I've Got the Habana Blues

I love tapas. The idea of having little bites of a wide variety of things has always appealed to me. So, when Tom and I found ourselves on the other side of the river yesterday (New Albany, Indiana), I was pretty excited to try Habana Blues, a Cuban restaurant known for its extensive tapas menu.

We ordered three different hot tapas. First was a plate of vegetable empanadas with a red pepper sour cream sauce. Next was a dish of cremini mushrooms sauteed in olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, and crushed red pepper, served with grilled Cuban bread. Last but certainly not least was a plate of dates stuffed with goat cheese and chorizo sausage, wrapped in bacon and drizzled with smoked honey. Tom and I both agreed that everything tasted great, but our favorite dish by far was the stuffed dates, though I thought it could've withstood a little more chorizo and a little less goat cheese. (Those of you who've had goat cheese know that a little goes a long, long way.)

For dessert, our first choice was the banana bread pudding, but we were informed that the banana cream that's served with it wasn't quite ready yet. We didn't really feel like waiting around, so we ordered churros with chocolate ganache instead. I thought the ganache was closer to chocolate syrup than actual ganache, but it was still tasty, and the churros were cooked just right.

Prices are about what you might expect from a tapas restaurant. Every item we ordered was between $5 and $9. That probably doesn't sound so bad, but our most expensive item also happened to be the one with the smallest portions, which was a little disappointing.

Now, let's talk atmosphere. The restaurant is in an old building that looks like it was probably quite beautiful in its prime, but now shows some obvious signs of wear. The vaulted ceiling had some significant water damage, and overall we got the impression that the whole place just hadn't been maintained very well. Festive music is pumped throughout the building via satellite radio, but when we were there it sounded more like a CD that kept skipping. Maybe it was a bad connection? In any case, it was really distracting, so much so that we strongly considered leaving at one point. But once the food arrived, we barely noticed the music, plus our server was really friendly and helpful, which somewhat made up for the distractions...somewhat.

All told, not a terrible experience, but not a great one. I was fully prepared to give Habana Blues a 3-star rating, but later that night, I was sick to my stomach like I haven't been in years. Seriously, morning sickness couldn't even hold a candle to this. I don't think it was brought on entirely by what I'd had for dinner (Tom ate all the same things that I did, and he was fine), but unfortunately it further spoiled my overall impression of the place. The food was good, but I don't think we'll be back.

Habana Blues Tapas Restaurant
148 E. Market St.; New Albany, IN
Price tag: $$

My rating: 2 stars
Tom's rating: 3 stars
Combined rating: 2.5 out of 5

Southwest Fare Sizzles at NuLu's Taco Punk

As I said in my last post, Esther and I like to try new restaurants, especially when aided and abetted by the fine folks at Groupon. When a place has some healthy options, so much the better. We managed to check off all three with our Friday night visit to the NuLu eatery Taco Punk.

NuLu is an emerging neighborhood between St. Matthews and Downtown, with a good bit of overlap with the latter. Taco Punk is located on Market Street, in a storefront that looks like it might date back to the early 1900's or before. This particular location used to be occupied by Toast, an excellent breakfast spot that has since moved further up Market. Back when it was Toast, I got the impression that the building might have been a horse barn at one point, but that's little more than speculation. Either way, it's a cool area and a cool building.

As mentioned above, Esther and I went in with a Groupon hoping to get a healthy option. Taco Punk specializes in gourmet TexMex made with fresh ingredients. Feel free to check out their awesome menu. Tacos are custom-prepared in front of you, a la Qdoba or Moe's. We knew we were in for a good meal when, upon stepping up to the counter to order, the cook informed us we'd have to wait a few minutes for them to finish a fresh batch of tortillas!

Esther and I opted to split a platter-we each got a bar-beer-coa taco, loaded with shredded cabbage, cilantro, and pickled onions. Platters come with tri-color chips and salsa, and one side. We chose smashed, spiced sweet potatoes, and added a side of chili-spiced kale to use up the whole Groupon. Salsa is laid out on a self-serve bar, and includes mild and hot salsa roja, salsa verde, pineapple habanero, and something called the drain cleaner that we were both too chicken to try.

Everything tasted great; fresh, interesting flavors and good texture from the fresh corn tortillas. We were a bit disappointed by the sweet potatoes; we're both big fans of sweet potatoes, but we couldn't detect what exactly made them "spiced." The prices were a bit steep compared to your Qdoba or Bazo's fare: we split a platter and extra side for about $15 (no drinks) but we were in a mood to eat light (the Groupon made it less, of course). You could easily spend $20-30 here for a serious meal, and it'd be worth it; just don't come in thinking it's just like Moes and expect to pay those prices.

All in all, a quality meal, and highly recommended if you don't mind paying a bit extra for high quality southwestern fare.

Taco Punk
736 E. Market St.; Louisville, KY
Price tag: $$

My rating: 4 stars
Esther's rating: 4 stars
Combined rating: 4 out of 5

Post-Race Brunch

This morning I participated in the Great Commission 5K, which Southern Seminary puts on every year to raise money for missions. It was a cold, rainy morning: NOT my ideal circumstances for a run, though I guess it could've been worse. Afterward, I was REALLY in the mood for some good, hearty food.

Enter The Silver Dollar on Frankfort Avenue. Its real claim to fame is that it's one of the best whiskey bars in the US, but they recently started serving brunch on the weekends, so we decided to give it a go.

(Does this look at all like a photo from a CD insert? Maybe I'm overestimating the power of Instagram...)

The Silver Dollar has great atmosphere. It kinda reminds me of a honky-tonk. Not that I've ever been to a honky-tonk. But it looks and feels like honky-tonks I've seen in movies and stuff...There was an record player behind the bar, cranking out music from folks like Merle Haggard and Johnny Cash. And the building looks like it used to be a firehouse. Lots of exposed brick. Very cool.

The food at Silver Dollar is described as "American South meets Southern California": lots of Southern favorites with a Southwestern twist. Tom and I did our usual brunch custom of ordering one sweet dish and one savory dish and splitting them in half; Tom ordered cornmeal pancakes, and I ordered flank steak and eggs, and we also got a side of hashbrowns.

Before our food came out, our server brought three different kinds of sauce to the table--a Mexican hot sauce, a salsa verde, and a mild ancho chile sauce--all made in-house, which I think is pretty special. (Doh, it just now occurred to me that I should've asked if they sell them by the bottle, 'cause they were all pretty good.)

The flank steak had a nice coffee-and-spice rub and was served atop a roasted poblano sauce, and it came with two eggs, over-easy. The hashbrowns were the thinnest I've ever seen, and they tasted like they'd been cooked in an ancient cast-iron skillet (that's a good thing, by the way), though I thought they could've been cooked just a little longer. They went really well with that ancho chile sauce, though. The pancakes were enormous and really good. They were nice and crispy on the outside, thanks to the cornmeal, and soft on the inside, with a hint of sweetness; and they came with butter, maple syrup, and homemade blueberry jam. YUM.

My only real complaint was that I didn't feel like the prices for the steak or the hashbrowns really matched the amount of food we got; but everything was so good that I would definitely go back if someone else was footing the bill. Overall, I think it was a pretty good choice for a place to celebrate my 5K.

The Silver Dollar
1761 Frankfort Ave; Louisville, KY
Price tag: $$

My rating: 4 stars
Tom's rating: 4 stars
Combined rating: 4 out of 5

Leisurely Sunday Afternoon

(I can't believe it's been so long since I posted here. Sorry!)

Conez & Coneyz: Louisville, KY

August 8, 2010

Yes, this was our one-year anniversary, but this wasn't our official celebratory meal (although going to a place that has nothing but hot dogs and ice cream is celebration enough for us). It was my second day in Louisville, and we decided to go to Conez & Coneyz for a leisurely post-church lunch. We had gone there for ice cream a few months earlier when we visited Louisville to look for an apartment, and we had been itching to try their hot dogs ever since.

By the way, don't you love the name of this place? So clever. Their slogan is "A place where hot dogs and ice cream have attitude," and they're not kidding. The hot dogs are delicious; and with the topping combinations they offer, you'd be doing yourself an injustice by ordering a plain one. Same goes for the ice cream. And if that doesn't make the place sound nice enough, we were greeted by Nadine, one of the owners, who actually remembered us from our first visit over two months prior!

Entree: Monte Cristo Dog

Ever heard of the Monte Cristo sandwich? It's a ham & cheese sandwich with French toast instead of plain bread, and it's often served with jam or preserves on the side. The folks at Conez & Coneyz have come up with a great twist on this old classic. It's a grilled Hebrew National hot dog, split in half and placed in a bun. Then, Swiss cheese is sprinkled down the middle. Finally, it's topped with "Kentucky proud" strawberry jam. It's the perfect combination of sweet and savory, plus the hot dog has a nice little snap when you bite into it (that might not be a big deal to most people, but I just get excited when a hot dog has it). Nadine told us that this item was originally created for kids, but it's become one of the most popular among adults. I'm not surprised!

Dessert: Eskimo Kisses Ice Cream

This is chocolate ice cream with shredded coconut and little chunks of fudge. Need I say more? I don't even really like chocolate ice cream all that much, and I thought this was great!

This has become one of our favorite places to grab a quick, tasty, inexpensive lunch. I don't think you'll be disappointed no matter what you order, so if you're ever in Louisville, stop in and treat yourself to a coney...and a cone!