What Louisville Needs

I was glad to see this piece, especially asking chefs themselves. I have long wondered why we don't have a real cheese shop or charcuterie... and I don't understand why we don't have any serious noodle bowl ramen shops. Hope the chefs' heads-ups get people's attention.http://www.courier-journal.com/story/entertainment/dining/restaurant/2014/09/29/dish-chefs-missing-louisville/16434809/

And I'll say again... enough with the pizza and Mexican. I thought we had imagination here.

Nuts to CJ... can't really link in, right?

[Robin Garr]

I was glad to see this piece, especially asking chefs themselves. I have long wondered why we don't have a real cheese shop or charcuterie... and I don't understand why we don't have any serious noodle bowl ramen shops.

Ken, I would love to see all those things, too! One frank thought that crosses my mind is that in this highly competitive environment, it's tempting to go with what chefs and investors know is popular. Trying to serve a new market - and to create a demand for it through awesome cooking - is a bigger challenge, and it takes a special type of entrepreneur to take it on.

I'm thinking, for example, about Ed Lee's short-lived Potstickers in the little spot that now houses El Taco Luchador as just one example: Top chef, appetizing concept, but (apparently) without close supervision it just didn't draw the crowds needed to make the numbers work.

[Robin Garr]

Nuts to CJ... can't really link in, right?

Ken, the link works fine on my iThings. When I use my desktop, the CJ sends me to a "You've got to register now, you've used up your freebies" page, which irritates me, because I don't WANT to register. But the link does work if the guy at the rope line decides to let you in.

The free article cap is browser-specific. Just sayin'

[Robin Garr]

The free article cap is browser-specific. Just sayin'

It also draws unfortunate attention to the pitiful reality that our Gannett-owned daily newspaper still doesn't understand the Internet very well, even after all these years.

Man, if only people realized how difficult it is to get a sausage/charcuterie shop off the ground...

Someday I'd like to scratch that itch... it's in the works.

[Robin Garr]

Man, if only people realized how difficult it is to get a sausage/charcuterie shop off the ground...

Someday I'd like to scratch that itch... it's in the works.

Would you say that Bob Hancock's occasional Red Hog at Blue Dog is a step in that direction, Adriel? I know that was wildly popular but also not an easy gig on the restaurant side.

Many places are making force meat of different stripes in house. Blind Pig did it, Wilthshire, Eiderdown, Harvest... Lot's of restaurants are making sausage. Same with the Red Hog at Blue Dog, right Robin? I took Dean Corbett to be suggesting there be a place that can do a larger scale business in supplying sausage and cured meat.

I want to do force meat using our own meat. And have a facility to allow chefs to come make their own concoctions. That's the goal. It won't be Louisville, but it will be close.

Man, if only people realized how difficult it is to get a sausage/charcuterie shop off the ground...

Someday I'd like to scratch that itch... it's in the works.

Would you say that Bob Hancock's occasional Red Hog at Blue Dog is a step in that direction, Adriel? I know that was wildly popular but also not an easy gig on the restaurant side.

Mike's Best was as close as you can go! He was (is?) a world-class sausage maker, who could do anything anyone might want (e.g.: I want a bratwurst using duck and I can't eat XXX spice so could you substitute? and he'd do it!). I'm still not sure why he closed, but it's possible Louisville did not have sufficient demand to keep him going?

One type of restaurant that was touched down in the article is a 24 hour Waffle Shop. I certainly like this idea but I think it should be expanded a little bit to a good 24 hour sitdown deli restaurant with a great breakfast and hot sandwich venue menu! We really don't have many options at all for a late-night/early morning place to eat with the exception of some fast food places. I actually think of the right location Wild Eggs could be a good 24 hour operation!

I certainly agree with the Ramen noodle shop concept. We now have the Noodles & company restaurant open on Hurstbourne and soon to be opened concept restaurant from Wild Eggs group. These certainly aren't Ramen noodle shops but they do kind of fill the void with a reasonable choice of options and prices.

I ask, I get! http://highlandshomeplace.com/2014/10/02/noodles-and-dumplings-coming-to-the-highlands/

I understand how the economics of a cheese shop or charcuterie makes either difficult. You need a large clientele to deal with keeping a wide, often expensive range of choices on hand. The one place I have seen it work is at Wegman's in Rochester NY, where I used to live. Their flagship stores (Pittsford, Canandaigua) have cheese shop, charcuterie, and bakery with as wide a selection and impressive quality as you could hope for. It may be that only an enterprise as large as a Wegman's could make it happen. I think the best we could hope for is a fine deli (bigger and wider than Lotsa Pasta) that carries cheese, meat, and other select products. Is Wegman's the best company in the world? How does living in a town like Rochester, with one incredible place to go compare to a place like Louisville, with an array of small, unique, local businesses? http://www.cbsnews.com/news/could-this-be-the-best-company-in-the-world/

Ken, you are certainly right about Wegmans and what they include in a store! I'm originally from Rochester and grew up with Wegmans and certainly miss them no matter what other stores were where I lived then. It's nice having the small local places like we have here but Rochester still had many of those also, having the large buying power of a store like Wegmans just enhances everything. If we got one here a lot of the other so-called grocery stores would be hurting for business very quickly!

Unfortunately I don't believe will get one anytime soon in the Louisville marketplace.