Sari Sari on Frankfort Avenue near Walgreens.
My daughter and I went to Sari Sari on Tuesday night. We had tried it one Sunday afternoon, but wanted to go back to try dinner. You can order off the menu, or you can order from the specials board, or you can make one pass through the buffet ($9.95 including a beer). My daughter got the buffet-she got a piece of chicken, rice, beans, and a bean/cheese quesadilla (with a diet coke-no beer!). I ordered the special-5 spice grilled tilapia over fried rice. My daughter loved her food. I liked my food (so much fried rice I had an entire Chinese food container left over, and two pieces of tilapia).
More than the food, though, the atmosphere at Sari Sari is great! It is just a small neighborhood place, with about 6 tables. The lady who owns it cooks the food, and her husband waits tables. This is not a fancy place with impeccable service. It is, however, a fun place. Everybody at the tables talks to other tables, asking about their food. The owner/waiter stands around talking to people at the tables as long as they want him to. When we were there, some people came up and looked at the menu taped outside. The owner saw them out there, opened the door, and said, "Hey, do you want to try some Filipino food? Come on in."
Mayan Cafe
813 E. Market Street (566-0651)
Went there for lunch today with my brother-in-law, Armand. We have been there before, of course, and the food is always wonderful. Today we tried some different (for us) things. I had the special, which was a cup of black bean soup and half a chicken quesadilla. Though a fairly small portion, it was quite filling (I'm still stuffed an hour later). Armand had the Smoked Salmon, Egg & Cheese w/black beans and greens sandwich. The sandwich was huge. Man, it was good!!!
Armand was disappointed to learn that they do not serve tamarind water (which they used to have at Mayan Gypsy). We were sitting there waiting for our food and Bruce, the owner, came over to our table. (We do not know him; perhaps he just recognized Armand from being there before). We mentioned that Armand would love it if they would have tamarind water on the menu. Bruce said that he would definitely get it back on the menu. They talked about it for a few more minutes. A little while later, Bruce came over with a glass of tamarind water-he explained that he had some frozen tamarind on hand and he made it up right then.
This is why I love local restaurants. They are always willing to go the extra mile. I have never had any type of special request denied at a local restaurant. I am glad that we have so many nice local places in Louisville!