So how do you say it? I went with version one, the one with the drawl, and it earned me more than a few nods of approval. Invoking that drawl also reminds you that Louisville is a little bit Southern. As Baltimore straddles a line on the cultural map of the East Coast and the South, so does Louisville, with the South and the Midwest. This city might surprise you with a diverse set of famous former residents like Hunter S. Thompson and Muhammad Ali, Thomas Edison and even Tom Cruise. You probably know about the whole horse racing thing and the bourbon. And you probably could have guessed that both have been an integral part of Louisville's history and identity for well over 230 years. Point is you have heard of Louisville but do you know what's going on with the food here? First off, they got some food history, the most notable IMO being the Kentucky Hot Brown and yeah we found one fit for the Cheap Eats Budget. This is a city that has more than a few nearby farms. And beyond that solid farm to table showing is a grip of talented chefs who are having fun with food. And on that note let's start off with the most fun breakfast we have found to date:
(more…)
If Grand Rapids was the gentle small town reminder of my Midwestern roots and why this part of the country is just so darn livable, Indianapolis was that pause and a "huh" you drop when you step into a city in "fly over country" and are taken back by a sprawling, diverse urbanlandscape. Gentrification ain't just a real estate buzz word in Brooklyn, San Francisco or Silver Lake(LA), it is happening wherever it can. Case in point: Goose The Market. Like so many places we featured in Season Two of Cheap Eats, this beaut of an artisanal butcher shop and deli was fueled by a dream, funded with modest means and holds a zip code that might drive your car insurance rates up. Or at least it did; the neighborhood that Goose calls nest(or home) is Fall Creek Place, and like the Indy food scene, its an up and comer. Being in a Midwest city, we knew there would be some iconic Meat and Potato fare to be had. But there were a few "pause and a huh" moments to be had in the form of some Asian eats that would be a stand out in San Fran, along with with some chef driven, farm to table Midwest fare that you knew was going play a lead role in your Indy diet. Speaking of diets, it's time to put yours on pause and peep the Cheap Eats in Indianapolis.
(more…)
That smile on my face(along with the best carnitas torta I have ever had) serves as an instant reminder on how happy I would be to return to Grand Rapids, Michigan. Now this is no slight against the other cities we have visited in Cheap Eats, from the no brainers like beautiful Bozeman and Jackson Hole to towns I would love to catch my beloved St. Louis Cardinals play(I'm looking at you Pittsburgh). Its just that to be frank: Grand Rapids was a head scratcher. I had never been there, let alone Michigan, which made my expectations a bit of a blank canvas. A beautiful thing it is to travel to a place you have never been, without any expectation. It allows for the unforseeable to take hold of you; like Grand Rapids rousing my dormant Midwestern roots. Unless you are a sun drenched Californian or Floridian who fusses when the thermometer dips below 65, you gotta love Autumn in a place like Michigan. Now I did log in 20 years in Los Angeles but I have never been afraid of putting on a winter coat, it's the sunshine that always made me an advocate for Southern California. Thankfully we had a few sunny days there, certainly enough for me to summon back the Fall days of my youth, growing up in St. Louis MO. For the five days I spent there, Grand Rapids reminded me that I grew up in the Midwest by virtue of weather and environment. And as much as I feel drawn to the bright lights of major metropolitan areas, instantly bonding with all that teeming culture and diversity and forever willing to put up with the downers you hear on the nightly news reports, I am a Midwesterner by birth and rearing. The colors of the Fall will forever feel like my childhood. Which is a lovely memory and all but add that to the aforementioned Carnitas Torta, and folks, I'm smiling all the way back to Gerald R. Ford International Airport. (more…)
I had a lot of fun opening this episode with "Cheap Eats is bringing the pepper to Salt Lake City!!" but it turns out the SLC dining scene had the heat turned up well before I arrived. Over and over, folks pointed to the 2002 Winter Olympics as a tipping point. The loosening of liquor licensing gave restaurants a boost in biz which meant diners and restauranteurs could try new things. Like many cities in Season 2 of Cheap Eats, we take advantage of an up and coming dining scene, meet excited owners, and exciting chefs. What sets SLC apart from the others is a preconceived opinion of what people might have towards both city and state. Utah is synonymous with Mormonsim/The Church of Latter Day Saints. The Fried Mormon Funeral Potatoes is about as far as we trekked into this important and historic aspect of SLC, but it is but one part of a diverse and growing metropolis. On the drive in from Idaho, my eyes floated from an In-N-Out burger sign to a mountain skyline and suddenly I got flashbacks of my days in Los Angeles. Sunshine and a relatively more arid climate than other Rocky Mountain cities certainly push towards that comparison. What I am getting at here is SLC may not be what you think it is, especially if your imaginations point toward the direction of HBO's Big Love. And challenging preconceived notions is what I love to do. Almost as much as I love to eat and speaking of . . .
(more…)
As it turns out, nature in Jackson Hole Wyoming is no laughing matter. Despite my numerous Rocky and Bullwinkle and garden-variety moose jokes, even I, was and remain still, blown away by what I and my iPhone saw in Jackson Hole. And that's saying something because I am probably the most un mountain man to pass through these parts. Last night at a New Year's party, I was asked if I went camping. It was probably one of the most humorous (and honest) no's I have ever uttered. Still this is a landscape that would persuade me to become a member at REI, even if it meant spending a $1000 on equipment destined for a "like new" listing on craigslist. As far as Cheap Eats goes, my friends we have done you a tremendous service because Jackson Hole is damn expensive. Not a single restaurant we featured on this episode offered table service. And that's not us being lazy. It's THAT PRICEY HERE. There are a variety of reasons for this perfect storm of $$$ living: Ski Country plus tax incentives for the über wealthy, for starters. But saving money just ain't the point here. The point is pristine mountain beauty. And plenty outdoor activities to work up an appetite. So grab a knife n fork, your AMEX(black if you got it handy) and let the Jackson Hole feast begin.
(more…)
So how do you say it? I went with version one, the one with the drawl, and it earned me more than a few nods of approval. Invoking that drawl also reminds you that Louisville is a little bit Southern. As Baltimore straddles a line on the cultural map of the East Coast and the South, so does Louisville, with the South and the Midwest. This city might surprise you with a diverse set of famous former residents like Hunter S. Thompson and Muhammad Ali, Thomas Edison and even Tom Cruise. You probably know about the whole horse racing thing and the bourbon. And you probably could have guessed that both have been an integral part of Louisville's history and identity for well over 230 years. Point is you have heard of Louisville but do you know what's going on with the food here? First off, they got some food history, the most notable IMO being the Kentucky Hot Brown and yeah we found one fit for the Cheap Eats Budget. This is a city that has more than a few nearby farms. And beyond that solid farm to table showing is a grip of talented chefs who are having fun with food. And on that note let's start off with the most fun breakfast we have found to date:
(more…)
If Grand Rapids was the gentle small town reminder of my Midwestern roots and why this part of the country is just so darn livable, Indianapolis was that pause and a "huh" you drop when you step into a city in "fly over country" and are taken back by a sprawling, diverse urban landscape. Gentrification ain't just a real estate buzz word in Brooklyn, San Francisco or Silver Lake(LA), it is happening wherever it can. Case in point: Goose The Market. Like so many places we featured in Season Two of Cheap Eats, this beaut of an artisanal butcher shop and deli was fueled by a dream, funded with modest means and holds a zip code that might drive your car insurance rates up. Or at least it did; the neighborhood that Goose calls nest(or home) is Fall Creek Place, and like the Indy food scene, its an up and comer. Being in a Midwest city, we knew there would be some iconic Meat and Potato fare to be had. But there were a few "pause and a huh" moments to be had in the form of some Asian eats that would be a stand out in San Fran, along with with some chef driven, farm to table Midwest fare that you knew was going play a lead role in your Indy diet. Speaking of diets, it's time to put yours on pause and peep the Cheap Eats in Indianapolis.
(more…)
That smile on my face(along with the best carnitas torta I have ever had) serves as an instant reminder on how happy I would be to return to Grand Rapids, Michigan. Now this is no slight against the other cities we have visited in Cheap Eats, from the no brainers like beautiful Bozeman and Jackson Hole to towns I would love to catch my beloved St. Louis Cardinals play(I'm looking at you Pittsburgh). Its just that to be frank: Grand Rapids was a head scratcher. I had never been there, let alone Michigan, which made my expectations a bit of a blank canvas. A beautiful thing it is to travel to a place you have never been, without any expectation. It allows for the unforseeable to take hold of you; like Grand Rapids rousing my dormant Midwestern roots. Unless you are a sun drenched Californian or Floridian who fusses when the thermometer dips below 65, you gotta love Autumn in a place like Michigan. Now I did log in 20 years in Los Angeles but I have never been afraid of putting on a winter coat, it's the sunshine that always made me an advocate for Southern California. Thankfully we had a few sunny days there, certainly enough for me to summon back the Fall days of my youth, growing up in St. Louis MO. For the five days I spent there, Grand Rapids reminded me that I grew up in the Midwest by virtue of weather and environment. And as much as I feel drawn to the bright lights of major metropolitan areas, instantly bonding with all that teeming culture and diversity and forever willing to put up with the downers you hear on the nightly news reports, I am a Midwesterner by birth and rearing. The colors of the Fall will forever feel like my childhood. Which is a lovely memory and all but add that to the aforementioned Carnitas Torta, and folks, I'm smiling all the way back to Gerald R. Ford International Airport. (more…)
I had a lot of fun opening this episode with "Cheap Eats is bringing the pepper to Salt Lake City!!" but it turns out the SLC dining scene had the heat turned up well before I arrived. Over and over, folks pointed to the 2002 Winter Olympics as a tipping point. The loosening of liquor licensing gave restaurants a boost in biz which meant diners and restauranteurs could try new things. Like many cities in Season 2 of Cheap Eats, we take advantage of an up and coming dining scene, meet excited owners, and exciting chefs. What sets SLC apart from the others is a preconceived opinion of what people might have towards both city and state. Utah is synonymous with Mormonsim/The Church of Latter Day Saints. The Fried Mormon Funeral Potatoes is about as far as we trekked into this important and historic aspect of SLC, but it is but one part of a diverse and growing metropolis. On the drive in from Idaho, my eyes floated from an In-N-Out burger sign to a mountain skyline and suddenly I got flashbacks of my days in Los Angeles. Sunshine and a relatively more arid climate than other Rocky Mountain cities certainly push towards that comparison. What I am getting at here is SLC may not be what you think it is, especially if your imaginations point toward the direction of HBO's Big Love. And challenging preconceived notions is what I love to do. Almost as much as I love to eat and speaking of . . .
(more…)
As it turns out, nature in Jackson Hole Wyoming is no laughing matter. Despite my numerous Rocky and Bullwinkle and garden-variety moose jokes, even I, was and remain still, blown away by what I and my iPhone saw in Jackson Hole. And that's saying something because I am probably the most un mountain man to pass through these parts. Last night at a New Year's party, I was asked if I went camping. It was probably one of the most humorous (and honest) no's I have ever uttered. Still this is a landscape that would persuade me to become a member at REI, even if it meant spending a $1000 on equipment destined for a "like new" listing on craigslist. As far as Cheap Eats goes, my friends we have done you a tremendous service because Jackson Hole is damn expensive. Not a single restaurant we featured on this episode offered table service. And that's not us being lazy. It's THAT PRICEY HERE. There are a variety of reasons for this perfect storm of $$$ living: Ski Country plus tax incentives for the über wealthy, for starters. But saving money just ain't the point here. The point is pristine mountain beauty. And plenty outdoor activities to work up an appetite. So grab a knife n fork, your AMEX(black if you got it handy) and let the Jackson Hole feast begin.
(more…)
