Discussion of Robin Garr's Roots review

[Robin Garr]

No meat, no booze, no matter at Roots
LEO's Eats with Robin Garr



Roots, with its next-door companion Heart & Soy, is coming up on its third anniversary this summer, and both spots appear to be going strong, filled with happy diners nightly.

So how does that work, when neither upscale Roots nor street-food Heart & Soy offer so much as a bite of meat or a sip of booze? I think it has something to do with what restaurateur Huong "Coco" Tran calls Roots' "mindful, compassionate cooking," a plant-based cuisine so good that even the most obligate carnivore can chow down without even missing animal flesh.

The booze thing might be a stickier wicket for some, but as I see it, Tran's brightly colored and boldly flavored dishes make your palate so happy that there's no real need to crank up one's attitude with an adult beverage. Anyway, you're on Bardstown Road! A quick stroll in either direction will bring you to an after-dinner drink within moments, if that's your pleasure.

Or go for a change of pace and tickle your mind with a different kind of psycho-active fluid. I'm talking tea here, and not just your mass-market Lipton's but something from the extensive tea list, such as steaming, aromatic pots of Himalayan Mountain Tips, First Flush from Nepal or India, and Darjeeling Soom Estate. Tea makes everything better: That's enlightenment for you.

I speak of "enlightenment" with conscious intent, as Zen Buddhism infuses Tran's attitudes and inspires her "mindful, compassionate" approach to hospitality and fine dining.


Read the full review on LouisvilleHotBytes,
http://www.louisvillehotbytes.com/no-me ... r-at-roots
and in LEO Weekly:
http://leoweekly.com/dining/no-meat-no- ... tter-roots

Roots
1216 Bardstown Road
452-6688
http://heartandsoy.net
Robin Garr's rating: 86 points

I've GOT to get out and try this place!

[Robin Garr]

I've GOT to get out and try this place!

You've never been? I'm surprised! You really need to go to both Roots and to Heart & Soy, Carla. They have distinctly different mood and food, even though they share the same building and (I think) the same kitchen.

I've GOT to get out and try this place!

You've never been? I'm surprised! You really need to go to both Roots and to Heart & Soy, Carla. They have distinctly different mood and food, even though they share the same building and (I think) the same kitchen.

Next on my list!

Same building, same kitchen, you can kind of get food from both sides if you really want it, but yeah... totally different vibe. Surprisingly satisfying stuff, even without animal protein. Soy sensitives need not apply.