LEO's Eats with Louisville HotBytes.com(Bazo's, Caffe Classico, J. Gumbo's, Stan's)
OK, everybody listen up. I've told you this before, and chances are you're going to hear it again: There's a recession on.
Yes, a recession, and a lot of us are hurting. We're cutting back on luxuries and hoping we won't have to cut back on necessities.
For those of us who love food and drink and dining out, we're whipsawed: It's harder to justify dropping a pile of bucks on a big evening out, so fine dining may be one of the first indulgences to drop off the budget. But this decision puts a hurtin' on Louisville's local, independent restaurant community, the Louisville Originals and Keep Louisville Weirds that make our city an exceptional place to dine for its size.
If recession forces the loss of a lot of the indie eateries that give our town much of its personality, it may be years, if ever, before we get things back the way we like them, once things get better.
My plan's a simple one, and I hope you'll join me: I'm not going to declare dining out a luxury. It might take a little digging down on those special occasions when I decide to visit a fancier establishment. But I'll make up for it by keeping my tummy filled and my spirits happy at the city's many emporia of great cheap eats. And, having dined well, I won't forget to tip well.
Let's take a quick look at a couple of affordable favorites that have made some changes recently and that, by casual observation at least, appear to be feeding crowds in spite of the economy.
Read the complete report in LEO and on LouisvilleHotBytes.com.