Buy me some peanuts, Cracker Jack and pork belly on a stick

[Robin Garr]

Buy me some peanuts, Cracker Jack and pork belly on a stick

LEO's Eats with Robin Garr

Against the Grain's cornbread hoecakes with homemade pimento cheese, and a cup of black-bean chili


We live in the era of gourmet-style ballpark food. New York Mets fans can dine on sushi or summon a $17 lobster roll while they take in a game at Citi Field. San Francisco Giants fans also have sushi options and a wondrous array of other good things at AT&T Park. (Unlimited anytime minutes are extra.)


Great ballpark fare is not just a thing for effete coastal metropolises, either. Twins fans nosh on lamb-and-goat burgers at Target Field. All things bacon tempt Texas Rangers aficionados, or they may mimic Mr. Creosote with a 26-inch Boomstick, a two-foot-long hot dog smothered in chili and nacho cheese. Arizona Diamondbacks? They’re crazy for churros wrapped in a donut.

So, Louisville Bats fans might justifiably whine, what about Slugger Field, with its food-and-drink options famously limited by the dictates of corporate beer and food vendors?


Well, sports fans, I’ve got some good news, and I’ve got some bad news.

The good news is that you can now get pork belly on a stick! And lots more great barbecue, and fine artisanal beer to wash it down!

The bad news is that you can only get these delicious things at Against the Grain Brewery, and you have to eat it there. Try to sneak some pork-belly sticks or a growler of IPA into the ball park, and the beady-eyed guys at the ticket gates will firmly shut down your fun.

So here’s my advice: If you’re going to the ball game, show up an hour early. Spend some quality time at Against the Grain, enjoy a good meal and a delicious brew, and then enjoy the game with a full tummy and a happy heart.

(And if you get desperate around the sixth inning, here’s a useful tip: The peanut stand near home plate has a few craft beers discreetly concealed at the back. Usually it’s two true local craft brews and two corporate “stealth micros” like Shock Top or Blue Moon. Stick with the locals and you’ll be good to go.)

Lured by a tip that Chef Jordan Delewis had added a bunch of new menu items (including the aforementioned pork belly), we arrived well in advance of a game between the Bats and the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs the other night. ...


Read the full review on LouisvilleHotBytes,
http://www.louisvillehotbytes.com/?p=5288

See this column also in LEO Weekly:
http://www.leoweekly.com/2015/05/buy-me ... n-a-stick/

Against The Grain Brewery & Smokehouse
Louisville Slugger Field
401 E Main St.
515-0174
atgbrewery.com
facebook.com/atgbrewery
Robin Garr's rating: 89 points

No disrespect to the current chef but most of the items listed were on chef Reed Johnson's menu. Especially the pork belly on a stick, I use to frequent there during his tenure just for that and the schnitzel sandwich. I am almost certain most of those items listed were put on the menu by him... except the bacon caramel popcorn, I don't recognize that one. Anyway.

No disrespect to the current chef but most of the items listed were on chef Reed Johnson's menu. Especially the pork belly on a stick, I use to frequent there during his tenure just for that and the schnitzel sandwich. I am almost certain most of those items listed were put on the menu by him... except the bacon caramel popcorn, I don't recognize that one. Anyway.

It's not that unusual for a restaurant to keep menu items from previous chefs on the menu when new ones take over! It's very common in most cases and I'm sure it's no different here. Do you see something wrong with the restaurant doing that?

No especially when it is well crafted but when the article reads
It won't let me cut a paste but Something like
" with a tip that chef Jordan Delewis added a bunch of new menu items ( including the aforementioned pork belly)"
I just got a wild hair to point out it has been on the menu since before he took his position. In full disclosure I am a little biased me and Reed go way back but I believe giving credit where it is due.

[Robin Garr]

I just got a wild hair to point out it has been on the menu since before he took his position. In full disclosure I am a little biased me and Reed go way back but I believe giving credit where it is due.

Fair enough. Frankly, I took the new-item info from a news release, and in fairness to AtG, I probably didn't read it carefully. I'll stand by my report on the food, though, and on my perception that a sorghum pork belly dish with molasses on the side probably ought to be on the dessert menu.

It plays well on both sides of the menu!

Hate that I missed this.
But I would be remiss not to set a few things straight.

1. Pork belly on a stick was an item put on the menu by Reed. He did a wonderful job executing a concept I and my partners brought back from a beer fest in Wisconsin. There are a number of items which remain from his tenure, but have been retooled at some level to meet our concept standards and goals.

2. The remaining 'new' additions to the menu came from our current chef, Jordan Delewis. Which are:
-bacon caramel popcorn
-BBQ rib tips
-smoked jerky
-pimento cheese and hoecakes
-pickle plate
-cornbread panzenella
-potato salad
-spare ribs
-smoked ham n cheese

In addition to these inclusions on the menu, Jordan has retooled many recipes to fit our concept and goals for quality. Our rubs are all as a result of Jordan, as well as the techniques we employ for our cured and smoked meats production. We are quite proud of Jordan's work and the direction AtG has moved.
This is not to discount Reeds contribution to AtG. Reed is a great cook and an even better guy; we will always be grateful for our time together.
That said, I feel it's important to share this in all fairness to our Chef Jordan.
Should anyone have any specific questions about the specific items on our menu, please do not hesitate to reach out to me.

Sam J Cruz
sam@atgbrewery.com

I had a friend who went to ATG on Saturday early afternoon and she had a terrible experience. Kitchen was shut down due to 'back up', she got one draft beer, and then they shut down the taps and went bottle only (?!). I get that the place is a madhouse on the best of days, but to stop serving draft beer is insane for a place whose main selling point is its beer.

I had a friend who went to ATG on Saturday early afternoon and she had a terrible experience. Kitchen was shut down due to 'back up', she got one draft beer, and then they shut down the taps and went bottle only (?!). I get that the place is a madhouse on the best of days, but to stop serving draft beer is insane for a place whose main selling point is its beer.

Ron, the Saturday you're referring to must have been the Saturday of Forecastle. Which indeed was incredibly busy. However, I think you need to confirm your friend was referring to AtG.
1st. We do not (nor have ever) shut down our kitchen prior to hours listed. You see, we operate in one of the most travelled venues in the city. Volume business is our standard. Now this is not to say your friend couldn't be subject to bad service. While we are always striving towards perfection, there will be times when this may happen. On those busy days we always have 3 floor managers. It would have been helpful and resolute to alert one of them if ones expectations are not being met.
2nd. We stopped serving draft beer and went to bottles.... Not a single chance in hell that this is a fact. We currently keep a small supply of large format bottles for folks to enjoy in house or take away. The bulk of our beer inventory sits behind the bar in giant tanks that have lines running to the taps. They never 'shut down'. There are not enough people in the stadium to drink it all. So I have to call this one for what it is. Again, its possible that your friend wasn't having their expectations met, but the assertion we stopped serving beer is ridiculous.
Please let your friend know, they may always contact us and share any experience. if it was problematic we will always attempt to make it right. There is also the more gratifying option though, alert the manager in the moment.

Yeah, the not-doing-draft thing was really strange, so I'll double-check and make sure it was there. I do know she was headed to AGT on Saturday to look for some specific beer or another, but that might not have been her final stop and she might have conflated or I might have been too heat-stroked to follow along. I'll get confirmation and either post a reply confirming the story or I'll edit the original post to remove the content so as not to spread confusion.

"I believe that they had plenty of beer and food to serve. The problem/bottleneck was getting it out there-not enough servers/service/outlets to do so. Probably 2hrs later it was chill and okay, but during prime hours on that Saturday everything had broken down. [. . .] I would have spent more money, but they made it impossible to do so. I'm sure I wasn't the only one to experience that. [. . .] I stand by my experience and I'm not angry about it so much as frustrated. He could have the greatest product in the world, but I couldn't buy it."

I got some clarification in text.

FWIW, I have never eaten at ATG. I've gone in several times, then left just because there's always been a significant wait or it's just looked so disorganized I couldn't be bothered. Just my perception.

Seems like a drive by review by Ron. AtG is not that busy ALL the time, maybe on game days. They are open all the time so try going when everyone else is not and you may have better luck.

Seems like a drive by review by Ron. AtG is not that busy ALL the time, maybe on game days. They are open all the time so try going when everyone else is not and you may have better luck.

I've only gone in when I'm down that way to do something, so I'm sure you're right and I'm sure everyone else has the same idea I do going to/from events. I was just passing along a friend's recent issues with the restaurant.

"Disorganized".... Scratching my head here. We've been open less than 4 years. We've given new life to an otherwise struggling corner of one of Louisville's most revered venues. We've grown the restaurants sales (sans beer) over 150% in 3 years. We've gainfully employed over 15 full time employees for over 2 years (hovered at 10 before). We've provided a steady, well paying service job for over 30 employees for over 3 years. We've bought and are in the process of revitalizing a 25k square ft warehouse in an underserved neighborhood. We've added an additional 7 gainfully employed full time positions there. We've committed an immense amount of resources to helping revitalize that neighborhood. Now beer...we've grown our production over 500% in 4 years. We've built distribution for that product that spans the globe. We've garnered national and international attention for the quality of the beer. We've parlayed that success to focus on creating a more favorable regulatory climate for craft brewers in KY (thus a larger market). Lastly, we've used as much of our success as possible to drive tourism to our great city.
I'm not sure 'disorganized' is the right word. Give us a try in the off season.

I've been many times and never seen anything but a professional and attentive staff, though I admit that I've not been during peak hours. I don't order food often, but the beer snob in me considers it the best in the city, the dark sour being a particular favorite. It's good that I'm in walking distance from two local brew pubs, but it's bad that ATG isn't one of them. If they still have their monthly beer club, I'm going to join the next time I visit.

Hopefully, Mr. Cruz will pass along some of these perceptions posted here to the staff to make sure that they are not reinforced. Like the Cafe Classico thread, I think it's good that managers at these places are aware of such experiences and do their best to minimize them so that an otherwise quality place does not suffer.