"louisville" news and stories

• Frigid winter weather calls for black bean soup and cornbread cassoulet.
• The secret to a well-assembled cheese board is contrasting tastes, textures and colors -- and capping the selection at six different varieties.
• Tired cooks can get more shut-eye by preparing their breakfast dishes before going to bed.
• Sliced beef filet on baguette rounds is a winning tapas recipe for timid eaters.

Photo: Pendennis Club.

More than a century after Henry Bain first tried to patent his now legendary sauce, the private club where he worked has bottled it for commercial sale.

Louisville has been flooded with Bain's sauce knock-offs ever since Bain, the head waiter at the Pendennis Club, created the condiment to pair with steak.

"It was one of those sauces that people really, really loved," Bain's eventual successor, John C. Johnson, told Southern Foodways Alliance's Amy Evans in a 2008 interview. "And, of course, I can recall how crazy people were about it. I've seen people put that Henry Bain on chicken. I even know one man that used to put it on ice cream, he loved it so much -- and that's really taking it another step."

After Bain failed to patent his concoction – Johnson recalls it used too many patented ingredients – he sold it to the club, which became the only source of Bain's sauce made according to the original recipe. But, until recently, "you had to know a member" to get it, general manager Jim Amundson explains.

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...

Stylish sips. Photo: Bella Grace Studios

Very rarely does a wedding come along that stops me in my tracks. Usually they're too over-the-top, too stuffy and not personal enough, more for show.

The unforgettable wedding of my friend Josie to her now-husband, Adam, gave me hope again. It took place at the 21c Hotel and Museum in downtown Louisville. The ceremony was short and to the point, but a tearjerker for sure.

And the food -- oh the food! I can still taste it. After the completion of the ceremony, bags of popcorn and peanuts were up for grabs, along with refreshing Izze sodas in red hues with gray-striped straws to match the decor.

Read on for the complete menu along with jaw-dropping photographs.