"kentucky" news and stories

A weekly look at the draft selection in beer-friendly bars across the country.

Kentucky might be better known for its whiskey distilleries than its beer prowess, but like most cities with more than a million people in its metropolitan area, Louisville has seen growth in its specialty and craft-beer market over the past few years due to the average American's increased awareness of the variety of beer available.

Louisville's beer scene is "getting better," says James Donald Gunnoe, co-owner of one of the reasons that scene has gotten better: the small beer outpost known as The Nachbar. "There are about five microbreweries in town and I think there's room for more."

About two and a half years ago, Gunnoe and his wife, Heather Burks, opened Nachbar with the intention of creating a "place we'd want to go to ourselves." Working from faith in their own tastes and desires, they focused on stocking the beers they drank and loved, attempting to offer the beer at prices they knew people could afford. Gunnoe puts it best when he states, "We cater to ourselves, and from there we're just really fortunate that people appreciate what we like."

Read more about Nachbar and see this past weekend's draft list after the jump...

OK, OK, so we're a little obsessed with bourbon right now. But Derby Day is just around the corner, the sun is starting to make a cameo and, well, bourbon is absurdly delicious.

While at a whiskey-and-barbecue eatery the other night, the bartender stopped short when he heard me order Woodford Reserve, mistaking me for some high-rolling aficionado (I'm new to the cult and have never even tried Pappy Van Winkle). "You like bourbon?" he asked, smiling. With a flourish, he produced this bottle of Vintage 17-year-old bourbon. I laughed when I saw it. Look at that photo! It was like someone saying, "You know what's a high-quality nail polish?" and dramatically presenting you with an old bottle of cherry-red Wet & Wild with its insanely '80s script. How could this be tasty stuff?

One sip shut me straight up. My companion crowed, "It's incredible! It coats the palate with caramel!" All I could muster after a long day writing about food was a sober, "Yeah," and a deep sigh -- the sigh of a woman who had just acquired a very expensive new habit.

Burgoo who?

Burgoo is a traditional Kentucky stew of multiple meats (at least three) and a bounty of veggies simmered down for hours until they break down to a uniform consistency. The standard sentiment is that if you can still make out an okra pod or slice of carrot, keep cooking 'cause it ain't burgoo yet -- but as the dish is usually made in such massive quantities (we're talking GALLONS), most regular utensils will just sink down into the mire.

So - what's a burgoo chef to do? Well, many Kentucky restaurants rely on 2x4 studs, and folks at community cookouts and church festivals often use rakes to stir the stuff while perched above on chairs as they tend giant pots set over open wood fires. The flavor and texture are said to be reminiscent of mulligan stew, and my North Carolina born husband swears it's a kissing cousin to Brunswick stew, but the guests at our yearly Kentucky Derby soiree have taken to calling it "The Liquid Meat." That is, when their mouths aren't crammed full of the 'goo.

While perhaps a few months late, the LA Times' auto columnist Dan Neil recently offered his thoughts on KFC's Famous Bowl-the all-in-one combination of mashed potatoes, gravy, corn, fried chicken pieces and shredded cheese. Neil bravely digs into the "steaming, sweating pound of food goo" to find that it's "like throwing up in reverse." He's certainly taken one for the team here. The Bowl then serves as a jumping off point for Neil to ponder the American fast food industry and, after considering things like the Carl's Jr. Double Six Dollar Burger and the "Luther Burger," Neil decides that KFC's offering is comparitively tame. Even the styled ad photos for the Famous Bowls look gross. I can only imagine what a lovingly prepared speciment coming from the drivethrough looks like.

It's only fitting that the cookbook of the day ties in with the fact that one of the most famous sporting events in the world is going on this afternoon. I'm referring, of course, to the Kentucky Derby, so today's cookbook is the Kentucky Derby Museum Cookbook. The book was first published in 1986, but remains popular today. It is packed with recipes for Kentucky favorite dishes, as well as with Derby party ideas. There are too many recipes in the 250+ page book to name them all here, but the illustrated tome includes plenty of both classic and creative home cooking and they are all recipes that cooks turn to again and again. The most famous recipe from this book is probably the one for the Kentucky Derby Museum Pie and, if you want to give it a try, you can find it here.

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