I slipped passed exit zero and headed onto the bridge. “Oops I missed my exit,” I said. Donna looked up from her tablet where she was no doubt annihilating zombies and said with only slight exasperation, “Where are you taking me?” “Hillbilly Tea,” I said. She sighed with resignation and wondered out loud “Will I like anything there?” I didn't answer - I didn't know.
Hillbilly Tea had not received much attention on the forum that I could find. It got the second side of a double review with Dish back in August of 2010 from Robin and there was a brief mention as a brunch destination after they got their liquor license more recently. Otherwise, I'd not seen much about it.
I had seen a reference on West Sixth Brewery's web site that Hillbilly was one of the few places in Louisville that served their excellent IPA. I wanted one (or two) and so the food options were secondary. They often are.
Donna quickly switched from her tablet to her iphone and was reading the menu out loud before we even turned off the interstate. What did we do before we had these things, I wondered? She didn't sound too positive about the options and I started to let her off the hook. “Oh, I'll find something.” she huffed. “Just take me to White Castle afterwards.” I knew she was fine then. Donna hates White Castle.
We stepped inside and what light there was from the overcast day struggled to follow us in. The dining room was somewhat narrow and sparsely decorated. The tables were covered in pebbled plastic and the seats were mostly wood benches. Ceiling tall, walls exposed brick, floors unadorned concrete, old fashion store display case on the left, farm implements and black and white photos adorning the walls. So this is how hillbillys live. We were quickly led a short distance to the only open table and our server, Tevin, arrived almost immediately.
He established that we had not been to Hillbilly previously and launched into a well-rehearsed spiel about their teas. When he finished he looked at me expectantly. I said “I'll have the IPA.” He laughed and said “Nothing wrong with beer for breakfast.” While I agree with him in principle it was nearly 1:00 and we were actually surprised to see we had been handed brunch menus. Never mind, we would make do.
At first I thought the menu was a bit short on options. As I looked closer, I realized I would have the chance to try something a little out of the norm. In fact, virtually everything on the menu had been kicked the hell out of norm and was sauntering down alternative street just daring anyone to make eye contact. So imagine my surprise when Donna said she liked the sound of the corn meal pancakes with cherry syrup. Whew! Now what would I have? There were a few meat options with pork, eggs, or chicken salad; a couple of vegetarian options, and even a vegan side or two. As this veggy thing had been on my mind lately I thought I'd have a go at it. The first thing I considered was the smoked tofu. Then I recalled several voices on the forum warning that tofu was difficult to do well. Our server returned then and I asked him what the most popular items were. He recommended the pork but said he'd only been working at Hillbilly for a month. This was his first brunch shift. Oh well. I said I was considering the vegetarian options. He asked if I was a vegetarian. No I admitted. I went all in and ordered the forest mushroom burger with garlic mayo and red cabbage. I added a side of braised greens. As the mayo was on the side I could claim full up vegan credits for this meal.
While we were waiting for our food, Donna turned her attention to one of her gadgets (always more zombies to dispatch) and I took my beer in the glass mug provided and went to check out the upstairs. The narrow staircase tucked into the side of the building near the front door was made of very worn wood steps. While I loved the old character, I thought these steps would be quite a challenge for the aged or physically deficient. As nearly everyone in the place especially the staff seemed to be ridiculously fit, I guessed this was seldom an issue. The second floor appeared much larger than the dining room below and it benefitted from a large skylight. Old wood was the theme here including the floor of this single large open room which extended from a bar area at one end to the opposite which looked out over First Street. An assortment of different size tables and even a large picnic table was scattered with generous spacing about the area. This is the room I will choose when I return.
I will return. Everything about our visit was good. The service provided by Tevin was first rate. The mushroom burger had a delicious charr and satisfying texture. It was served on crispy sour dough type bread. I tried it without the mayo first and it was good but I'm a sucker for mayo so I slathered the top slice of bread with it and further dressed the thick patty with red cabbage. The greens were exceptional. They were very fresh and slightly salty which enhanced their flavor without masking it. Donna enjoyed her pancakes and said that they weren't too sweet as is often the case when she gets pancakes out. She was not crazy about her tea even after she had Tevin dose it again with simple syrup. I tasted it and thought it had a nice mild green tea character but it was not at all like the southern style sweet tea she prefers. Two West Sixth IPA's were marvelous.
As we walkout out it began to lightly sprinkle. We made our way across to the White Castle, but only because that's where we parked.
