Per the C-J
Chef Darnell Ferguson is developing his third restaurant concept with NBA veteran Derek Anderson aiming for healthy fare and comic book references.
SuperChefs by day and DINNER by night: two restaurant concepts by celebrity chef Darnell Ferguson arrive early next month inside the same building on Bardstown Road in the Highlands.
Ferguson, a champion of "urban eclectic" high cuisine at accessible prices, said he is also collaborating with NBA veteran and former University of Kentucky basketball player Derek Anderson to develop a third restaurant concept with a menu assembled around health.
SuperChefs' soft opening arrives July 9, with favorites like red velvet pancakes, eggs Benedict, and the bright green waffle "Hulk" sandwich with candied bacon, craft sausage, eggs, cheese and syrup, Ferguson said. The family-friendly fare with a super hero theme will grace restaurant tables by day for breakfast and lunch in full swing after that weekend. While Ferguson appeared with chefs Emeril Lagasse, Rachael Ray and Guy Fieri in recent months on the Food Network, he has also been resuscitating his SuperChefs brand in Louisville since his former location in St. Matthews was destroyed by fire last January.
When hot August nights arrive, the building at 1702 Bardstown Road will transform into DINNER, he said, where the super hero ambiance flips to the nefarious side of the comic genre. At 5 p.m., SuperChefs will strike delight into diners' hearts with "villain style," he said. Instead of servers in SuperChefs t-shirts, ladies and gentlemen dining out will find wait staff in full aprons and ties bearing the likeness of comic icons like The Joker, The Penguin and Bane, all arch enemies of Batman at DC Comics, he added.
When both restaurants are in full swing, Ferguson will close everyday between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. to "change our total decor, art works and tabletops, while adding a lounge area."
"When you walk in at night, it is a different restaurant," he said.
Happy hour at DINNER will feature bargains like $3.50 lamb chops, crab cake lollipops, and stuffed scallops with bacon fat, Boursin cheese and diced, candied bacon, he said.
"I think I'm giving the best deal in the country," Ferguson said of the lamb chops, which he added can be found on white-tablecloth-covered tables in fine dining establishments at the rate of between $28 to $32 for four. "It is going to be really, really fun."
Reflecting both enterprises, SuperEverything Limited Liability Co. declared its intention to apply for a liquor license June 3, public records show. Company owners, the public notice said, are Ferguson, fellow chef Rodney White (a friend from their days at Sullivan University) and University of Louisville Cardinal Towne developer Larry Gough.
Gough and White did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.
Derek Anderson was part of the University of Kentucky basketball team that won the NCAA championship in 2009 <--- that's definitely the wrong year. He followed that with a 10-year career in the NBA, including time with the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Miami Heat.
Anderson did not return a request for comment Wednesday. But his tastes do skew heavy on vegetables, low fat proteins and healthy oils.
When asked by WAVE-3 news anchor Dawne Gee to submit a favorite recipe for her cookbook, "A Recipe to End Hunger," in 2014, Anderson was one of the few Louisville area celebrities in the book to offer nutritious fuel for the body instead of comfort food.
Anderson's published recipe, "Derek Anderson's Chicken, Sweet Potatoes & Broccoli" features sauteed boneless, skinless chicken breasts in coconut oil. The chicken is then served alongside unadorned baked sweet potatoes and crisp steamed broccoli.
Conversations with Anderson about a healthy restaurant turn away from processed foods toward "eating natural from the land," Ferguson said.
"We want to make health fun for people and we are thinking of a name for the restaurant," Ferguson said of his talks with Anderson. "We want to get men to understand that being healthy is not bland food. He eats good food and he's really, really smart. We are putting every ounce of our brains into it and we are going to dominate it."
