Our Greasy Spoon: Barbara Lee's

Situation: I have worked my tail end off all day and have decided I am hungry at 4:30 in the morning. It's time for a Barbara Lee's run!

I am not here to try and convince you the place is immaculate, or that the service is 4 star. Just that the people are very friendly and the food is as good as any Denny's, Waffle House, or whatever. The point being... they are OUR greasy spoon.

I wore out grits, sliced tomatoes, select rib eye steak, over-easy eggs, hash-browns, corned beef hash and toast- amongst other things. I would never consider any of it the best I have ever had. But it was damm good and hit the spot at such a late hour. I love that the place smelled of a tradition older than all of us. Like pre-steak and egg kitchen smell, if you know what I mean...

On my way home, all I kept thinking was that this place, however you might wanna paint it, is Louisville's real-deal OG Greasy Spoon.

(Am I wrong?)

This is my #1 spot for biscuits and gravy.

Yes...best OG breakfast in Louisville if you ask me. Plus, I love the ancient Ms. Pac Man game in the corner.

It's best if you don't look around too much & I have had a cockroach crawl across the table, but we still go back.

And, it's most definately not a chain:)

Believe me, I understand what you're saying and in some ways Barbara Lee's is much like the old "Cardinal Inn" on UofL's campus back in the '70's -- i.e., good food, but don't look too closely at the surroundings (I guess that's called "atmosphere")....personally, I like my greasy spoons a little less greasy....and as much as I strive to support locally-owned and operated dining establishments whenever possible, don't make me choose between a local place with cockroaches and perplexing aromas vs. a clean, well-run chain....that's just me.

For those who have or currently live in Old Louisville, Juanita's Burger Boy perfectly fits the description as well.

shady lane and its not even close
imo

I want to love this place... I love breakfast food and its so close to our house. My first trip there with the hubb and a friend was NOT good. I asked for poached eggs-- maybe that was my bad-- but they were completely raw. You could look at them and tell they were raw too. When she sat them down I didn't even know what to say. Oh well. I'm sure I'll give this place another shot. But a greasy spoon should be able to cook eggs perfectly. If they aren't equipped to poach, I will take them over easy any day.

Quite often alot of our staff ( late night ) go there.......nothing but rave reviews

Hey, Stephen-
Where is it?

Deb

Deb, Catty corner across the street from Pat's Steakhouse. Ewing & Brownsboro.

And just like Pat's - bring cash 'cause they don't take credit!!

For those who have or currently live in Old Louisville, Juanita's Burger Boy perfectly fits the description as well.

Actually, under the new owners it is pretty cleaned up!! The food appears to be the same, but it is missing the multiple layers of grease on all the walls!!

I want to love this place... I love breakfast food and its so close to our house. My first trip there with the hubb and a friend was NOT good. I asked for poached eggs-- maybe that was my bad-- but they were completely raw. You could look at them and tell they were raw too. When she sat them down I didn't even know what to say. Oh well. I'm sure I'll give this place another shot. But a greasy spoon should be able to cook eggs perfectly. If they aren't equipped to poach, I will take them over easy any day.

You went to a greasy spoon and asked for eggs cooked without grease?

Boy, I sure do miss 24 hour Twig and Leaf...

shady lane and its not even close
imo

If only THEY were 24 hour also. That reminds me, I had something I wanted to say about them, but that's best done in another thread.

Isnt Twig and Leaf still 24 hours on Fri and Sat? With regards to Barbara Lee's, do they ever close? I know Juanita's is open 24/7/365 including Christmas, etc.