Out of towners want Hot Browns

Have to go with the original on this one. Visit the mothership and then you can compare all the others.

Right on mon.

hey david,
my daytime guy, robert gruber, makes a killer hot brown that we serve as a lunch special once or twice a week. please let me know if you might want to bring them by baxter station... if you can't make it for lunch, call us and make a dinner reservation. i'll ask robert to make some hot browns in individual casserole dishes.
i stay away from any "hot brown" that has ham on it. i also stay away from any that have any yellow like cheese, or has a ubiquitous cheese sauce.
good luck with your hunt. we can be reached at the restaurant at 502-584-1635.
call me, thanks andrew

It's been awhile since I have been there, but Austin's used to do a fantastic one with thier croissants...

Big Dave's at 1801 Bardstown Rd. Yes, it is a neighborhood bar but it also has excellent food, including their hot brown, which has country ham on it as well as turkey (sorry, Andrew).

I had a wonderful hot brown at the Fountain Room as the Galt House about 8 years ago. Hopefully it is still just as good!

It's been awhile since I have been there, but Austin's used to do a fantastic one with thier croissants...

Their sister KT's does that too....thanks for the reminder. I liked theirs as well! 2300 Lexington Rd

Big Dave's at 1801 Bardstown Rd. Yes, it is a neighborhood bar but it also has excellent food

Not anymore, unfortunately. They shut down the kitchen a couple months back, and the whole bar is going to close in the next couple weeks. They were looking for a buyer, one deal fell through, and they didn't find any takers after that.

This came directly from the people that work there. I just live down the block, we were in there the other night.

hey david,
my daytime guy, robert gruber, makes a killer hot brown that we serve as a lunch special once or twice a week. please let me know if you might want to bring them by baxter station... if you can't make it for lunch, call us and make a dinner reservation. i'll ask robert to make some hot browns in individual casserole dishes.

Thank you so much Andrew, I will get with my guests and give you a call. It will probably be Saturday lunch or dinner, I have not been in for a month or so, so I'm way past due for a visit.

David

hi david,
if it is a saturday, it will have to be dinner... we gave up the ghost on saturday lunch a couple of years ago. we do open @ 4:30.
is it this saturday???
thanks, andrew

Big Dave's at 1801 Bardstown Rd. Yes, it is a neighborhood bar but it also has excellent food

Not anymore, unfortunately. They shut down the kitchen a couple months back, and the whole bar is going to close in the next couple weeks. They were looking for a buyer, one deal fell through, and they didn't find any takers after that.

This came directly from the people that work there. I just live down the block, we were in there the other night.

OH NO! So sad to hear that...

Masha needs to take the recipe for hot browns and use it at Lou Lou!

Big Dave's at 1801 Bardstown Rd. Yes, it is a neighborhood bar but it also has excellent food, including their hot brown, which has country ham on it as well as turkey (sorry, Andrew).

I had a wonderful hot brown at the Fountain Room as the Galt House about 8 years ago. Hopefully it is still just as good!

Big Daves is closed

FWIW, I do not recognize anything that utililizes country ham, croissants, mushrooms, etc., as a 'Hot Brown'. Not to say that there arent variations out there that are delicious and have merit, but a 'Hot Brown' is what it is.
Maybe us locals take this dish for granted the same way as we might benedictine, or an Old-Fashioned because they are such everyday things for us. Let it be noted that I LOVE Old-Fashioneds, but refuse to put bartenders through the rigors by ordering them in public.
I know that as far as Im concerned, if Im trying a specific regional dish for the first time, I want to try it as close to its origin as possible. If not, then what basis do I have for comparison?
With that being said, its impossible to get a truer 'Hot Brown' than at the Brown Hotel.
I vote the Bristol for 2nd place.

hi david,
if it is a saturday, it will have to be dinner... we gave up the ghost on saturday lunch a couple of years ago. we do open @ 4:30.
is it this saturday???
thanks, andrew

Andrew,

It doesn't look like they will be able to make it at the dinner hour, but thank you very much for your kind offer.

David

FWIW, I do not recognize anything that utililizes country ham, croissants, mushrooms, etc., as a 'Hot Brown'. Not to say that there arent variations out there that are delicious and have merit, but a 'Hot Brown' is what it is.
Maybe us locals take this dish for granted the same way as we might benedictine, or an Old-Fashioned because they are such everyday things for us. Let it be noted that I LOVE Old-Fashioneds, but refuse to put bartenders through the rigors by ordering them in public.
I know that as far as Im concerned, if Im trying a specific regional dish for the first time, I want to try it as close to its origin as possible. If not, then what basis do I have for comparison?

Matt, I couldn't agree with you more! Taking a classic dish and destroying it in the name of culinary style is just wrong. When you do that you make it a different dish entirely and it should be named differently to avoid confusion. Trying to pass off a dish of your creation as a classic is just trying to take advantage of the name.

Not only do we see it done with the Hot Brown but it's also widely done with Eggs Benedict, Martinis and many other things too. The ingredients in a classic should remain true to the name. If you can't tell this is one of my pet peeves.

I, of course, recognize the importance of traditional recipes. At the same time, I believe we were talking about various places that one may get a hot brown. Maybe travelling downtown is out of the realm of possibilities? Just because there is a variation on an original theme doesn't make it any better, or worse. Just different options...

Allow me to take this opportunity to point out that many recipes we recognize as classics are nowhere close to their actual original application. The Martini originally had a great deal more vermouth than our contemporary version. It actually began as a vermouth cocktail, thus the name. It was made in a pitcher and rarely with ice, which was a luxury at the time. The Old Fashioned was made with creek, or branch water- no ice as well. Now I haven't done the research, but I'd be willing to bet that when the original hot browns were made, they probably didn't have any product called 'texas toast.' Very likely, it began life as a way to use day old bread. How would it have been made In the winter when tomatoes were unavailable, being before the age of hybridization and hothouses? How can we be sure that the bacon used today is the original recipe? Once again: date is important- was the recipe created before the before the publishing of 'The Jungle?'

In summation, these so-called 'traditional' recipes themselves almost always are themselves the result of a great deal of innovation over time. To call them 'the original' is a misnomer and to take an inflexible, elitist attitude towards innovative approaches hurts nobody but oneself.

I, of course, recognize the importance of traditional recipes. At the same time, I believe we were talking about various places that one may get a hot brown. Maybe travelling downtown is out of the realm of possibilities? Just because there is a variation on an original theme doesn't make it any better, or worse. Just different options...

Allow me to take this opportunity to point out that many recipes we recognize as classics are nowhere close to their actual original application. The Martini originally had a great deal more vermouth than our contemporary version. It actually began as a vermouth cocktail, thus the name. It was made in a pitcher and rarely with ice, which was a luxury at the time. The Old Fashioned was made with creek, or branch water- no ice as well. Now I haven't done the research, but I'd be willing to bet that when the original hot browns were made, they probably didn't have any product called 'texas toast.' Very likely, it began life as a way to use day old bread. How would it have been made In the winter when tomatoes were unavailable, being before the age of hybridization and hothouses? How can we be sure that the bacon used today is the original recipe? Once again: date is important- was the recipe created before the before the publishing of 'The Jungle?'

In summation, these so-called 'traditional' recipes themselves almost always are themselves the result of a great deal of innovation over time. To call them 'the original' is a misnomer and to take an inflexible, elitist attitude towards innovative approaches hurts nobody but oneself.

when it comes to food, I am neither elitist nor inflexible. and if something tastes good, then it just tastes good.
but if i want a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, then i want a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, not a seminar on malolactic fermentation or some other next-level discussion irrelevant to the topic at hand.
im a huge fan of haute cuisine and even recognize the merits of some molecular gastronomy, but sometimes the simple things are pretty good too.
sorry that you took me out of context

also... no matter where you are in Louisville, getting downtown is not difficult.