One of our trips this summer was to Louisville, the largest city in Kentucky.  We went to try out the many distilleries in town, which are really fun because you can walk to most of them and sample as you go.  But as always when we travel, we also tried to get a good sampling of some of the local food, so here we’re going to show you some of our favorite places that we visited.  We’ll give you our recommendations here, but just know that we do have some images of meat in this post.

One good place that was recommended to us right downtown – which is a good stop in between all the distilleries – was Mussel & Burger Bar.  Despite the name, they do have some good vegetarian options, such as this Mushroom Philly, which is their take on a meatless cheesesteak.  It’s made with three different types of mushrooms, peppers, caramelized onions, and pepper jack cheese, all on a baguette and with a side of fries.

And Cyril had the bacon burger, topped with cheddar cheese and served on a pretzel bun.

Also close to downtown is Doc Crow’s, which is a classic southern-style restaurant.  We started with their very popular appetizer:  the pimento beer cheese, topped with chives and served with homemade chips.

Miriam asked for their stuffed baked potato, minus the bacon – it comes with broccoli, scallions, cheddar, cheese sauce, and sour cream (and you can also get some portobello mushrooms in there too).

And Cyril had their fried shrimp po-boy.

At the end of our meal we shared a slice of their Derby pie, which is a Louisville specialty – it’s made with a chocolate and walnut filling.

We also got our fill of southern food at the Biscuit Belly in Nulu, at the edge of Distillery Row.  Biscuit Belly is a small chain in seven states across the south, and it was really great for breakfast one morning.  Miriam was excited to see that they had some vegetarian biscuits and gravy – this is the Boomer, made with mushroom gravy topping two biscuits – plus a side of cheesy grits.

Meanwhile, Cyril chowed down on the Rockwell Supreme sandwich, with a piece of fried chicken, cheddar, bacon, and an over easy egg, all on a biscuit and covered in sausage gravy.

A little farther away from downtown, in the Germantown neighborhood, we discovered Hammerheads, a dive-type spot that has some really interesting pub food, including lots of meatless items.  We shared a bunch of different things there, including these tots, which are actually fried pieces of grits topped with smoked cheddar, pico de gallo, and a hollandaise sauce.

We also got some tacos made with Beyond chorizo and a jalapeño sauce …

… the crispy mushroom medley, with three types of mushrooms fried and then served with sundried tomato aioli …

… and some of their smoked mac and cheese.

We also got something that surprised us – you probably don’t think of good pizza when you think of Kentucky, but in fact Louisville is home to some highly regarded pizza making at Garage Bar, which is not too far from Distillery Row.  We tried two pies there:  first, their margherita, made with fior di latte cheese.

And also their sweet corn, which you have to ask for without bacon – it’s a white pizza topped with fior di latte, garlic, corn and a cilantro sauce.

And finally, if you’re looking for something sweet, we have to recommend Comfy Cow – they have several locations in the Louisville area, and we hit up the one near the University of Louisville campus.  You can really go all out there – here’s the Big Brown sundae, made with a giant brownie topped with your choice of ice cream flavor plus hot fudge, walnuts, and whipped cream.

But you can also get just some regular old ice cream, which is delicious – here’s a scoop of Comfy Cow’s mint chocolate chippy.

We definitely got a good sampling of Kentucky food on this trip:  we were able to eat at two different Southern restaurants, where we found a couple of meatless dishes (although you may have to ask to alter the menu a little in order to eat vegetarian).  We also had some burgers and sandwiches in the heart of downtown, an interesting sampling of appetizers at a dive bar, some pizza, and good local ice cream.  All in all, we’re happy with what we tried – while it may be a little more challenging to find meat-free meals in the south, what we got shows that it is possible for vegetarians to eat well in Louisville.

Where We Ate: Bangkok Degree & Mayree

We love checking out local restaurants in our free time, and in New York there’s so much variety to choose from.  There are a lot of cool places we’ve visited recently, and today we want to highlight two spots that both serve up food from the same country.  These restaurants are good places to get Thai cuisine, with one in Brooklyn and the other in Manhattan – so you can visit either spot (or both!) depending on where you are when you’re craving Thai food.  Check out our recommendations below, but do be warned that we will show some images of meat here.

The first place we went was Bangkok Degree, in Park Slope.  It’s a small, cozy spot that opened at the beginning of this year and serves up a combination of Thai classics plus some dishes that are less common to see on menus.  We started there with the fried golden tofu, which comes with a side of sweet chili sauce scattered with crushed peanuts.

Cyril also tried the papaya salad, which is tossed with tomatoes, green beans, peanuts, carrots, and a chili lime dressing (sadly, it’s not vegetarian).

For entrees, Miriam had the massaman curry with tofu, made with potatoes, onions, peanuts, herbs, and chili paste.

And Cyril had one of their specials:  also massaman curry, with a prime rib as the main protein.

If you head over to the border between the East Village and the Lower East Side, you’ll find MayRee, also a small Thai spot.  This one is recommended by the Michelin Guide and focuses primarily on southern Thai food.  There we started with the park mor:  these colorful dumplings made from peanuts, garlic and coconut milk wrapped in rice crepes.

And Cyril got another papaya salad – this one is the original style, but you can also get it esan-style, tossed with fish sauce and salted crab.

Then Miriam got the roti nam keang:  yet another massaman curry, but this one is served with some lightly fried roti to dip in the curry.

And Cyril had the sour curry shrimp, in a broth made with papaya, bok choy, and green beans, with sides of rice and a Thai omelet.

Looking back on these meals, we realize we kind of have a thing for massaman curry and papaya salad.  Unfortunately, papaya salad is typically made with fish sauce, so it’s off limits for vegetarians – but massaman curry is often a good choice, since it’s not usually made with any kind of animal ingredients.  And we got to try a bunch of different variations:  one classic, one with delicious roti on the side, and one with an entire prime rib in it.  These two spots just go to show that you can always discover new things in Thai cuisine, and you can find some interesting Thai in different boroughs.  Make sure you check back for more food recommendations, in New York and beyond!

Where We Ate: Bottino & Osteria Accademia

Even though we’ve been doing a lot of traveling this summer, we’ve also made time to explore our own city – including some cool restaurants that are new to us.  Today we’re going to feature two spots that we visited recently and enjoyed and want to highlight.  Both are in Manhattan, so they’re easy to get to, and they both serve up some delicious Italian food – in fact, we ended up ordering similar appetizers at each restaurant.  So check out our two latest New York restaurant recommendations, but just be warned that we have one image of meat in this post.

First, over in Chelsea, we visited Bottino, which specializes in Tuscan dishes and was named as one of the ten best restaurants in Manhattan by USA Today.  We started our meal there by sharing an order of the fried artichokes, which are topped with mint and some lightly spicy chili flakes.

Then we split an order of the cacio e pepe, made with bavette pasta …

… and a special for that day:  stinging nettle agnolotti stuffed with lemon ricotta.

On the Upper West Side we also got to try Osteria Accademia, which opened last year and has already earned praise from Forbes.  We clearly are really into artichokes this summer because we also decided to start here with their fried artichoke hearts.

Then Miriam had this mafalde pasta made with a mint and pistachio pesto, topped with Parmesan and some greens.

And Cyril tried the tabliolini neri, which is a squid ink pasta in lobster sauce served with shrimp and eggplant.

We really enjoyed the food we got at both of these spots – and it seems that we’re on an artichoke kick.  At Bottino we got an excellent version of a classic plus a really tasty and unique special made with stinging nettles, which we’d never tried before.  And at Osteria Accademia we got an interesting take on pesto plus a seafood-packed pasta dish.  We’ve written about tons of other Italian food in New York, and the options for this cuisine are truly endless, but consider these places to be two more entries in our ever-expanding list of good places to eat in the city.

Where We Ate: The Best Food in the Berkshires

As we do every year, in these warm months we like to get outside and do some traveling to places that are great summer destinations.  To kick the season off, for Memorial Day weekend this year we decided to travel to the Berkshires, which make up the western end of Massachusetts.  We went for all the hiking that’s on offer in the area, but of course we also wanted to find some great food.  So we explored all of the towns that make up the Berkshires and stopped at lots of places, and here we’ll share everything we got and what we recommend – but just be warned that we will show some images of meat here.

We’ll go north to south, starting with a pretty cool shop we found in Williamstown:  A Frame Bakery, which is housed in a very distinctive purple-accented house.  We were on our way to a hike, so we got some of their chocolate chip cookies to snack on.

Then on a bike ride through through the northern Berkshires on the Ashuwillticook rail trail, we stopped at Whitney’s Farm Market to try one of their donut whoopie pies.

For dinner one night we stopped at Olde Forge Restaurant in Lanesborough for some really great pub food with lots of vegetarian options.  We started with these homemade potato scoops, topped with cheese and served with sour cream on the side (they’ll kindly make them for you with no bacon).

Then Miriam tried one of their specials for the summer, the “Not” chicken sandwich, made with a fried meatless cutlet topped with cucumbers, carrots, onions, and a sriracha slaw, all on a jalapeño ciabatta roll, plus a side of their onion chips.

And Cyril got some of their wings, in the sweet and spicy Buff Orpington sauce.

In Pittsfield we found King Kone, a very old school, cash-only ice cream stand where you can get towering soft serve cones.  We split this twist cone with a peanut brittle and rainbow sprinkles topping.

We also stopped at The Roasted Garlic in Pittsfield for some creative Italian food, starting with their signature appetizer – tomatoes and a whole head of garlic roasted and served with baguette slices.

Then we split some cavatappi a la vodka (which you have to ask for without a meatball) …

… and a verdure pizza, made with pesto, mozzarella, caramelized onions, roasted red peppers and zucchini, and arugula.

For a pre-hike breakfast one morning we stopped into On a Roll Cafe, where Miriam tried the avocado toast, which comes on a 7-grain bread, topped with everything bagel seasoning and a salad on the side.

And Cyril got this toasted coconut and pecan French toast.

Another great breakfast spot in Lenox was Haven Cafe, where we shared one of the specials for the day:  grilled polenta topped with a sunny side up egg, tomatoes, pesto, feta, and a side salad.

In Lee we made a visit to High Lawn Farm, where you can visit the cows on the farm and then buy milk, cheeses and ice cream that come right from them.  We decided to try some of the ice creams:  mint chocolate chip (on the left), and a double cone of vanilla and their signature purple cow flavor, made with blueberries, blackberries, and white and dark chocolate chips.

We also stopped in Lee for dinner at Park 51, where we got to eat out on their porch with a great view of the town square.  There we shared the jalapeño poppers, stuffed with three cheese and served with a red pepper sour cream on the side …

… plus these truffle fries.

We also split two entrees:  first, the pappardelle, in a pomodoro sauce with spinach and shallots.

And also a diavolo pizza, topped with cherry peppers, red sauce, and basil (it usually comes with sausage but we asked for them to leave that off).

In Great Barrington we made a stop at Berkshire Mountain Bakery to try their famous bread and chocolate, which has dark chocolate chunks baked inside one of their classic white boules.

We also snacked on more ice cream in Great Barrington at SoCo Creamery, where Miriam got a scoop of espresso cookie (on the right) and Cyril had a cone with one scoop of salted caramel and one scoop of blueberry honey lavender.

And we ended our trip at one last Great Barrington spot –  Baba Louie’s, which is famous for making sourdough-based foods – like this loaf of their potato rosemary sourdough bread.

They also make their pizza with a sourdough crust, so we got the Dirty Brutto, topped with roasted red potatoes, pesto, and Parmesan.

And we shared one of their huge salads:  the Dawn’s Delight, made with pears, dried cranberries, gorgonzola, and walnuts, all topped with a balsamic vinaigrette.

We really went all over the place in the Berkshires, from up near the Vermont border and all the way south, nearly to Connecticut.  We liked traveling through all the towns there, finding fun local places serving up delicious food.  Since it’s summer we definitely got a lot of ice cream, but we also enjoyed the breakfast spots, bakeries, pastas, pizzas, and other cool things we sampled.  This was just the first of our warm weather trips, and in the coming weeks we’ll share more of our adventures and all the delicious things we were able to try!

Where We Ate: The Best Pizzas in Maryland

Since it’s summer, we’ve been taking a few weekend trips here and there, including one recent visit to Maryland.  You probably think of crabs and other seafood when you think of Maryland’s cuisine, but in fact there are some really highly rated pizza places in the state – and of course we had to go check them out.  Today we’ll show you where those spots are and what we got at each one, but we do just want to warn you that there some images of meat here in our photos.

Baltimore is the home of two of the pizza places we visited – which makes sense, since it’s Maryland’s largest city and has its own history of Italian immigration.  The first place we tried was Joe Squared, which was only a few blocks from the train station where our Amtrak dropped us off.  We decided to get two pizzas while we were there:  on the right is the bacon and clam pizza, which is also made with a garlic cream sauce, onions, and three cheeses.  On the right is the flag pizza, which comes in three sections:  a plain cheese pizza, a pesto and fresh mozzarella pizza, and in the middle a white pizza with garlic cream sauce, ricotta, mozzarella and cheddar.

We also went over to went over to the Federal Hill area, where Pizza di Joey is located inside the Cross Street Market.  What Pizza di Joey is most known for is their monster slices, which are a foot long each, so we tried two.  Miriam got the cold cheese pizza, with unmelted shredded mozzarella sprinkled on a cheese slice, while Cyril had a buffalo chicken slice, topped with blue cheese dressing.

But there’s one other well-regarded pizza place in Maryland that’s outside of Baltimore – Inferno Pizzeria, in Darnestown.  We had to rent a Zipcar to get out there, and it was about an hour’s drive west from Baltimore.  Inferno is most well-known for their Neopolitan pizzas, so we got two:  first, a margherita pizza, which we added Calabrian chiles to …

… and also white potato and onion pizza, made with smoked mozzarella and roasted potato chunks, all topped with rosemary.

We enjoyed trying all these different places on our visit to Maryland – Joe Squared was very easy to get to and had a wealth of vegetarian pizzas to choose from (as well as a seafood pizza that nods to Maryland’s foodways).  Pizza di Joey had some fun, huge slices, and Inferno Pizzeria served up excellent Neopolitan pies.  Of course there’s tons of different and delicious foods to try in Baltimore and its suburbs, but if it’s interesting pizza you’re looking for, we think our suggestions are a good place to start.