burger, topped with onion rings, bacon, and BBQ sauce, with a really fresh take on pasta salad with peas and bacon. YUM!

For our snackie, we went to Kentucky Fudge Company, located in this fabulous 1865 former drug store. I got some refreshing ice cream, but the cool setting was more interesting than the treat on this visit. It reminded me of the Pharmacy Museum in New Orleans!

Harrodsburg and Evansville have inspired me to get out and see more of this area. Are you with me?!

The Olde Bus Station Restaurant does not have a website. Address is 227 S. Greenville Street in Harrodsburg. Phone is 859-734-4202.

Kentucky Fudge Company does not have a website. Address is 225 S. Main Street in Harrodsburg. Phone is 859-733-0088.